Have a class A, thinking of going to 5th wheel, any regrets?

No regrets. The living space in the fifth is far superior.

Bumpyroad wrote:

rogers81 wrote:



I bought a 3500 Dodge diesel C&C with a tow rating of 18000#. I thought that I would not find a camper to heavy for this truck. The first toy hauler we looked at after buying the truck, had a weight of 20000#. You need to do some shopping to get a safe tow vehicle

was that 20000 weight the actual weight or GVWR? If GVWR it might have worked.
bumpy

No no it wouldn't

Aridon wrote:
No regrets. The living space in the fifth is far superior.

Really.... far superior? Care to explain?

Ron

Have you considered a toy hauler motorhome?

lanerd wrote:

Aridon wrote:
No regrets. The living space in the fifth is far superior.

Really.... far superior? Care to explain?

Ron

I think the comment is correct provided you get the correct 5er. The bunk models like ours and most of the toy haulers have terrible layouts for living and kitchen. DW wanted the bunk so the DGBs could come with us. Want to guess how many times that has happened?

We are full timers. We currently have a class C. We are going to get a 5th wheel shortly. We went back and forth between a DP and a 5th wheel.

We ultimately decided on the 5th wheel because of the layout. We believe you get a better layout with a 5th wheel than a class A. Especially if you compare cost. We were not deciding based on cost. We were deciding on comfort.

Yes a class A is easier to set up and my wife can get up and use the rest room, make a sandwich or get something to drink.

As I said ours came down to comfort. We like the 5th wheels with 3 distinct areas. Living room, Bedroom and kitchen. We are most likely to get the blue Ridge 3888FL. We are only going to drive 4-6 hours at a time and stay a week on average, so a longer set up is ok. If it is raining, we will just wait to set up. We are retired so not in a hurry.

Now if money were the issue then you can get a lot more with a 5th wheel/truck set up. Just based on MSRP (which no one pays). The Blue Ridge is about 86K. Add a 70K truck to pull it and you at around 160K.

Now most of the DP we looked at we would have been about 190K plus a 35K jeep toad. Yes you can get a gasser class A for cheaper.

Everyone has different opinions and needs. The above set up will work best for us. As I said we are retired so that changes some things. We have more time to set up or add additional stops for food or restroom.

I have a friend that went from a class A to a truck and 5th wheel. He loves it! He said he just got tired of constantly putting money into his newer class A for repairs.

We had an old Class A and on our second fiver.

Lots of pros and cons.

Setting up and tearing down. Class A wins by a hair. Both are simple but the fiver you do have to get out of the truck and get into the fiver. After that they are the same (for the ones with leveling jacks).

We like not having a second vehicle to pay for maintenance. But, it means we drive the truck as our daily driver. Our fiver is small enough we just kept our 3/4T truck and it does really well.

If you are going to have a larger fiver and need a 1T dually or larger, then this can be a big issue. I would not want to drive an MDT as my daily driver. Toy haulers have relatively high GVWR's due to the weights they can carry in the garage. You'd have to evaluate what you are going to pack when choosing a truck.

Interesting too as the park we are in now has quite a few larger Class A's. Have seen several being serviced so they could get back on the road. Have no idea what that costs. When my truck needs service I drive it to a dealer/shop.

charlie

Trackrig wrote:
We almost bought a 5th, but got a DP instead. I appreciate it especially when we see people with a 5th pulling in and setting up in the rain. We never get outside, just push the levelers and we're good until the weather improves.

Bill

Our door opens when it is raining. I understand what you said but not a long walk to get into our fifth. It is all good.

chevman

Everything has to be just right for one to be better than the other. Example. it's raining out, you have a toad and there's no pull thrus. You need to get out to unhook the toad then back the MH in then you can back it in.
With a 5th wheel and it's raining, just back it in, get out of the truck and walk 20' and get in the 5th wheel. Wait for the rain to stop then setup. You're going to wait for the rain to stop with the MH to setup also.
On a nice sunny day who cares.

I think everyone's is really stretching the difference between the two. It's such a personal thing.