Class A campers are the biggest motorhomes available. They are the campers that look like a tour bus going down the road! They will offer the most space of any of the motorhomes. This is the motorhome of choice for anyone who will live out of their camper, or be a “full timer”. It is also very popular with the “snowbirds”. Snowbirds are the individuals who are mostly retired and travel South for the winter to avoid the cold and snow. This segment of the population tends to be a bit older and can be limited mobility wise. That said, this is where the class A shines!

When you get to your campsite when in a class A, setup is as easy as it gets. Once the unit is parked where you wish, most setup items can be done from inside of the coach. First you will typically hit the auto-level function to level the camper. The unit will level itself with the touch of a button. From there the slides can be extended, if equipped. If you will be set up for any length of time this is when you can exit the unit and plug the power cord in. After that, hook up your water supply and if needed you can plumb in your waste water to onsite sewage. When you are done, reverse the process and off you go!

The first question you need to ask when shopping for this type of unit is gas or diesel? Let’s compare the two. A gas unit will cost less than a diesel. Gas units will mostly be on a Ford Chassis. These are made for the RV industry and have been the de facto for this type of unit since the economic crash of 2008-2009. Chevy had the Workhorse chassis that was being used on gas units up until this point. Ford has used the tried and true 6.8L V10 engine since that point, only switching to the newer and updated V8 in recent years. Towing capacity with these units will top out around 5,000lbs. There are some units that will take cargo capacity into account and will offer up to 8,000lbs of towing capacity. That does come at the expense of cargo carrying capacity of the coach however. 

When driving a gas coach down the road, the engine is up front, between the driver and passenger. With the engine placement where it is, it does make noise. When towing, the noise increases. If towing through the mountains, it will be more noticeable as the motor will be working harder in the thinner air to make the power it needs. That brings us to our next point, weight. A gas engine is limited to how much weight it can carry. Think semi, you don’t have gas semis going down the road as it just cannot compete with the power of diesel. The same is true here. The more the coach weighs, the less efficient it is. That said, the interior of a gas class A has to take that into account. It has to be built light to be as efficient as possible. That means lighter woods, laminate flooring and overall a shorter coach. Due to this, the cost of the coach will be less. These coaches will use traditional hydraulic brakes. Same as your everyday car or truck uses. The suspension is the traditional gas shocks and either leaf springs or coil over units. Being as light as they are, they do not require air brakes or special equipment.

Now let’s talk about a diesel class A, otherwise known as a diesel pusher or a “pusher” for short. It gets its name for the location of its engine. They are typically in the rear of the coach. There are some units out there, mostly older, that had front engine diesels (FRED) for short. This type of unit did not catch on as a diesel engine is loud. When placed up front, it makes even more noise than a gas unit. When the engine is in the rear, it can be whisper quiet up front. This will give a much more pleasant, and greater quality of experience. There are a few different lengths of units, but most pushers are approaching the 40’ mark or even longer. As for which engine is used, it varies. There are also different options for chassis. The chassis and engine combination is what will set this unit apart from others in this segment.

As you get into bigger and more powerful engines, a stronger, stiffer chassis is needed to carry the additional weight and power. As this happens, it allows for more weight  overall to be carried. This is when you start getting into tiled floors, solid surface countertops, and all the high end amenities that you can think of. The chassis will set you apart- due to the flex it has, or lack thereof. As you start adding all of these “upgrades” to the coach, things get interesting. Think of a piece of ceramic tile. It is solid and does not flex, it breaks. If the floor of the coach flexes, you guessed it, broken tiles. All campers bend and flex to some extent, but these big pushers do their best to eliminate that. The suspension is upgraded to an air ride system to help. The brakes are air brakes to accommodate the greater weights. The towing capacities are generally greater, going up to 20,000 lbs or more! It is not uncommon for the manufacturer to include “extra” tiles for you to replace broken ones with.

There are entry level units made with smaller engines and look more like a traditional class A. They will offer some of the benefits of a pusher without all of the cost associated with it. It will typically have a smaller engine and a less rigid chassis and be built accordingly. As you start to go up the price point ladder, you start adding on amenities. The sky’s the limit here, but you can easily spend millions of dollars on a coach. Most singers will travel in high end rigs as they tour the country. Prevost is the name here that will outfit most of these rigs. These are rock solid rigs and are quite literally a house on wheels. Most won’t need this level of coach, but it does exist and is an option if you are lucky enough to be able to afford it. That said, a very nicely equipped “affordable” can be had for the half a million mark, give or take. These are not typically used for regular camping, but they can be!

Without jumping into too much detail, when you are getting into the higher level of coaches, you will get a higher level of systems to run your coach. Most high end units do not utilize forced heat from the traditional camper furnace for example. They will use a system called Aqua-Hot. It will heat the coach, water, and add various other benefits to the rig. A pusher will typically have a very large “basement” or storage under the main floor of the coach. There can be drawers and cabinets, full on entertainment systems, really anything that you can think of. 

For the typical camper consumer, I will assume that if you are getting into a pusher, it will be somewhere on the lower end of the pricing scale (½ mill range or lower) as I do not mean this to be an all inclusive article, just a good place to begin. That being said, if you are looking for a great rig to live in, or have a large trailer to tow, or are otherwise less capable than the typical person, want the ease of use, this is a great place to look. Depending on your state, local regulations will dictate if you need a special license to operate these units. In Wisconsin where I am from, I do not need any special training or endorsements. I can just hop in and drive!