We are a family of six looking at both class C and class A motohomes. We would be happy in a bunkbed model class C but have one main concern. It seems that the cargo capacity after people and some water are added in is very small.
Has anybody actually figured out their specific cargo capacity and how much "stuff" they can bring with them.
Todd, In the case of the Class C being built on a Ford E350 or 450 chassis, you do run out of towing capacity and cargo capacity rather quickly. But there are some excellant alternatives..the "Super C's".
The Gulf Streams and Jayco Seneca's built on the Chevy heavy duty truck chassis, which can carry much more weight. For even more capability the "Max C's such as the Embatk's which are built on commercial truck chassis such as Freightliner M2 Business class chassis, which can be loaded up with nearly 20,000 lbs of stuff.
These are nearly the same as a Class A, except a real truckers cab that feels more "Automotive like" when trundling down the road, as opposed to the "driving your living room" feel to the Class A's!
Getting a Class C without slides would be your most economical method. The Fleetwood Jamboree 29V would sleep 8 (or 10 with bunkbeds for 4 in back bedroom). There are other brands with similar setup in 28.5 foot versions. It's the extra weight of the slides that use up all the carrying capacity. That is why these models are used for rentals.
Mark
Mark & Jan "Old age & treachery win over youth & enthusiasm"
2003 Fleetwood Jamboree 29
That is something I've never understood. Why do the bigger class A's only sleep two or 4 usually, but have carrying capacity way higher than C's? But the C's with much smaller carrying capacity usually sleep four to eight or even more?
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MommaJo wrote: That is something I've never understood. Why do the bigger class A's only sleep two or 4 usually, but have carrying capacity way higher than C's? But the C's with much smaller carrying capacity usually sleep four to eight or even more?
Class A's are marketed mainly to wealthy empty nesters and probably among them to those who will be full timing at least part of the year. A class A is not a living room on wheels it is a condominium on wheels! Class A's are more expensive to build so partly the marketing approach is driven by the nature of the beast. Class C's are cheaper to build and can more easily be afforded by young families. Unfortunately the platforms available to build them on are being stretched to their limits to make units that will accommodate the OP's family of 6. You can get small class C's with generous towing and cargo capacities, you just would not want to share their interior space with 5 other human beings for any great length of time.
There are a few smaller class A's that approach affordability and may have more suitable floor plans for large families. It is really the super C's that give you family oriented coaches on a hefty chassis. They have class A prices and with the demise of Chevy trucks those prices will increase as the alternate chassis' are more expensive. Or they have been anyway, maybe that will change due to market forces with Chevy gone. The non-Chevy super C's of the past have been mostly quite luxurious with price tags to match. Maybe you will see some "entry level" models on these chassis' starting to appear.
Since your question is on carrying capacity, I'd just like to inform (remind) you of a few things.
First of all, recently (maybe 2009?) they redefined how the manufacturer's calculate available cargo carrying capacity. So you need to keep this in mind when comparing specs from current models to those from past years. I don't know the specifics of either, perhaps someone on here has a link, but to be honest, I never really cared how THEY "calculated" ccc anyway. I preferred real world numbers.
You need to know the GAWRs (gross axle weight ratings), the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) and the GCWR (gross combined weight rating) and the actual weight of the vehicle unloaded with fuels & fluids only. From there, you add in your weights. Some people travel with minimal water. With the type of camping we were planning, we figured we'd sometimes have to travel with full water (75 gallons) or about 600 lbs. of water. Add in passenger weight, food, clothes, toys, tools (if you do your own repair work, you'll be bringing your tools). It all adds up. As I mentioned in a previous post, when we were looking for motorhomes, I estimated our family of 6 would need a minimum of 2,000 lbs. of capacity and preferably 2,500 to 3,000 lbs. to use it as we intended. Those numbers seem to be pretty accurate still, at least in our case and in the way we use our motorhome.
It's also important to realize not only what the rig's total weight is, but how that weight is distributed. You need to know how much weight is on the front axle and how much is on the rear axle. Some manufacturer's do a better job at this than others, but suffice it to say, an E-450 chassis would be hard-pressed to carry what you need it to AND keep under the GAWR especially on the rear.
That's why I don't put any faith in the published or "calculated" ccc's: because they tell nothing about WHERE you can carry the weight. A rig with a ccc of 2000 lbs. may only be able to carry 1,000 lbs of that on the rear axle, yet all of the big storage bays and holding tanks put most of their weight on the rear axle. So the true carrying capacity is much less than the published 2000 lbs.
There are those who completely ignore all of the weight issues and state they've never had a problem. I consider them lucky. There are others who know they're overweight and do what they can to live with it (watch tire inflation pressures and tire condition more closely, brake service more frequently, etc.). And there are others that just don't care to operate a rig past the numbers spec'd by the engineers. Being an engineer, I fell into the latter category. You have to figure out which category you'll be in, and buy accordingly.
Lastly, you DO NOT want a motorhome without a slide with a family of 6. We looked at one and could not imagine walking around in it with a dog laying in the middle of the isle. It won't be "fun". If you have the funds to buy, this is the time to do it...new or used, and I believe the economy will be soft for quite some time. So you have the opportunity to keep researching throughout the winter. Keep researching, keep posting on these forums (they are a GREAT resource of real-world experience...they allowed us to make the right decision the first time we purchased) and remember, it's supposed to be fun.
Good Luck,
~Rick
* This post was
edited 10/05/09 08:46am by Rick Jay *
2005 Georgie Boy 3625 DS on a Workhorse W-22 (Class A)
Rick, Gail, 1 girl (12-Angel, Lexi96.org), 1 girl (8), 2 boys (9 & 6).
2001 Honda Odyssey, Demco Aluminator tow bar & tow plate, SMI Silent Partner brake controller.
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It won't be "fun". If you have the funds to buy, this is the time to do it...new or used, and I believe the economy will be soft for quite some time. So you have the opportunity to keep researching throughout the winter. Keep researching, keep posting on these forums (they are a GREAT resource of real-world experience...they allowed us to make the right decision the first time we purchased) and remember, it's supposed to be fun. 
