Retirement Toy

[Odessa_Grandma]

Within the next year, we plan to get back into the RV lifestyle. Have a new half ton Dodge truck. Both of us are in our sixties and have had some health issues.... DH is a five year cancer survivor and I am recuperating from a couple of thoracic spine fractures...... So not the best health, but not horrible. We love to travel. Have owned fifth wheels in the past that we towed with a 3/4 ton Ford. Looking at Class A's (used) and it looks like we can get a pretty decent one for under $50,000. Also have looked at the Jayco half-ton towable fifth wheel. For those of you who have had both.... Would you go with a new fiver or be patient and wait for " the just right" class A. (Used). Mileage looks like it would be pretty close between both setups. Insurance would probably be more for the Class A. Comfort wise, about the same? Setup at the campsite would probably be easier with the class A. What other categories do we need to consider in making this decision?

Thanks for your help......

[Dtank]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Stairs.......5th wheel always going up/down stairs to get in/out and bedroom/bathroom

And with newer half ton truck ....yes you can tow a 5th wheel just have to find the right one weight wise so truck is not overloaded.

Class A..once you go into it....end of stairs
Easier to set up.......probably
Safer cause you can just pull up and go to sleep for overnighters. Don't have to get out of truck then open up/go into 5th wheel

Then again there are travel trailers......can get more/tow more in a travel trailer than you can 5th wheel.
Stairs just to go in/out (same as Class A)

Covered pros and cons very well.

STAIRS can put a crimp (or limp) in your mobility - now or later..:(

Also - since you have a *new* 1/2 ton pickup.....
depending on the MH (power) you could make the pickup your "Toad",
however you probably would need a driveshaft disconnect.

Or - maybe you have another vehicle to use as a toad.

Enter the info (of the vehicle you wish to tow) on Remco's website.

Remco Industries

.

[laknox]

RVcrazy wrote:
You still need to know what the truck weighs with full gas tank and both of you in it. You will want 3 measurements: front axle, rear axle and total weight. (Brochure weights are worthless...) We weighed our for free at the dump.

Don't forget to add in the hitch weight. Can run from 40-200 lbs, depending on hitch.

Lyle

[RVcrazy]

You still need to know what the truck weighs with full gas tank and both of you in it. You will want 3 measurements: front axle, rear axle and total weight. (Brochure weights are worthless...) We weighed our for free at the dump.

[Odessa_Grandma]

OK so the GVWR is 6900 and then below that is says front 3900 and rear 3900. Mine and DH weight combined is 400#. Somebody tell me what that means as to what the truck will safely pull. Thank you. We dont haul bar b ques or anything else in the truck. Just us.

[RVcrazy]

Will you be full timing, weekending, or snow birding.

With a half ton truck, you are more limited than you realize when looking at fifth wheels. Many that say they are half ton towable are over the weight limits when you actually load the trailer. I would think harder about a travel trailer because of the weight and lack of stairs to the bed area. You can also put a lift or ramp on a trailer if needed in the future. Before you think more about your choices, I suggest you look at the sticker on the driver's door. Take the truck full of gas and the two of you, plus any extras you will want to carry in the truck (tools, pets, BBQ etc.) to the scales. Subtract the weight from the GVWR for the truck. Then, look the weight from the scales for the rear axle. Subtract this number from the weight limit for the rear axle. Now, you will have a better idea than any sales person of what you have left for loaded trailer and loaded hitch weight. Don't look at the dry weight of the trailer, look at the GVWR. Most people use it, even if they think they won't. Your loaded hitch weight should be 12-15% of your loaded trailer weight. Now, you are prepared to consider if you want to go either a fifth wheel or a travel trailer. You also need to look at the GCVWR.

We prefer a trailer to a motor home because we like to leave the steering wheel and feel like we are at home. We also prefer a rear living arrangement not found in motor homes. Either way, you will be towing something!

Best of luck with your choice!p

[laknox]

Odessa Grandma wrote:
Within the next year, we plan to get back into the RV lifestyle. Have a new half ton Dodge truck. Both of us are in our sixties and have had some health issues.... DH is a five year cancer survivor and I am recuperating from a couple of thoracic spine fractures...... So not the best health, but not horrible. We love to travel. Have owned fifth wheels in the past that we towed with a 3/4 ton Ford. Looking at Class A's (used) and it looks like we can get a pretty decent one for under $50,000. Also have looked at the Jayco half-ton towable fifth wheel. For those of you who have had both.... Would you go with a new fiver or be patient and wait for " the just right" class A. (Used). Mileage looks like it would be pretty close between both setups. Insurance would probably be more for the Class A. Comfort wise, about the same? Setup at the campsite would probably be easier with the class A. What other categories do we need to consider in making this decision?

Thanks for your help......

As has already been alluded to, you're going to be =severely= limited in your choice of FW with a 1/2 ton truck. It's not what you can =tow=, it's what you can =carry= that limits your choices. You'd be better off with a travel trailer if you're dead-set on keeping the 1/2 ton, IMO. NEVER consider dry, or unloaded, weights when looking at FW's; you can only estimate the pin weight at gross weight, and that's the number you have to need to work with. Figure 20% of the GVW as the pin weight, on average, and you'll be in the ballpark.

Lyle

[avvidclif1]

Odessa Grandma wrote:
Thanks everyone......seeing your posts makes me know that we are going to be wishy, washy for the next few months until the purchase......and beyond that purchase as well! Leaning towards the fifth wheel at this time for the "homey" feel, but the setup at the campsite thought makes me say......"are you sure???"

Class A: Find spot and unhook toad if you don't have a pull-thru. Back in and autolevel while hooking up water, sewer, electric.

5th Wheel Find spot and back in or pull thru, unhook RV. Autolevel while water, sewer, electric are hooked up.

Timewise, no difference. When leaving the 5th is faster, it's easier to hook up than a toad.

Biggest difference is the steps, as pointed out Class A's usually have a 3 step stair and inside is flat. A 5th has the 3 (or 4) steps and more on the inside. It makes a big difference for someone who has walking difficulties or knee problems.

On mine 3 steps on the stair plus one to get inside, another 2 steps to get into the kitchen and another step to get into the bedroom.

[RoyB]

Also I imagine the bigger the unit the more money it is going to cost you to go anywhere along with all the headaches of the road traffic pulling the whole house along with you....

We are in our mid 70's and it sure is nice to get in our 2010 F150 truck and tow our 4200lb OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer from Northern Neck VA to Gatlinburg TN (458miles) on one tank of gas... No wind drag to deal with at all...

Not much overhead money wise for the small units...

About the only expenses we have is maybe a new set of two tires ever so often and Insurance and Inspection Fees etc...

Yes we lose out with lots of open space inside the small trailer but we still enjoy ourselves... Makes us enjoy the outside more haha... We started out in the 60s being avid tent campers...

This is NOT a full time thing for us I guess as we still maintain our regular house in Virginia...

Roy Ken

[Toolguy5]

No matter what way you go, you need a vehicle to get around in. There are options to get that can make set up about the same on each.

The MH gives you the opportunity to have restroom and kitchen available to the passenger.
Depending on the size of the MH, the 1/2 ton 5er may give you more room.

Again you will need to find the right floor plan that fits your needs. As well as the right pin weight and towable weight for your truck.

If you only have a figure of $50,000 you may have a hard time finding the right MH to fit your needs especially a used one.

Just my 2 cents.

[RustyJC]

You've already limited your selection of 5th wheels pretty dramatically with the 1/2 ton truck. If your criteria for selecting the 1/2 ton included a nice, smooth ride when unloaded, it's a shame that you didn't consider the Ram 2500 with the rear coil springs and air suspension option. The higher capacity of this truck would have opened up your options to more 5th wheels than will be workable with the 1/2 ton Ram 1500.

As far as time and effort required for setup, it all depends on how your 5th wheel is equipped. I daresay setup on ours is pretty competitive with the MH when you consider that the MH owner has to unhitch his toad while I'm unhitching the 5th wheel from the truck. With automatic leveling, power cord reel, etc., leveling and hooking up utilities really isn't that different than the MH.

Rusty

[CarlT100]

I wish you the best in whatever you choose and happy camping.

[Odessa_Grandma]

Thanks everyone......seeing your posts makes me know that we are going to be wishy, washy for the next few months until the purchase......and beyond that purchase as well! Leaning towards the fifth wheel at this time for the "homey" feel, but the setup at the campsite thought makes me say......"are you sure???"

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

How you intend to travel, how mobile you are and how you feel about cost of maintenance on an A versus a 5er will come into play at minimum. If you are staying in one location for a while you may like the more "homey" feel of a 5er. We had a 5er but like the generally more storage in our A, the ease to set up when stopping, being travellers more than staying in one location for weeks at a time, and I never have enjoyed driving around towns in the big dually when we were disconnected. Just overall we find the A suits our needs better for how we roll (long bays for hubby's fishing rods works better as well).

There's truly no right or wrong answer it's so individual a choice, hence the variety we see on the roads. If we were headed to one location for a month or longer at a time stay for the most part, we'd likely consider the newer 5ers with the island kitchens = cosmetically nice and would then be more home based than travelling - but the truck as our daily driver would likely still mean an A would win out.

[Old-Biscuit]

Stairs.......5th wheel always going up/down stairs to get in/out and bedroom/bathroom

And with newer half ton truck ....yes you can tow a 5th wheel just have to find the right one weight wise so truck is not overloaded.

Class A..once you go into it....end of stairs
Easier to set up.......probably
Safer cause you can just pull up and go to sleep for overnighters. Don't have to get out of truck then open up/go into 5th wheel

Then again there are travel trailers......can get more/tow more in a travel trailer than you can 5th wheel.
Stairs just to go in/out (same as Class A)