Motor home vs Fifth Wheel

Jim-Linda wrote:
General feeling if you will be moving a lot, MH is viable. If staying in one place for a period, TV/Trailer.

I think this is one of the very best differences.

My parents have a TV/5th wheel and love it for their annual snowbird trips. They park their house and explore Arizona all winter. They use it in the summer time for fishing trips where they'll typically park in one spot for 3-4 days and go fishing (this does require them towing their boat as a triple, but it's OK in Montana and those trips are typically under 100mi).


I have two preteens and I love my mh for the connection to the living space while traveling. If we go for a week, we rarely stay in the same place more than two nights and we do a lot of weekend camping. For me, setup/tear-down is a lot faster with a MH as well. We can also park the MH in the parking lot of my girls' sporting events and have a place to rest and grab a snack between games. A MH is a lot less obtrusive in a school parking lot than a TT!



If you really plan to roam around the country, most places you stop will have space to park a MH and a MH tips the scale. If you plan to stop at single points for a week or more each and do more intimate exploring, a TV/TT makes a lot of sense.

We had a 38ft motorhome and like others have said you lose about 4 to 5 up front for the dash and seats. I got 6 to 7 mpg and had all the maintenance involved with the drivetrain. Last year we went with a 38ft 5th wheel and Ford supercrew 4x4 diesel engine. We actually have more room in the coach and get 12mpg towing and 19mpg just running around.

the main consideration to me would be in a motorhome you could tow a small toad, 4x4, whatever, to make your side trips, excursions, city driving, etc.
with a large 5er you are stuck driving a gas guzzling huge vehicle dual wheels around.
bumpy

I doubt if compared like for like there would be much difference in maintenance and fuel costs for a MH or truck pulling a similar sized 5th wheel; if starting out with near new vehicles/RVs.

Many RV'ers choose a MH for ease of use, but even that has changed...in the past 5th wheels were not equipped with the same time/labor saving accessories as MHs. Auto levelers, power awnings, centralized sewer and freshwater setups, retractable power cords...etc. Today you can get a 5th wheel that is equally equipped as the MHs are.

We chose a 5th wheel for two reasons... more livable space and more flexible layouts. If you compare a 40 foot MH to a 40 foot 5th wheel the 5th wheel will have at least 3 feet more of useable living space. MH dash areas take away from 2 to 4 feet of useable living space. That 2 to 3 feet can mean an extra closet/ Washer Dryer cabinet or longer counters and cabinets in the kitchen or bathroom.

5th wheels can have living rooms or bedrooms in the front and or rear. MHs almost always have the living room in the front due to the driving area.

IMO, there is an allure to the MH, but it fades quickly for me once I start looking at floor plans and interiors. My Cameo has a very residential feel to it...most coaches have a bus feeling to them that just doesn't work for me. Add to the that expense to purchase and specialty maintenance of a large frame vehicle and you know how I'll vote.

On the other hand, it sure would be nice to not worry as much about weights etc. Jim-Linda is right about too many variables....depends on you. You're towing something either way!

Impossible to answer, too many variables. General feeling if you will be moving a lot, MH is viable. If staying in one place for a period, TV/Trailer. I doubt that MPG will be much different. The one thing that decided for us was.. If your MH has to be in shop, so does your house. YMMV

Jim

We fulltimed for nine years in a 5er. Only the truck to fuel and maintain. We did just fine.