class A vs. 5th wheel

[Old_Ephram]

We currently have a 30ft. 5th wheel which we pull with a Chevy 3500 SRW, Duramax. This weekend we went to an RV show and a 33ft class A Alegro caught my eye. My question for those of you who have had both is, how does the MH compare with the 5er in terms of driving/hauling? We would pull a small car, probably a jeep wrangler. My only complaint about the 5th wheel is the boucing and banging on rough roads. My wife likes the idea of being able to go back into the MH while in route. Any thoughts on pros and cons would be appreciated.

[valhalla360]

dons2346 wrote:
Another advantage is when you are in a tight campground and there isn't a pull thru. Spent 20 minutes the other day watching a guy try to park a 5th wheel with his big truck. Spot was a simple one for a MH

How exactly do you back up with the toad attached? Assuming you learn how to back up, the 5th wheel has the advantage.

Also, if you goal is push button ease, you can get generators and auto leveling on a 5th wheel. The only horror, is the 10-15 seconds it takes to walk back in the rain from the truck to the trailer. With the price difference of motorhomes, that's a pretty hefty price to pay for the couple times per year when you might get your hair wet.

We find without rushing, we set up or tear down as quickly as most motorhomes do. It's cheaper and easier to maintain a single drivetrain.

The fuel savings with a toad is largely a myth. With MH's typically getting worse MPG by a significant margin compared to PU's towing, you have to put a lot of miles on the toad to make up the difference. The thing is we usally camp close to what we want to see so we aren't putting a ton of miles on the truck. (You may have a specific usage that differs but for most, I believe you will find the same issue if you run the numbers)

If we were to consider a MH it would be because we have need of a particular TOAD. Say you are into off roading and really want a jeep. That's tough with a 5th wheel unless you want to double tow or the spouse drives seperately. In that case a MH makes a logical choice.

[Mote]

My dream setup would be a Tiffin Allegro 32SA pulling a Jeep Wrangler 2door. Seems like that would be the best of both worlds. I nice motorhome to travel and camp in, then the Wrangler to pull the top off and go see the sites.

Or an Allegro Red 33aa

[afrescopXx]

kaydeejay wrote:
I went the other way - Class A to a fiver.
Unless you go for a higher level MH, preferably a DP, you will find the ride to be AWFUL.
Mine was a Coachmen on a Ford F53 chassis and it shook the fillings out of my teeth.
Local truck suspension experts couldn't understand how the cabinets had not ripped out of the roof.
Coachmen were of no help "What do you expect, it's a Fedex truck chassis?"
Truck and fiver is a better ride, even if it does bounce on some of the rougher roads.
So, if you go from a Class A, be sure to drive it on some rough roads before you commit to make sure you can live with it.

A case of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". For us, our 35' Class A F-53, rides about 200% than the 3/4 ton diesel/35' 5th wheel it replaced.

Once again, if you spend $50,000 - $??????? you are going to defend your decision. I do think a 22,000 lb motorhome is going to ride a bit differently than a 6,600 lb pickup truck. Riding in our truck, one I really liked, on a rough road could jar the fillings out of your teeth. The motorhome can do the same on a rough road. On "normal" roads both rode nicely but the F-53 is better.

As I said, no one will come on here and admit they made the most expensive mistake of their life (aside from marrying the wrong spouse). Take away from these comments what you will but always remember they are just that, opinions.

[kaydeejay]

I went the other way - Class A to a fiver.
Unless you go for a higher level MH, preferably a DP, you will find the ride to be AWFUL.
Mine was a Coachmen on a Ford F53 chassis and it shook the fillings out of my teeth.
Local truck suspension experts couldn't understand how the cabinets had not ripped out of the roof.
Coachmen were of no help "What do you expect, it's a Fedex truck chassis?"
Truck and fiver is a better ride, even if it does bounce on some of the rougher roads.
So, if you go from a Class A, be sure to drive it on some rough roads before you commit to make sure you can live with it.

[PCarnathan]

Keep in mind - You posed this question on the Class A forum! We camped in a 33' toyhauler for years. We sold it and used a 19' Roadtrek for a few years while saving up the cash for a Class A DP. The toys (2 PWC and 2 ATV) ride in an enclosed trailer, or we tow the Honda CR-V. I can't begin to tell you how much nicer the Class A is over the 5th wheel. Only you can make the choice, but we're never going back to the 5th wheel.

Pat in Menifee, CA
www.patcarnathan.com

[dahkota]

We fulltimed in a truck/tt combo. Now we fulltime in a mh/towed combo.

It is much easier in the mh. We also like it much better. It is faster, more convenient, and more relaxing.

We have a 33' mh. It is the perfect size and we can actually get into quite a few parks that large rigs and truck/5er combos can't get into (just look at length limits in CA parks). If the road/campground is limited to 35', we just unhook the jeep and go. There is no truck/5er combination that can do that.

Today, we decided to take a 'shortcut' back to camp. There is no way an F250 or larger could have made it between those rock walls and through the washes - too wide, too long. And too heavy for the deep sandy parts. You can't tow a jeep with a 5er or vice versa.

Would we ever go back to a truck and 5er/tt? Nope. Not unless we were parking it somewhere long term.

Do we want something larger like a 40' DP? Nope, unless we were going to slow down and spend more time inside rather than outside.

You really need to examine how and why you travel. For many people, a truck/5er is perfect. For others it isn't. But there is no right answer. My response, above, is because a mh is right for us and the way we travel right now.

[Mr__Coach]

Here is my opinion. I currently have a 5ver toy hauler. It's great and it's huge, hard to park, hard to back into my yard where I store it, hard to hook up, hard to level, and a lot of things that I could tell you that I don't like. But there are things I do like about a 5ver. Such as having a vehicle to drive around with when your at your site, and on mine it's a toy hauler so it has a garage and I've set up my garage ramp to use as a deck works great. UMMM. That's it.. Other than that it's a pain to move around, I don't like it and am going to sell it and get a MH.. I've had motorhomes before this 5ver and wish I would have never touched it. I have a great 1 ton truck to pull it with but I'm sorry I want a mh again, easier to park great for the kids having to use the restroom while on the road and fun to drive.. So as for me hands down it's a motorhome. Just my opinion.

[Ivylog]

Six months and you want to change... going to cost you a bunch$$$$$$ Can you use a MH 100+ days/year? Why so short a MH?
Double tow or buy a Idaho Tote to bring the ATV. Stop going to RV shows and looking at other RVs.

[ncrowley]

I recommend you do a search and there have been a lot of great conversations about the pros and cons of each. A class A is usually the most expensive way to go but it offers comfortable travel and conveniences like being able to use the restroom while traveling.

[dezolen]

Having owned a 33' 5th wheel(5 yrs) before our coach I could never go back. Had no complaints whatsoever with the ride of our pickup with the trailer but the Motorhome is so much nicer. I'd have to have a Mobile Suites 5th wheel to be even close but then I'd be cruising around in a dually which would not be the ideal vehicle to see the sites.
Love site seeing in a smaller more fuel efficient vehicle, maint on new gasser is super cheap amounting to an oil change 1x per year depending on miles, Stays much cleaner with the full body paint, quality way above the trailer, ease of setup, on board generator, storage second to none, having bathroom at our disposal, etc etc.

[msmith1199]

afrescop wrote:
After pulling into an RV spot for the night for the first time in a driving rain you will know the difference. While I disagree with those who would be an unseat belted projectile it is great to to pull into a rest area or safe place to park and do one's "business" in one's own bathroom. We frequently stop at rest areas, fire up the generator and sit down to enjoy a nice lunch. A word of advice: look at floor plans carefully and choose one that permits access to kitchen and bathroom with slides in.

A motorhome's upkeep is more expensive than a 5th wheel to maintain the comfort and convenience is worth it. After four years of owning a fifth wheel we made the change to a moho. Never looked back.

I have never yet ever seen a motorhome that didn't have access to the bathroom and main parts of the kitchen with the slides closed. Even the rear bath models have a half bath up front so you don't have to climb over the bed when the slide is closed.

[msmith1199]

A motorhome is still going to bounce around on rough roads. A DP with an air ride suspension is going to be better than a gasser, but both will bounce around and shake rattle and roll when on the really rough roads.

There is a long list of why one is better than the other with good things on both sides. I can tell you the main deciding factors for me in going to the Class A over the truck trailer combination was a few things. One is I had no need for a monster truck and I wanted a good size RV. So if I went with the 5er I'd have needed a 3/4 to 1 ton big truck. I just don't like driving a big truck around as a daily driver and I surely couldn't afford to have just bought it to pull the trailer and nothing else.

Number 2 for me was cost. A Class A DP was cheaper for me. Now that may be confusing for some, but I'm not a cash buyer. If you're a cash buyer than the truck trailer deal may be good for you. But I had to finance. To finance a $45k plus truck is going to be a really high payment over maybe 6 or 7 years. You can get a longer payment term on the trailer but the two payments combined (for what I would have wanted) would have had a net cost more than the class A DP. That's because I got a long term loan and 100% of the interest on that loan is a write-off as a 2nd mortgage. On your truck-trailer combo only the trailer loan interest is a write-off. In the long run I'm going to pay more, but I got a cheaper net payment for the fist half of the loan.

For me, those were probably the biggest reasons for the Class A over the 5er, but the other reasons already listed played a part too. I love sitting up at eye level with the big rigs and being able to see down the road ahead as well as getting a better view of the Country as you drive by.

[afrescopXx]

After pulling into an RV spot for the night for the first time in a driving rain you will know the difference. While I disagree with those who would be an unseat belted projectile it is great to to pull into a rest area or safe place to park and do one's "business" in one's own bathroom. We frequently stop at rest areas, fire up the generator and sit down to enjoy a nice lunch. A word of advice: look at floor plans carefully and choose one that permits access to kitchen and bathroom with slides in.

A motorhome's upkeep is more expensive than a 5th wheel to maintain the comfort and convenience is worth it. After four years of owning a fifth wheel we made the change to a moho. Never looked back.

[Twomed]

Driving Lessons

Here you go... 🙂 🙂

[dons2346]

Another advantage is when you are in a tight campground and there isn't a pull thru. Spent 20 minutes the other day watching a guy try to park a 5th wheel with his big truck. Spot was a simple one for a MH