I think I made a mistake.

[praisetoGod]

After thinking about it for almost a year, we bought a 42.5 foot fifth wheel in February. This is our second camper. We didn’t think it was too big the year that we were looking and thinking about it, but now, as we maneuver it and travel with it, I think it is. My wife still really likes it, but I’m pulling it and it’s stressful for me. We only fill up at truck stops, but between stops when the kids need to go to the bathroom you can’t just pull this beast over anywhere. I’m getting better at backing up this triple axel 5th wheel, but I’ve started to think that a 35 motorhome would be a better fit. I’m curious if you’ve gone from a large fifth wheel to a motorhome and regretted that move, or gone from a motorhome to a fifth wheel and had any regrets.

[is_it_friday_ye]

barmcd wrote:

chuckftboy wrote:
My son recently went through the same thing. Sold his class A and bought a 41 foot 5er,toy hauler. He still has kids at home so he did a lot of short, weekend trips. He found it took a lot more time to set up and not having access to the toilet and TV on the road didn't work well for his family. He now has a DP with in motion sat. and sold the 5er and pickup. now he just backs in and hits a few buttons and he's camping. He bought new and had to take a hit on the selling price but he doesn't regret it at all

Set up is definitely much quicker with a motor home.

I disagree. Our new trailer with the 6 point Level Up system, I can be set up rather quickly. I can usually be drinking a beer while the trailer is leveling.

[rr2254545]

barmcd wrote:
We went from a 30' 5th wheel to a 40' motor home. My opinion is that you have to have a much longer motor home to get the same living space as a 5th wheel and a motor home/toad is more difficult to drive than a pickup/5th wheel combo. I could turn our 5th wheel around in a much smaller area than I can our motor home even though the combined length of the 5th wheel and truck was much longer.

OP talks about the length and finding places to park - with a motor home pulling a car even at 35 ft you have the same problems and with a car attached you can NOT BACK UP - so we use the truck stops also and eat a lot of lunches in them when on the road

[dahkota]

Bumpyroad wrote:

timmac wrote:

scabello wrote:


35' MH is not going to be any easier for you. You still want the truck stops when you add the car. Maybe it is 2' shorter at the end of the day? LOL.. it means nothing.. 24 inches, come on!


.

Towing a 43 ft 5th wheel is a lot different than a 35 ft motorhome with a small toad.

Been there done that and I find a motorhome much easier to drive and backup compared to a TT or 5th wheel.

how easy is it to back up the MH with a toad hooked on?
bumpy

Not that hard, as long as we are going in a straight line. We have to unhook if we need to turn. However, in two of the three places we have ever had to unhook to get out (in 2 years of full timing), a large 5er would have been trapped - they can't unhook to maneuver.

As for driving a 35' with a toad, we rarely use truck stops. There are always gas stations parallel to the road which we find easier to use than truck stops. And, two feet can make a huge difference in parking lots, campgrounds, and city streets. We are 50' long including toad and tow bar.

After six months of full timing in a 30' tt and truck (53'), we switched to a 34' class A and toad (50'). The new set up is easier in every way. Hitching and unhitching takes 5 minutes tops. Add to that the five minutes it takes to set up (three buttons - jacks and two slides) and ten minutes after pulling into a site, we can be enjoying the scenery.

[barmcd]

chuckftboy wrote:
My son recently went through the same thing. Sold his class A and bought a 41 foot 5er,toy hauler. He still has kids at home so he did a lot of short, weekend trips. He found it took a lot more time to set up and not having access to the toilet and TV on the road didn't work well for his family. He now has a DP with in motion sat. and sold the 5er and pickup. now he just backs in and hits a few buttons and he's camping. He bought new and had to take a hit on the selling price but he doesn't regret it at all

Set up is definitely much quicker with a motor home.

[barmcd]

We went from a 30' 5th wheel to a 40' motor home. My opinion is that you have to have a much longer motor home to get the same living space as a 5th wheel and a motor home/toad is more difficult to drive than a pickup/5th wheel combo. I could turn our 5th wheel around in a much smaller area than I can our motor home even though the combined length of the 5th wheel and truck was much longer.

[malexander]

I've had 3 5ers and 3 MH's. I'll take the MH over the trailers ANY day. Class C or A beats the trailer all to pieces. YMMV

[mowermech]

I was thinking about doing the opposite; going from a motorhome to a bumper pull toy hauler (especially since Class A front engine diesel toy hauler are so rare and horribly expensive!)
"WAS" is the operative word.
Thinking it would have to be a new trailer to get the trade-in value we would need, we looked at one. We may look at others someday, but that one is a definite NO! First off, it will only hold one of our ATVs, and it doesn't look like I could leave the truck tailgate down to haul the other one in the truck, even with the extension of the WD hitch.
Second, the panels covering the propane bottles and the generator compartment are cheap molded plastic with the sorriest fastener system I have ever seen!
Third, the $50K MSRP.
I think we will stay with what we have....

[CWDoc115]

Perhaps you are looking at this from the wrong angle...
Find a large parking lot that is easily accessible to you & take your rig there & practice all the maneuvers that you will encounter on the road. I find this very helpful whether the student is learning to ride a motorcycle, or learning to drive an emergency vehicle.
Remember, practice makes perfect.

[chuckftboy]

My son recently went through the same thing. Sold his class A and bought a 41 foot 5er,toy hauler. He still has kids at home so he did a lot of short, weekend trips. He found it took a lot more time to set up and not having access to the toilet and TV on the road didn't work well for his family. He now has a DP with in motion sat. and sold the 5er and pickup. now he just backs in and hits a few buttons and he's camping. He bought new and had to take a hit on the selling price but he doesn't regret it at all

[Bumpyroad]

timmac wrote:

scabello wrote:


35' MH is not going to be any easier for you. You still want the truck stops when you add the car. Maybe it is 2' shorter at the end of the day? LOL.. it means nothing.. 24 inches, come on!


.

Towing a 43 ft 5th wheel is a lot different than a 35 ft motorhome with a small toad.

Been there done that and I find a motorhome much easier to drive and backup compared to a TT or 5th wheel.

how easy is it to back up the MH with a toad hooked on?
bumpy

[timmac]

scabello wrote:


35' MH is not going to be any easier for you. You still want the truck stops when you add the car. Maybe it is 2' shorter at the end of the day? LOL.. it means nothing.. 24 inches, come on!


.

Towing a 43 ft 5th wheel is a lot different than a 35 ft motorhome with a small toad.

Been there done that and I find a motorhome much easier to drive and backup compared to a TT or 5th wheel.

[scabello]

How big was your first camper?

We now have a 45' MH and I wish they made a 50'. We tow a car and so we are 65'+ long now.

Yes, your 43' is big but is it really that much bigger than before? I used to be 34' and it was all in my head that 45' was huge. It looks huge but I have inadvertently wound up in tight parking lots and had no problem.

Yeah, 24' is easier than most anything. I would love to see your 43' -- wow, so spacious...

35' MH is not going to be any easier for you. You still want the truck stops when you add the car. Maybe it is 2' shorter at the end of the day? LOL.. it means nothing.. 24 inches, come on!

The plus of a MH, though, is for the kids - they can sit on the bed in the back and watch TV and it is a lot of fun for them (or go to sleep for hours on end). But for you personally, I would be happy with what you have and learn to enjoy it. Are you going on 3000 mile long trips all the time or just a few hundred miles?

As long as you are careful (and you are) then nothing wrong will happen. Dont worry, just enjoy.

[maddawg46]

Went from a Jayco 23ft. trailer no slides to a Newmar 32 ft motorhome. Like a small apartment. I've only had it 3 days, so no camping yet, but I can see why people like motorhomes. My wife can use the bathroom without me looking for a place to pull over. We looked at 5er , but this one rocked her boat. Panoramic view also. Wish we had it last year when we went across the country.
A lot more stuff to learn. My vacation home on wheels!

[gemert]

We went from a entry level 5er to a 11 year old high end DP. Great choice for us. Everything in easier except maintenance costs. I love it. Good luck.

[old_guy]

a friend of mine who is a truck driver told his wife that a MH was out of the question, she said but Honey you are a truck driver and he told her that pickups and fivers bend in the middle, MH don't