Towable versus Motorized RV?

Thanks so much for all of the info 2112. All of you are the best, and I appreciate your patience as I learn about all of this.

It is going to be pretty here this weekend, so we are going to a local dealer just to look around .... so hubby and I can start the discussion about what is important in whatever we get.

Here's some more: From reading the Tundra brochure you should have 9500 lb towing capacity. Generally this is considering a 600 sqft trailer frontal area but Toyota didn't spell that out. If they did I missed it. Most TTs are close to 900 sqft. All this means is you will have more resistance at highway speeds so you will derate for that. It really doesn't matter because your limiting factor will be the 1430 payload.

From the document I take it all 5.7L models have the tow package. That's good. You are prewired for a brake controller but one is not installed. No big deal. You just buy one and mount it.

There is no option for larger tow mirrors so you will most likely want removable mirror extentions. I have towed a 26' TT without them and didn't need them. They were required for the 35' TT though. I just couldn't see around that long trailer.

You have a 145.7" wheelbase. A short wheelbase will sometimes struggle with a long TT. They will want to sway. The HA hitch is great for that type of setup but they are EXPENSIVE. If you do get a 32'our longer TT pack light and be smart to where you are placing the weight in the TT. If it struggles with sway get the HA.

With all this said, IF you go the TT route I recommend no heavier than 8000lb GVWR if the payload allows and no longer than 30'. The shorter the better. The camper dealer can install the controller. Try it without the extended mirrors knowing you can buy them if need.

After your husband reads all this I'm sure he will lean more towards an A :)

2112 wrote:
Your payload is 1430 lbs.
Subtract your husband and your weight, any weight you plan on putting in the truck or truck bed, 100 lbs for a hitch. The remainder is how much trailer tongue weight you can carry.

Look at the GVWR of each trailer, not dry or delivery weight. Go with 12% of that value as tongue weight. That puts you in the ball park. My guess is you are looking at no more than a 8000lb fully loaded trailer.

Now go shopping :)

Thank you Texas! That helps me wrap my brain around this so much better!

And no, I did not do well at math I school. ;)

As far as your 1430 lbs being too low; don't worry about that. You have a nice, comfortable, well equipped truck. Your truck has the bells and whistles you wanted and a smooth car like ride. Work with what you have. You were happy with the truck yesterday and should be just as happy today.

There are trade-offs. Don't compare your #'s to mine or anyone else's. Sure, mine can carry over 2000 lbs but mine doesn't have the nice upgrades yours does and mine rides like a truck. I have an Infiniti for creature comfort and a truck to haul stuff.

Your payload is 1430 lbs.
Subtract your husband and your weight, any weight you plan on putting in the truck or truck bed, 100 lbs for a hitch. The remainder is how much trailer tongue weight you can carry.

Look at the GVWR of each trailer, not dry or delivery weight. Go with 12% of that value as tongue weight. That puts you in the ball park. My guess is you are looking at no more than a 8000lb fully loaded trailer.

Now go shopping :)

2112 wrote:
You didn't find this?

There is something similar. It says Vehicle shouldn't exceed 1430 pounds.

But, that didn't sound right to me. It's such a low number.

????

So WBWood, did you buy your MH used? I have such a fear of buying anything this big used, fearing I am buying somebody else's problem.

wildtoad wrote:
Since you already have the large truck, I would go with the towable/fifth wheel. You will have better use of the space. We opted for the unit we have as we did NOT want a big truck, the 30ft size is easy to drive and park, and setting up is a 5 minute task, and don't have to get out in the rain to go from driver seat to living space.

Agreed

Campfire Time wrote:
While I have not owned a motor home, I can definitively say that we will always have a towable. For 2 main reasons. One is that care and maintenance of a towable is a fraction of the cost and time of a motorized RV.

Have to disagree...no more cost on our Class C with a V10 motor than the F250 that we had with a V10 motor. Since you need a truck to pull a towable, you need to include it in the cost of maintenance.

The second is usability/drivability. In many places it hard to park a motor home.

How is it hard to park a motorhome? Especially if you have not owned one? We have owned both and I can tell you, it's much easier to park a motorhome than it is a towable.

The debate again....bottom line it's preference.....

We've owned both. Previously a 35' TT and towed it with an F250. Now we have a 32' Class C motorhome. Our preference is the motorhome. Mainly due to simplicity. We can get in, crank it up and go. We don't have to hook it up or unhook it. It's much easier to back into a site with, plus we don't need as big of a site to park the truck in addition. Driving is much more comfortable with the motorhome than with the truck/trailer. You are constantly having to see where the back of the trailer is going. We were about 55' or more in total length hooked up with a pivot point in between. Even with the WDH and sway control, a good wind or truck coming up beside you, you give you a push to the side. There's a difference in the way the motorhome handles it than the truck/trailer on that pivot does. People with towables will try and use the excuse of "I don't want to care for an additional motor". I used to think the same way when we had our towable. But I looked at the numbers and realized that was silly to think that way. Since you already have a truck and plan on using it for other things, then by all means save the money and go the towable route. Our thing was that we didn't have a truck, nor did we need one. So that was an additional cost for us. We traded in a mini van for it. The truck got 11-12 mpg not towing anything. Towing it got 8 mpg. So it really wasn't feasible for us to have as a second vehicle. We live 35 miles from my work and I drive a little commuter car. My wife works from home most of the time, but has to drive that 35 + miles every so often for meetings. Her driving the truck into town cost us $20 a trip. Plus the cold winter days or rainy days she would use it to take our kid to the bus stop and sit there idling...After a few years of that, and figuring most of our trips were to the beach 4 hrs away, we decided to keep the TT stored at the beach (campground would put it on site for us) and trade in the truck for an SUV for my wife (twice the gas mileage). We ended up getting a used pop up to pull behind the SUV for trips to the mountains. That was short lived. We got a great deal on our current motorhome and traded in the TT and pop up on it...