Oh.... one other huge factor for us.... if we stop for a few hours sleep in a rest area, Walmart etc., we don't worry about someone driving our pick-up off while we are back in a trailer sleeping
Amen to all of the above, plus (for us) it's a whole lot easier to back a MH into a parking place - it doesn't tend to bend in the middle.
We didn't know we were going to fulltime when we bought ours - but all of the above reasons still applied, and still do now that we do fulltime. We don't find the cockpit to be waste space - we have a mobile mount for our laptop, so when it's not swiveled to the driver's side for navigation, it swings back to the passenger seat - where we use it whenever not driving. The printer can then sit on the dash in front of the passenger seat. Works very well for us.
I was searching for a Class C when I ran across a Class A that was in really good condition for a low price. It would have been dumb to pass this thing up and sit around looking for several more months.
I have a jeep and flatbed trailer. I can triple tow everying I own in one trip. Well, I can as soon as I get a tow bar/brake for the jeep. A 5th wheel or travel trailer would involve buying a new truck which isn't going to be happening anytime soon.
Advantages: It's a comfortable dorm room with a potty and kitchen on wheels. It's also fully self contained including a genset. I can hitch up the trailer for roadtrips and be rolling in minutes. Gotta pee or hungry, pull over, stop, walk back and do your business. No climbing out the driver door with insane traffic inches away. If I had problems with anyone while overnighting somewhere, the escape is dirt simple - I don't have to deal with them however they have to deal with my bumper and several tons of vehicle behind it. If I breakdown, I can either self rescue or roll the motorcycle off the trailer and go get help. Zero hassles backing into camp sites. I can arrange the RV anyway I want without the extra length or turn angles of a 5th wheel. (Last summer I turned completely sideways in a camp site that would have been very difficult to impossible with a trailer. 5th wheels are simply too big and too much of a hassle for what I need or want.
Another advantage - our cats never have to be moved. We start the MH and they jump up on the coach and into their places. When we arrive, temperature is always pleasant inside the unit. Also we geocache and the Subaru is perfect for going after the caches and gets MUCH, MUCH better gas mileage than a truck would.
Barb
Barb & Dave - full-timing Traveling catpanions Kit (age 18) and Shadow (age 11) Figment II (2002 Alpine 36 MDDS) Mischief (2004 Subaru Forester Toad) FMCA - F337834, SKP #90761 http://homepage.mac.com/barbaraok/ Our blog
I do all our driving and set up; DH is ill w/cancer. I feel much more comfortable with MH than I had w/ the TT we had before. The hitch for our toad is more handleable by me alone than the trailer hitch was. I like the added sense of security when we're boondocking of simply being able to turn the key and take off. I like having a built in generator, and lots more basement storage. Also, MH is easier to park than a 5er, for me at least. Our toad is a Honda Civic hybrid so all our running around is at 45 mpg. My DH never gets out of his passenger seat to do anything. We stop when we need to use the facilities or make a snack. Stopping is good for us and our dog; we always take a little stretch; keeps the stiffness out of old joints. Just me personally, would never consider a 5er.
Carolyn
Joey (Australian cattle dog/Brittany)
Oliver and Millie (don't know they're cats)
'94 Southwind (no slides)
'05 Honda Civic Hybrid
We've had four 5th wheels and are on our 2nd motorhome, and have full-timed in all. We'd never go back to a 5vr, although it's just a personal choice. We like the MH for all the reasons stated previously, but especially for us it's important to have a relatively fuel-efficient AWD so that we can explore the area where we're visiting. Pulling into a campground in a driving rainstorm is a piece of cake in a MH - lower the jacks, push the slides, relax and wait for better weather to go outside.
Happily Fulltiming Somewhere
2006 Itasca Ellipse 40FD Our RV Blog
If I full timed it would be in a motorhome so I could tow a small toad. the last thing I would want to do is be stuck with a huge gas guzzling dually pickup that would be needed to tow any full time sized 5er. on my last trip to New Orleans my toad was a dakota pU and that was a little too large to drive/park in downtown IMHO>
bumpy
We decided on a class A the first time we test drove one. There is nothing like sitting up high and looking out that big-A*# window at the beautiful country going by. Also love the storage and pulling our little gas sipping Focus.
Kerry and Joanne
Lucy (female Jack always on the attack)
2007 Holiday Rambler Admiral,2002 Ford Focus
Full-timers mantra, Close your eyes, click your heels,
you're already home.
Madison S.D. via Vancouver, WA.
We have now been living in our 35', class A, gas powered motorhome for 8 years, 4 months. We love our choice of a motorhome. By towing a small vehicle we are preventing the addition of miles to the big engine and so we don't have to buy fuel for that big engine when we are just going sight seeing or shopping. It also means that we have the security of a second way to travel in the event of a major break-down far from civilization.
We also love the ability to use the bathroom, kitchen and every bit of the RV, even while traveling. We like the fact that when we arrive at our stop, the temperature inside is already at a comfortable level. Should the weather go bad, or some traffic problem develop, we can stop for the night in the nearest parking lot and get comfortable without even going outside if we wish.
The travel style is truly luxurious and is not cramped in a truck. If our grandchildren are traveling with us, they can sit at the dinette, seat belted in and play games, color, read, or even watch a movie while we travel. And the bathroom is right there so we don't even have to stop. Lunch stops and potty breaks are much easier and take less time.
Storage space in a motorhome is spread out and spacious. But you can see most things inside and easily access what you have without unloading a huge opening to reach something that is on the very bottom, and far inside.
And it is a different lifestyle. A lot of it is just how you want to live. My wife would not be willing to travel extensively if she had to do it in a cramped truck with no space to move around. Since I value her companionship, I'd be in a motorhome even if I didn't like it best.
"The travel style is truly luxurious and is not cramped in a truck."
I think that is one of the major advantages, sitting in my "stratolounger" with lots of space around me, not cramped into a van like seat with the door pushing on my left side.
bumpy
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