RV Rental, Customer Review For Those Considering a Class C: Fleetwood Motorhome RV

Hi. My name is Chelsea. I personally know that choosing the right rental RV is tough. If you’ve narrowed down your options and know you want a class C RV rental (an RV type that many renters love), this is the place to be. Why? Because today I’m going to provide a first hand RV customer review of a Fleetwood motorhome. In particular, I will be reviewing the 2012 Fleetwood Tioga Ranger 31N bunkhouse class C RV. (Phew, that’s a mouthful!). This will help you get a feel for what you can expect from such a rig.

As full-time travelers, my family and I spend a lot of time in our RV. We sleep in the beds nightly, cook all of our meals in the RV kitchen, and use the bathroom on a daily basis. In doing these things, we have found both the good and the bad in this particular RV. Not only that, but because we’ve lived in two other RVs before this one, we have something to compare our experiences in this rig to.

If you’re trying to decide whether this particular rig (or any similar class C RV rental) is the rental RV for you, this RV customer review should help.

How It Drives

Let’s begin our RV customer review with how the RV drives. Up until this rig, we only owned bumper-pull RVs. Because of this, we didn’t really have any other RVs to compare this one to in terms of how it drives. When compared to other vehicles we’ve owned however, I’d say this one is surprisingly similar to a big truck or passenger van.

 

It was easy to learn to drive, and much easier to maneuver than either of our truck-and-trailer setups. This is likely true of any RV of similar size and shape, making a class C rental a great option for someone who is new to the world of RVing and nervous about driving a bigger rig.

 

All that said, the steering on our RV has always felt oddly loose. We’ve been told time and time again that this is “normal,” and I guess it might be. We did get an alignment and requested that the front wheels be toed-in as much as possible. We also added a Safe-T-Plus steering control bar. Both things seemed to help quite a bit, but it’s still a little odd feeling and took some getting used to. Just something to be aware of before you hop behind the wheel of a similar rig!

 

Another thing to note is that our RV did not come equipped with a backup camera. We haven’t added one yet, and while it hasn’t been a big problem thus far, it would be nice to have. If you plan to get a class C RV rental, try to find one with a backup camera for ease of use.

The Layout

You’ll be spending a lot of time in your RV rental, so choosing the right layout is crucial. We spent a lot of time exploring various floorplans at RV shows before purchasing, so we knew this layout was what we wanted—and overall, we’ve been very pleased.

Sleeping Arrangements

This RV (like many class Cs) has an over-the-cab bunk. This is where our 10-year-old sleeps and he appreciates the amount of room it gives him compared to most RV bunks. He also loves the little storage cubbies at the end of the bed and the net that runs along the back wall. 

We loved the idea of a privacy curtain across this bunk, but didn’t love the look of the stock curtain. We replaced it with something a bit lighter and brighter to make the space feel happier, but really, the original curtain functioned just fine.

Our toddler sleeps in the middle “bunkroom.” This isn’t truly a room per se, but rather a simple set of bunk beds in a slide. Some models come with permanent bunks, but ours came with a small table that can be switched to a bottom bunk, as well as a fold-down top bunk.

For us, that lower table stays in bed mode and the top bunk is never folded down or used. We added a bed rail to keep her from falling out at night, used only half of the cushions to create a shorter, toddler-sized mattress, and used the rest of the bed space as a spot to store her toys and books. This has worked very well for our little one, and she enjoys playing on the bed while looking out her own big window.

Finally, there is a short queen bed in the back. This has been just fine for my husband and me. There was a memory foam topper on the mattress when we bought it, and this is what we’ve kept. We will probably switch to a better mattress sometime in the future, and might even build out the bed base in order to create a king size bed. This would also get rid of the crevices on either side of the bed, where things always seem to be dropped and lost.

The back bedroom area has a sliding pocket door, separating it from the rest of the RV. This was a must-have when shopping for our rig and something we very much appreciate.

When it comes to looking for rental class C RVs, I recommend searching for one with a high quality mattress or mattress toppers on the queen bed and curtains or doors between sleeping spaces, if possible.

The Living Area

Originally, this RV had a couch on one side of the living area and a dinette on the other side. Unfortunately, the dinette just wasn’t holding up very well after 10 years and daily use, so we pulled that out and now use a simple setup of folding chairs and TV trays instead. We really like this because the whole setup can be moved/rotated however we like, put away entirely when we need more floor space, or even (in the case of the trays) repurposed as extra “kitchen counter” space.

 

The couch is a jackknife Flexsteel couch that turns into a bed. While it is a very durable couch, it isn’t the most comfortable in the world. Still, it does the job it was intended to do, giving us a place to buckle the kids up while driving and a spot to relax at the end of the day all while holding up to the abuse of two rowdy kids. The ability to quickly create more sleeping space is also nice.

The Kitchen

I really like the layout of this RV kitchen. It is set up in an L shape, meaning everything is easily accessible while cooking. You really can’t have more than one person cooking, but that’s true of any RV kitchen. The microwave and gas oven and stove have been champs, and we’ve only ever had one issue with the refrigerator, which was a quick fix (replacing a fuse).

 

The only real drawback to this RV kitchen is the lack of counter space. But like I mentioned a minute ago, we make up for that by keeping TV trays close at hand so there’s always a surface to set things on. A wooden cutting board laid across the sink can also be used in a pinch. (RVing is all about problem solving!)

The Bathroom

Like all RV bathrooms, the bathroom in this rig is small, but I’m not sure that’s something that can be helped.

I dislike the fact that this bathroom did not come with a small tub for the toddler. I highly recommend that families with small children take this into consideration when deciding what RV to rent.

At some point, we replaced the stock shower curtain setup with a rod that extends outward to give you more space while showering, and we replaced the shower head with an Oxygenics shower head. I didn’t hate the shower before, but I very much enjoy showering in our home now thanks to these upgrades.

The RV came with a porcelain toilet, which is much nicer to use and keep clean than typical plastic RV toilets. This has been a great addition to our RV lifestyle.

Storage For The Fleetwood RV

The storage in this rig is pretty awesome! We have storage bays all around the bottom outside of the RV, including a pass-through storage area at the back (under the master bedroom) and another one that runs beneath the kitchen/living area. Cabinet space is plentiful, and we’ve found spots for everything we need (and more) with room to spare. People looking for a class C rental with plenty of cabinet space need not look any further.

The only complaints I have about the storage in this particular RV are that 1) the pantry is way too shallow and things are always trying to fall out of it when we open the door after a moving day, and 2) there is no true closet, just big drawers and cabinets with shelves. Neither of these is a huge problem for us, and definitely won’t be a big issue in a short term rental RV.

Build Quality For The Fleetwood RV

The quality of this RV is much higher than either of the travel trailers we owned before it. All cabinets seem much sturdier, but the default plastic clips that keep them closed do tend to break (those are easy enough to replace). The floor is solid, even when I jump around on it while teaching online dance lessons, and we’ve only noticed one small leak in the back corner, which a bit of sealant patched up without issue. Our roof has held up nicely with the usual resealing and maintenance, and the A/C, furnace, water heater (propane only), fridge, oven, stove, and microwave have all been wonderful.

 

This RV came equipped with an onboard Onan generator, which has been a game changer for us. It now has around 2,049 hours on it and is still going strong, despite how little maintenance we’ve actually done on it. This is definitely a high quality piece of equipment and I would 100% spend the extra money to buy another Onan if I ever need to replace it.

 

I am not very well versed when it comes to things under the hood of the RV, but I can tell you that this RV has over 120K miles on it and is as strong as ever. We’ve never had to make a single mechanical repair and have only had to do regular maintenance such as oil changes and changing out the spark plugs. The thing just always starts right up, making it the perfect class C RV rental!

Other Notes

Some other things that could be important to note in this RV customer review:

• As is the case with all class C RVs, the cargo carrying capacity on this RV is relatively low. According to the sticker, you don’t want the total weight of cargo and passengers to go above ~1,576 lbs.
• This RV came with traditional, house-style mini blinds. They didn’t last long around our kids and were annoying and loud when we drove, so we replaced them pretty quickly with pull-down shades from IKEA. If you do decide on a class C RV rental, try to find one with shades rather than mini-blinds!

 

All of the power outlets in the kitchen and living area are located in the bottoms of the cabinets. This makes plugging things in a bit awkward, but we make it work.

PS You Can Rent A Fleetwood Tioga Class C Before You Buy

All in all, we really do love this RV and we would buy it again in a heartbeat. Yes, there are some small annoyances and we have made some changes (with more to come), but it has been a solid rig for us.

Switching from a bumper-pull to a class C with a built-in generator has changed the way we travel for the better, giving us more freedom to boondock and explore in comfort. It also removes the need to hitch up every time we want to move and gives us the ability to have a small car to drive on a day-to-day basis.

If you are considering renting a Fleetwood Tioga class C, I would highly recommend going for it! A class C RV rental is the perfect way to jump into the world of RVing, and a great option for seasoned RVers who wish to continue to explore the world with ease.