Just what is your Cruiser?

I participate on a couple of forums and they all have various categories for specific information sharing on a particular model, A, B, C, etc. What do you consider your Cruiser? A C or a B+? According to most popular definitions a C is built on a van cut-away. But to me a C always had the huge cab overhang. Virtually no one acknowledges a B+. And a B is considerably smaller.
Just wondering. Where do you place your coach?

We figured it's a "C". We used to say B+ or super B but it is now usually listed as a C. All those other rigs built on the E350 and E450 chassis are usually designated C.

To confuse the issue, I'm pretty sure the new Phoenix TRX would be considered a B.

Side story: We were just at the factory getting our 12 volt system fixed (more on that elsewhere). I briefly met a man that owns a 2100. He was picking up parts and got to check out the TRX. It was love at first sight. It is almost identical to the 2100 inside but sleek on the outside and perfect for stealth camping. It can slide into most regular parking spaces without a problem. It can only tow 3000 pounds but that works for what this gentleman called himself - a "roadtripper". He was seriously excited and I suspect he'll have a new Phoenix TRX soon. (Hi M!)

2100 and 2350 owners BEWARE - your perfect rig might be waiting for you at the factory or a Camper's Inn lot. Visits to just "check them out" could result in a sleek new rig.

It's a B+ but on campground registration forms, we just check off the Class C box.

I consider ours a B+

Like anyone cares, but here is the reasoning -

A class 'B" may have pieces widening the bottom, but the overall width is the same as the passenger van.

A class 'B+' is wider than a 'B' and I think have a higher build quality than most 'C's. Personal observation, NOT a researched fact.

A class 'C" has a bed above the cab, and around 2 feet higher than a B+

My  2350 is ""Less than 8′ wide and under 10′ high"" (per PC literature) Mine is 9'6" to the top of the AC, which is not the stock one, while the Itasca 24FW  Class C,  eight inches longer, is about two feet higher!  But both are about the same width, 93/94 inches. 

I know the handling was MUCH worse in crosswinds with the 3 class C's we rented, Ford based,  all 25-28 foot long.  We did get to 80 MPH down on Hwy 60 in one of the rentals, but it sounded like a C130 cargo plane and was not steady. They liked 60-65 best.  I am VERY comfortable cruising 75-80 all day in my 2350.  And quiet enough I can Mrs V's dainty snoring in back while I am driving at those speeds down the same highway. All empirical, but I feel they show the differences between B+ and C.

But I think Don said it best -

It's a B+ but on campground registration forms, we just check off the Class C box.

 
 

Who knows.............

RIVA who sets the standards for RV's says that there is no such thing as a B+ RV.  The name was given to certain non bunk over units by some manufactures as advertising hype.

RIVA considers all makes of finished vans that are converted to an RV to be a class B.  All cut away and cab chassis that are built into RV's to be class C.

Just sayin......

Hutch

The  B+ is bigger then a Class B, but yet smaller then a Class C  RV.   Can you call the Phoenix Cruiser a  C - ?    It's smaller then a Class C but bigger then a Class B ? LOL

The  B+ is bigger then a Class B, but yet smaller then a Class C  RV.   Can you call the Phoenix Cruiser a  C - ?    It's smaller then a Class C but bigger then a Class B ? LOL

Micro-C, Mini C, 'C' and Super C!       

2003 2350 B Plus Mini Motorhome:

23' 5" L x 93” W
158" wheelbase for ease of getting in to or out of tight spots
Separate front living room/ aft bedroom areas and a real mattress
Doesn’t require extending a slideout to sleep
Dry bathroom with usable shower stall
Slideout w/ 54” sofa bed transforms into a living room or additional bed
Plentiful storage w/ huge exterior compartment under the bed and 3 large cabinets over the cab
Big refrigerator and freezer
41 gallon fresh water tank
Lower roof height and tapered  sides prevent  passing trucks from blowing  it around
E350 chassis with go anywhere V10 power
11 mpg

I refer to my 3100 as a "C" after having campgrounds try to make my spot a van sized.  No B+ on their systems so they would use their box for B and didn't pay attention to length.  Easier to just tell everyone it is a C rather than explaining, even in casual conversations, what the difference is.

Hutch is right on target with his RIVA comments. 

 In about 2002 Gulfstream introduced a Class C without bed over the cab.  That area had four cabinets and an old CRT analog TV of some size and lots of weight up there.   Gulfstream called this new model a BT Cruiser and declared it a B+........more than a B, less than a C.   I bought one new in 2003 and enjoyed it for a few years.   The quality was, as I knew, not the quality of the little 1996 Roadtrek 190 Popular we had purchased seven years earlier.   The BT Cruiser was eight feet wide and about 24 feet long and had a small tub/shower combo in a nice sized bathroom and a very nice L shaped kitchen area.   A very large window was on either side of the coach and ours had two gaucho sofas facing each other, one on either side.   There was a slide on the drivers side which moved that couch out about two feet.   

This proved very popular in concept and soon other C manufacturers had adopted the modification over the cab and declared their models B+ as well.   RIVA still called 'em a C and still does call them a C.   They recognize A's, B's and C's.   Period. 


When I first got the coach home, I reinforced every cabinet in it and checked every visible bolt.  I considered it so vulnerable structurally that I reinforced under some cabinet areas with custom cut reinforcements I made.   Still, it was an enjoyable rv on a Ford 450 chassis.  I considered it an entry level product the day I bought it and still maintain that thought.   

So began, as I understand it, the term B+, a C without a bed over the cab and a bit more sexy than a regular old C.   By the way, Gulfstream quit producing BT Cruisers for a few years around the 2008 economic troubles but brought them back three or four years ago.   I went through one at the Dallas RV Show a few months after the reintroduction and it was an exact duplicate of our old BT Cruiser with modern fixtures and finishes.    And the old analog tv was no more 

Paul

   Gulfstream called this new model a BT Cruiser and declared it a B+........more than a B, less than a C. 

Neat to know where the 'B+' came from! 

We were parked by a BT Cruiser at a fest, and I was interested at how many external things were SO similar between our PC and the BT. The rear of the PC looked like someone took the BT, remodeled it with a spare and storage, and made a mold.  BT Cruiser / Phoenix Cruiser... name similar.  Was there a bit of copycat going on? So far it has been the only other Mini-C that I have seen that looked so similar.

Although instead of Mini-C I am leaning towards saying 'Compact-C'.  Not a B+, so people dont get their 'panties in a wad'.  Similar angst going on in the auto blogs with BMW  calling a 4 door a 'coupé'..    Plus Mini-C sounds like I am referring to a Mini Cooper. 

So far it has been the only other Mini-C that I have seen that looked so similar.

The Forest River Lexington looks almost identical. It doesn't have the quality build Phoenix has and the first owner we met immediately wanted our rig when he saw us drive into the campground. He was checking out our wheel base and said the tail wag on his Lexington was so bad he had trouble driving it. He had just bought it!

That was an interesting day because we were also approached by the owner of a new class C and he ALSO wanted to take his one-day-old rig back and and buy one like ours. We were the rock stars of the campground!

Mine will be ready mid-march.  I tell people it's a "C -".  I know there is no such thing anymore than the B+ but I can explain it's a class C without the bunk over the cab; hence, a C minus (the bunk).  Probably best to call it a C at campgrounds so you can get a spot big enough.  My previous coach was a 39" Newmar diesel pusher. 

It may be that Phoenix had this design before Gulfstream and the BT Cruiser, I don't know.  But PC was really a small, mostly unknown company back then and Gulfstream was a mostly trailer builder with a lot of breadth and dealers, so naturally if PC was first with the design Gulfstream was the first to really get it out there.   There was another dog in that hunt back then that really became popular in a couple of years and was comparable but my mind simply cannot recall the name of the outfit.   You still see a lot of the old BT Cruisers on the road.   Here is a link to the new one that is almost identical to the one I bought long ago.  Even then, when I saw my first Phoenix Cruiser I was smitten and the quality difference between my BT Cruiser and the PC was instant to note.

https://www.gulfstreamcoach.com/products/motorhomes/btcruiser/model/5230

Paul

EDIT - Dont want to make it seem like I am badmouthing PC, was just making an observation. I found PC started in 1997, but cant get a good source for the 'beginning' of the BT.  Looking at the pics more and more, i do see MANY differences (angled sides are a HUGE one...) that I had not noticed.

And as to build quality - PC is second to none. My other friends with older class C's get that HORRIFIED look when I go walking on my roof (all 225# of me) and I jump on it to show the strength. Several tell me the process for going on their roof involves putting down 2 foot wide 3/4 inch plywood runners to walk on.     Another with a 2012 C stores it with a brace holding the roof AC up so it does not puddle around it during storage. 

Until (and big IF) we upgrade to a super C, the PC is Numero Uno in our book. After seeing ours, we had another friend buy a 2350 (2005 iirc...) , and she is now on the FB group.   

Quote from: Volkemon on November 27, 2019, 06:15:53 am

So far it has been the only other Mini-C that I have seen that looked so similar.

The Forest River Lexington looks almost identical.

When I did the initial BT/PC comparison,  we had only had the rig for a couple months. Now I see several differences, but it is still similar. I dont see the 'family butt'  on the Lexington (looked at a 2014 also, but pictures a 2006 to keep everyone the same age.

Lexington -



BT -



PC (without the classy spare..  )