Motorhome to 5th wheel

[Rwake901]

We are considering trading our motorhome for a 5th wheel. We are planning to retire next year and are hoping to spend the winters someplace warm. I’m thinking that the 5th wheel will have a lot more room for us to spend 3 to 4 months in. I’m having a hard time letting go of my motorhome though. Anyone else do this and are you happy with the 5th wheel or do you wish you had your motorhome back? Thanks for your thoughts

[Cummins12V98]

Understood if you don’t need to disconnect the toad to park. “Depends”

[wilber1]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

wilber1 wrote:
For me.

Motorhome. Easier setup, especially in bad weather. You get to drive a car when you aren't travelling instead of a 1 Ton, but you have another powertrain to maintain..


5th Wheel, More room and decent sized kitchens with enough counter space and decent sized pantries. I've come to the conclusion that motor home owners must eat out a lot.

It also depends on whether you have other uses for a truck. I tow other trailers and a boat.

I think disconnecting Toad in the rain THEN pulling into space is MUCH worse setting up in the rain than a 5er.

I don't know. There have been times when overnighting in torrential rain it would have been nice to just press one button, the coach levels, press another and the slides go out, press another and the geny starts. Can't do that with a 5th wheel.

I don't tow with the furnace running and you can't run AC so we also have to wait for the rig to warm up or cool down after we get where we are going. We really like our 5th wheel but motorhomes do have their good points.

[GHop]

Wha would make your family happy. We love our fifth wheel, it has everything we need and it did not cost 200,000 plus. We can park, unhook and have a vehicle to drive. Happy travels and be safe.

[laknox]

Colo Native wrote:
I went from a Class A to a FW got rid of the FW in 1 1/2 years now have a TT and love it. If you go to a FW you need more truck than you think and new they are 60K up and most FW require a 1 ton min. We hated the stairs inside and I hated hooking and unhooking I have a short bed and had a slider hitch that was a PITA.JMHO

1) You do NOT necessarily need a 1t truck if you choose your FW carefully. Even then, a 1t SRW isn't much more than a 3/4t and does give you a lot more options.

2) Stairs? Yeah, you've got some stairs into your trailer. My FW only has stairs into the bath and bedroom, neither of which I use all that much.

3) You hated hooking and unhooking a FW, yet messing about with a WT hitch for your TT is =easier=? Hmmmmm...

4) Long bed alleviates the need for a slider. Care when turning/backing alleviates the need for a slider with a short bed. I =have= taken out my glass when backing up, but even a slider won't stop you from hitting your truck if you're not careful.

Lyle

[larry_barnhart]

My real feelings are buy what you like and feel good for what others buy. I might have thoughts on what is better for us but don't express them to others with a different style. I am happier when a fifth parks next to us or a TT.

chevman

[Cummins12V98]

wilber1 wrote:
For me.

Motorhome. Easier setup, especially in bad weather. You get to drive a car when you aren't travelling instead of a 1 Ton, but you have another powertrain to maintain..


5th Wheel, More room and decent sized kitchens with enough counter space and decent sized pantries. I've come to the conclusion that motor home owners must eat out a lot.

It also depends on whether you have other uses for a truck. I tow other trailers and a boat.

I think disconnecting Toad in the rain THEN pulling into space is MUCH worse setting up in the rain than a 5er.

[MikeRP]

I think that’s a good point. Do you have other uses.

Another is do like to drive a big pickup. I love pickups so it’s good by me.

Definitely easier setup when raining. If I had a nice pull through and it was raining. Lots of times I just put the slides out and went to bed. But these big slides need to be level.

So on a fifth wheel, you could just not unhook and jump in bed and wait for the rain to pass. Then unhook. But if you got a back in site. Well gotta get er done.

So, nothing’s perfect.

But that’s what I love about RVing. Who else but someone who loves people and loves camping would sit on these forums debating arcane stuff but folks who love this expensive recreational fun!


Mahalo!

[wilber1]

For me.

Motorhome. Easier setup, especially in bad weather. You get to drive a car when you aren't travelling instead of a 1 Ton, but you have another powertrain to maintain..


5th Wheel, More room and decent sized kitchens with enough counter space and decent sized pantries. I've come to the conclusion that motor home owners must eat out a lot.

It also depends on whether you have other uses for a truck. I tow other trailers and a boat.

[Super_Dave]

Have I heard right, the monthly insurance on a MH is about the same as the annual on a 5er?

[Cummins12V98]

larry barnhart wrote:
After hearing the cost to maintain a large MH from many MH owners we know or have during happy hours I feel we are almost like traveling for free. Repairs, tires radiators many etc's. One was a banker but he didn't feel my thinking was correct.

chevman

For the level of quality of your rig you would have to be looking at the high MH. That means BIG everything that pushes it down the road and stops it. That means BIG $$$ to maintain.

[larry_barnhart]

After hearing the cost to maintain a large MH from many MH owners we know or have during happy hours I feel we are almost like traveling for free. Repairs, tires radiators many etc's. One was a banker but he didn't feel my thinking was correct.

chevman

[smlranger]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"No question the 5th wheel has more living space but the build quality of any mass production trailer does not approach what we had in our motorhome."

WHY would you compare your High End Country Coach to a "mass production trailer" ??? They are not even in the same Universe!

Better question WHY did you downgrade?

Agree it is really not a fair comparison. I guess my point was most all towable RV's are made with lighter weight materials and with lesser quality than most class A motorhomes. I expected a difference.

We are storing and using the 5th wheel at a premium RV park in Myrtle Beach, SC. That difference in travel intent was the main factor. Also, even though the CC was well made, the cost of maintaining it at 12 years of age was escalating.

[Super_Dave]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Better question WHY did you downgrade?

They explained that it was a combination of more space and the unit is more of a mobile cabin now, parked in one spot versus driving all over the country.

[Cummins12V98]

"No question the 5th wheel has more living space but the build quality of any mass production trailer does not approach what we had in our motorhome."

WHY would you compare your High End Country Coach to a "mass production trailer" ??? They are not even in the same Universe!

Better question WHY did you downgrade?

[smlranger]

We recently went from a 42' tag axle Country Coach motorhome to a 41' 5th wheel. We loved the motorhome but we were ready to stop traveling and stay in a favorite place nearer to home. No question the 5th wheel has more living space but the build quality of any mass production trailer does not approach what we had in our motorhome.

If we were still traveling we would prefer a motorhome. Staying in one spot for prolonged periods the 5th wheel is better for us.