This past October my wife and I upgraded from a 32 foot travel trailer to 40 foot diesel pusher. We had simply outgrown the travel trailer as our children married and grandchildren started to appear. We strongly considered purchasing a new 40 foot fifth wheel and trading our five year old 1/2 ton Silverado for a 3/4 or 1 ton Chevy HD truck to support our weekend outings to LSU football, wine festivals in the Texas Hill Country, etc. (being in our mid-50's were several years away from retirement and long road trips!). When looking at the cost of a new fifth wheel and new truck to pull it, the incremental cost for a motorhome was not that much. The best advice I received was from a fellow LSU tailgater who had a very nice, very expensive fifth wheel and new Ford F350 truck. His advice was "when you do upgrade, make sure your new RV has a steering wheel !". I agree with the comments above about the "ease of use" associated with a motorhome versus a travel trailer / fifth wheel. I greatly enjoy NOT fighting with the weight distribution hitch, manual stabilizer jacks, setting up portable generators for an LSU football weekend, etc. that was required for my travel trailer. The "push a button" effort to set-up my motorhome for a weekend stay was a big driver in our decision to purchase a motorhome over a fifth wheel.
I worked in my company's major capital projects organization for a few years and used my 32 foot travel trailer as my temporary home for 18 months. Combining that experience with my current motorhome experience says that fifth wheels are some what designed better for long term living at least compared to the way my travel trailer was and motorhome is equipped (neither has the nice big recliner I have at home).
Motorhome OR Towable … Which is Right for You?
in DIY RV Guy
A blog by diyrvguy
Posted · Report reply
This past October my wife and I upgraded from a 32 foot travel trailer to 40 foot diesel pusher. We had simply outgrown the travel trailer as our children married and grandchildren started to appear. We strongly considered purchasing a new 40 foot fifth wheel and trading our five year old 1/2 ton Silverado for a 3/4 or 1 ton Chevy HD truck to support our weekend outings to LSU football, wine festivals in the Texas Hill Country, etc. (being in our mid-50's were several years away from retirement and long road trips!). When looking at the cost of a new fifth wheel and new truck to pull it, the incremental cost for a motorhome was not that much. The best advice I received was from a fellow LSU tailgater who had a very nice, very expensive fifth wheel and new Ford F350 truck. His advice was "when you do upgrade, make sure your new RV has a steering wheel !". I agree with the comments above about the "ease of use" associated with a motorhome versus a travel trailer / fifth wheel. I greatly enjoy NOT fighting with the weight distribution hitch, manual stabilizer jacks, setting up portable generators for an LSU football weekend, etc. that was required for my travel trailer. The "push a button" effort to set-up my motorhome for a weekend stay was a big driver in our decision to purchase a motorhome over a fifth wheel.
I worked in my company's major capital projects organization for a few years and used my 32 foot travel trailer as my temporary home for 18 months. Combining that experience with my current motorhome experience says that fifth wheels are some what designed better for long term living at least compared to the way my travel trailer was and motorhome is equipped (neither has the nice big recliner I have at home).