5th Wheeler VS RV

5th wheel is a much safer and more relaxing to drive. A TT can be very dangerous to pull if you are not properly set up. With a TT you need more truck than you would think to make it a comfortable and safe ride.

Maybe the OP meant a "winnebago"

Same question yesterday

If money were no object I would have a class A with nice small car. The problem I have with trailers is that I have to drive my big truck everyplace and I would rather drive an easy to park/maneuver auto.

We rented a class a for our first rv adventure, we were sure that is what we wanted. Really the only thing we did not like was seeing the driving section all the time and having to tow a car behind. We ended buying a fifth wheel and love that we have a nice rv and a nice comfortable truck to drive around and explore. But of course this is a personal choice. What bothers us might not bother you.

ddfoster wrote:
what are the benefits of a 5th wheeler VS an RV. We are a couple wanting to purchase and travel USA for 12 months

Well howdy and welcome on board!

Hope you find the US as hospitable as the your country was to me when I visited Australia.

We have a fifth wheel.
Works well for our wants and needs.

Never owned a motorhome, seems like one would be easy for short stops and sightseeing unless access was a problem.

Regards!
jim

I had a "C" and everywhere I went, especially ralleys, I was trapped as the home was there and I wanted to go somewhere else. (A short side trip). You break camp, roll up the awning,get the hoses and electric in. You know the drill. Take your trip and come back. Try to maneuever back into the space you where in and reverve everything you did a couple hours ago. A royal Pain. I got the fiver and all that went away. You want to go somewhere? Go. the truck is unhitched and ready. Although in the defence of the C, it was so easy just to go. No hitch in truck,no hooking up. OH and by the way. when something happened to the C, I was always told " we don't work on motorhomes" easy to get service on a pickup. Anywhere.

There are plenty of things to consider, and each rig has positives and negatives. With the bus, we have a transmission retarder, air brakes, and commercial Load Range H truck tires.

On our fiver, we had electric brakes and ST tires.

For us, safety enroute was paramount. Others have their own priorities. BTW, our bus was cheaper than our truck/fiver combo. That's one benefit of owning "vintage"!

I made the choice for a 5th wheel because it was more economical.

I figured a motor home would cost about $80K, and a pull-behind vehicle about $25K, total $100K plus.

I figured (and in fact did) buy a new 5th wheel for $30K and a used F250 for $26K, total of $56K. 18 months ago I traded the used truck for a high-end new one, for a difference of about another $28K. My investment is still well below the Class A option.

Other considerations: if the truck breaks down, you can take it anywhere to get it fixed, usually pretty inexpensively. If a motor home breaks down, you are limited with where you can take it and repairs are usually VERY expensive. And time-consuming. I read once that getting a under-dash heater fan on a motor home replaced cost $5000. Probably would be $300 in a truck. And when you read complaints about warranty issues in various publications, where the magazine goes to bat for the person, the costs listed are real eye-openers. So far, having pulled my 5th wheel about 25K miles over three years, my maintenance costs are under $1000, most of which was tires.

One final note: if you aren't at least somewhat handy at fixing minor things, either a 5th or a MH can get expensive. There are a lot of little things, 20 minute fixes, that crop up from time to time.

It all depends on your situation. The fiver is the best bang for the buck IF you already have a 1 ton pickup. The MH is much better on the road.

For us, we needed a way for the DW to sleep enroute. You can't do that safely with a fiver, since they have no crash protection.

Examine your personal situation, how you will use it, how comfortable you are with a complicated machine. If possible, go to an RV show and look at the various units.

Our first RV was bought new so it would have a warranty. Now that I'm comfortable working on things, I will never buy new again. The initial owner takes a huge hit on depreciation.

With a motor home, 1/3 - 1/2 of the price is in the chassis, you will have to break camp to go anywhere if you don't tow a another vehicle with you, etc..

Travel trailer or fifth wheel, you already have your local transportation, as said above, more bang for your buck, more space, etc..

The best thing you could do; is rent one of each for a weekend and just try it out.