Need advice from full timers

We fulltime in a fiver and I wouldn't do it any other way. Before we retired we started out with I nice 26' C Class and we did a ton of travelling then went to the 34' A Class with a jeep in tow and continued to do the weekend warrior/summer vacation bit and it worked well but my reason for the truck/fiver is a better layout, one less vehicle to maintain and pay for, but mostly if my dually breaks down,,anywhere I can have it towed to any Chrysler dealer and get it fixed at a reasonable rate and not be held by the u-know-whats by some rv dealer or truck mechanic that will gouge you because A Class coaches are pretty much hand built vehicles and Gomer can't pull up the repair instructions on the computer. My buddy has a beautiful diesel pusher and before going to Florida we both went for oil changes, mine cost $85 and his cost $450, hell they even charged him $40 rupees to top off the air in the tires! Oh and I get between 10-14 MPG and he gets 9.

Red Green:
You ever see one of these? It's called a GPS,
which stands for - well, who cares? Point is,
this thing uses satellites to tell you where you
are, which means that every man can have a
five-hundred-dollar reason not to ask for
directions.

wanting2travel wrote:
I am planning to buy a Grand Design Solitude unless someone changes our mind.

We are preparing to Fulltime it in December. We looked at several models and love the Montana 3735MK. We looked at the Grand Design and liked it but the basement storage was way to small for us to fulltime in. I would really look at storage for your purposes.

Dave :)

Floor plan. Nothing else matters.

The whole fifth vs motor home is complete poop in my opinion. See Sig.

Some people see a mh as status and frankly I think they are pathetic.

You shop the floor plan first then pick your manufacturer since there is a lot of over lap.

The people that I have talked to that had a 5er and went to a MH went back to the 5er or wished they had not changed.

Reasons, 5er has more storage room inside, truck and 5er less expensive to maintain.

The guys all said they liked sitting up high when driving a MH that was it!

I think a lot of having a MH is status. My truck and 5er cost 100K the similar quality MH would be 3-400K.

MH more $$$ and you are purchasing an extra motor.

5th a few feet shorter towing than a TT. I think there are more 5th than TT at a campground. Thus able to purchase a use 5th at a good price. More (?) head room than a TT.

TT Place to store items in the truck bed. With a topper added can be use as a portable "tent" while dry camping away from your temporary home base. With a Hensley hitch tows as good as a 5th.

What is your exit plan if you can not camp for some reason in 2 to 5 years. Resale value??

While I'm not full timing yet I'll still offer this as it happens on every long trip. I like driving early and late to avoid heavy traffic. My wife (and kids for now) sleep in. It's worked this way for years. In fact I remember sleeping while my dad drove a class C back in the 70's. (I don't need the safety lecture either).

What do you feel is best for you??

I agree its purely a personal preference choice. there are thousands of fulltimers happily using motorhomes, and thousands happily using 5'ers.
There are MH owners who change to a 5'er for various personal reasons and there are 5'er owners who decide to change to a MH for personal reasons.
There are a few like me who have one of each, and I certainly agree with the notion that one of the many considerations is that if you move frequently a MH is more convenient and if you park for extended times a 5'er is more comfortable. Not a significant reason to pick one over the other, but one of the many minor differences to consider.

Likewise on the extra towed vehicle behind the MH, some see it as a positive and some see it as a negative. For some, being able to chose the size & type of toad to pull around for daily use is well worth the minor extra cost vs having to use a big tow truck for your daily driver.
What's best for me is not necessarily best for you. we all have different personal preferences & priorities. Do your homework, research different options and decide which best fits your preferences.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
We FT'd for 7 yrs. with a truck and 5th wheel and we moved constantly...evry week/2 weeks majority of our time.

We went with a 5th wheel........personal choice.
We didn't care for the floorplans in the various MHs we considered
I didn't like the idea of a small car to tow around cause I don't fold up/fit in smaller vehicles. Folks said tow a truck.......
So I figured if I got a truck might as well get a 5vr.
We liked the floorplan/roominess/layout of our 5vr

Not sure where the notion that if you travel frequently get a MH and if you park for extended times get a 5vr :H

Setting up 5vr or getting it ready to go is not a big deal...for us about 30 mins and we were sitting under awning or ready to go.

Personal choice.......

X2...

We FT'd for 7 yrs. with a truck and 5th wheel and we moved constantly...evry week/2 weeks majority of our time.

We went with a 5th wheel........personal choice.
We didn't care for the floorplans in the various MHs we considered
I didn't like the idea of a small car to tow around cause I don't fold up/fit in smaller vehicles. Folks said tow a truck.......
So I figured if I got a truck might as well get a 5vr.
We liked the floorplan/roominess/layout of our 5vr

Not sure where the notion that if you travel frequently get a MH and if you park for extended times get a 5vr :H

Setting up 5vr or getting it ready to go is not a big deal...for us about 30 mins and we were sitting under awning or ready to go.

Personal choice.......