Age old dilemma: going Full Time, fifth wheel vs MH

[Cameraman]

We’ve been full timing for a bit over 2 months. Have a MH now, but had a 38’ fifth wheel before that. Used it to snowbird and also travel for a couple months at a time staying no longer than a week at any one place… mostly 2 or 3 nights.

Personally I like the MH better. Lots of storage, generator, etc. means we are fully self-contained. Carried a small generator in the 5er for emergencies, but it wasn’t sufficient for true boon docking. The setup for the MH is easier… but I didn’t have auto level on 5er. Biggest issue for me is not having to take the dually out as the daily driver. It was a great truck… loved driving it… but I really noticed the difference in ride when we are unhooked.

Another huge difference in my book is cost to own / maintain. The MH is WAY more complicated and expensive to maintain / repair. If budget was an issue, I’d probably go 5er and truck.

[Ford 250]

Takes less than 10 min on the fifth wheel.

[Elisavaet]

Originally Posted by Chris Hayden

I'm curious, how many of you long term full timers switched from MH with toads to fifth wheel rigs and also the reverse, how many from fifth wheels to Class As, and why. Do you regret your change of rigs?

I haven't "switched", but I'll share my reasoning for going full time in a 5th wheel about three and a half years ago rather than a MH. I'm sure the MH folks will have counter reasons for these but I can only give my experience and hope that's helpful.

PROS

I just wanted one power train to have to maintain.

My 2019 Duramax CC DRW is pretty reliable, gets 20 to 24.5 (max) on the highway when not towing, and is a joy to drive everywhere except in places like parking structures and downtown Portland, and I HAVE done BOTH of those successfully! Towing the 5th wheel it is so stable that I've done 14 hour days solo towing as well as night trips through one lane blacktops in rain through the mountains and switchbacks in the Sierra Nevadas on snow and ice and never felt anything but solid and in control. I get 10 to 11.5 mpg towing. I can take it to any GM service center for any kind of service with no problem.

If my powertrain dies/needs repair, I don't lose my home. If my truck needs service, my "home" is still there. With a MH, if the powertrain needed service, I'd have to hunt up a place to stay while it is in the shop. Worse, I'd have to find a place to store guns and other valuables while my "home" was in someone else's shop and storage yard for an undetermined amount of time. I've never had any problem in a number of places finding a mobile RV tech that makes on site service calls. Often these are sole proprietorships, one guy and a pickup, and they are generally consummate professionals. This is a far cry from what I've seen in the service bays at RV dealers. Even if the chassis is a GM or Ford, you can't take a MH to a GM or Ford dealer for service (as I understand it), so you end up having the RV shop techs work on it on THEIR schedule. I simply could not accept that and am happy with my choice.

I can back up my fiver, but you can't realistically back up a towed vehicle. I have been in situations where I really, really needed to back up. My understanding is that you can't do that if you're flat towing, and even with a dolly, due to the disparity between the length of the MH wheelbase and towed vehicle wheelbase it is very difficult.

CONS

Dually's can be challenging to drive. Yes, a crew cab dually as a daily driver can be overwhelming at first, but the unless the option is a tiny little class C you're going to have to get used to driving something big anyway. Still, I would love to have something like a Jeep Wrangler so I could go exploring some. Realistically at almost 60 (next month), I'm not going to do a whole lot of off-roading anyway so that's mostly pipe dreams, but it is something to consider. One option would be to get a mid-weight fiver such as the 35 foot Pinnacle or Jayco Eagle line and get a new SRW one ton. You'd want to be VERY careful with the Pinnacle, but you can definitely spec an Eagle which could be easily towed by a 2019/20 one town SRW that would allow you to get off on some forest roads a lot easier than a dually.

You actually have to get out of your vehicle to get to your home. With a MH you can stop and walk back to use the restroom, make a sandwich, go to bed, etc. With a fiver you have to get out of the vehicle. I've done this on the side of the interstate when I needed to use the restroom and it was a bit dicey with the semis going by, but it's not insurmountable. A con yes, a major issue, no.

I'm planning on a new(er) fiver this year and the only things I'm considering are size. A used DRV in the 21k range is the most likely candidate. I'm pretty happy with the fiver for me. If I was retired and could afford a big nice diesel pusher I might think twice, but I'd still be worried about where to store my stuff if my "home" had to go in the shop.

Setup isn't that big an issue for me even doing it solo at 59yo. My next fiver will likely have auto level too so it will be easier, but I can level her out in minutes so even that's not a big deal!

Lots of other good points to consider in the responses here. At the end of the day it all depends on how you want to roll!

Good luck!

Kate

[Barbaraok]

Kate,

You have some misconceptions. Being in a motorhome means that the navigator can get to the bathroom in an emergency - which for some of us who've been through chemo can be a necessity without much warning.

If you have a motorhome and are full timing, you don't leave the rig for 'weeks' as you seem to imply, rather you pull into the service area and they are expecting you. Your rig is pulled in during the day (if they can't work on it where you are parked) and it is pushed back out at night. You might spend the day in the customer lounge (and it is rarely the whole day) or you might go get laundry down, visit a local site, etc. and are back in your home at night.

If you have pets (especially cats) they never have to leave their home when moving. Our cats associated being in another vehicle with going to the vets - not pleasant for any of us. Could they have gotten use to it over the years, maybe. But they, and us, were so much more comfortable not having to move.

We move only about once every two weeks - - so that would mean 12 days + with the fuel guzzling daily driver, versus our toad which gets 45+ mpg (hybrid) and can get into and out of all of the places we want to visit, including parking garages with low ceilings. And since we usually move 200 miles or less down the road, that's a lot of time driving a big truck instead of a nimble little car. So, we have short miles at 8.75 mpg versus lots and lots of miles at 45+ mpg. BTW - had friends who went from big 5er/MDT to a motorhome so they could have a small car to go geocaching.

Unhooking if we have to (which is very, very rare - maybe 3 times in 13 years) is a 5 minute task, if that. After the first year, we learned where we could go and where it was best not to try. Experience is a great teacher.

[Nanci]

When full-timing went from Gas Class A to Diesel Pusher Class A in the after the first year.

[twogypsies]

I totally agree with Barb, above.

We spent every night in our motorhome while having servicing done. Easy to do!

We never got into a situation where we had to back up with the toad attached. If so, just take a few minutes to unhook it; park it to the side and do the backing up.

It's such a pleasure to drive a small economical car around for siteseeing; especially when boondocking on forest or BLM lands in the boonies. You can sneak up on critters without a big truck scaring them away.

Our motorhome was extremely stable on the highway. Winds or semis didn't affect it. Not every motorhome would be the same but you can definitely get one that is.

We had both, a 5th wheel and motorhome while full-timing and the motorhome won hands down.

[mrehmus]

Finances dictated what we would buy. A 5th and truck were way more than a class A gasser.

We were advised that a 5th wheel was the right answer but the entrance fee was the cost of a small home in some states.

[Jaxon]

Originally Posted by skypilot_1

. It was the 5 min claim that SET MY METER OFF........

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Originally Posted by Itchytoe

It was the 5 minute claim that set mine off too.

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[BikesAndGuns]

Originally Posted by Chris Hayden

I have read multiple posts and comments from you long term full timers. I've learned a great deal and love the iRv2 forum resource. Thank you all for educating me!

We are currently not retired (yet, but soon) and have tent camped, pop up, 29 foot travel trailer and currently have a Class B van. We thoroughly enjoy our travel in our B, however we feel it won't be big enough for full time RVing.

I see in your signature lines what rigs you have and even sometimes how long you've been full timing. From the signature lines, it seems it's almost an even split of fifth wheel rigs and motor homes with toads.

I can see the great benefits of each rig set up to my possible traveling/lifestyle mode. I see the sense in trying to stay in destinations for longer than a few days to really take your time and enjoy and learn the areas you visit. Also the economy of not burning fuel and adding wear and tear on your rigs.

I'm curious, how many of you long term full timers switched from MH with toads to fifth wheel rigs and also the reverse, how many from fifth wheels to Class As, and why. Do you regret your change of rigs?

Thanks again for the responses and the knowledge you've shared with a dreamer.

I can't offer you any advice on the question you asked because we have only had a 5th wheel. But I can tell you this: You are very wise to ask about the experiences of others. We researched this topic for 3 years and our decision was solid, with no regrets after 2 years of full-timing. While everyone has opinions, it is essential to listen to those opinions to determine which are relevant and which aren't. Someone might have 10 reasons for feeling the way he does, but if 9 of them don't matter to you, only the one is of any value. Best of luck in your research!

[CWSWine]

I like not having the truck to site see in. We have a Ford Edge and we are looking for older Jeep Wrangler to mod and do some off road with. We will have a choice of what we towing depending on what we want to do.


We have pulled into rest stop in nice cool MH and have lunch using the generator and microwave, when we had our 5er it would 90 to 100 degrees inside. When we arrive at the camp grounds our MH is already at 72 degrees no need to wait on heat or cold.


We have 7200 pounds of CC so no worry about have 600 pounds of water on board for travel days.


We have three pass though basement storage areas that any one of them are bigger than the one we had in our 5er.

[Kurtsara]

Originally Posted by CWSWine

I like not having the truck to site see in. We have a Ford Edge and we are looking for older Jeep Wrangler to mod and do some off road with. We will have a choice of what we towing depending on what we want to do.


We have pulled into rest stop in nice cool MH and have lunch using the generator and microwave, when we had our 5er it would 90 to 100 degrees inside. When we arrive at the camp grounds our MH is already at 72 degrees no need to wait on heat or cold.


We have 7200 pounds of CC so no worry about have 600 pounds of water on board for travel days.


We have three pass though basement storage areas that any one of them are bigger than the one we had in our 5er.

Can't a person with a 5th wheel have a generator running with the AC going while you drive?

[Dan Golden]

Our initial full timing/workamping experience was in 1998. Did so in a 32ft Pace Arrow Vision MH...no slides. It was great, no real complaints. Re-entered the full time loop in 2005 with a 40foot Cedar Creek fiver with four slides. FANTASTIC. We prefer a fiver as it provides more useable space. In addition if the power train goes caput we still have a place to stay (that happened to us on 3 different occasions). If I were to do anything different or advise anyone considering full timing with a large fiver I'd go with something larger than a one ton PU as my tow vehicle.

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by Kurtsara

Can't a person with a 5th wheel have a generator running with the AC going while you drive?

Yep you can. I run the dash air in MH most of the day and about a hour so before we stop for the evening or before lunch I reach over and start the 8000 watt generator and cool off the coach. That way I'm not running when it doesn't need to be run and don't waste fuel since it burns between 1/2 to 3/4 gallons of diesel per hour.
One of the real disadvantages of a MH is when the wife puts a roast in the crock post and sets in the sink and you have to smell it cooking all day.

[stuccosteve]

If you plan on traveling in the mountains in inclement weather it is easier to equip a self contained class A to travel in these conditions on a regular basis. I tow heavy trailers frequently and can tell you there is nothing more frightening than a heavy trailer being towed by a vehicle that weighs 1/2 as much as the loaded trailer being pushed around on snow covered roads.

For me it was a easy choice, I prefer 24,000 lbs over my drive axle than hanging out over a hitch. Granted most towed rigs won’t reach those gross weights but I never could feel comfortable wheeling heavy trailers through nasty road conditions.