Class A vs. travel trailer - driving/operating/parking?

Big Katuna wrote:
For those who have driven both a newer gas class A and a newer pu & trailer, which one rides better on rough interstate roads?

Good question, hard to answer.

A pickup, with smaller tires at a lower air pressure, has a tendency to give less bump feedback than a heavier MH with larger tires at a higher air pressure. With that said, the trailer itself has a far greater tendency to transmit the rough road through the entire vehicle. This is more of a control/stress feeling than a straight ride issue.

Maybe said another way, I'd rather drive our MH over rough roads than pull the TT over the same roads. Subjectivity the truck may "ride" better, but at a much higher stress level than driving the MH. With the motor home there is never any feeling of the weight behind you. With the TT, rough roads will always let you know the weight is there, and you need to be 100% aware, focused, and ready to react. Of course you should always drive like that regardless of what you're driving, the truck/trailer combo magnifies the situation...IMO.

Despite all the non-responsive posts in this thread, the answer to the OP's original question is still a resounding YES!

Am I correct in assuming that driving a 37 foot Class A MH (especially when not towing a vehicle behind it) would be a lot easier, more maneuverable, and easier to back in and park than my original SUV/TT setup?

4x4van wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

You can get automatic levelers for pull behinds, so after you get out to unhook the toad, you already had to go outside and ate up any time savings.

Except that you don't "need" to unhook the toad right away. You can wait till morning or till the weather breaks to go outside to do anything.

That would only apply to a pull through site.

I have had two gas class As and one DP. The gassers were used, DP new but getting shops to work on the gas coaches was not easy, esp in high season. Dealers wouldnt touch them.

Not true for a pickup or class C.

Diesels shops dont hesitate to work on a DP although they charge more than a OTR truck.

Any shop will work on a PU and you probably will never have a problem in the first place.

Hunting down a freon leak in a class A can be a nightmare.

Trackrig wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
nice thing about a TT is, blowing one of its tires won't kill ya.

What about the front tire on the TV though?

Bill

The light trucks and other T/Vs suffer the loss of a front tire much better than a coach.

Chum lee wrote:
Be real careful with the tail swing on longer Class A's. It's real easy to ground it out on grade changes (driveways, etc.) as well as swipe the overhanging tail against fixed vertical objects. (gas pumps, sign posts, bollards, etc.)

Chum lee

That's just called "Know your vehicle's limits", and applies to all motor vehicles regardless of the size.

qtla9111 wrote:
I boondock with 40 gallons of fresh water. Two of us can go for 7 to 10 and that includes bathing, not long showers, but getting clean everyday.

The big difference between a TT and a Class A is about $100,000. With that in mind it's worth it for me to get out and level and chock.

OTOH, TTs now come with electric levelers as well. Depends on your priorities.

$100k is kind of subjective. When I started looking at getting an RV I looked at both, and in my situation a motorhome was actually cheaper. Maybe not in the long run cheaper, but in the initial purchase cheaper.

I don't often buy used things so I was looking at something new. I ended up paying around $150k for my DP. I put a chunk of money down and got a long loan. The interest on that entire loan payment is tax deductible as a second home and the interest rate was much better than I could have got on a pickup at the time.

Now if I wanted to go with TT or 5th wheel, first thing I needed was a truck to pull it. So comparing apples to apples that would mean a nice big diesel engine 3/4 ton truck. I forget the prices back then, but I bet they were pushing up to $50k. And again comparing apples to apples to get a trailer that is at least 32' or so long with the same space as my motorhome and three slides, probably $35k to $40k. (we are talking 10 years ago).

So by the time I bought a truck with a 6 or 7 year loan that is not tax deductible, and a trailer with a 15 year loan that does have some tax deductions, my overall payment was more than the motorhome.

Now what would change all this is if I had another need for a 3/4 ton diesel pickup. Basically if you already have the truck because you're a farmer or it's a work truck then financially it's a no brainer to get a TT, assuming finances is your main concern. But for me I didn't have a big truck, I didn't want a big truck as a daily driver, so a motorhome made financial sense.

Be real careful with the tail swing on longer Class A's. It's real easy to ground it out on grade changes (driveways, etc.) as well as swipe the overhanging tail against fixed vertical objects. (gas pumps, sign posts, bollards, etc.)

Chum lee

Tom/Barb wrote:
nice thing about a TT is, blowing one of its tires won't kill ya.

What about the front tire on the TV though?

Bill

nice thing about a TT is, blowing one of its tires won't kill ya.