I have a Toyota Class C RV (also a Class A bounder and KZ TT) and we REALLY like it. It is a 4 cylinder.
We go 60 mph just like many others on the highway with no problems. The acceleration compares with the Class A. We also get excellent MPG, and it sleeps all 5 of our children and two adults. Yes it is a bit tight, but it works. The tanks are a bit small, but it is fully self contained. Good A/C, great overhead bunk. Table converts to bed, and sofa comes out to make a huge bed as well.
I have been up to 75 mph in the camper, but it did get a little shaky. But at 60-65, its is just fine so I can't find the lack of power. We are not winning races, but do you ever.
In the mountains on steep grades, pop it out of OD, and we can go 45-50 mph without a problem.
There are MANY people that put 150-250k miles on these campers, which arguably is more than most people put on their RV's without problems.
We get between 20-23 mpg depending on wind, A/C usage etc.
I just don't understand why on Earth back in the early 90's when gasoline was under $1 a gallon, they made these GREAT campers, but now that gas is near $4 a gallon, they only make guzzlers.
I just don't get it. Now that our class C is definitely getting older and worn out, we would be prime candidates to get another one just like it. I really hesitate though because I would rather not get 8 mpg in one of the super sized V10's.
So frustrating.
4 whopping cylinders on Toyota RV's. Talk about great getting good MPG. Also I have a very light foot on the pedal. I followed some MPG advice on Livingpress.com and I now get 22 MPG! Not bad for a home on wheels.
One reason as I understand it is they had an issue with the rear brakes that resulted in the axle assemblies being replaced in thousands of RV's. It cost them so much they got out of the market.
Scott, Grace and Wesly
2003 Dodge 3500 4x4, 6 speed Cummins (lightly bombed),
2004 Forest River 25RKS many, many mods.
H0NDA eu2000i
I think it was at least partly because US RV makers wouldn't stop overloading the chassis, causing warranty claims & the potential for lawsuits. I believe they've also stopped making chassis for U-Haul and other box truck applications, tho', so it may run deeper than that.
The axle issue was a lot deeper than the brakes. RV companies were kludging up their own rear dualies to prevent overloading the tires on the 1/2 ton single-wheel rear axle that they'd overloaded. So bearings and half-shafts failed, sometimes with serious results. Toyota replaced a lot of these axles with DRW 1-ton axles for free (!) to avoid legal liability and damage to their reputation, even tho' they had no moral liability to do so on a chassis overloaded by the upfitter.
I'd love to see a Toyota 1-ton or heavier pickup chassis in the US market. But I doubt it's gonna happen any time soon.
Jim, "Press any key to continue. Press any other key to quit."
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison (aka 'Loafer's Glory') www.tigervehicles.com
I wonder if Toyota stopped making that type of chassis when they switched from the "pickup truck"/Hilux body style in the US to the Tacoma body style (which is a bit bigger for the US market, but supposedly not as reliable.)
It is a major loss because there isn't much in the way of good MH chassis options available these days, especially MPG-wise ones. You have your Ford V-10 (reliable engine, but the design is dated), the Chevy design (similar), and the Sprinter (which is the most state of the art, but $10,000 more.)
The rest of the world has "real" options. Fiat has a special chassis that is dedicated to motorhomes. This chassis would revolutionize motorhomes in the US if it came to our shores, because there is no step-down for the cab, and essentially there would be no difference between a class A and a class C with this.
I just find it ironic that even though the US is one of the prime countries for RV-ing, the selection of motorhome foundations is just plain laughable. Especially considering the fact that we had non-turbo V6 motorhomes that can get 20+ MPG without any special engineering over a decade ago.
Can anyone with Toyota experience comment on problems they may have had considering the above information. Living in Prince George which is a major point for those traveling to and from Alaska, I still see the odd Toyota MH passing through.
As a side note a vehicle built in Canada can in most cases be sold for a lot less in the states than in Canada, go figure. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/06/12/ottawa-car-price-disparity-border-shopping.html?cmp=rss
I had the 4-cylinder pop-top Chinook and had absolutely no problems with it, and it was a delight to travel and camp in. I put 100K+ miles on it. The problem comes when people try to take a good thing and overload it. I'm not surprised to hear that the ones with big stand-up bodies had rear axle issues. The engineering put into big add-ons is often marginal and incompetent, if engineering is applied at all.
The same kinds of problems arise in those ridiculous stretch limos. Also in electric vehicle conversions, and I know what I'm talking about there because I was in that business for five years, and our vehicles were extremely well engineered, while the competition was either not engineered at all or way over-built because of lack of ability to do proper stress analysis.
midnightsadie wrote: they were great,in laws had one. BUT THERES the mercedes I 5 diesel out there, ours gets 20 plus mpg and the coach is bigger than the old toys were.
The MB 5 cylinder diesel chassis is also out of production for the US market.
The HiLux was offered with a 1-ton chassis (mainly frame and rear axle changes).
The Tacoma, which shares many components with the Global Hilux, is still not a Hilux, and does not have a heavy frame or axle option. It simply cannot handle the weight a an RV body. I think they have simply decided there isn't enough demand to justify a specialized line a smaller HD cab/chassis trucks. To meet current crash and emissions standards, and todays HP expectation, a mini-pickup motorhome probably would not be especially fuel efficient anyways. Most friends with Tacoma v6 4x4 trucks only get 17-19 on the highway, which is the same that I get on newer E350 15 pass vans.
Not all hope is lost though.... The Transit will be offered with both the 3.5L EcoBoost, and also a small turbo-diesel. I suspect the Transit cutaway will be an excellent option for small Class-Cs.
Bryan
2000 Ford E350 DRW Wagon (14-pass all captains chairs)
V10 w/ Banks PowerPack, Diablo Predator, 4.56 LS, ~350,000 miles
New Desert Fox in the works!
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