General ? about slides

[LittleMoose]

I am really perplexed regarding all the smaller class Cs and their full side slide out. It seems that every make and model* is designed to where you must have the slide extended to use the living quarters, especially the bed. To me the appeal of having the 25' size range RV was so one can easily pull over, park, and relax quickly about anywhere you find yourself in order to get some shuteye, have a snack, or just relax before continuing on your adventure. But needing to extend slide to use RV, wouldn't that exclude you from parking in rest stops and other places where using slide out is frowned upon? What am I missing here? If one was going to pay to be in a park (with hookups and to be able to extend slides) all the time, why not just buy a bigger RV in the first place? It seems to me at first thought that having to use your slideout defeats a major reason you buy a small class C.


* Leisure Travel makes the Wonder where you have no slides, even with their murphy bed model. Is no one else thinking this through along my way of thinking, or am I way off base once again?

[Seeking70]

Originally Posted by LittleMoose

I am really perplexed regarding all the smaller class Cs and their full side slide out. It seems that every make and model* is designed to where you must have the slide extended to use the living quarters, especially the bed. To me the appeal of having the 25' size range RV was so one can easily pull over, park, and relax quickly about anywhere you find yourself in order to get some shuteye, have a snack, or just relax before continuing on your adventure. But needing to extend slide to use RV, wouldn't that exclude you from parking in rest stops and other places where using slide out is frowned upon? What am I missing here? If one was going to pay to be in a park (with hookups and to be able to extend slides) all the time, why not just buy a bigger RV in the first place? It seems to me at first thought that having to use your slideout defeats a major reason you buy a small class C.


* Leisure Travel makes the Wonder where you have no slides, even with their murphy bed model. Is no one else thinking this through along my way of thinking, or am I way off base once again?

The benefit of the FW slide to us (Isata 3 24FW) is the amount of living space when camping. We have theater seats rather than the dinette and can easily nap in them if needed when at a Cracker Barrel, rest area, etc. We are full time RVers and the convenience and ease of hooking up, unhooking and travelling in a smaller RV has been worth the loss of a full time bed and other trade offs.
There are other small C options without full wall slides or no slides in the Sprinter (not necessarily Dynamax), but it has worked for us so far.

[bclemens]

As someone who has been doing this for quite a while....you are way off base, not for the thought, but for thinking everyone uses their RV the same.

There are lots of threads about TV's, viewing angles, satellite hook ups, swivel seats and entertaining. We just got back from a week long trip. I watched TV for all of "0" minutes and we swiveled the seats all of "0" times.

I think everyone is different and thus their wants/needs are different.

Find a 24' Motorhome that has the room that a 24FW has when it is parked? it just doesn't exist. So if you want a motorhome that will have a fixed bed that you can take a nap...you are giving up tons of floor space and size for something that you will use only "ever so often", unless that is the way you camp and you do it a lot. Then you buy a non-slide. Or maybe you take a nap in the cab over, or on the sofa.

To me, the appeal of a 24-25' motorhome is the ease of traveling. Maybe not needing a tow vehicle and using roads that you cannot use in a 36' motorhome. I don't know that I have ever pulled over for a nap...we pull over for a snack/lunch, stretch some legs and we try to get to the next campsite.

Service Plaza on most of the Ohio toll road seemed to have RV hook ups too. Power, water, dump. I saw several people there with slides out. Frankly, with an app, I can have a slide out in about 30 seconds after stopping.

[ETF]

Brian, that was one of your best posts.

It really sums up the essence of RVing. We are all different. We all use our units differently. We all have different preferences, wishes and requirements. Unfortunately, it took us about 12-years of experimenting with different rigs before we came to Dynamax. Finally, we have an RV that I like to drive and my wife likes to travel and live in. It took a while but I think we're where we want to be as far as RVs are concerned.

[oldsmasma]

We aren’t Dynamax owners. Yet. But we are small class C owners. Our older Lexington is 28’ with 3 slides. We owned a fifth wheel that was pretty much useless with the slide in and like that ours is fully functional with all 3 slides in. We lose the walk around part of the bed but that’s no big deal for us. We have good access to the kitchen, bathroom and dinette while on the road. Pop out those opposing slides in the living area and bam! We’ve got lots of space. No need for a toad either.

[Sandiegodoug]

To me, the isata 3 fw was a compromise. Wife wanted a big comfy rv. I wanted a small rv that I could fit on tent sights and was easy to drive. She got her walk around queen bed and big couch. I
got my fuel efficient, easy to drive rv. With slide in, can still access bathroom and refrigerator, and sit at the couch and eat.

[ferrisjc]

Brian summed it all up for the many reasons folks purchase a small class C. I personally love the fact that I can camp in any location with a 24-25' RV motorhome. I can park at any rest stop without having to go into the Big truck, cars with trailers/5th wheel area. We don't travel with a toad so when we go to Walmart or any grocery store we can park a bit outside of the normal car area and shop. The full slide out gives us the comfort and necessary living space for two people and a pup. We bought the RV with the intent it would be vacation, long weekend RV and don't have any intention of making it a full-time live in RV. For us it is perfect. Just a couple of bikes and we can get around any campground for exploring. Being close to retirement it fits the bill for our lifestyle.

[Sandiegodoug]

Every time I go camping at least one couple wants to look inside
And many downsizing from a big class a . They want a comfortable rv that the wife can drive. Dynamax
relatively rare here in SoCal.

[Riverbend]

For us, the Isata 3 24FW is exactly what we wanted/needed, and our first trip just reinforced that notion. It handles exceptionally well. The diesel mpg was much better (8-9 vs 13-15) than our previous gas RV. We went virtually everywhere we wanted to go with easy navigating and parking and only minimal consideration. We could use the living space with the slide in for bathroom breaks and lunches. We brought our two dogs, 90# & 18#, and didn't feel cramped. The slide, rear stabilizers and awning took about 5 minutes to engage. So, and as explained so well by Brian, we found just the right RV for how we like to travel.

[Magnatudes]

I would not have a problem with a 27-28ft bumper to bumper with 2 slides provided that the rear slide accomodates a full to queen bed fully usable with the slide in, even it is sacrifices walkaround. The other slide should provide a place to dine whether the slide is in or out and when extended it provides for an adult-sized (full to queen 6ft+), easy-to-open/close without removing or repositioning cushions, preferably with electric powered footrests when used as a sofa. Individual dining tables could be mounted permanently and swing out of the way for access to the sofa or adjusted to be useful when the bed is extended. Bathroom in the center with pocket doors on each end for privacy between bedroom and living space. Something very close to what Brian has already been toying with for a M2 shorty, but a bit shorter.

P.S. also with large pass-thru storage under rear bedroom similar to an Isata 3RW

[ETF]

Before we got the Dynamax, I was intrigued by small Class "C" and Class "B" motorhomes. I don't think we would have been able to do the type of camping we do now but I wanted something for a week-end at the lake or State park and where we could drive those back country roads without worrying about a low branch ripping something off the roof. I found one that I thought would be really workable. I took my wife to see it. She didn't even get inside. She stood by the door, surveyed the interior, didn't say anything but she turned around and walked away. After 40 years of marriage I can take a hint if it's not too subtle. That wasn't even close to being subtle. Back in the car she said, "If we were stuck in that thing for two days because of bad weather, I'd end up killing you". That seemed like a good reason to move on to my next choice.

A small 24 foot RV with full wall slide still interests me but I'd need to be traveling alone. It would be safer that way.