Camper or 5th wheel ?

btggraphix wrote:

Redsky wrote:
Once you get to a large camper with slides that requires a dually truck you might as well get a class C motorhome.

Why? I read this fairly often but can't ever figure out what the real reason for the comment is. If you write out a list of all the benefits of a truck and TC as opposed to a C or a B, few lists would put the large TC in the same grouping as a C. And that is really only when you are comparing the largest T/TC combo like mine against the smallest of them, like a regular cab with a popup TC that is only slightly longer or equal to the bed. Only if you take the two extreme ends of the TC spectrum is there much substantial difference. That vast majority of them fall somewhere in the middle and there isn't much difference with a full size TC on a 3/4 ton truck versus a big camper on a giant truck.

You can't get 4WD with a C (other than Tigers for the most part) you can't replace just the camper, or just the truck....you have to register the camper separately....you can't tow much...they are always overloaded....they have terrible ground clearance....you have to move the camper to put a boat in.....they aren't as safe in the cab....if you need service, you have to go to a MH shop and have nothing to camp in while you wait.....you can't even take a sheet of plywood with a Class C! Basically the same list, with the exception of taking it onto tougher 4x4 trails.

I guess understand where people can rationalize it into nearly being a C if they really want to, but I wouldn't trade my rig for a class C in a million years with our needs.....they just have completely different major benefits. The only thing they share, is a similar size and number of wheels. It would be analogous to me saying "why would anyone have a little small truck with a popup TC? If you do that, you might as well just get a VW Westphalia." Or maybe like saying if you are going to cut down to a pop-up TC you might as well just save the money and get a shell, a sleeping pad, a coleman stove and a porta-potty.

With a DRW you shop and buy the truck and then need to decide on what tie-downs to buy and get them installed, same with the tires and the shocks and rear stabilizer bar and turnbuckles and tow mirrors. You need to wire the camper into the truck's lights and charging system. Many will want to have a rear camera installed. Then you need to start shopping for a camper that will fit and buy that.

Then you need to add a bed mat and possible sheeting to raise the camper on the truck and then practice putting it on and back off safely and working the lift jacks. Once you have the camper on the truck you need to adjust the turnbuckles and cinch it down and connect the camper to the truck's electrical system and adjust the mirrors and then start preparing for your first trip.

If you decide you want a generator then you buy a hitch mount and a rack and add the generator and the connector cable and get a fuel canister and work out a way to lock it down so it does not get legs.

Driving the truck with the camper is an adjustment as there is a very top heavy load in the bed of the truck. It is also 2 feet wider than a regular pickup truck and 2-4 feet longer in length and has a longer wheelbase by 2 feet or more.

If you have a flat tire you then get to figure out how to get the spare tire out and how to best jack up the truck with the camper to change the wheel - safely.

Contrast that with someone who buys a Class C motorhome. They do the walk through with the dealer and get the keys and start up the motor and drive off. End of story.

With the camper off the pickup one has in theory a regular pickup truck for daily use but with a DRW long-bed crew cab pickup truck nothing could be further from reality.

In theory the pickup has more ground clearance but who in their right mind would take a super long wheelbase super wide DRW truck offroad even if it is allowed and in many places they are not allowed including on many public beaches. Better to tow a small SUV like a Suzuki Brat behind a motorhome and have a truly capable off road vehicle at your camping area.