Pros and Cons of owning a class A RV
Owned a truck and 5th wheel for 5 years and loved it. Unfortunately circumstances caused me to sell both last fall. Thinking now about buying another when I saw a 1999 Class A with less than 100,000 ...
Forum Discussion
Lantley wrote:
You can get a brand new fully equipped 5'er with onboard genset and diesel dually combo for $150K. Can you get a brand new diesel motorhome with toad for 150K?
A high end fiver without truck is 100K a high end diesel class A 250-300K
Towables are cheaper and provide more bang for the buck.
Class A's are more convenient and provide a better driving experience but cost more.
The answer to the first question is yes you can get a DP (not high end)
but a fully capable DP with fully integrated systems including automatic jacks, automatic generator start, in motion satellite system, air ride, full wall sides, and so on. I would like to point out that most people already have a vehicle that could be towed behind a motorhome so the red herring about the cost of a toad is a bit irrelevant. Not all vehicles can be flat towed but many can be on a dolly and all can be hauled on an inexpensive car hauler. It is impossible for someone who does not have a heavy duty truck to haul a 5th wheel. It is quite possible for a person to use a motorhome without a toad. We have done it many times. It is slightly less convenient yes, but quite doable. With all of this said you still would need to upfit the truck with an auxiliary fuel tank to provide the same fuel range as a DP or even a gas A unit.
If a friend of mine had a 1 ton dually truck and wanted to get into RVing I would most certainly recommend they look at towable units because the truck is a sunk cost already. On the other hand if a friend had only cars and or light duty SUVs I would recommend they consider motorized. Of course all of this is dependent on how they intend on using the rig. Keep in mind that a basic 31' Class C can be had new at around $50K, a really nice Class C at about $70K or so. I have seen gas A units for slightly more. The options are endless however the basic equipment on a motorized unit is more than what you get on a towable. To get the basic equipment that comes with any motorized unit means you have to get into some very expensive towable units. To get the range requires aftermarket add ons. My ex-in laws started with towables and eventually moved to a motorhome. Having to drive around a 1 ton truck as your touring vehicle is not exactly easy either. However, they moved due to the hassle of managing the setup.
