Whether you're planning a weekend getaway or a cross-country tour, choosing the right RV is essential for a comfortable and enjoyable experience.
With three main classes of RVs to choose from—Class A, Class B, and Class C—each offers unique benefits and trade-offs. Here's a breakdown to help you decide which class best suits your adventure style.
Class A Motorhomes: Enormous, Luxurious, and Spacious
What Are Class A RVs?
Class A motorhomes are the largest, most spacious RVs on the market. Built on heavy-duty frames (often truck or bus chassis), these homes-on-wheels are designed for maximum comfort, space, and amenities, perfect for long-haul travelers and full-time RV lifers that are full-time highway and freeway travelers.
The Pros Of Class A RVs
Space & Comfort
Often range from 25-45 feet in length, offering ample room for living areas, full-size kitchens, bathrooms, and sometimes even laundry facilities. This class truly lets you bring ALL of the comforts of home on the road with you, without compromise.
Amenities
Many Class A RVs come with features like king-size beds, large bedrooms, entertainment areas, full bathrooms, multiple slide-outs, and high-tech entertainment systems. Apartment on wheels is not an exaggeration when it comes to this class.
Storage Capacity
Class A’s, due to their size, offer unmatched storage potential. This makes them the ideal for extended trips and even home replacement with ample storage for both indoor and outdoor gear and everything you need to feel completely at home on the road. However, due to this extra storage space, you end up with a much larger, more high-profile vehicle than other classes.
The Cons of Class A RVs
Maneuverability
Due to their large size, Class A RVs can be challenging to drive and park, especially in smaller or crowded campgrounds. Typically, their turning radii are abysmal, their weights are enormous, and their offroad prowess is slim to none. This class can also be extremely intimidating to drive and operate for new RV life converts with a length closer to a semi than a pickup truck.
Fuel Efficiency
Expect significantly lower fuel economy due to the size and weight of these massive Class A RVs. We’re talking single digits in most cases.
Upfront + Maintenance Costs
Typically, the most expensive class both upfront and in terms of maintenance. These RVs can START at over $300,000 and can climb quickly toward the $1,000,000 mark for a completed, luxury build. These classes also take a significant amount of maintenance to keep these large, high-powered, high-torque components running as they are supposed to. These maintenance costs start at nearly $2,000/year and can easily climb much higher. Think of it more like maintaining a home than an on-road vehicle.
Who Are Class A RVs Best For?
Class A RVs are really designed for full-time travelers who prioritize replacing all the amenities they have at home and plan to spend extended time on the road.
Class A’s are also great for those travelers that plan to spend nearly all of their travel time on the pavement and RV parks and have little to no interest in offroad or dispersed camping.
Class B Camper Vans: Compact, Efficient, and Functional
What Are Class B Camper Vans?
Class B RVs, also known as camper vans, are smaller, more compact, and built on a van chassis. These models are great for solo travelers, couples, and families who prefer a minimalistic, go-anywhere approach. These are great for travelers that want the offroad prowess of their pickup truck without having to add a camper shell to their vehicle. These vans also bring a ton of the systems you will see in other classes into their builds while still optimizing the available space in your van.
The Pros of Class B Camper Vans
Ease of Driving
Driving prowess is truly where Class B camper vans shine. With the lengths mimicking that of a standard pickup truck, the driving experience is very predictable and expected and takes the intimidating nature of driving a larger vehicle out of the equation.
Class B camper vans are also the most versatile class allowing you to go from staying in a fully-supported RV park in luxury and comfort to bringing the comforts of home to a completely off-grid, dispersed campsite.
Fuel Efficiency
Compared to larger RVs like Class A and C, Class B vans tend to have significantly better fuel economy. With Mercedes’ turbo diesel motor, we are seeing our vans with a full build getting about 17-20 MPG depending on the type of driving and exploring you will be doing.
Flexibility
Class B Camper Vans are perfect for boondocking and exploring off-the-beaten-path destinations where larger Class A and C RVs can’t go.
Class B’s are perfect for those that love getting off the beaten path and using dispersed camping locations rather than well-established RV parks. With off-grid systems these camper vans are built to get offroad and stay offroad for extended periods of time.
The Cons of Class B Camper Vans
Limited Space
Typically between 18-22 feet long, Class Bs offer less storage space than Class A or C motorhomes.
Depending on your build, this class can also come with fewer amenities, more compact bathrooms and limited storage. However, when you work with an expert van builder, many of these storage problems have been solved with cabinetry, hidden storage, and more!
Smaller Living Area
Class B Camper Vans are really for those that love merging their outdoor spaces with their indoor comfort. Class B vans have much less interior space than other classes and every square inch matters.
That’s why your van’s interior design is so important: it optimizes the available space to give you as much livable space as possible both inside and outside the van. With options like legless awnings, outdoor tables, and more, these vans can still feel spacious while maintaining all of the other benefits a Class B camper van provides in maneuverability and usability.
Who Are Class B Camper Vans Best For?
Class B camper vans are the adventurers choice when it comes to the RV market. Whether you’re a minimalist, a weekend traveler, an empty nester, or someone who prioritizes ease of mobility over space, a Class B camper van is the perfect choice for you.
These camper vans give you access to zones that a Class A or Class C motorhome would never dream of taking on. Built on a chassis that mimics the length of most standard pickups, these vans are not only the most agile, maneuverable option, they also provide you the most on and offroad versatility and let you access your outdoor hobbies, no matter how remote they may be.
Class C RVs: Meeting in the Middle
What Are Class C RVs?
Class C RVs fall between Class A and Class B, often recognized by the distinctive over-cab sleeping area or, in more modern builds, a large cargo box or ambulance body style.
Built on a truck or van chassis with an attached camper, these are your standard Minnie Winnies and other small motorhomes. They aren’t quite as massive as Class A motorhomes, but share many of the same qualities on a smaller scale. This class is still focused heavily on the on-road and RV park user, but one that does not need a 40+ foot apartment on wheels.
The Pros of Class C RVs
A Balance of Space and Usability
Class C RVs typically range from 20-33 feet, providing a balance between spacious interiors and drivability. This class is still very-much designed to stay on the pavement, but these models are much less intimidating to maneuver than your Class A models.
Entertainment Friendly
The over-cab bed and various sleeping options make them great for families or groups without having to add a rooftop tent or carry air mattresses for your guests. These are great for those that want the amenities of a Class A RV without the massive footprint.
The Cons of Class C RVs
Fuel Efficiency: The Middle Ground
Class C RVs live in the middle ground of fuel economy between Class A and Class B. These motorhomes will be less efficient than Class B models, but usually are a significant improvement over Class A mileage.
Maneuverability
Although Class C motorhomes are much more manageable than Class A, their footprint is still much larger than a Class B van. These Class C motorhomes also come with some of the similar drawbacks to maneuverability of the Class A, mostly, they do not perform well offroad and their turning radius and footprint are much larger than a Class B.
Who Are Class C Motorhomes Best For?
Class Cs are a great middle ground for those that want the functionality of a Class A without the massive footprint. C Classes are also great for those that want a little more space on the road, but don’t want to do much offroading or off-grid camping. Great for empty nesters, those that want to visit family, and those that want to explore the U.S. on road.
Comparing Class A, Class B, and Class C RVs
Feature | Class A | Class B | Class C |
|---|---|---|---|
Size | Large (25 - 45 FT) | Small (18 - 22 FT) | Medium (20 - 33 FT) |
Maneuverability | Difficult | Easy | Moderate |
Fuel Efficiency | Low | High | Moderate |
Storage | Ample | Limited | Moderate |
Comfort | High | Moderate | Moderate |
Ideal For | Full-Time On Road | Offroad + On Road | Part-Time On Road |
Why We Build On the Class B Platform
When we set out to build the highest performing camping vehicles on the market, we made a conscious decision to build on the Class B platform.
This platform aligns with our ethos of creating the highest-performing offroad camper vans on the market with its maneuverability combined with its factory setup that is perfect for offroad and off-grid travel.
If you’ve been considering a custom camper van, talk to one of the van build experts at Off Highway Van today! They can talk you through our process, build times, and more to get you on your way to a brand new camper van!
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