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      SAFETY SYSTEMS

      Class As may be the most expensive, most luxurious, most option-packed motorhomes on the road, but they typically don’t have air bags and are not required to be crash-tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Other types of motorhomes (Class Bs and Cs, described later in this chapter) are built around an existing truck cab that comes from the auto manufacturer with airbags and other safety systems you’re accustomed to in a modern car. They also come equipped with in-dash entertainment packages, and heating and air-conditioning systems that keep the driver and passenger in the cab comfortable. Those systems were engineered into the vehicle by the original truck manufacturer and crash-tested by the NHTSA.

      None of that is the case with the typical Class A motorhome cab, which is custom built by the RV maker. In addition to few or no airbags, Class As rarely have any kind of anti-collision warning or avoidance system at all. If you’re driving a diesel-pusher, you don’t even have a big, heavy engine block out in front of you to at least absorb some head-on collision impact.

      If the lack of these types of safety systems is a deal breaker for you, you may want to compromise a little and look at a large Class C motorhome or a fifth-wheel trailer instead.

      Getting used to driving

      Even though they’re big-rig trucks or buses under the floor, these monsters of the RV world really are remarkably easy to drive. These massive rigs generally have air suspensions and air brakes for a smoother ride and greater safety, so you won’t feel like you’re hauling a load of railroad ties to Poughkeepsie. They’ve got automatic transmissions, cruise control, power steering and brakes, everything you’re used to in your Subaru, just a lot more of it. The driver and passenger seats can feel a lot like a La-Z-Boy recliner. And the most recent models are bristling with video cameras and a big video monitor to help you see everything around you before you change lanes or back up.

      

Unlike drivers of commercial trucks, most states don’t require motorhome drivers to have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to drive a Class A motorhome, even if it’s the size of a Walmart semitruck. If you’re considering buying a Class A (or an extremely large fifth-wheel trailer), check with the bureau of motor vehicles in your state about their RV driver’s license requirements. Some may have weight and length restrictions that will require you to pass a CDL test, which can be daunting. Fear not — we talk lots more about piloting your RV in Chapter 11.

Just because somebody handed you the keys and you don’t need a special license to drive one, doesn’t mean it will be as simple as getting used to the quirks of an unfamiliar rental car. As easy to drive as Class A builders try to make them, you can’t just hop in and drive away from the dealer without some basic lessons and practice. Their sheer size, weight, and design make these giants extremely dangerous to you, your passengers, other drivers, pedestrians, and surrounding objects if you don’t know what you’re doing. Fortunately, a few large dealers are starting to come around, offering a driving confidence course. All of them should do so.

      

Any avid watcher of Wile E. Coyote cartoons can tell you that accidents and emergencies can happen at any time. If you’re traveling with a spouse, partner, or friend on a regular basis, they need to get behind the wheel and get comfortable driving your rig, too. Your copilot should know the basics and peculiarities of driving your motorhome and feel confident doing so if need be. If you’re the kind of person who insists on doing all the driving and never relinquishing the driver’s seat under any circumstances, that won’t help anyone if you break your leg or an anvil falls on your head.

      Considering the pros and cons

      Class As excel at being self-contained, with large water and fuel tanks and electric generators. You can pull over anywhere and boondock. They’re quick to set up when you stop and quick to be ready to leave. And they’re among the most spacious RVs available.

      But these massive Class As have their drawbacks. Class As give up their benefits when you have to run an errand or take short day trips. They’re designed for the highway, not downtown city streets or rough terrain. They don’t come in 4-wheel drive models, so you won’t be going mud bogging in a Class A. And if you get stuck trying, you’ll be calling for a giant, very expensive tow truck.

      The biggest issue is where to park such a rolling whale, both when you’re on the road and when you’re not. Because it’s not only your vacation home but your vehicle, too, running to the grocery for that forgotten quart of milk means closing down your entire campsite, pulling up stakes, and taking the whole family to the Piggly Wiggly where you pray there’s a big stretch of empty asphalt to park it in.

      A Class A motorhome won’t fit in your two-car garage at home or the underground parking lot at Grandma’s condo. And forget parallel parking at a space downtown. That’s why you see so many Class A motorhomes towing a car behind them on the road. Fortunately, Class As are designed with towing a second vehicle in mind, because it’s so common.

RVers refer to their towed cars as a toad or dinghy. We talk all about towing your toad in Chapter 19.

      There is an enormous price spread when it comes to shopping for a new Class A motorhome. Class As have a reputation for costing in excess of $200,000 for a high-quality, well-appointed rig. But in recent years, Class A builders have developed lower-priced rigs to appeal to a wider group of shoppers. Depending on market conditions, options, and manufacturers, you’ll encounter prices from as low as $65,000 to over a million dollars. But the overwhelming majority of new Class As range from $80,000 to $150,000.

      BUS CONVERSIONS

      Full-size, commercial, cross-country passenger buses (the kind with the Greyhound logo painted on the side) are made by specialty manufacturers like Prevost. These are also the starting place for the most expensive, top-end, rock-’n-roll-band tour buses, and other million-dollar dream machine motorhomes.

      If you wonder how the billionaire tech moguls at Burning Man manage to cope with the deprivation of desert life far from civilization for a week every year, this is it. Quite literally anything that can fit into 45 feet of metal and fiberglass can be had, if money is no object. Typically, bus conversions have massive water holding tanks, high-wattage electrical generators, and 100+-gallon fuel tanks to power every conceivable appliance for extended periods of time. The latest in onboard electronics and communication technology stays constantly connected to the world. These rigs have custom everything — waterbeds, Jacuzzis, gourmet kitchens, TV screens in every conceivable location, rooftop party decks, giant aquarium tanks… . You name it — anything’s available for a price.

      When you get into this sky-high price range, these are not assembly-line, mass-market vehicles. It’s not uncommon for a custom, luxury RV builder to make only a handful of units every year. And it’s likely that fewer than a hundred of these top-end RVs are made in any given year by all the customizers combined.

      For the not-quite billionaires out there in search of a price deal, some of the larger customizing companies do make a few off-the-shelf, non-customized models that still have the most requested top-end features. And because personal fortunes can rise and fall overnight, along with the bored desire to have something new and shiny every year, there’s a fairly good-size used market for these royal barges. Just be aware of the problems you’ll be taking on, with specialty service and a killer cost of upkeep. Maintenance will be anything but routine.

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