Why a motorhome vs a trailer??
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 ...
Forum Discussion
Hi,
I have a motorhome and enjoy it a lot. Easy to park, especially at night, when backing in might prove a challenge for a trailer and today's crewcab trucks that seem to need a mile to turn around. Heck the 165" wheelbase is nearly as long as my 30' Bounder motorhome at 190". Yes the Bounder will take a couple more feet to make a U-Turn than the crewcab truck, but I will not be towing a fifth wheel behind me, so overall the truck and trailer will take more space to make a u-turn.
I can pull off the highway, find a nearby church with my GPS and spend the night in a quiet neighborhood. Not nearly as stealthy in a truck and trailer, needing to get out of the truck, close doors, open the fifth wheel, and close doors again, not to mention most fifth wheels do not have hydraulic jacks as a option, so no leveling from inside.
Take a look at class A as well. You might not think they are all out of your budget once you start shopping around, and realize that most owners will take about 20% off the "Asking Price" to sell it. The price of fuel these days has softened the market for used RV's.
You can tow a boat easy with a motorhome, not so easy with a fifth wheel, unless you already have the class 1 drivers license, medical certificate, and don't mind towing two trailers at once.
I tow a Ford Edge with my motorhome, or a Manx dune buggy, or used to have a Honda CRV. All towed fine, and normally I did take a tow car.
When I had a camper or 27' class C, I did not need to tow a car. I did not get out a lot of stuff at camp, and would be able to put that stuff away fairly quickly, then go sightseeing. Disadvantage is that if you are in a Forest Service campground that is popular, your site might get taken if you leave for to long, and don't leave enough stuff to mark it behind. Someone might take your tablecloth and toss it in a garbage can, throw away the post slip that says you paid for the weekend, and move right in. I know it happened to a friend.
I still carry ramps, even with the hydraulic jacks. It helps to level up in those scenic sights that seem to be the only ones left on a Friday night, yet are very un-level and near the edge of a cliff.
Your kids will enjoy the space in the class A or C, because they will not be cramped into a pickup cab. You can use a 100 watt inverter to change 12 VDC into 120 VAC to run the TV, games, DVD, ect. Not as easy in a pickup.
You can make a quick pit stop on the side of the road with a motorhome, make a sandwich, get a cold drink, and be back on the road in less than 10 minutes with a motorhome. When shopping for any RV make sure that you can get to the refrigerator without opening the slides. Not so popular while getting fuel, or along the side of the roadway to open a slide to gain access to the frige.
As a retirement vehicle, I had always thought that a fifth wheel would be really nice, with more space per $50,000 in cost, lower insurance costs, and so on. Set up time would not be a factor when I am not working. Pulling such a large rig into a gas station for fuel would also not be a problem, as I could just as easy pull into a campground, drop the trailer, and get fuel while going out to dinner or sightseeing. Also a axillary fuel tank will provide upwards of 90 gallons of fuel, so stopping very 900 miles would not be such a huge deal.
Most fifth wheels do not come with a generator, or the ability to run one on gasoline. Most toy haulers now days can come with a fuel tank, and many will have a generator, yet also have a 10 - 15' long garage section instead of a living room. Most class A's come with a generator, while class C seems to have them in some manufactures, while others leave them off to save weight and cost.
For me a generator is a requirement so I can dry camp in Federal campgrounds without power, or scenic BLM land where there is nobody close to me. I hate having a camper about 10' away from my campsite. In Quartzsite, I will move if another RV gets within about 100' of me, to find a more open area, with upwards of 200 - 350' between RV's.
I think if I ever had a security problem at night in a remote campground, I would feel a lot better off in a motorhome that can be driven off, without me needing to leave the trailer.
While out dry camping with friends in the desert, they brought a combination of toy hauler fifth wheels, motorhomes towing cargo trailers, and us without any toys at all. I arrived about a week early to enjoy Christmas out in the desert, and parked about 800 feet from their regular campsite. So when I found them, it was easy for me to move over and set up again. They had taken most of the level areas, so I was parking in a area that had a downhill tilt of about 15 degrees, dropping off sharply. But it closed the circle, and I wanted to show off my ability to level anyplace. I got out all my ramps and leveled up in a couple of minutes, bringing up the front end on 8" of ramps (they are screwed together) and setting a huge block under the front jack. The back end was pretty much in the dirt.
While eating dinner that night, and sitting around the campfire, our friend set up his DVD player and projection TV to show some pictures from the computer and a DVD later that night on the side of his Weekend Warrior fifth wheel. We suggested that he might move the fifth wheel about 15 feet closer to the campfire for the next night's show, but he declined. It would have been easy for me to move my motorhome 10 feet, say to let another friend into the circle of RV's and block out the dust. The fifth wheel is a little more time consuming to hook up.
Good luck deciding!
Fred.
I have a motorhome and enjoy it a lot. Easy to park, especially at night, when backing in might prove a challenge for a trailer and today's crewcab trucks that seem to need a mile to turn around. Heck the 165" wheelbase is nearly as long as my 30' Bounder motorhome at 190". Yes the Bounder will take a couple more feet to make a U-Turn than the crewcab truck, but I will not be towing a fifth wheel behind me, so overall the truck and trailer will take more space to make a u-turn.
I can pull off the highway, find a nearby church with my GPS and spend the night in a quiet neighborhood. Not nearly as stealthy in a truck and trailer, needing to get out of the truck, close doors, open the fifth wheel, and close doors again, not to mention most fifth wheels do not have hydraulic jacks as a option, so no leveling from inside.
Take a look at class A as well. You might not think they are all out of your budget once you start shopping around, and realize that most owners will take about 20% off the "Asking Price" to sell it. The price of fuel these days has softened the market for used RV's.
You can tow a boat easy with a motorhome, not so easy with a fifth wheel, unless you already have the class 1 drivers license, medical certificate, and don't mind towing two trailers at once.
I tow a Ford Edge with my motorhome, or a Manx dune buggy, or used to have a Honda CRV. All towed fine, and normally I did take a tow car.
When I had a camper or 27' class C, I did not need to tow a car. I did not get out a lot of stuff at camp, and would be able to put that stuff away fairly quickly, then go sightseeing. Disadvantage is that if you are in a Forest Service campground that is popular, your site might get taken if you leave for to long, and don't leave enough stuff to mark it behind. Someone might take your tablecloth and toss it in a garbage can, throw away the post slip that says you paid for the weekend, and move right in. I know it happened to a friend.
I still carry ramps, even with the hydraulic jacks. It helps to level up in those scenic sights that seem to be the only ones left on a Friday night, yet are very un-level and near the edge of a cliff.
Your kids will enjoy the space in the class A or C, because they will not be cramped into a pickup cab. You can use a 100 watt inverter to change 12 VDC into 120 VAC to run the TV, games, DVD, ect. Not as easy in a pickup.
You can make a quick pit stop on the side of the road with a motorhome, make a sandwich, get a cold drink, and be back on the road in less than 10 minutes with a motorhome. When shopping for any RV make sure that you can get to the refrigerator without opening the slides. Not so popular while getting fuel, or along the side of the roadway to open a slide to gain access to the frige.
As a retirement vehicle, I had always thought that a fifth wheel would be really nice, with more space per $50,000 in cost, lower insurance costs, and so on. Set up time would not be a factor when I am not working. Pulling such a large rig into a gas station for fuel would also not be a problem, as I could just as easy pull into a campground, drop the trailer, and get fuel while going out to dinner or sightseeing. Also a axillary fuel tank will provide upwards of 90 gallons of fuel, so stopping very 900 miles would not be such a huge deal.
Most fifth wheels do not come with a generator, or the ability to run one on gasoline. Most toy haulers now days can come with a fuel tank, and many will have a generator, yet also have a 10 - 15' long garage section instead of a living room. Most class A's come with a generator, while class C seems to have them in some manufactures, while others leave them off to save weight and cost.
For me a generator is a requirement so I can dry camp in Federal campgrounds without power, or scenic BLM land where there is nobody close to me. I hate having a camper about 10' away from my campsite. In Quartzsite, I will move if another RV gets within about 100' of me, to find a more open area, with upwards of 200 - 350' between RV's.
I think if I ever had a security problem at night in a remote campground, I would feel a lot better off in a motorhome that can be driven off, without me needing to leave the trailer.
While out dry camping with friends in the desert, they brought a combination of toy hauler fifth wheels, motorhomes towing cargo trailers, and us without any toys at all. I arrived about a week early to enjoy Christmas out in the desert, and parked about 800 feet from their regular campsite. So when I found them, it was easy for me to move over and set up again. They had taken most of the level areas, so I was parking in a area that had a downhill tilt of about 15 degrees, dropping off sharply. But it closed the circle, and I wanted to show off my ability to level anyplace. I got out all my ramps and leveled up in a couple of minutes, bringing up the front end on 8" of ramps (they are screwed together) and setting a huge block under the front jack. The back end was pretty much in the dirt.
While eating dinner that night, and sitting around the campfire, our friend set up his DVD player and projection TV to show some pictures from the computer and a DVD later that night on the side of his Weekend Warrior fifth wheel. We suggested that he might move the fifth wheel about 15 feet closer to the campfire for the next night's show, but he declined. It would have been easy for me to move my motorhome 10 feet, say to let another friend into the circle of RV's and block out the dust. The fifth wheel is a little more time consuming to hook up.
Good luck deciding!
Fred.
