Hello All,We currently have a 33' travel trailer and are considering either getting a Class C motor home or a new trailer / 5th wheel. (Class C is all we could afford so Class A is not even part of this discussion FYI). I am curious to hear why you choose a motorhome. Here are a few thoughts that I have. As an FYI- we have 2 small kids (6yr twins) We do 1 or 2 long trips per summer but most of our use is weekend trips 2-4 hours from home. Please let me know what you think..Positives for motor home1- Great for tailgating at sporting events and concerts!2- Very comfortable for the passengers to ride3- Easy to pull over for "potty" stops4- Can run generator and watch TV while driving and pull over to cook lunch, dinner etc5- Kids would have much better tolerance for long drivesNegatives1- You are stuck at the campground once you set up camp unless you tow a car. If you are going to tow a car why not just tow a trailer? (this is by far my biggest hang up!) We play golf, go fishing, go to the store, on and on. Being stuck is not an option.2- Less interior space vs equal length trailer3- More expensive4- Less sleeping space. Bunk models are very small bunks and class A's have even less sleeping space.5- Have to tow a small car instead of having my truck with me which I much preferWhat are your thoughts? We like to go on day trips, runs to the store, etc etc once we are camping and I would not want to tear down the camp and drive the motor home every time. This is probably my biggest hang up with a motor home. I can't imagine not having a vehicle to get around in. I would love to hear from those of you that have had both. Thank sin advance!

I bought my first RV a year ago knowing nothing about motorhomes - a Class C Four Winds. I've but 7000 miles on it and like it fine but, if I had to do it over again, I would have bought a trailer for all the reasons you stated. Yes, I would also have had to buy a truck but I think it would have been worth it. It's a pain to rent a car and often there's not a car rental place within 25 miles of the RV park and/or they're not open when I need to pickup or return. I've been quoted up to $5K to have my car and MH set up to flat tow the car and I think that's way too much. I've also looked at aluminum trailers (car haulers) but they're also expensive.So, in my opinion, got with the trailer. Good luck.

I would have considered a trailer but I do antique shows several times a year and need to pull an enclosed trailer. Can't tow a trailer with a trailer.When we go on trips we take along the motorcycles on a open trailer. When we camp we take the canoe or kayaks and the motorcycles on the open trailer. Motorcycles would be a problem towing a TT. Would have to get a toy hauler and then we would not have as much living space and would have paid just about as much for the toy hauler as we did for out RV. If we bought a standard trailer we'd still have to get a pickup big enough to carry both Harleys and pull the trailer.I've done both in the past. The plus for a motor home is I think it's easier to drive and park than towing a trailer of the same size. Only negative is not having the tow vehicle to drive around. Ours is 26.5' so it's not very hard to drive or find parking spaces.

we have a TT and a truck to pull with. was going to get wife a little bigger trailer and we looked at some. Last year we had looked at MH's but like you said expensive. Found a nice TT made an offer went back and looked closer told them that I would need to change the amount offered as it needed too much to make ready. Never heard from them again! Was going to look at another wife said she wanted a MH so end of discussion. made several trip to look locally several to another town about 150 miles away. Found some told the dealer what we wanted ....NOTHING! Went to another dealer found one the ac was not good, told himn we were interested but not until ac fixed. Called back and said ac checked out good, no deal. Found one with diesel I liked it, wife said too short. Found another with diesel made offer looked closer reoffered (who ever had had lived in it and it had too many unkowns) no response. Finally looked at Craigslist. Found one 300 miles away made contact drove up made offer got it.Now with all that said, I liked the trailer as I like my diesel PU! Wife actually likes the trailer just that it is NOT convenient when she want something/potty break etc. So you have a lot of the pros/cons nailed but then it will come down to actual preference. Lotsa nice used C's out there (I wanted/got a B+) and some really affordable, but you are looking at at least a 10+ yo vehicle in most cases. newer will run in $50K ranges but some new can be had pretty cheap on sales at dealers. Most on CL want new prices unless really wanting to get rid of. Ours came complete, rough terrain tow bar, all necessary components hoses, sewer hookups etc so I didnt really have to move anything from the TT. We are on 1st extended trip. Milage is in 8-9 mpg range, some issues I need to address when we get home personal preferences.Any how we bought a car to tow, so that is an expected if you want to go anywhere easily. Small rv's are not in your future so yes a towd would be needed. Some C's and A's are to be had cheap, friend got a 2002 diesel pusher 40 ft long 90000miles for less than $30K. Gasser models can be cheaper in some places if willing to go with older model. check craigs list for some ideas.Bottom line is really WHAT DO YOU WANT! What will make it easy for your family. We are enjoying the MH, As I said I liked the TT and truck but yes they require time to set up and go. The MH is much easier in that regard but I could do the TT almost as quick. We have jacks and slides, not on the TT but everything there was manaual hookups and back up etc. If you really want to know what would be better rent an rv for a weekend and see how it works out. I think you will be surprised. Tow cars can be gotten cheap and set up relatively inexpensively if you go MH depending what comes with it.

We've had both and recently traded our Class C for a 33' TT, and are very happy so far. We did it for exactly the same reasons you mentioned. Having a truck to run around in is very important if you are not going somewhere just to use the facility. The MH's were easier to drive, especially our 24', but having transportation when you arrive at your destination makes up for it. I also had a tow dolly and towed our mini-van a few times behind the MH, but had to be careful not to get blocked in that you needed to backup, because that was another project.Another plus for TT is less expensive insurance and registration...at least here in NY.

1. Want to have the conveniences of home while going down the road.2. Don't want to own a truck. Would have no use for it except to tow the trailer.3. Want to own a small car for daily use. My Fit is perfect for daily use and for a toad.4. Want to be able to tow a utility or vehicle trailer for some types of trips. Now that we have sold our old Jeep, it's just a utility trailer for model airplanes, etc.5. Think an RV is less of a road hazard than towing a trailer. May be just my imagination, but it feels safer to me than having that big thing behind me.Have never had a trailer. Never wanted a trailer. Have always had a self-enclosed RV sort of thing, different types at different times of my life for different purposes. Have never had the slightest desire to get rid of it and get a trailer.DH did all the setup for towing the Fit. Yes, he's really handy at that sort of thing, but all told it cost less than $1500. And faced with a $5,000 price for getting it done, I'd figure out how to do it myself if I didn't have a talented DH. There was nothing mysterious about it - just some work.With either one, it is important to drive conservatively, leave plenty of stopping room, and in general, just don't be in a hurry. Sometimes it seems that Real Men with their big, powerful diesel pickups lose sight of that.Also, don't know why exactly, but we don't get the horrendous mileage that most C owners seem to. We generally get 12-14 mpg, just motoring along conservatively on flat land. Less in the mountains, of course.

Why a motorhome vs a trailer?? | Good Sam Community

46 Replies

jwmaustin
Explorer
Jun 17, 2014
Having had a fifth wheel, an old class A, a new class C and a new class A in that order I'm pretty happy. That's for the two of us. But all of the points made seem mostly correct. I'd second the one about what fits your lifestyle and the "just do it!" :-)
cjoseph
Explorer
Jun 17, 2014
Not sure if these apply to you, but here are a few more plusses for the MH that you might consider:

Our kids travel much better in the MH compared to our former TT. In fact, we rarely hear, "Are we there yet?"

Set up is much easier in the MH, including hooking up and unhooking the toad. Arrive at site, look around, hit one button and it's leveled, walk about 20 steps and hit four buttons and the 4 slides are out, and finally, open your favorite beverage and celebrate being all set up!

I have no more messing with boards under the tires, weight distribution hitches, wheel chocks, stabilizer jacks and roto-chocks.

I will concede that you must plan and are inconvenienced by the fact that you can't back up with a toad. So far, (knock-knock) we haven't had to unhook for that.

Another plus is the air conditioning works in the MH while going down the road. So, a mid-trip lunch break doesn't have to be miserable. I remember just walking in the TT on 98-degree sunny Florida days made for an instant sweat.

It is really about how you use it. We stop a lot and take long trips. We even overnight at non-campground places. Again, the MH is much easier for those stops.

I still miss the PU truck several times per year when I could use one.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Jun 17, 2014
Jim Shoe wrote:
In my case, I'm a single RVer. Its a lot easier to pull a toad up to the rear of the MH than it is to back up a TV to a TT on your own. There's nobody to yell "whoa" and "mawnback". :)

I got really good using the mirror on the magnetic stick - I don't need no stinkin' help. :B
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Jun 16, 2014
KristinU wrote:
Olddud wrote:

I've heard that some drivers have used cruise control to get up and get a snack.

Winnebago Industries even has a link on their "contact us" page that dispels the myth, near the bottom on this page: http://www.winnebagoind.com/contact/index.php

Of course Will Farrell does it in Anchorman II with a deep fryer, bowling balls , and open tank with a scorpion in it ;)

Forward to 1:55: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUEDVMOMY24

I thought that the car manufacturers stopped using the term cruise control.
bumpy
rvit
Explorer
Jun 16, 2014
IMO, the difference in a MH is the trip is as much fun as the destination, or as they say, getting there is half the fun. In a TT you're no better off than the family of 4 next to you in the minivan until you get where you're going. We see them go by all the time and you look and no ones having any fun. We are having a blast in our little MH from the time we leave until we pull back in the driveway.
KristinU
Explorer
Jun 16, 2014
Olddud wrote:

I've heard that some drivers have used cruise control to get up and get a snack.

Winnebago Industries even has a link on their "contact us" page that dispels the myth, near the bottom on this page: http://www.winnebagoind.com/contact/index.php

Of course Will Farrell does it in Anchorman II with a deep fryer, bowling balls , and open tank with a scorpion in it ;)

Forward to 1:55: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUEDVMOMY24
bradyk
Explorer
Jun 16, 2014
Olddud wrote:
maillemaker wrote:
To me, the real benefit of a "driving" RV is that passengers can enjoy the trip a lot better than in a car. Of course the driver is stuck no matter what you're driving but if you have a passenger they can fetch you snacks anyway. :)Steve

I've heard that some drivers have used cruise control to get up and get a snack.

Not cruise control but called Auto Pilot........
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Jun 16, 2014
Olddud wrote:

I've heard that some drivers have used cruise control to get up and get a snack.

I heard that, too. At the funerals! ;)
Olddud
Explorer
Jun 16, 2014
maillemaker wrote:
To me, the real benefit of a "driving" RV is that passengers can enjoy the trip a lot better than in a car. Of course the driver is stuck no matter what you're driving but if you have a passenger they can fetch you snacks anyway. :)Steve

I've heard that some drivers have used cruise control to get up and get a snack.
bradyk
Explorer
Jun 16, 2014
We had a Class c for many years when the kids were around. Had a 2 family family so 4 kids and keep them comfortable and busy while travelling was important at the time. Our unit worked out real well for many reasons mostly in the travelling part by keeping them busy with TV, movies etc. while travelling down the road.
The down side was the setting down all the time as we didn't have a toad in tow figuring with all the bodies we would need another bus. Since then the kids are all gone now and wife and I have switched to a TT.
For the 2 of us it is great but if we had the 4 kids and the trips we have done I would not have wanted to do it with all 4 riding in the cab of the truck.
Buy whatever works for you and take pieces of advice for all that have been there and done that.