I am in planning stage and want a Class C. There is no way I could handle living in only 22 or 24ft. I was thinking maybe I could be a minimalist and fit in a 26ft. I will often be parked near family in a s&b or apt. However, I really want room for a desk area for my new sales job. In a Minnie Winnie Premier I can get a 32ft bunk house model and I think replace the lower bunk with a desk. Any insight as to 1)how much harder to find FREE 32ft parking spots than 26ft? 2)any significant difference in camping in 'rustic' camping areas; national & state parks, rough roads for 32ft vs 26ft? 3)any significant difference in driving in big cities 32ft vs 26ft?

With every foot of length, you have some reduction in options across the board. A 32' rig is not considered huge, and will definitely be able to get into almost all private campgrounds and most public ones. Perhaps in some older systems and forrest service campgrounds you'll have problems (some of them have 22' to 26' max limits).

We definitely have reduced our options for our 35' bus conversion over our previous 17' trailer. But the trade-off for space is so worth it.

Really depends on where you want to be - west coast? east coast? mountains? way out in the boonies? down dirt roads? how large are the free RV parking areas near your family that you want to be? How flexible and adaptable are you? How much planning in advanced are you willing to do to find locations? Will you have a scout vehicle with you to go ahead and check out an iffy looking service road?

That said.. even 'big' rigs can find options. Our friends over at www.wheelingit.us have a 40' motor coach, and they regularly score amazing free wild camping options and get down some mighty tricky roads. But, they admit, it limits their options by quite a bit. They're currently up in the Olympic Peninsula of WA, and are kept out of a lot of the more rustic campgrounds they'd prefer to be in.

- Cherie

There are some shorter Class A's out there that might give you more liveable space than an equal length class C.

It seems any size RV works for living in as long as you are flexible. I've read blogs from people living fulltime in teardrop trailers, converted vans, cars or tents.

For a single person, I think a 23ft to 30ft would provide the best comfort.

Stop thinking about the profile and just think about the box. A 26' rig, whether based on a van, truck, or bus chassis, is going to be somewhere around 26' long, 8' wide, and 10-11' tall. Many Class C rigs don't have much margin between their gross weight and their ready-to-drive weight (full fuel, oil, etc.) so there isn't much weight available for food, clothes, pots and pans, etc. In all fairness, some gass-powered Class A rigs aren't much better.

I hope that you aren't planning on using your coach as your daily driver, taking it to clients/customers, taking it shopping, etc. You will use a huge amount of fuel and add quite a bit to your stress level. Instead, plan on towing a small vehicle behind the MH and use that for the running around. You won't have to take the whole rig into the dense traffic areas, just the toad (towed vehicle).

After a few hours behind the wheel you will be reasonably comfortable in most any MH, so don't worry about the overall length. Instead concentrate on how the arrangement suits you. You mentioned a desk, for example. Our coach has both a dining table and a pull-out table. I'm using my computer right now on that pull-out table. The printer is on the floor of the navigator's station. On travel days I just move it from there to behind that seat. If you are meeting clients/customers you will probably need a somewhat different wardrobe than most full-timers, so make sure that there is closet space for that.

One other bit of advice - buy a high quality USED coach. The higher quality will stand up better than an entry-level coach, and someone else has taken the depreciation hit. Unless you have really done your homework, and gotten extremely lucky, your first coach probably won't be the right rig for you, and you may find yourself trading for something else fairly soon. Many people go through this process two or three times before getting the right coach, so don't be surprised. Spend some time in the prospective coaches imagining where everything will fit and how you will live in it. Where will your business stuff go? Will clients/customers be visiting your coach? If so, how will you handle that? Some layouts are better than others for this. In short, be very critical of any coaches you look at. You will get ideas from all of them, and eventually you will find something that will work for you.

BiggaRView, thanks for the link to Technomadia's desk set-up in their bus. I had missed it. Very interesting read.

kb0zke, you have given me more to consider, especially the actual carrying capacity. It does seem likely that people will not be able to choose exactly what they want for a lifestyle they have not yet experienced. I don't mind the idea of changing later, I mind the idea of losing money on the change :/ Still extremely frugal. I would like to figure out if a bedroom could be changed around to add a desk. Each coach is designed differently with water tank or storage or converters etc underneath the bed. I have gotten references for 2 people who custom build furniture for motorhomes. More research to be done...