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Motorhome vs Fifth Wheeler

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I know this is a motorhome site, but I'm sure some of you may have had a pickup and fifth wheel trailer at some time.

I would like to hear all your opinions on each pro or con, as to convenience, initial cost, and traveling expenses .

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I have not owned a fifth wheel but have traveled with folks that have. Some observations are: harder to park, harder to level, you have a big truck for your running around. mileage is less, when going down the road the wife cannot go to the bathroom, the mileage for the toad vs the big truck is 2 to 3 times better, if your in inclement you don't have to go outside to get going,

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As was I. I live in a MH but I understand the reasons behind owning a trailer as well. Would I own one? No. But that's just me and should not be factored into anyone's ownership consideration.

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I suppose if you already had the big diesel truck, and used it for other things, it would make more sense to go the 5th wheeler route. My self I think the motor home towing a suv is the way to go. Sure do know what you mean by wife and bathrooms.

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This is a very good question and I hope my comments are helpful. We had a 30' fifth wheel and now have a 30' Class B+ MH with 3 slides, so the total lengths are the same. We travel with just my wife, me and a 50lb dog. We travel with a toad using a complete Roadmaster set up.

Fifth wheel--more room. With a 5th wheel, we had 30' of living space, with the MH, one must deduct from the 30' the cabin space. The 5th wheel had much more countertop (Kitchen) space than the MH which we find only 1 person can work in the kitchen at the same time. The 5th wheel had a combination tub/shower, whereas the MH has a shower only. We don't mind not having a tub, but the shower is so small, my wife cannot bend over to shave her legs. Although the bedroom of the MH has a bedroom slide, it is smaller with no end tables that leaves us no place to put our coffee cups in the morning when we read our papers (electronically). This is an annoyance, but not a real problem.

MH--The MH is much easier to maneuver, both driving and in RV Parks. The MH also is not as high as the 5th wheel, so we are less concerned about low bridges. Since ours is a B+, not a C, we have much less outside storage. I found this less of a problem than I thought I would have. It turns out I was carry much more seldom used stuff in the 5th wheel than i needed. It seems like the more space you have, you find a way to fill it up. With 2 slides in the living room, it is very spacious. With the MH, it is much easier to go to the bathroom or kitchen, however, we never do that while driving. This would be very dangerous should an accident occur or evasive driving needed. Setup at campsites is much easier. We find disconnecting the toad is very quick and easy, especially with the Roadmaster setup.

If you go with a MH and need a toad, you will need to be very careful selecting a tow vehicle. We had to sell our low mileage '07 Camry Hybrid and purchased a Ford Focus.

All this being said, we are happy with our MH, but, being a guy, i really miss not having a truck around the house.

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