Pre-owned Class A or Pre-owned 5th Wheel + Preowned Truck

[sylvanr]

I have recently retired and will be on a fixed income and could not afford to buy any kind of new RV with rapid depreciation. My budget is about $40,000 for my entry into an RV lifestyle.
My plan would be to take some regional trips for about 6 weeks at a time initially, for the first couple of years, until my spouse retires and then possibly longer trips of 2-3 months at a time after that.

I was initially thinking that I might divide my $40,000 between a diesel truck and a 5th wheel. It doesn't look like there are many used diesel trucks for less than $20,000, though, so maybe I am not being realistic?

It does seem like there are quite a few used 5th Wheels that would meet my needs in the $20,000 range. I like the idea of being able to unhitch the 5th Wheel when I get to where I am going and then use the truck for local sightseeing.

In further research, though, it appears that my money might go further by buying a used Class A motorhome? Apparently a lot of people buy them and then don't use them much and so the motor's don't have a lot of miles on them and there hasn't been a lot of wear and tear on the interiors. Many that I see seem to have less than 100 thousand miles and many years of life left in them and the original buyer has just aged out of wanting to use them or lost interest in them.

I am interested in hearing feedback from RV'ers about this question. If you have a budget of about $40,000, is it better spend on a truck and 5th Wheel or a Class A?

We have two Prius's and I read that they should not be towed so I suppose with the Class A, we might have to buy some small, used vehicle to tow behind the Class A so that would affect the price as well.

[TomAndJenn]

I know this is a year old post, but here is my findings after a few weeks of research into pre-owned trailers.

There is a ton of units out there for under $20k that are super nice and hardly used. If I were in the market now, I would have a large selection of fivers ranging from 25' - 35' in length, some toy haulers. Since my wife and I will be new to camping ourselves a nice used unit is in the works. I found a sweet Forest River 26RL 30' fiver for $17000 that if my wife and I were in the market, we would definitely go check out.

Class A motorhomes I didn't look into because wife and I want to have the truck with us to run errands, etc.. and not have to unhook the camper. I have an F350 CC/LB truck and she has an AWD Edge so flat towing is out of the question. Not that one is not in the cards, but we would like to get a Toy Hauler so we can take my Harley with us as well.

A good diesel truck can definitely be had for around $20k, but you may have to put in some extra money for upgrades/replacement parts. I work for a diesel performance shop part time and the boss buys/sells trucks all the time around that price range. Most recently, he sold a 2005 F250 King Ranch diesel with 135k on it, newer bottom end, EGR delete, new exhaust and new rear axle for $19k. Truck's interior was mint and definitely didn't look like it had that mileage.

OP, hope you bought something in the past year!

[creeper]

Seems he moved onto looking for a class A with a now $80 budget.

[2gypsies1]

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:

sylvanr wrote:
Thanks!

This is the OP. He is back. So what is the status on your search?

Right. This post is a year old. OP...don't leave us hangin'. What are your plans?

[OutdoorPhotogra]

sylvanr wrote:
Thanks!

This is the OP. He is back. So what is the status on your search?

[Foy_R__Smith]

Hi! I am a retired diesel mechanic. I am a Cummins man. I bought a 99 Dodge 3500 dual wheel with a 5.9 Cummins, auto, with 125,000 miles for $10,200. Still drives, new! It took me 6 mo to locate a good one at Springfield, Mo. I bought a 2000 Tahoe 31' toyhauler 5th wheel for $10,000 here local in Springdale, Ar. It is nothing fancy but is in good shape, comfortable, 125 gal fresh water and I can haul my 4wheeler and canoe, inside. We like to boon dock as much as possible! My nephew said that he had been looking for 5th wheel toyhauler for 5 years, just like it! Be patient and keep looking! Poor people have poor ways!

[Grit_dog]

OP never came back!

[Veebyes]

Sell a Prius. Get a lightly used good quality 5er & the biggest newest truck you can find with the lowest milage that has not been used for towing heavy loads. Something that has only been used to take a boat to the local ramp would be great.

[bronccat]

I had forgotten all about this thread. We ended up getting a Class A DP in November. Right choice for us after considering riding all those miles in a pull vehicle with two teens and two dogs 🙂

[sylvanr]

Thanks!

[Oaklevel]

Since there are two drive trains to maintain if you have a motor home. One with a fifth wheel. For me the fifth wheel is the way I would go. But your lifestyle is the choice. A couple of years ago we bought a used 2005 diesel truck (Miles were 54K) for under 20K and a new Toyhauler 36 foot fifth wheel for under 30K.

Good Luck !!!!! What ever you choose. 🙂

[Gjac]

With a $40,000 budget and a fixed retirement income I think you will do better with a used Class A and a small tow car if I understand your OP correctly. If you were to stay in one place for any length of time the 5th wheel might have an advantage, how ever if you want to travel and site see the A tow car combination will give you much better overall fuel mileage. I usually put as many miles if not more on my tow car that gets 40 mpgs as I do on the MH so I average 23 mpg for the combo. Also if you plan to winter down south in one area after you both retire it would be cheaper to buy fuel for a small car rather than a truck. You will be buying used so to me having two vehicles to drive to a parts store in case one breaks down is a plus. I spent $40k on this combo 10 years ago and had to use both vehicles for repair over the last 80k miles of travel. The 5th wheel will have more room to camp in, but the A is more comfortable to travel in easier to set up camp.

[crcr]

If you shop, you can find a clean Ram Cummins truck with the venerable 5.9L diesel for under 20K. Best years are 2003 to early 2007. A year and a half ago I bought a clean one owner quad cab 4x4, Arizona no rust 5.9L truck for 18K. It's been an awesome truck for towing.

[bronccat]

Hi All, newby here,

I've gone through this debate for the last week. I was all Class A until I stepped into a new 5th wheel (oops) - I even have a tow vehicle.

BUT, the main reason I want an RV to begin with is comfort and convenience on long haul trips (like a tour of the Western US).

I even considered a Super Duty conversion van and a travel trailer - but I am back to a Class A. The fact that I can roll into a rest area, walk 30' and make a sandwich, use the head or take a nap (not in the same place :p) is priceless. That and my dogs and family will be much happier with one another after a 1,000 miles in a Class A. 🙂

[ncrowley]

If you are going to move around a lot, I would consider the class A. If you are going to park for weeks at a time, I would go with the truck and trailer.