Road trip motorhome count

[JRS950]

Last weekend on a trip up I-95 to Savannah GA. from our house just south of Daytona Beach, we wanted something to help make the time pass more quickly. Since we own a class “C” motorhome, we thought that we would see which class of motorhome has more units on the road, class “A” or “C”. Now this is not a scientific study by any means, just a couple of folks making observation. We counted going to Savannah and back home again. The results very much surprised both of. Like I said, we drive a class “C”, Four Winds 28Z.

On the trip up to Savannah, we counted 45 class “A” and 27 class “C”.

On the return trip to Daytona the count was 64 class “A” and 18 class “C”.

Total for the weekend trip of just less than 500 miles – 109 to 45. Now we did not try to count brands or anything else, just was the unit an A or a C.

This totally surprised both of us to no end. We would have thought that the C’s would have easily outnumbered the A’s. Our count revealed just the opposite.

In your travels, have you made the same observation or had the same impression?

[Henry's RV]

I see more As also, although when I am in the vicinity of state or national parks, the number of Cs increases since many of those areas cannot accommodate bigger rigs. But just watching the traffic, it does seem to be As that are more common. Definitely not scientific! I also see a lot of 5th wheels and the rarest would be a regular travel trailer.

[Chance]

That is surprising. We have counted trailers versus motorhomes before but not Cs versus As.

It's possible the Cs versus As may be influenced by time of year. I would guess that Cs are more popular with younger families that may travel more during summer, while As may be more popular with retirees or empty nesters who may travel more after the summer. When our children were home we vacation mostly in summer due to school, but now travel more in Fall and Spring.

It's also possible that the area of country may influence results. Places like Florida with more retirees may have some bias towards Class As. Just a wild guess though.

[KCook]

Also remember the Snowbirds from up north are starting to head south for the winter. Most of them would be in 5th wheels or Class A’s.

KC

[blw2]

I like data, so thanks for doing that data collection work! That's very interesting!

While I'm surprised that there aren't more class C coaches since they are on average better suited for families.... and in particular I'm surprised that there aren't more choices in terms of floor plans and chassis

I'm not overly surprised by your count. It matches what observed intuitively (I've never counted like you did). I've also noticed over at the other forum I frequent where most of the traffic is re. motorhomes, that the C is the underdog.

I'm convinced that the C is really filling a niche market mostly for families.

Even more of a small niche is the super C, which i am really surprised isn't more popular because it answers many of the class C's weaknesses.

My guess is this is all because of the market demographics. Most class C folks... not all of course.... but I'm thinking most are like me. part time recreational weekend warriors with kids.
But, most folks with kids can't justify the expense of a MH and would go more the route of a TT
Especially given that there are so many more great family floor plans available in bumper pull TT's
and the funny side note there is that with the very many great floor plan options in TT's for larger families there just aren't any options for large family tow vehicles.

So, you're left with the retired folks that the class A market has been catering to for years being the majority of motorhomes on the road.

A follow-up to your data, I'm really curious about the fraction of motorhomes that are these little class B sprinter chassis, and I guess you could count the vegas/axis types in there too.... that really seem to be intended for day trips and more overnight type trips. This really seems like a growing niche and I can see why it would be attractive.

[MGoBlue]

It seemed like that to us when we drove our Axis 25.1 from Michigan to California over Labor Day weekend. We only saw one other Axis the whole time, though.

[Henry's RV]

I have a Citation Sprinter 24SR and see almost none of those. I see van conversions, Roadtrek and Pleasure way Class B and B+, but have only seen two other Sprinter chassis RVs. I got a lot of questions about mine form people driving huge class As and interested in downsizing, though. I live in the pathways to national parks, so there are a fair number of Cs around here, but in the summer as mentioned by another poster. That supports the theory of families and kids making the big trip west. There are a lot of rental class c vehicles coming my way.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by blw2

....cut...

A follow-up to your data, I'm really curious about the fraction of motorhomes that are these little class B sprinter chassis, and I guess you could count the vegas/axis types in there too.... that really seem to be intended for day trips and more overnight type trips. This really seems like a growing niche and I can see why it would be attractive.

I personally think the general trend regarding motorhome-size preferences may be changing a bit for many reasons, and don't think that smaller RVs are now limited to shorter trips. We personally prefer smaller over larger even if cost is held constant for comparison. The traveling freedom that smaller motorhomes provide is of great value to us. We see excessive size as a negative. Quality and capabilities are more important.

I can only see two main advantages why I'd want an A over a C. Class As can be larger and haul more, but that doesn't apply to us at all. I don't want anything big and there are plenty of Class Cs of adequate size.

The second reason which is why my wife and I both want to try a small A is that the driving area "feels" more open to the rest of the coach. The cab area of the C feels more confined -- like being in a cave. Class As with slides behind driver feel more confining as well.

If someone built a van cab that was 8-ft wide instead of 80-inches, I think the demand for Class Cs would skyrocket by comparison. What is there not to like about extra doors, roll-down windows, factory dash and instrumentation, etc.?

[JRS950]

Thanks for all the input. I agree with most all of the assumptions made. I am an engineer, so data collection is the norm. We are going to continue the count as we travel and sorta keep a running total going. It will be interesting to see how the count changes according to time of year and what sort of the county we travelling. More to come.

[Henry's RV]

I think it's really a case of "to each his/her own." The people who have shown the most interest in my rig have been older couples with 40-ish foot class As who wanted to downsize or solo travelers. The smaller units are in no way limited to short trips. I love the maneuverability - I can get in state and national parks that larger rigs can't. It drives better than the last car I owned, I've never gotten less than 14 mpg, and I can cruise at 75mph on the highway if I want to. I don't usually go that fast but have been very comfortable at that speed even in hilly terrain. I only have myself and my dog and don't stay in one place long. I can tow a small car if I ever choose to do so, have plenty of cargo capacity for my needs and a friend if there were two of us. I've come across a fair number of solo travelers who thought they probably would go with a sprinter or something similar in the future. I know some people who are full-timing in a Roadtrek and I took a week to hit some of the National Parks out west and even drove it sightseeing. No towing needed. It all depends on your needs, lifestyle, and how you plan to use it. I'm glad we have a lot of variety in our choices. The biggest downside I see to the B/B+ and especially the Sprinter models is they are ridiculously expensive compared to other options.

[Henry's RV]

Originally Posted by JRS950

Thanks for all the input. I agree with most all of the assumptions made. I am an engineer, so data collection is the norm. We are going to continue the count as we travel and sorta keep a running total going. It will be interesting to see how the count changes according to time of year and what sort of the county we travelling. More to come.

If we all take a section of the country and time of year and pool our data, we could be sort of scientific... Sorry, couldn't help it. I'm a researcher so rather data driven, too. But the philosopher side of me always wants to know why...

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Henry's RV

....cut.... No towing needed. It all depends on your needs, lifestyle, and how you plan to use it. I'm glad we have a lot of variety in our choices. The biggest downside I see to the B/B+ and especially the Sprinter models is they are ridiculously expensive compared to other options.

I agree, and also think quality affects price as much as size. If I compare a Winnebago Travato Class B with a Thor Axis Class A, there isn't really that much difference in price. Quality is about the same but the Axis is huge by comparison.

And to me that makes sense because they each have similar equipment inside. Each has one AC, stove, sink, microwave, toilet, shower, generator, etc. That it's all crammed into a smaller volume doesn't really save much on fabrication costs.

For me the perfect motorhome would be a super-sized Class B; much like starting out with a small bus for conversion. Unfortunately the biggest vans available, regardless of their length, are still too narrow to compete with B+, Cs, or As.

[fhenn]

Here at the Louisiana Gulf Cost Camper a quick count on class A's 11 Class C 3 in our own group there are 3 Class A's and Class C's 2 By the way Ed Tyke is here with his Ace, and two spots down is a another Ace.

[TyCreek]

Saw about 20 to 1 trailers vs. truck campers on the drive this morning (200 or so RVs on the road). Class C 3, A just 2 small ones like ours (Arex & Southwind).