5th wheel or class a motorhome

[Ichatman]

The wife and I can not decide which one we should by? I will be doing all of the driving and I am afraid that it will be hard to park the 40 foot 5th wheeler we want. It have the floor plan we need. What is harder to park and drive. I have a 28 foot toy hauler now.

[Ichatman]

Originally Posted by Ichatman

The wife and I can not decide which one we should by? I will be doing all of the driving and I am afraid that it will be hard to park the 40 foot 5th wheeler we want. It have the floor plan we need. What is harder to park and drive. I have a 28 foot toy hauler now.

I'm sorry about the type era I meant motorhome

[Dan DeBruin]

Get the one that meets your needs. There are lots of folks out there driving both. We got the class A because it met our needs best. You are already pulling a TT so adding 12 feet does not seem like a deal breaker. I love driving the motorhome. It is comfortable and we have everything right there. IMO you would have the same issues whether it is a 40' fiver or motorhome.

[datrbone8]

We just went through the same thing. After pulling a 28 ft fifth wheel for many years we moved up to a 38 ft diesel pusher. The DP is much easier to drive and park and, for us, much more livable. We like having all the "facilities" available while we are driving and it's quieter and more comfortable than the pickup. We travel with 2 dogs who also are more comfortable in the motor home than in the back seat of the pickup.

I had never driven a class A and drove it home over 2,000 miles after purchase. I reserved campsites with pull throughs along the way figuring it would be hard to back up a 38 ft MH. In reality with the mirrors and backup camera it is much easier to back into a site than a the fifth wheel.

We also like not having to drive a big pickup around town when we're not camping. We now have a Honda as our everyday driver and sure don't miss filling up the pickup. The fuel we save with the Honda more than offsets the slightly greater amount used by the class A over the pickup towing the fifth wheel

[reubenray]

We are in the same process and have a 30' FW now. We plan on upgrading to either a bigger FW or get a motorhome in about 3 years when my wife can retire. I don't necassarily want a longer FW, but one with two slides in the living area for more space.

I am not an expert at parking the fiver, but do OK. I think it would be easier to park the MH. I have driven the big (27') Uhaul trucks a lot over the past 20 years and can usually back it in where ever I want to. If we do the MH I want it less than 40' long (prefer 35' to 38') where I can park it at my house. The total length of my fiver and truck now is about 48' long.

[jimcumminsw]

I have the opposite opinion on a 5er versus a MH with a toad hooked to it. I like the pick-up truck and 5er combination, since you need to have a tow vehicle of some sorts with either combination it might as will be a pick-up truck. I use my pick-up truck a lot of the times when we are home to haul items for the kids, my wife and I, a small vehicle will not carry most of the time safely. I do wood working and bring home 2s boards from the hard wood stores weighing a couple of hundred pounds this would weight a small vehicle down too much. Another point to consider would be; do you already have a small tow vehicle for the motor home and can this vehicle be towed by a motor home? Does this small vehicle have the required equipment for towing; an auxiliary oil cooler for the transmission if towing 4 down, braking system and tow bar or do you have a tow dolly for it? Added cost for the small vehicle.
To me the 5er will back up just as easy as a motor home but we normally get pull thru sites since these seem to offer full hook-ups more often than back in sites. This is why I went with the HD pick-up truck and 5er combination best value for the money in my opinion.
Jim W.

[wincrasher]

Is your current toy hauler a 5ver or a TT? If it's a TT, then I think you'll find, even a 40 footer would be easier to tow. Just make sure you have enough truck to handle it.

If it's a fiver, then I'd say the bigger issue for you would be the weight, and probably the width - if you are moving up from 90" to 102" But both of these are usually overcome just with familiarity.

[LandKinaMoho]

We love the all in one environment of our moho. In my construction life it was pickups all day long. Never want to get in one again. Love my range rover as a toad.
Its all about what works best for the individual ( couple , in our case ) FYI Pickups are a great multipurpose tool. :0)

[450Donn]

If you think you need a 40 foot fiver how big is this motor home you think you have to have? 45 or 48 feet? Remember with a motor home you loose approx 6 feet of real living area to the driving compartment. Yea I know the seats can be swiveled and made part of the,living room bla bla but in reality you still loose the space to driving. A motor home will require a toad, thus two drive trains to maintain. A MH allows you some flexibility in moving around when traveling. But how much of your time do you really drive down the road? A fifth wheel gives you a lot of space for less money, one less drive train to maintain. And once you learn how to drive and tow it, I see no issues. I can back my fiver into places that a MH of the same size could pass up. Can camp places MH's do not generally go. You need to decide what type of camping you like doing and pick an RV that suites your lifestyle.

[JohnBoyToo]

ENTIRELY up to you !!!

or try both ! Since you already know about TT, a 5er is actually easier to tow...

All will need some type of hookup, 5er can be backed up without unhooking whereas a toad can't...

but rent a MH for a week and figure out what you like -
we probably think differently

good luck !

[RVluvin]

We upgraded from a 36' 5er to a 35' motor home class A just about a year ago. I'm still undecieded which I prefer. One thing for certain is, it is easer to drive and park. You don't have to stop every time some one need the restroom. When its time for lunch on the road, the DW can get up and make lunch while I continue driving, or if we do stop, the MH is temp wise is comfortable. With a 5er, if its hot or cold outside, the inside of the 5er is hot or cold.

The cost of those bennifits are: I went from 10 to 7 mpg. Insurance went from $400 to $1,300 per year. Registration tags went from $300 to $1,200 per year in AZ.

Once your set up at a RV park or camp ground, you do all your running around in a small car as apposed to your truck. I'll let you decied if that a plus.

Best of luck

[tuffr2]

I wanted a used 40' DP but ended up with a nice dually and nice 5th wheel. Driving a newer truck with Sat radio, nav, lots of power make towing a 5th wheel easy and relaxed. I am very very pleased with the way the rig handles mountains, passing trucks, bumps in the road etc. Also a 5th wheel backs really nice. I think I could back mine into a shoe box. Before this I had a F-150 and a 22 foot TT. The 5th wheel tows so much better than even the small TT.

When I am driving there are no rattles or squeaks. I think most MH's will have a shimmy, and a few rattles.

That being said, I still like the idea of being self contained and maybe the rattle, shake and rolling down the road in a MH is worth it.

Look at the new trucks (they are all great) look at the DRV Tradition or the Dynamax Trilogy 5th wheels vs the MH's you are looking at. I think the over all price will be closer to a nice gas MH.

DP MH's will be considerably more money. To compare a DP with 5th wheels look at the New Horizon and DRV Mobile Suits 5ers.

There are alot of nice MH's and 5th wheels out there...enjoy.

[Arch Hoagland]

Went from travel trailers to a Class A. Parking the A is a lot easier than the trailer. Mine is 38' 11" long. Getting a longer one would be fine as it doesn't make any difference once you get to this size.

I don't back up at all with the toad connected. You learn real quick not to get in situations where you need to back up with a toad.

[RedWing Nut]

Originally Posted by 450Donn

If you think you need a 40 foot fiver how big is this motor home you think you have to have? 45 or 48 feet? Remember with a motor home you loose approx 6 feet of real living area to the driving compartment. Yea I know the seats can be swiveled and made part of the,living room bla bla but in reality you still loose the space to driving. A motor home will require a toad, thus two drive trains to maintain. A MH allows you some flexibility in moving around when traveling. But how much of your time do you really drive down the road? A fifth wheel gives you a lot of space for less money, one less drive train to maintain. And once you learn how to drive and tow it, I see no issues. I can back my fiver into places that a MH of the same size could pass up. Can camp places MH's do not generally go. You need to decide what type of camping you like doing and pick an RV that suites your lifestyle.

You lose ALL of the space in a 5th wheel due to driving. The front seats, when spun around, are the most comfortable seats in our MH.



The only space we lose is the dash.