boobdocking - M'home or 5er?

Many thanx to all of you who responded to my questions. Some of the answers were along with my line of thinking - and helped to confirm - but others were very enlightening. Again, many thanx. Now to sell the house . . . that's another (major!) challenge.

Jim

You know e funniest thing we've noticed with the class c is that it has half the size gray water tank than what our TT had, but it seems to last as long if not longer. Makes no sense to me. Perhaps we have gotten better at water consumption.

I have 110 gallons of water and grey and black tanks that equal more than that. I have 200 gallons of diesel so I can last a long time. Maybe 2 weeks on one tank of water. I do not know of a 5r that has that much water or capabilities. IT is easy to drive and dump and fill up and start over again. Sure it costs a bit to run but I think it boondocks much better.

wintersun wrote:

portscanner wrote:
Well, for Boobdocking you would be better off with a truck camper. Then you can get on the beach - the best place for boobdocking.

Sry - couldnt pass up on it.

Did you miss the OP's comment about the bad knee? Or the one about spending weeks at a time at a spot? Campers do not begin to have enough fresh water storage capacity for long term boondocking unless you camp by a stream and bring water treatment equipment and don't mind an outdoor latrine (which is often illegal in these areas where the RV needs to be "self-contained).

He was making a funny about "boobdocking."

portscanner wrote:
Well, for Boobdocking you would be better off with a truck camper. Then you can get on the beach - the best place for boobdocking.

Sry - couldnt pass up on it.

Did you miss the OP's comment about the bad knee? Or the one about spending weeks at a time at a spot? Campers do not begin to have enough fresh water storage capacity for long term boondocking unless you camp by a stream and bring water treatment equipment and don't mind an outdoor latrine (which is often illegal in these areas where the RV needs to be "self-contained).

Your going to need a boat for boobdocking. Seriously I would prefer the motorhome.

wintersun wrote:
It is much easier to back a 30' motorhome into the average western states campsite than a 30' trailer. I have been impressed in particular by the Class B+ Phoenix MH (built on the Ford E-450 chassis) with the double slide-outs.

The 5th wheel trailers will require a heavy duty vehicle and involve a lot more steps everytime your wife goes in and out as well as getting up to the sleeping area. The 5th wheels work well when you are planning to stay in one place for weeks at a time and can unhitch the tow vehicle and use it for personal transportation around the area.

I must agree, backing a 32 foot fiver into a site at a Forest Service campground can be challenging! I never tried it, the only trailer I took to one of those campgrounds was a 19 foot "bumper pull", and it was bad enough. With my motorhomes, a Class C and now a Class A, no problem. I have never seen a pull-through site at a Forest Service campground.
Over the years, I have had every type of RV there is except a Class B. They all had good points and bad points. I intend to keep this Class A until I can't drive anymore. No more trailers or truck campers!
As for going to the sand or back roads, that is what the Jeep is for. I will park the A at an easily accessible site, and take the Jeep exploring. Then again, many of those back roads have been closed, and the ones that are left are useable by most 2 wheel drive vehicles.

EDIT:
"RE: having to disconnect the car to back into a spot. It's not the least bit difficult at all. Actually, we prefer backin spots as they're usually more private."
Actually, since nearly all back country campgrounds around here are first come, first served, we make it a habit to disconnect the toad before entering the gate, then take the toad in to see if there is a space we like that is available. If so, we register, then take the motorhome in and park it.
No problem.

One thing..they both need oil changes and yes, a diesel takes more oil but the change lasts for 15,000 miles whereas a truck is more often.

RE: having to disconnect the car to back into a spot. It's not the least bit difficult at all. Actually, we prefer backin spots as they're usually more private.

RE: a truck doing off-roading as easily as a Jeep. Depends. We've witnessed trucks being too wide for the trails. There are some trails in Silverton, CO that a truck couldn't go because of the width and the turns needed.

Naturally, we don't do 4-wheeling with our motorhome. We park it off one of the gravel roads and use the Jeep. However, our motorhome has gone on long drives of gravel roads but it's not a rock climber. :)

Bottom Line: There's no perfect answer. You'll just have to pick and choose what's more important to you.

boobdocking... I want to party with you sometime :B

For me boondocking also involves some off road driving that my 4wd truck does just nicely. MH you may need to pull a Jeep etc.

Not sure what would get stuck first in marginal conditions. But my truck has limited slip front and rear :)

If you are just pulling off on hard surface I am not sure it matters.

pablo77 wrote:
The maintenance costs of a MH will be greater than a 5er, on average. How much greater depends on age and condition of MH, toad, 5er and truck

Not necessarily true. I would think that for the most part that they will be close to the same comparing diesel to diesel and gasser to gasser. As if you are talking about a fiver, you gotta include the truck. Maintenance will be about the same intervals Main issue in higher costs for mh would be having to get it done at an rv shop. Class c, with an e450 v10 can be done by any mechanic basically. Or at least a dealership.

I would put a higher priority on the mobility factor. Think about how many times you would go to the bedroom/bathroom each day. In a 5er that's 6 steps each trip. In a MH, none. Having two bad knees, I can relate to this all too well.

That's another good point.