1) I've always drove pickups, so driving around town in a pickup is not a big deal. I'm more more comfortable in a pickup.
2) If you are into 4 wheeling, a MH may make sense as you could use a jeep as your toad, while you probably wouldn't want to use a 1 ton dually for the same purpose.
3) What is with MH's pulling full size pickups? It's the worst of both worlds. You have the inconvience and poor fuel economy for around town driving, but you still have two drivetrains to maintain and you are still towing.
4) Make sure you are comparing apples to apples when you read the replies. Some are including new prices and used prices in the same example (ie: new 5er and tow truck vs used toad) and then there is the issue of what is comparable. Is a 30' MH equivilent to a 30' 5er? In most cases they are not.
5) I've driven both and while they handle different, neither is significantly harder than the other (I haven't driven a high end DP).
6) Setting up the 5er takes about 15 minutes. I expect to have that down to 10 as we get more profiecent. If we just drop the legs and plug into electric we could crash for the night in 5 minutes. I can't see where a MH would be significantly quicker plus this lifestyle isn't about efficency and quickness.
7) The more you move the less advantage to using a small toad for fuel efficency.
8) If you start looking at 5er's in the 40'+ range, you start going beyond a simple 1 ton dually and equivilent MH's start to make more sense.
Looking at the used market (8-12 years old, 26-30'), we found MH's with equivilent amenities, age and living space were almost twice as expensive and I would be very nervous about the drivetrain as many MH's sit for months at a time.
Tammy Mike & the Bilge Rat (AKA: Diego)
Ford F250 7.2L
1997 Sunnybrook 27' 5er
1995 Gemini Sail Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and 5er
We decided on a Class A after camping in a Lance camper for many years for obvious reasons.
We looked at fivers and Class A's and liked many things about both. The fiver's hands down "can" have more room. The higher ceilings and deeper slides really can give them the feeling of home. I think everything else on the interior is pretty much the same but in their different ways. Also we would of had to buy a truck to pull it an the one I wanted was a loaded King Ranch F-350. The DW said no. lol
We gave it a lot of thought and decided theres nothing like setting up in the pouring rain. I'm sure unhooking and leveling can be a bear especially in the cold. I've unhooked our jeep and in the five minutes that takes my hands have turned blue.
We enjoy the comfort of our Class A.
Here are a few reasons. We can park in our space with the television on to make sure the trees are'nt blocking the satelite. Nice to witness that as the driver. Much easier to park at night with the back-up camera. The larger tires 22.5's are nice. Kinda gives a better feeling of safety. Had a blowout in a pick-up with a 4500lb camper. Not fun. We can run the heater or the ac so it will be comfortable when we get to our destination. It's another plus to use, at least for the passenger to use the bathroom. Also you can fix lunch while on the road. Weve had things fall on the floor while driving and the co-pilot jumped up and picked it up. Try that in a fiver. I think our favorite things are the full size king bed, The larger tires and the self leveling system. We also love our Jeep. Nice to be able to zip around and park in small spaces
The choice is yours and I'm sure no matter which you pick you will love it.
Good luck with your choice and happy trails.
Kevin & Dawn
Doggies:
Persalina, We love you & miss you so very much!
Moonbeam
Chloie Pearl
'07 Itasca Suncruiser 35L
Workhorse 24-8.1 Vortec w/6 sp. Allison
05 Jeep Wrangler Toad
Roadmaster Even Brake
We have owned both, 37' NuWay and two MHs. Both have advantages and disadvantages but as the wife just pointed out, and this becomes more important as age creeps up, having a bathroom you can get up and walk to while moving is a definite plus!!
Tom, Carole & Duke
Potter County PA (God's Country)
09' Phaeton 42'QRH, Suzuki SX4 Toad
We have bigfoot auto levelers on our fifth wheel the same as class A's. I also like the safety of a truck in case of an accident...class A motorhomes have no mandated safety features like the automobile industry. If you don't have a wreck this is not an issue but from my way of thinking "accidents happen".
The large front windshield is a great view in the class A but so many of the class A's don't have near the large windows of many fivers. I personally enjoy leaving the truck with all the traveling maps and all the electronics such as navigation systems and back up cameras which are a lot of visual clutter and entering the fiver (I know that sounds strange but is true).
There are so many choices and we each must make our own decision and just hope that we have made the right one. Good luck.
I prefer the Class A because of the way I travel. I don't stay any one place too long. If I was going to be stopping and staying one place for longer than a week at a time then I think the 5th wheel would be better.
We are not full timers and don’t ever intend to be unless financial disaster strikes unexpectedly, so I can’t speak to that. We do spend a decent amount of time in our MH, however.
After having had many different RV’s of many different configurations over the years, we settled on the Class A as the most suitable configuration for us some time ago. We are not “campers” – despise campgrounds and their crowds, busybodies, rules, etc. We travel a good bit (mostly for upland bird hunting in remote places) and we use the MH as a true home when we are not in our regular home. It is pretty much ideal for that purpose when actually driving (my wife watches satellite TV in the bedroom while I drive) and when we a living out of it in a fixed location for a period of time. I need a small, off-road capable vehicle to get into the backcountry – the MH tows a Jeep for that purpose.
A 5th wheel or other big trailer would not be “home” when actually driving. It would be, relatively speaking, a PITA to tow any sort of trailer for the long distances we travel – especially on the windy high plains, in mountains where the exhaust brake lets you handle steep slopes without white knuckling, etc. It would not be as self-contained as the MH for overnight stops (I can level, extend slides, etc and don’t even need to step outside if I don’t want to) or extended stays in wilderness places, where the big, quiet diesel generator and large tankage are most helpful. Plus, with a 5th wheel I am stuck with a big, heavy duty pickup as my only vehicle – far from ideal for getting deep into backcountry and far from ideal as a runabout (note I’m not talking about driving a regular half-ton pickup – that is what I drive and my normal every day transportation – I’m talking about a ¾ ton or a full 1 ton, likely a dually – a much different critter, especially in tight places off road).
So, I would go along with the idea that Class A’s are for travelers and 5th wheels are for those who like to sit in campgrounds as one primary difference.
The other primary difference is cost. If you are looking to save money, don’t look at a diesel Class A. On the other hand, if you can afford a diesel Class A, I think you’ll never look back.
2008 Winnebago Journey 39z DP
2004 Jeep Liberty toad
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