Regular C RV vs. Super C RV - Why Did We Upgrade?
For about three years, we traveled the country for vacations and extended stays in our 2019 Jayco Greyhawk 31F, a “regular” Class C RV. We purchased that RV brand new in 2019 for around $85K (MSRP was ~$142K at the time). We called her “Birdie,” and absolutely loved her. Yet, as soon as we made the crazy (but well-researched) decision to live in our RV on a full-time basis, we knew we needed to get a new RV.
Hold on. This was 2022, and that meant that we couldn’t just walk into an RV dealership, test-drive one, and buy the RV that we wanted. Instead, we had to order the RV – sight unseen – from an RV dealership that we had never dealt with before. Yep, we didn’t have the luxury of walking through the RV we thought we wanted. We were going to be dropping some serious bank on this RV too – like $250K-ish – so this also seemed a little crazy.
We researched EVERYTHING we could about types of RVs, and tried to make sure we weren’t making a mistake.
What are the Classes of RVs?
There are various types of RVs: Class A, Class B, and Class C are all motorhomes, i.e., they come on a chassis with a motor. Fifth wheels, travel trailers, toy-haulers, pop-up campers, and truck campers don’t have a motor so we would have needed a big truck to tow them with. We knew we wanted a motorhome so that we could continue to tow our Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk behind us. Based on our prior research (see our 2019 blog “We Married Up to a Class C Motorhome”), we felt comfortable sticking with a Class C motorhome.
What is a Super C RV vs a “Regular” Class C RV?
Class C RVs are built on chassis similar to a pickup truck or a box truck. The engine is always in the front and they have a signature cab-over design that provides storage or sleeping space above the driver/passenger area.
“Super” Cs are simply just bigger and more bad-ass than a regular C. People argue about what makes something a “Super C.” One commonality is that that a Super C RV runs on diesel instead of gasoline. Usually, they are built on a Freightliner or International chassis. Some of the major Super Cs manufacturers on the market are:
Thor (Inception and Pasedena)
Nexus (Triumph SC, Wraith, Ghost, Rebel 4x4)
Dynamax (Europa, Force, DX3, Dynaquest XL)
Jayco (Seneca and Seneca Prestige)
Entegra (Accolade and Accolade XL)
Renegade (Verona, Verona LE, Valencia, Ikon, Explorer, Classic)
Newmar (Supreme Aire, Superstar)
Some of these manufacturers also build what some call “mini” or “baby” Super Cs – which are usually on a diesel-driven Ford or Ram chassis have a smaller footprint (e.g., Thor Omni, Thor Magnitude, Dynamax Istata 5, Renegade Veracruz). Others Class C RVs are built on a diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis (e.g., Dynamax Istata 3, Renegade Vienna, Jayco Melbourne and Melborne Prestige, Entegra Qwest) with an even smaller footprint. Most people do not consider these to be “Super C” RVs because of the size though.
For us, it was “Go Big” AND “Go Home". We ended up purchasing a 2022 Entegra Accolade XL 37L. The bunkhouse floor plan we like is very similar to the Greyhawk 31F except the Accolade is just A LOT more “super.”
2019 Jayco Greyhawk 31F bunkhouse floorplan
2022 Entegra Accolade XL 37L bunkhouse floorplan
Comparing a Regular C to a Super C RV
To give you an idea about the differences between regular C and a Super C RV, here’s a comparison of the specifications for our Jayco Greyhawk vs. the Entegra Accolade XL 37L Super C we purchased:
|
|
Jayco Greyhawk 37L (2019) “Regular” C RV |
Entegra Accolade XL 37L
(2022) Super C |
|
ENGINE |
||
|
Ford
E450 |
Freightliner
S2RV |
|
|
Engine |
Triton®
6.8L EFI V-10 |
Cummins®
ISB 6.7L |
|
Horsepower |
305
hp @ 4,250 RPM |
360
hp @ 2,600 RPM |
|
Torque |
420
ft-lbs @ 3,250 RPM |
800
ft-lb @ 1,800 RPM |
|
Fuel
Tank |
55-gal
gasoline |
100-gal
diesel |
|
DIMENSIONS |
||
|
Length |
32.5 ft |
39.33 ft. |
|
Height |
11.67 ft |
13.33 ft |
|
Wheel Base |
18.58 ft |
23.25 ft |
|
TOWING |
||
|
Towing Capacity |
7,500 lbs |
12,000 lbs |
|
GVWR |
14,500 lbs |
31,000 lbs |
|
OCCC* |
1488 lbs |
5133 lbs |
|
HOLDING TANKS |
||
|
Freshwater Tank |
47 gal |
72.0 gal |
|
Gray Tank |
41 gal |
81.0 gal (2 tanks – 50 and
31 gal) |
|
Black Tank |
32 gal |
50.0 gal |
|
POWER |
||
|
Electric |
30 amp |
50 amp |
|
Generator |
Onan 4000 |
Onan 8000 W with auto-gen
start |
|
Heating Source |
13.2 gal propane |
40,000 btu/hr Aqua-Hot 250D |
|
Inverter |
1000 W |
2000 W |
|
Air Conditioners |
Two 15,000 btu |
Two 15,000 btu with heat
pumps |
|
Solar |
Solar-ready |
Yes – 190W panel |
|
MISCELLANEOUS |
||
|
Slides |
1 |
3 |
|
Paint |
Stickers |
Full-body paint |
|
Awning |
18 ft |
19' 8" (Girard “armless”) |
|
Washer/Dryer |
No |
Yes - Whirlpool |
|
Refrigerator |
Norcold Absorption (12 cubic
feet) |
Whirlpool Residential (21
cubic feet) with ice maker |
|
Cooking |
Propane Stove |
Induction cooktop
(electric) |
|
Floors |
Vinyl |
Ceramic – Heated floors |
|
Fireplace |
No |
Yes – 5000 Btu |
|
Bed |
Queen |
King |
|
Power cord reel |
No |
Yes |
|
Outdoor TV |
No |
Yes |
|
*OCCC= Occupant and Cargo
Carrying Capacity (yellow sticker on door) |
||
Entegra Accolade XL 37L — At NIRVC in LaVergne, Tennessee
Check out that horsepower, torque, and OCCC! That is what really makes the RV a Super C!
Jayco Seneca vs. Entegra Accolade
Jayco Senecas and Entegra Accolade are basically the EXACT same RVs – just a different brand. In fact, both brands say “Jayco” as the manufacturer on the title. For a given model, the MSRP is the same. The floor plans are the same. Entegra has been owned by Jayco since 2008. In 2016, Thor Industries acquired Jayco, and that sale included the Entegra coach lines. I’ve been a member of both of the owner groups on Facebook for at least a year, and from what I can tell, the build quality is quite similar for both brands.
The main differences between Senecas and the Accolades are the exterior paint schemes and the interior designs. The only reason that we picked and Accolade over the Seneca is that we liked the color schemes of the Accolade marginally better.
Jayco Seneca Prestige and the Entegra Accolade XL Upgrades
Both Jayco and Entegra allow buyers to purchase an upgraded model. Jayco calls their upgraded model the Seneca Prestige, while Entegra has named their model the Accolade XL. The MSRP for our upgraded rig was around $366K (May 2022 purchase) , but we were able to find two dealerships that offered OVER 30% off of MSRP.
At the time of this blog, the major differences between the base model and the upgraded model for the 37L bunkhouse design were the following:
|
Jayco Seneca |
Jayco Seneca Prestige |
|
Regular steering wheel |
Tilt and telescoping steering wheel |
|
Overhead storage above sofa |
Overhead storage above sofa and dinette |
|
Standard awning |
Girard “armless” awning |
|
Glue-down vinyl flooring |
Porcelain tile flooring |
|
Propane heat source |
Aquahot tankless water heater |
|
No heated floors |
Heated floors (including the basement storage area) because of
the Aquahot system |
|
Combo washer-dryer |
Separate washer and dryer |
Another important difference between the base model and the upgrade model is the factory lines where the units are made. Both are made at the Jayco manufacturing plant in Middlebury, Indiana. The upgraded Prestige/XL models are manufactured in the same building as the expensive Entegra Class A diesel pushers— reportedly because they all contain tile flooring. In contrast, the base models are made in the same building with other Jayco motorized units, including the Jayco Greyhawk. Put another way, the Prestige/XL models made on the same line as $500K-$800K RVs where as the base model Accolades/Senecas are likely the most expensive rigs in their plant.
(2023 Update/Addendum: After writing this blog, we took a tour of both manufacturing facilities. My personal opinion is that the quality control is better on the Prestige/XL line compared to the base model line.)
The upgrades increase the MSRP about $30K. Although pricey, we are VERY happy with these upgrades.
Because we are both vertically challenged, the ability to move the steering wheel is not just nice, but also makes us feel safer.
I love that our overhead storage in the living area DOUBLES!
While I was a little worried about how porcelain title flooring might hold up in and RV – basically a moving box jiggling down the road – so far, so good. (Our rig came with extra tile.)
Because we will inevitably encounter some colder weather, we are very much looking forward to the heated floors. We didn’t even have heated floors in our sticks-and-bricks house so I think this will feel like true luxury. There is annual maintenance that must be performed on the Aquahot system, but it seems fairly straightforward.
I actually look forward do doing laundry now. The washer and dryer units are small, but that just means we end up doing a load about every other day. We did sacrifice some closet space for the separate units, but we’ve found other places to store our clothes.
For now, we think that the extra money is worth it. We’ve had our new RV for about 2 months so only time will tell.
2024 Update: Here’s a list of issues we had with BIG LADY during our first two years of ownership:
(1) Aquahot - 3-way valve broke (mobile tech fixed)
(2) Aquahot - Reservoir cracked (mobile tech fixed)
(3) Aquahot - Replaced thermocouple (mobile tech fixed)
(4) Aquahot heat won't run off batteries. We have to turn on the generator for it to fire when boondocking (somehow, the issue seemed to resolve itself)
(5) Two cracked tiles (barely noticeable)
(6) Overspray paint issues & some touch-ups on paint job (came like that from factory)
(7) Paint on caulk fell off (especially around outdoor TV)
(8) In-floor heat stopped working (we repaired ourselves; faulty thermocouple located in tile accessed through fireplace)
(9) Fresh water tank sagged. Jayco tried to “fix” it, but not to our satisfaction
(10) Dinette window once leaked at bottom during a heavy storm (only one time)
(11) Entry door flaps while driving (we fixed ourselves)
(12) Bedroom (Schwintek) slide tracks are off by about 1/4” (minor adjustment)
(13) Dryer outlet stopped working (fixed at Jayco factory)
(14) Bedroom slide topper screws sheared (we removed slide topper; slide topper was reinstalled at Jayco factory)
(15) Passenger side camera stopped working (“fixed: at Jayco factory, although it periodically stops working and we have to check the connection)
(16) Freightliner valve stem recall (fixed by Freightliner)
(17) DEF header failure (fixed by Freightliner)
(18) Motor on our large slide went out (we replace ourselves)
We have a warranty repair appointment with our dealer scheduled for September 2024. We tried to schedule with Jayco/Entegra, but the appointments must be scheduled 6 months in advance and fill up within minutes. (We sent our email at 12:00 am PST on 4/1, but did not make the cut we failed to account for the fact that Middlebury Indiana is EST). We may just end up living with some of the cosmetic issues like the paint and tile.
