5th wheel vs Class A - which is better for US?

Looking at 36' 5ers, it seems like you want a lot of inside room. You will find more of that in a 5er than an A.
But you also mention remote places. A huge 5er or A will have a harder time getting there.
You are going to have to compromise somewhere.

We had the same choice to make and ultimately went with an off road capable F250 diesel and tt. The truck is less maneuverable than a jeep but gets us most of the places we want to go. The tt is a little longer than we wanted but has great indoor space, ground clearance, and height for where we will drag it to. Six months and counting until we go full time though we still have second thoughts about not having a jeep...

path1 wrote:

Why would floor plans be more important to me if we stay only for 2-4 weeks as opposed to months at a time?

It won't.
Just wanted to stress whatever you buy, it will become your home so to speak. Your going to spend a lot of time in it (month at a time or full time). End up with a unit that you really enjoy. Maybe you or wife has a hobby that takes up room, maybe your the type of person that brings along 1/2 of a wood shop. If you have a hobby that takes up room, think storage.
Things to think about that before making final choice. Regardless of what you end up with, most RV's are packed to the gills.
check out these for what interest you. Good info http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/264829.cfm

I understand. I already spent months researching into the best floorplans for us, visited 3 RV shows and even visited couple of dealers as well. So we have a pretty good idea what kind of floorplans will work for us but those were all 5th wheels so far. I guess I'll check out A-class as well during the next RV show.

While full-timing, we will be outside during most of the day time (most likely hiking around). During the evenings and nights, we will be either beside the RV on camp fire or in front of the large TV, either watching TV or using internet via connected laptop. A BIG TV hooked up to a laptop is important for my DW. :) This also means we don't need huge amount of room to live in. But I would like to have lots of storage spaces, both internal and external.

Why would floor plans be more important to me if we stay only for 2-4 weeks as opposed to months at a time?

It won't.
Just wanted to stress whatever you buy, it will become your home so to speak. Your going to spend a lot of time in it (month at a time or full time). End up with a unit that you really enjoy. Maybe you or wife has a hobby that takes up room, maybe your the type of person that brings along 1/2 of a wood shop. If you have a hobby that takes up room, think storage.
Things to think about that before making final choice. Regardless of what you end up with, most RV's are packed to the gills.
check out these for what interest you. Good info http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/264829.cfm

You stated you will probably be in the boonies for good hiking places. You might want to consider a Class A towing a Jeep which will allow you to travel the two-track roads with ease. Yes, you can get a 4WD truck but we have seen many trucks too wide for the backroads or having to do 3-point turns to make it around the corner. If you plan to travel in the Southwest you'll find many gorgeous 4-wheeling trails leading to excellent hiking spots. It depends on the types of places you plan to go. We have gotten a lot of enjoyment from our Jeep. Good luck with your decision!

Tom/Barb wrote:
While you are setting up the 5ver, I'll push the level button, run out the slide and have a beer and watch you out in the weather doing your thing.

Or, while your coach is being towed to the shop and your driving to the local hotel while the motor/transmission/rear end gets repaired...while the fiver owner, who also experienced a driveline failure is sitting under his awning watching your coach get pulled away.... All this just to illustrate that there are no perfect answers here.

Tires on some class A's can get up to $3000-5500.00
Class A's need to be used, class A's CAN be expensive to service. (Remember, there are two types of class A's, diesel pushers, and gas rigs)

Fivers have their negatives as well, you have to own a truck.. (Not a negative to all) there is some set up time. Mostly backing in to a site, leveling, and unhitching. Everything else is the same.

We looked into class A's and ultimately decided we would stay with a travel trailer, even though we have enough truck for a fiver we choose a Travel Trailer.

My dad has the money to own anything he wants. He uses a fiver with three slides because he says they have more room. He despises the thought of losing the cab space in the Motorhome while parked.

But he is parked for Months at a time for work.

Only YOU and YOUR family can decide what's right for you. There is no one size fits all for everyone.

Enjoy the search and the journey.

Jeremiah

Why would floor plans be more important to me if we stay only for 2-4 weeks as opposed to months at a time?

And when I said "US" I meant my DW and myself. :)

I was pretty much set getting that truck (most likely 2013 RAM 3500 Diesel Dually) and a 36ft DRV 5th wheel. But since we love hiking at remote places, we will probably not stay at RV parks with all the facilities - those are not important to us. In fact, I plan to get 1000w solar panels and 6 batteries so that we can get into non-serviced sites often. As long as we can dump every 2 weeks or so, I think this will work out. There will be lots of daily driving around the site, looking for places to hike and visit. I'm beginning to wonder if it makes sense to drive a big dually pickup every day for this purpose instead of something like Hyundai Accent.

(See you are from Toronto. I don't know if you mean "US" as in a couple or as in USA, my answer doesn't matter covers both)
Each type of RV has its + and -'s.
Ever seen people with class A's wait for parts at dealership?
Ever seen people with a big 5th wheel have to back out of a dead end street?
Most people are defensive of what they got.
My opinion is all Rv's have good points and bad.

But if you're going to stay put for 2 - 4 week at a time, as you stated your floor plan is going to become real important to you.

While you are setting up the 5ver, I'll push the level button, run out the slide and have a beer and watch you out in the weather doing your thing.