Are fivers roomier than a motorhome

[et2]

I've seen a few comments recently from members saying that they went back to a fiver because it has more room. I don't understand as we've owned 4. Based our last two at 40' and our now new MH at almost 42' - our motorhome is much more roomier than the fivers. Mainly because of the two opposing slides. Storage in the MH is tons more.

That's part of the reason we bought our MH is it's roomier. The last two fivers had 4 slides and 3 slides. The MH has 3. Am I missing something?

[holstein13]

As a couple of other people have mentioned, the space at the front dash of a MH is not always wasted. I have the drop down queen sized bed that drops down from the ceiling and extends from the front window back to the back of the front seats.

Granted, most MHs don't have this feature, but they still use the space otherwise with swivel chairs and cabinets, controls, and TVs over the front windshield. Most diesel pushers use the area in front of the passenger seat as an entry way which frees up the mid-coach for furniture.

[et2]

the silverback wrote:
On a DP you lose the storage under the bed and the back trunks. Not so on a 5th wheel.

If you mean the engine area, you also lose that up front behind the king pin in a fiver. 😉

Besides "there is" storage back there, for batteries, electrical cords,converter/inverter, etc., incorporated into the engine area. Where otherwise in a fiver they are usually up front in the forward compartment, or front side compartments.

There is storage under our inside bed. The only fiver we had with storage under the back end was our last Cameo. And it wasn't much. Certainly overall less than what our MH has overall for "storage".

But this is about inside living space. It seems to have gotten off track.

[the_silverback]

On a DP you lose the storage under the bed and the back trunks. Not so on a 5th wheel.

[et2]

holstein13 wrote:
There seems to be a misconception here that extra ceiling height does not equal extra space. But that space is not completely occupied by air. If I had taller ceilings, I'd have taller cabinets with much more space for storage. My shower would be taller (I'm already nearly bumping my head in there). Space saving wall units can be taller in a 5er. In fact, with more cabinet height, you could have less cabinets which would allow you more floor space.

Dollar for dollar, there is no doubt you get more space with a 5er / truck combo vs a MH / toad combo.

But the most important point here is that it's not the size of the ship that matters, it's the motion of the ocean.

None of the cabinets we had in our three fivers with cathedral ceiling a had any of the cabinets any higher than our MH. As a matter of fact they were located within the slide-outs and the very rear of the coach. There is a limit to how high they can make them as many people couldn't reach what was in them without help of a stool.

The ceiling fans are there for a reason in a fiver to help circulate the air to help keep it warm. If you don't have high ceilings no need to worry about it. I have seen many MH with ceiling fans.

I'm not sure what the dollar has to do with the space, other than the fiver is a lesser cost and rightly so. No one yet other than opinions has provided any factual discussion to Indicate that for size to size there is any more usable space.

As far as I'm concerned this is a urban myth. But anyway it's been fun! Thanks for all the comments

[et2]

msmith1199 wrote:

et2 wrote:

the silverback wrote:
foot for foot, yes. no wasted space for a engine. Also the slides can be deeper. Don't have to get from the drivers seat to the back of the 5th wheel with the slides in.

Foot for foot - no. Math is math and it calculates the same. Engines on DP don't take up space in the living area. They are under the rear bedroom in most cases. Front engine MH - yes.

Engines and drivelines take up space that could have been used for storage which could free up more space in the RV for living space. You know kind of like why 5ers have that extra space.

Diesel pushers have a rear mounted engine. The drive lines are virtually about a foot or two to the axle ( in ours anyway). They are completely under the floor taking up no living space. Many motorhomes have at least two pass thru bays with additional forward storage bays and rear storage bays and some for batteries and fuel, double or more than any fiver storage area. The storage in many MH goes all the way to the front of the coach, where in a fiver it doesn't as it has to clear the truck bed. The only large space in a a fiver is created by the upstairs transition to the king pin.

[msmith1199]

et2 wrote:

the silverback wrote:
foot for foot, yes. no wasted space for a engine. Also the slides can be deeper. Don't have to get from the drivers seat to the back of the 5th wheel with the slides in.

Foot for foot - no. Math is math and it calculates the same. Engines on DP don't take up space in the living area. They are under the rear bedroom in most cases. Front engine MH - yes.

Engines and drivelines take up space that could have been used for storage which could free up more space in the RV for living space. You know kind of like why 5ers have that extra space.

[msmith1199]

holstein13 wrote:
There seems to be a misconception here that extra ceiling height does not equal extra space. But that space is not completely occupied by air. If I had taller ceilings, I'd have taller cabinets with much more space for storage. My shower would be taller (I'm already nearly bumping my head in there). Space saving wall units can be taller in a 5er. In fact, with more cabinet height, you could have less cabinets which would allow you more floor space.

Dollar for dollar, there is no doubt you get more space with a 5er / truck combo vs a MH / toad combo.

But the most important point here is that it's not the size of the ship that matters, it's the motion of the ocean.

You can also put ceiling fans in a 5er that you can't easily put in a MH unless you are a family of short people.

[ncrowley]

When I go to shows, I feel like the fifth wheels have more living room in them. The cockpit in the front of the class A takes up space and it is not very usable. I am not sure about storage room, however. But RVs with opposing slides are very roomy, whether you get a class A or a fifth wheel. I wouldn't think the space would be of prime consideration if you were trying to decide between a class A and a fifth wheel. If I was gong to spend a long time in one place, I would probably go with a fifth wheel. Since I move around a lot when I travel with the RV, I like the class A.

[holstein13]

There seems to be a misconception here that extra ceiling height does not equal extra space. But that space is not completely occupied by air. If I had taller ceilings, I'd have taller cabinets with much more space for storage. My shower would be taller (I'm already nearly bumping my head in there). Space saving wall units can be taller in a 5er. In fact, with more cabinet height, you could have less cabinets which would allow you more floor space.

Dollar for dollar, there is no doubt you get more space with a 5er / truck combo vs a MH / toad combo.

But the most important point here is that it's not the size of the ship that matters, it's the motion of the ocean.

[et2]

the silverback wrote:
foot for foot, yes. no wasted space for a engine. Also the slides can be deeper. Don't have to get from the drivers seat to the back of the 5th wheel with the slides in.

Foot for foot - no. Math is math and it calculates the same. Engines on DP don't take up space in the living area. They are under the rear bedroom in most cases. Front engine MH - yes.

[et2]

CarlGeo wrote:
5th wheel trailers have more volume than a motor home of the same length, and therefore tend to feel like they have more room. The ceiling height in the main living space of a typical 5th wheel can be ten feet or more, whereas the ceiling height is a motor home is no more than eight feet. It is a feeling of extra space because of the additional height.

Exactly, what are you doing with the higher ceilings besides heating and cooling that extra air? Other than "impressions" it serves no purpose or anything to do with useable space. It's a feeling, and has nothing to do with actually more living space.

[the_silverback]

foot for foot, yes. no wasted space for a engine. Also the slides can be deeper. Don't have to get from the drivers seat to the back of the 5th wheel with the slides in.

[mpierce]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
You have just pulled in to your campsite after a long day behind the wheel. It is cold and it is pouring down rain. At this point in time are you really concerned that a fiver may seem a little more spacious than your nice warm and dry Class A as you settle in to your easy chair and start watching your favorite movie while the DW gets dinner ready? No need for you to go outside until the weather clears. 🙂

+1

Just last trip, it started raining cats and dogs about time to pull over for the night. We pulled into a truck stop, found an excellent isolated spot, parked, and I walked back into the bus. Used the facilities, the wife made a light supper, and we went to bed.

Never opened the door. Nice.

[CarlGeo]

5th wheel trailers have more volume than a motor home of the same length, and therefore tend to feel like they have more room. The ceiling height in the main living space of a typical 5th wheel can be ten feet or more, whereas the ceiling height is a motor home is no more than eight feet. It is a feeling of extra space because of the additional height.