5th Wheel vs Class A

[slypig]

Hello folks,

I'm new here and need some opinions. I am considering 5th Wheel or Class A. Does anyone have pros and cons between them? What we may do is long term traveling in the future...BTW I have a '66 VW that we will pull behind or put in Toy Hauler for transportation.

Ok...........go!

Thanks in advance,
Steve

[KevSchofield]

With kids? a 5th wheel.. Nice bunk room at the rear, and nice bedroom for us up front.
Haven't seen a class A yet that has decent bunks and some level of privacy for mom and dad..

Not a big deal to have a F350 as a truck up here in NH..
Plows in the winter, tows the camper in the summer.
We've got a family car as well for daily needs.

Once the kids are grown and we don't need that bunk space, we may switch to a Class A
and travel more, but for now we are loving the 5th wheel.

[wintersun]

The choice is between having a tow vehicle pulling a 5th wheel trailer and a Class A motorhome pulling a small vehicle. When you stay at a campground you will want to have either the tow vehicle or the towed/toad vehicle to get around.

The 5th wheel trailer will provide the most space though it will be on two levels. It will also have a greater load capacity for water and gear as the axles do not have to support an engine and heavy coach. The 5th wheel trailer is also going to be better insulated and easier to heat or cool year round.

Best to go to campgrounds and talk to as many people as you can find using each type and see how they use them, how storage is accomplished, what they like and dislike, what they had before it and what they plan to have next.

[slypig]

Thanks everyone. I can see there is really no pat answer. Guess we'll have to roll around what our needs might be when that time comes. We lived on the road in a 13' trailer when I was a traveling Silversmith for about 1-1/2yrs. At the time I retire (when?) I do believe we will look for a bit more space. 🙂 The road fever has bit us again. These units with slide outs have changed the Mrs. mind a bit.

Thank you again for your time!!
Steve

[BB_TX]

You can get new 5ers with auto leveling systems and power awnings. So set up is not much different than setting up a MH. Disconnect the truck in one case, disconnect the toad in the other. Or leave either connected for overnighters. Then it is just electric/water/sewer.
We chose a 5er due to our travel. 2,500-3,000 miles per year and only actually on the highway 10-12 days per year. Did not make sense to have a MH sit idle 355 days per year.

[valhalla360]

I'm not sure if the toy haulers will handle a VW (someone feel free to correct me). Most are geared towards golf cart/motor cycle/ATV. One big enough to handle a car would definetly put you in dually 1 ton territory.

Now if you drop the VW/toy hauler, you move into the 30' range (equivilent to a 35' MH) and 3/4 ton trucks are a reasonable option for most. Once you've driven them a bit, they really aren't a problem and any fuel savings driving around town are usualy made up for with better fuel economy towing.
- This assumes you actuall move on a regular basis but if you are parked for months at a time that is hard on the MH drivetrain not being used anyway.

For costs, it's hard to beat the 5er. Unless you have medical issues where the co-pilot absolutely needs to be able to leave the seat at any moment or you absolutely refuse to drive a pickup around town, there isn't a lot of advantage with a MH that is towing a car.

[korbe]

My consideration included one versus two engines to maintain and pay insurance for.

[dahkota]

We full timed in a tt for seven months before switching to a class A. We chose the tt over a 5er because we did not want a bigger truck and we liked having our truck bed available. We went from a diesel truck to a gas MH.

Based on our experience and only our experience, a MH is much easier, even with a toad if you move frequently. If you stay put more - a week to a month, a 5er or tt is better.

With the tt/5er set up you, essentially, have to go from camp spot to camp spot where you can unhook your tow vehicle and then go out and see sites or whatever else you want to do. Yes, you can stop in places with large parking lots but you have to make sure everything you want is there as you *usually* can't drop your tt/5er and come back later.

With a motorhome/toad set up, you can unhook your toad in a parking lot and go site see, shop, whatever. You don't have to find a campground first to unhook.

Motorhomes are better set up for moving; tt/5ers are better set up for stopping. tt/5ers typically have more space for their length than MH. MH allow one to access everything while moving.

It really just depends on how you travel. We were really committed to keeping our truck and tt. The space was more than enough, the storage excellent, and we really loved our truck. But, once we got out on the road, we realized life would be much much easier with a MH.

[Dance_Chick]

We have a MH simply because that's what we like. We considered a 5er for a moment and decided we are MH people for no real pros or cons either way. We just love a MH.

[et2]

We've owned 4 fivers. And the last two were pulled with a Dodge diesel dually and rightly so as their weight and size was not practical with a one ton SRW or a 3/4 ton. If your thinking of a toy hauler you're most likely, if serious about towing safely in the dually pickup territory. Most people get a diesel.

That being said we had a dually with our last two fivers and glad we did (diesel). There is nothing more to maintain in a DP motorhome engine then in a a modern pickup diesel engine. They both need the oil changed, filters , etc. The oil change if you have it done is a little more then a pickup.

The dually has six tires - our DP has six tires. If your driving the pickup every day then your going to go through tires faster than a MH most likely. The rest of the systems other then a air brake and ride system in a MH can be found on a fiver as well.

If your not driving the dually every day then your possibly paying for a truck that just sits in the drive your paying for insurance and maintenance on, no different then the MH. The exception is the MH will tow your daily drive vehicle and will make you trips more comfortable in your side trips.

There are toy hauler MH's available. We now own our year old DP MH for slightly more than our fiver and a new pickup would have cost. It can be done.

[Stefonius]

I love my fiver. It's far more cost-effective to insure and maintain than a big Class A, and I don't mind driving the truck around town when I'm camping.

[DutchmenSport]

Perhaps I can give an objective opinion, considering I have never owned a 5er or a MH. I'm a happy TT owner, so let me chime in.

I think it boils down to only 2 factors in what one needs when it comes to a 5er or a MH. It's really this simple:

The ability to separate truck and trailer and use each independently
or
The ability to move around inside when traveling

Break camp every time you need to go an an excursion
or
Leave camper behind and do those excursions in a separate vehicle

If you factor in ONLY a MH vs a 5er, these are the main issues.
If you factor in a TOAD for the MH, the "separation" factor is not an issue, but the overall cost is.

YOU have to decide which is more important for your needs.

(I choose TT because I did not want to give up the bed of my truck and wanted the "separation" availability. I don't mind not having access to the refrigerator when driving. That what rest stops are for).

[et2]

There are a ton of threads and posts on this subject. A search would lead you to hours of reading the "opinions" of others. IMHO it is a subject that some people just shy away from anymore because there is no real answer and it ends up us vs them.

You'll get the - fiver has more room than a MH - the fiver is cheaper in maintenance - fiver is less money. But in the end it's all is nothing but opinions. It usually comes down to what you want to spend and what your comfortable with. Many fiver owners end up with a MH some day. A few MH owners go back to a fiver.

But try doing a search and you'll probably answer every question you have.

[edbehnke]

driving a moster truck? all you really need is a short box 3/4 ton truck to pretty much pull everything out there.

for us a 5th wheel works well. at times i would have liked the big class A with a huge generator but that won't happen. i decided i didn't want 2 motors to worry about since we would have to also buy a car if we had a class A.

no exact answer just get what you can afford and see yourself living in. and toy haulers add another issue in your choice.

good luck

[slypig]

I guess I also have to consider the higher cost of diesel fuel but I think there is less mainenance with a diesel engine...? I had an '82 300D Mercedes and it was wonderful.