Is Class A smoother ride then Class C and MPG

[kars]

We bought a Class C, Forest RIver Forester Ford engine, 2 year old 10k miles 32 foot and just returned from a 2 week trip

THis is a first RV for us and boy is it a tough ride, every little bump in the road you feel like you have probably popped a tire.

Is a Class A a smoother ride?

We got <8 MPG NO toads pulled, only 2 adults and a few little doggies.
Do CLass A do any better on MPG?

[Dog_Trainer]

It is hard to compare as even class A to different class A will have a different feel . The 24,000 lb chassis rides different than the 18-20,000 lb 22.5 tires ride different than the 19.5 tires. With a small investment you can improve the ride without having to spend such big money. Short class A diesels are hard to find on a good Chasis.

[4x4van]

First thing you need to do is to check your tire pressures. Often times tire places/dealers simply air up the tires to the max listed on the sidewall; that is WRONG and will result in bad handling, harsh ride, and uneven tire wear. The tire placard inside the RV near the driver's door will list the recommended tire pressures based on the maximum weight (GVWR, GAWRs) that the RV should ever weigh. You should never need to run higher than that (because you should never be heavier than that), and the pressures listed there will work for now. But the best way is to get your rig weighed (front & rear, or better yet, 4-corner) and set the tire pressures according the the tire manufacturer's load table. That will provide the best ride, the best handling, the best tire wear, the best economy, etc.

[Badlands]

Just switched this spring from a 2016 33' class C to a 41.5' class A. The C had air bags on rear, and the standard V10. We tow a Dodge Durango, and have done so with both units. Difference in mpg is minor, but ride quality and quietness of the class A is huge. In 14,000 miles driving the C in all terrain, we ranged between 6.5 to 8.0. Added the 5-Star tuner, and on level ground, we were hitting the 9.0 range;3,200 mile trip. On the A, we've done a little over 1,500 miles, with an average mpg of 7.3, all of it towing. For us, the ride quality and quietness far offset the slightly less mpg. As others have noted, there are dozens of variables to consider when answering your questions, but you get a general consensus.

[Groover]

My Palazzo 35' diesel pusher gets about 9.8 pulling a horse trailer at 70mph and I have seen over 12 with no trailer and driving in the low 60's. Speed definately affects mileage. Weight, not so much. I pulled a Taurus on a dolly for a 4,000 mile trip running mostly around 70 and got 11.1mpg. These numbers are all from the trip computer which may be a little high but it is hard to figure exact milage anyway since I boondock a lot and the generator runs off of the same tank. The Palazzo was criticised a lot when it first came out but I have not had that much trouble from mine and have not heard any other complaints lately. There are other coaches built on the same Freightliner chassis that should turn in similar numbers. I do like the air suspension, partly for the ride and partly that I can deflate it when parked and have the coach much lower than many others that I have seen. This rig weighs around 23,000lbs by itself when loaded for a trip.

[cruz-in]

The Monaco Vesta gets 11 to 13 MPG (some people claim higher), has air ride and air brakes...although the engine is up front so not near as quiet as a DP...but an interesting coach...

Th

[stripit]

Met a couple that had a class C that they said rode like it had no shocks at all. So I crawled around and looked to see what I could find. The air shocks factory installed were full of water, giving the rear shock zero movement. I have to guess someone added air that had water in the air compressor and instead of air, they got water. Took a while to flush the water out, but once we got air in and took it for a ride, they said night & day difference. My class C rides to me, very well and is comfortable to drive and ride in. I carry the correct air pressure for our weights.

[Edwonbass]

I drive large box trucks for work and I can say that most of them that have a spring and shock type suspension drive much better when loaded down. Now I know motor homes are a different beast but in these box trucks, some weight over the axles will keep them from bouncing around. Whenever I drive certain trucks while empty, they beat the **** out of me after awhile. The trucks we have with air ride suspensions are nice even when empty.

[harold1946]

There are class C motorhomes that are on diesel chassis with air ride suspensions.

[Sam_Spade]

kars wrote:

I will contact dealer to see what they have to say and maybe they can help with the tire pressure,

There should be a label/placard somewhere around the drivers door that has the recommended tire pressures on it.
That should be considered minimum pressures.....but they should work fine in the majority of circumstances.

AND......how old are your tires ?
They tend to dry out and become somewhat hard with age, no matter what you do to "take care" of them.
They usually should be replaced around 6-7 years even if they look good.

P.S. I just switched from a large C to a "small" A. The "ride" seems much better with the A BUT that comes at a price; there is a lot of "sway" if you hit a big bump with only one side of the duals.

[MetalGator]

kars wrote:
THank you all for your responses, for some reason I really thought an A gasser would be smoother
I will contact dealer to see what they have to say and maybe they can help with the tire pressure, we dont carry anything but 5 little doggies and 2 adults.
few crates
I will try to empty the water tank from now on if I know I am going to a place with water as I dont want to pay gas to move water slushing around.

thank you again , I have learned a few things and will ask on the class C too.

I don't have a lot of experience with driving Cs and As but before we purchased our new Miramar Class A recently, we had rented several Class C motorhomes in the 25-30' range. Our 37' Miramar Class A drives much better (my opinion) than the Class Cs we rented. However, these were rented class Cs and they had a lot of miles on them. A lot of it has to do with what make/model Class A you are driving. My salesman said the Miramar drove like a dream compared to the cheaper Axis/Vegas models but I never drove those models so I can't compare. Our Miramar has 22.5" tires vs the 19.5 which many people say make a difference.

Burch

[Solo]

kars wrote:



I would suggest you install Koni FSD shocks on both front and rear suspension, and as others suggested make sure your tires aren't over inflated.

Koni FSD shocks are rather expensive but well worth the expense. We installed them on our coach and realized a significant improvement in ride comfort over rough surfaces.

I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised with the ride improvement over rough road surfaces.

Best of luck and safe travels...:)

I installed Bilstein HD shocks on our 23D Winnebago E450 and really liked the performance and ride improvement. Cannot speak to the Koni FSD on the E450 chassis but I did put those on our DP but, no chassis comparison there. Regardless, I have found whether I used the Bilstein or Koni product, I have had significant improvements in both cases.

Search the wealth of info over on the Class C side. Here's a brief order of what I did to ours: Tire Pressure via proper weighing, alignment, shocks, larger sway bars, rear air bags. Each step of the way made our Class C Aspect handle and ride much, much better compared to the way it left Winnebago. We were pleased with the handling and ride in the end. Perhaps not SUV smooth but, very good for such a large box on a van chassis.

[phillyg]

My '87 Mallard C and '96 Bounder A rode about the same, i.e., lousy.

[FIRE_UP]

kars wrote:
THank you all for your responses, for some reason I really thought an A gasser would be smoother
I will contact dealer to see what they have to say and maybe they can help with the tire pressure, we dont carry anything but 5 little doggies and 2 adults.
few crates
I will try to empty the water tank from now on if I know I am going to a place with water as I dont want to pay gas to move water slushing around.

thank you again , I have learned a few things and will ask on the class C too.

I will contact dealer to see what they have to say

That would be your first mistake. About 98% of dealer salesfolks are absolutely clueless about what they sell. Many folks on here and other RV forums have been mislead in many aspects of their RVs, how to use them, how to set them up, how things work etc. The folks that use them are the ones to ask.

I will try to empty the water tank from now on if I know I am going to a place with water as I dont want to pay gas to move water slushing around.

You're wasting water by dumping it out. There are many that think by running around with a 1/4 tank of water is going to reap big benefits in the mileage department. Well, I'd bet Trumps salary that you won't see one mpg difference. And, what happens if you need that water for ANYTHING? You could get stranded or a break-down of some sort could cause you to have to stay someplace 'till you get fixed and you'd need that water. This is all a matter of choice.

Our coach, an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT, get's 6-7 mpg, with an EMPTY WATER TANK and a full one. It gets that mileage with an EMPTY FUEL tank, as well as a full one. It is no faster in performance with an EMPTY WATER TANK than it is with a full one.

Now, as far as the ride is concerned, well, that's a matter of each individual coach, it's tires, it's suspension and more. We just got back a week ago, from a 6,400 mile trip, around the entire U.S. And, without a doubt, it wouldn't matter what kind of rig you drove, there was much of that trip that jarred out teeth out and we don't have DENTURES!! Michigan takes the First Place Trophy for the worst roads we hit, in 20 states. I run the tires at the prescribed PSI, based on the tire pressure chart of the MFG of the tires, size and weight of the coach.


And, about what, 95% of the Class A gas chassis coaches are on F-53 Ford Chassis. Those have been touted as one of the worst riding gas chassis's. Now, not all of them are that way. It depends on how they're loaded and other factors.


But, in all reality, the smart thing to do is, go to either an RV show where there's plenty of all types to choose from. You won't get a good feel for the ride as most of those will be empty but, you'll get the basics. Next, talk to folks at campgrounds. We've done that zillions of times. About 99.9% of people at most campgrounds are happy to talk about their rigs and experiences. And that includes admitting the bad stuff too.

We've had two Cs and two As. BAD ROADS affected them all. You could have the worst riding coach on the planet but, if you're on a smooth, well done road, then the ride is the same as a very high dollar diesel rig. Smooth is smooth. It's how well the ugly stuff is dampened that makes a difference. Good luck on your search.
Scott

[kars]

THank you all for your responses, for some reason I really thought an A gasser would be smoother
I will contact dealer to see what they have to say and maybe they can help with the tire pressure, we dont carry anything but 5 little doggies and 2 adults.
few crates
I will try to empty the water tank from now on if I know I am going to a place with water as I dont want to pay gas to move water slushing around.

thank you again , I have learned a few things and will ask on the class C too.