One More Time??? Class A vs. 5th Wheel.....

[jdplawman]

I realize this has probably been beat to death, but with climbing fuel prices, etc. which setup do you think is best for full-timing RVers? I know it's a personal choice for many, but what do YOU think? We are looking now and retiring in about 5 years. It will be interesting to see if we will even be able to afford fuel...unless we are running our rigs on water!!

[Motor31]

When it comes down to it, RVing is not about saving fuel. It's an optional lifestyle that can save you some $ in some areas but fuel isn't necessarily one of them.

No one can tell you how much you'll spend on fuel as no one knows how much you will drive the rig. How you decide to live the lifestyle determines how much you will drive.

For simple getting around you have 2 options. If you use a motorhome, you can take along a toad or towed vehicle behind it. If you go the 5th wheel route, you can just drive the tow vehicle and leave the trailer at the park. We carry a motorcycle on the back of our tow vehicle and use it for seeing the area.

The decision on which RV to live in should be made on what you expect to do with it as well as how well you can live IN it. The livability should be your first guide to which RV you get, not the cost of fuel. Can you be comfortable in the space of the RV? Do you feel closed in? Can you do the things in the RV that you want to: hobbies, cooking/eating, relaxing? Does the RV make you want to get out and away from the inside or does it feel good to be "home?" Those are issues you need to decide for what you will live in.

As to the traveling part, you do not need to be on the road every day. You can stop and stay a week, a month or longer in some area and save on fuel no matter which one you choose unless you have to drive the RV to go everywhere.

We chose to stay in areas longer. Now we look to stay at least a week in whatever area we want to see. We get the weekly space rental rate and take our time looking around instead of just watching the highway go by. When traveling we slowed down and only go about 250 miles a day to make it a short driving day and encourage us to take the time to really look at an area. We've found neat places we'd have just passed by before.

Look at what you want to do, then decide which RV will let you do the most and live the best.
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Mike, Nancy and the Fuzzies
2005 MS 38 RL3
2001 Volvo MH (HDT)
2004 R1150RT (piggyback)
1996 Jeep Cherokee (toad)

[heartlandks]

Before deciding between a 5th wheel or a motorhome, consider the vehicles you already own.
If you already own a 3/4 or 1-ton pickup truck, then you would only have to pay for the 5th wheel. You would have a vehicle to drive while in the campsite, for touring.
If you decide on buying a motorhome, you will also need a toad vehicle to get around while parked.
We prefer the 5th wheel; really like the ones with the rear lounge and large back window. Some manufacturers are making the living room in the front of the 5th wheel and we really like those also; lets you sit above your neighbors... gives a good view of the surrounding area.
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We're enjoying life.

[barbnor2]

There are some big pluses for a motorhome, in my opinion:
1. The passenger can get up to go to the bathroom while moving. I know there are going to be people saying that is dangerous. In my case, it is a necessity.

2. When we want lunch, we just pull over and I make us a sandwich, etc. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but if it is pouring down rain, we don't have to get out into the rain to get to our kitchen like you would do with a 5th. In fact, there are some 5ths where there is no kitchen when the slides are in.

3. When we get to a park, we have a simple setup. The first thing we do is level the coach. I get the level and put it on the counter. My husband pushes the button to turn on the levelers. He puts the front jacks down to just touch the ground. He does the same with the back jacks. I tell him what needs leveling. I tell him, he pushes another button, and then the coach is leveled. We then push a button to put out the slides. If it is raining, again, no problem. He waits until the rain stops, and then he goes out and hooks up the electric and water and (sewer if we are staying longer than one night.)

4. When we leave, he makes sure all the antennas are down, unhooks the water and electric. Meanwhile I am pushing a button to pull in the slides, checking doors, etc. to make sure they are in travel mode. He comes back into the coach, pushes one button to let the jacks up, and we are ready to go. After watching a friend pack up to leave in his 5th wheel, I am so glad that my husband insisted on a motorhome.

5. As for cost, this same friend paid more for his 5th and diesel truck than we did for our gas motorhome. He also came over to our motorhome when we were coming into a park once, and when my husband finished, he said "Is that all there is to do? You are done already?" He couldn't believe his eyes.

A lot depends on your financial situation. We sold our house and knew what we had to spend, plus we had an old motorhome to use for trade in. In fact, we paid $17,000 for the first RV and got $30,000 in trade for it.

If you haven't done much or any RVing, I would suggest that you rent one and see how that goes. Fulltiming isn't for everyone. We have friends who sold their house and went fulltiming, and the wife hates it. Friends got us started in RVing and even found that first coach for us. We didn't even think about going fulltime until we got our current coach. We love the RV lifestyle.

[varmitvik]

It depends on what you like to do after you get where you're going. Are you going to sightsee? Spend time away from your rig? How long will you be at that particular area or location? For most of our travels, we have opted for a class A with a tow car. We will stay at a park for 2 weeks to a month, and travel to the various places of our interests. When we retire and RV full time, we are opting for the 5th wheel as we plan to stay in each park longer and will want to travel farther away from our rig, so a truck makes a nice overnight vehicle if we are away too long. Consider what will work best for your lifestyle.

[Mike]

Everyone above me is correct in their opinions. Just like myself, I believe I am correct in my thinking. I am hopefully just a little ahead of you. I am planning on pulling the plug early next year and going full-time. I have been through so many RV plants, I cannot not remember how many. I have studied and read all I could get my hands on and I chose the 5th wheel.
I currently own a small 5th wheel and enjoy the heck out of it. Yes, it takes me longer to set up my unit than my brother who has a motorhome. If it is raining, I am going to get a little wet setting up, no doubt. I have to stop in a rest area or alongside the road to run back and use the restroom or make lunch. If it is raining, I get wet! There are people out there who would buy a 5er they couldn't get into unless they have the slides out. That's not me and hopefully not you if you choose the 5er. I personally don't know why anyone would buy any rig they can't eat in and sleep in without popping the slides.

I choose the 5er because I have more living and storage space than many motorhomes. I have to maintain 1 power plant, the truck, and not two as most motorhomes require including the toad. My brother has a 32' gas unit and gets around 7 mpg at 55. I get 10 mpg pulling a 26' 5er with my F-250. The new truck I just took delivery of, an F-450 diesel, got 18 not pulling (65-70 mph) and I expect 12 to 14 pulling, depending on how fast I want to go. A family friend has a new diesel pusher and he gets 8 to 10. He also pays $200 to change his oil and with my 450 it will only run about $70. The new 5er that I am ordering will have a back hitch and a track for a small scooter for tooling around.

If you don't want to level a 5er, buy a New Horizons unit. They are one of the few that will install an automatic leveler on a 5er. Their levelers will raise the 5er right off the ground, making changing a tire a breeze.

When I started I said everyone's opinion is correct from their viewpoint. From your viewpoint is what is important. Regardless of what you choose, investigate and research. I am spending between $150,000 and $175,000 on a truck and 5er with the truck taking 40% of it. There are many units out there that are JUNK! They look good but when you go through the factories, you get to see what is underneath. That is what is important. Don't put your trust in a salesman. In too many cases, they simply don't know what they are talking about.

We recently attended the GS Daytona rally. More than half of the units (5er or MH) did not have sufficient cargo capacity for even using the unit as a vacation unit. One motorhome I looked at exceeded the GVW as soon as you added the driver and passenger. When I pointed out to a salesman that his 5er would only hold 1400 pounds of cargo, he said those numbers were only guides and did not mean much. BS!

My final word. Investigate - don't fall in love with anything and do your homework. Go to the library and read back issues of Trailer Life or Motorhome. If you have campgrounds, go look at what other people like and don't. Full-timers need 3,000 lb of cargo capacity and the place to put it. If you choose a 5er, make sure the truck you now have or will buy will not only pull it, but stop it. Trucks will only tow so much and the combined weight of the 5er and truck should not exceed the GVWA recommended by the manufacturer. If you don't research it ,you can be like a friend of mine: he just trades it in when the warranty expires. He has more money than sense. Good luck!