Comparison of Motorhome vs. Fifth Wheel Setup/Teardown Time Requirements

From the standpoint of "setup/tear down", I've heard motorhomes are better if one moves around frequently, whereas 5th wheels are better if people park in one place for awhile.  But it seems like either one will require the same three basic steps:

1) Unhook from truck (or unhook toad from motorhome)
2) Hook up utilities (hoses, electrical plugs)
3) Level

It seems Steps 1 and 2 should require about the same time with a 5th wheel or motorhome.  Regarding Step 3, it seems a motorhome with auto levelers would have the advantage UNLESS I installed the BigFoot Auto Leveling System on my future 5th wheel.  So my question is: if I got the BigFoot auto leveling system on my future 5th wheel, is there any reason why setting up/tearing down the 5er would take any longer than a motorhome with auto levelers?

I've never RV'd in either one before, and so I can only speculate.   I'm leaning toward a 5th wheel, but I know myself well enough to know that if, something is a hassle, I won't use it as often as I should.  And I don't want to buy an expensive 5th wheel and tow vehicle (I don't have a truck now) and not use alot. 

By the way, I know I can rent beforehand, but it's hard to find 5ers to rent, especially since I don't already have a truck.  Does anybody know of a company that rents both a truck and 5er?

Thanks!
Gary

Gary,

One other thing you might want to consider is what do you want to drive while you are at your distention? Remember that if you have a large 5th wheel, you'll have a large tow vehicle. While a small car can be towed behind a MH and is much easier to get around in at your distention.

GaryB said:

From the standpoint of "setup/tear down", I've heard motorhomes are better if one moves around frequently, whereas 5th wheels are better if people park in one place for awhile.  But it seems like either one will require the same three basic steps:

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Having done a MH-Class A, TT, 5thW, MH-Class C, and now back in a Class A MH I would vote hands down for the MH in response to your questions, Gary. The other factor that one should add to your list is parking a trailer vs. a MH.

If you can back up a car, you can use the same techniques in backing a MH. It's just bigger. A whole new set of techniques must be learned for a trailer. "And", once you learn them, it will always be more cumbersome to park than a MH -- IMHO.

Have you watched someone hook up or unhook a trailer or 5th Wheel? You must learn to "aim" the truck into the hitch -- after making sure everything is ready otherwise. After 5 years or so with both, I got good at it, but by the same token, found it a dreaded PITA.

OTOH, dropping a toad hitch on the ball of a MH -- or hooking the newer hitches from the rig to the toad are simple operations taking only a few minutes. With little or no frustration. No looking into one or more mirrors and getting help from a partner to aim a truck into a hitch -- you just hold the receiver in your hand and drop it on the ball.

Yes, try to rent or borrow before making this decision. When I bought my 1st trailer, I asked each vendor if I could try out their trailer first. Without exception, everyone figured a way for me to do that -- especially when I told them I would "never" purchase a trailer without having pulled it first on level ground and up some kind of grade.

I would give the same advice that you have heard in that the more often you move, the happier you would be with a MH vs. a trailer. But having pulled trailers for quite awhile, I would "never" pull another one regardless. But then that's my opinion and not shared by others that love trailers -- and that's why they sell so many of both. There "are" some advantages to trailering, but in my opinion, the items on your list are included.

Great that you are taking the time and energy to get it as right as possilbe up front. I was not as patient.

Bob Buchanan said:

Have you watched someone hook up or unhook a trailer or 5th Wheel? You must learn to "aim" the truck into the hitch -- after making sure everything is ready otherwise. After 5 years or so with both, I got good at it, but by the same token, found it a dreaded PITA.

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I agree, Bob.  In addition to the aiming, the height of the trailer wrt/the 5'er hitch is another consideration.  There is the raising and lowering of the front jacks and remembering to retract the rear stabilizers before raising the front of the camper.  Sometimes (and this may just be my hitch), if the pressure of the trailer isn't off the locking jaws of the hitch, the hitch won't release.  It is a bit more nerve wracking.  I am meticulous by nature, so I love the process.  If I were annoyed by it, I wouldn't camp nearly as much as I do.

As for owning a vehicle to tow a 5'er, I bought my first pickup over twenty years ago, and when I did, my father-in-law told me to be careful.  "Once you buy a pickup, you'll always own a pickup."  I laughed, but he was right.  Therefore, the requirement of a tow vehicle wasn't even a consideration for me.

Another item I wonder about is safety.  Does anyone know which is safer?

-Dave

Another item I wonder about is safety.  Does anyone know which is safer?

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With a trailer of any kind when you park you have to get out of the truck and walk back to the trailer.  Now when you are in the trailer if there is something going on outside that you feel threatend you have to expose yourself to the threat before you can move out of the area.  With a MH you just start up a depart leaving the threat behind.

We appreciated the MH the other night when we pulled in a park for the night and it was raining pretty good.  We were able to just level the rig and have dinner without even a thought of having to get out in the heavy rain.

There are pro and cons to each type of rig and what is best for us may not be best for others.  But for us the only logical choice is a MH.

We have owned them all and like the motorhome the best for sheer convenience.  Part of the advantage is the excellent equipment of a typical motorhome and part of it is maneuverability.  However, if set-up time is the question, we aren't talking a significant difference here. Maybe 10-15 minutes if you are competent at maneuvering the trailer.  As you say, hooking up power & water, deploying awnings & chairs, rolling out slides, etc. are all pretty much the same.  However, I see more than a few folks who have a lot of trouble getting the trailer where they want it (or even into a site), getting it hitched, etc. If you turn out to be one of those, then a motorhome would be much easier for you because it is basically a big car.

The Big Foot (or similar) jack system would indeed eliminate one source of the difference, but most experienced fifth wheel owners have the leveling thing down to 5 minutes anyway. It simply is not a big deal.

Some here would have you think that "driving a truck" everywhere is a burdensome thing. We never thought so and really liked our F250 diesel Supercab, but it's a case of different strokes for different folks.

But the bottom line remains that a large motorhome is the easiest of all to drive and park and the most convenient while on the road, with readily accessible fridge, toilet, stored articles (maps, CG guides, etc) and computers,  a spacious cab area, etc.

Some plusses for the truck & trailer are: you can fuel the truck while the trailer is detached, only one engine & powertrain to maintain, and lower overall insurance costs.

We traveled for 8 weeks this winter with my parents. We were in a 28-foot motorhome, they were in a 24-foot 5th wheel. Typically, it took them about 15-20 minutes longer to set up and teardown when we stopped somewhere that they unhooked and got out the generator/solar panels (they're built-in on the MH). When we stopped somewhere for just one night and they didn't unhook, it took about the same amount of time for either unit to set up and to get ready to leave.

One thing I discovered during the trip that made the MH a better choice for us is having that built-in generator....push a button and you've got power (well, usually...I'm not counting when the dang thing quit working) whereas Dad had to drag his generator out of a storage compartment and fill it up with gas. He also had to keep a gas can handy to fill up the generator while the MH sucks it right out of the MH gas tank.

Wendy,

That's a neat "real life" comparison of the two in a side-by-side situation.  Just by observing in campgrounds, I had always suspected trailers took longer to set up and tear down, but had no real proof.

By the way, speaking of your parents, we really enjoyed meeting them at Quartzsite.  So happy you invited them to join us.

ArdraF

We've seen 5th wheel trailers take longer to level than it did for us to get completely set up, toad unhitched, motorhome leveled, hookups plugged in, slideout out, awnings down, lawn chairs out and cocktails.

Sometimes they have taken longer to get parked on the site than we did for all of the above.  Especially in tight quarters, the motorhome is much easier to park.

Ned said:

Especially in tight quarters, the motorhome is much easier to park.

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We've had them all.....TT, 5er, Class C and Class A....and you're absolutely right, the motorhome has always been easier to park. Of course, the easiest to park RV we ever had was the VW Vanagon. 

Half the fun of RVing is watching other folks trying to park.....I have a mean streak.

ArdraF said:

By the way, speaking of your parents, we really enjoyed meeting them at Quartzsite.  So happy you invited them to join us.

ArdraF

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Thanks Ardra. They're back home in Oregon now. Snowed the day they got home. Dad's still not sure what he thinks about Quartzsite 

Gary,

One issue you haven't included is cost.  A motorhome that I would be happy with would be priced in the range of $300K to $900k, plus the price of the toad, which for me would be a pickup anyway.  I have an F450 dually that is modified to look like a pickup and it is only 4" longer than an F350.  If I were pulling a toad, it would likely be an F250 crewcab non dually (4" shorter than what I drive), and it would cost about $40k.  

My truck cost $60k plus the trailer $40K, so the whole rig less than 1/4 of what I would pay for a MH toad.

wendycoke said:

.......When we stopped somewhere for just one night and they didn't unhook, it took about the same amount of time for either unit to set up and to get ready to leave..........

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Thanks all for the replies thus far.  That brings up another question:  suppose I only camp for 1 night at each location.  Is there any need to unhook a 5th wheel from the truck, assuming I won't be driving the truck anywhere and it will "fit" in the camp site?  How could I level (or would I) in that case?  Is there any danger or problem in not unhooking? 

Gary

Ron said:

With a trailer of any kind when you park you have to get out of the truck and walk back to the trailer.  Now when you are in the trailer if there is something going on outside that you feel threatend you have to expose yourself to the threat before you can move out of the area.  With a MH you just start up a depart leaving the threat behind

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Actually, when I asked about "safety" I was referring to which is the safest in an accident.  Sorry I wasn't clear.

-Dave

Dad left his 5er hooked up when they were only staying for one night. He'd drop the jacks to take some of the weight off the truck and crank down the back stabilizing jacks. I never noticed him having any trouble getting level.

I would think a motorhome would be safer in any collision, as it's likely to be the heavier vehicle.  Also, in any collision from the front with a trailer, you have all that weight pushing from behind so you're going to get squeezed in the middle.  In a side collision, one or both of the tow vehicle or trailer is likely to overturn which means that both will be rolled.  In a panic stop without properly adjusted trailer brakes, I hate to think of the results of a jackknife.

I'll take my chances in the motorhome in every case.

I'm an old farm boy.  There is not much I can not drive from riding lawn mowers up to semi trucks and of course My Class A motor home

One of the better entainerments at many campgrounds is watching folks try to back trailers, of any kind, into a camp site.

Now, understand, for me, it's child's play, been backing trailers into tighter spots than a camp, down on the farm, since before I even took driver's training, and doing it with a manual transmission tractor too! (No fancy automatics)

At least the Ferguson TO-30 is a "Sports" model (Wide wheel base, low center of gravity)

I can tell you some of them are very entainering indeed.

Now, I can help you back a trailer.  but it has been my expirence that the better the show, the less willing you are to accept my help.

So I just sit back and enjoy.

Also:

Way up thread someone said to think about the towed.

With a 5er you need to back in EXACT or darn close to it, with a "Towed car" and a Blue Ox or Roadmaster adjustable hitch all I need to do is be reasonable close I can come in from the side, I can be off six hinches, it's all the same  Hook up two hitch points, two safety cables, one break-a-way cable, two light/power cables and twist the axel lock so the car becomes a trailer. That simple and trust me, it doe snot get easier than that.

GaryB said:

Thanks all for the replies thus far.  That brings up another question:  suppose I only camp for 1 night at each location.  Is there any need to unhook a 5th wheel from the truck, assuming I won't be driving the truck anywhere and it will "fit" in the camp site?  How could I level (or would I) in that case?  Is there any danger or problem in not unhooking? 

Gary

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Gary,

Forgive me if this shows up twice, my first attempt disappeard while I was typing.

I'm probably going to be the only one who agrees with my philosophy here, but not only do I NEVER unhitch, I also NEVER pay for a single night. I also NEVEr stay in a campsite for one night. I've been fulltimer since Jan. 1991 (OK, the first two years I was in Motels, but evern since 93 with a trailer). Also being level is overrated.  I just park on a level spot and don't bother with more.

You see, most of the time I'm traveling to get somewhere, not to unhitch and hitch every night along the way.  When I stop, I want diesel, a 24 hour resturant, a convienence store, and I used to want a telephone line to hook up my modem (before Verizon wireless).  All of these are available at truck stops, not campgrounds.  Also since I usually quit driving sometime between 10 pm and midnight, finding the campground, finding the manager, getting in a spot is just a hassle.  Once I broke all my plumbing trying to get into  a campground late at night.  Nowadays I just park in a parking lot somewhere and pull in in the morning.  I did make one exception one night when it was over 85? and I needed to use my AC, but other than that I just drive till i quit,  fill the tak with diesle, eat dinner in a resturant, check my email and go to bed. The only facilities I need in the trailer are the shower, toilet and bed.  Sometimes I put out the slideout in the bedroom, but don't bother with the other two. If I'm in a tight spot I leave the bedroom slideout in too.  Gotta move it out about six inches to get clean clothes out of the dresser, though.

Another issue that never came up in this thread is maintenance.  My 5th wheel rarely needs maintenance and when it does, it can usually be done in the RV park without having to move it to a repair facility.  My tow vehicle, OTOH, occasionally needs maintenence that requiers me to leave it in the shop for as often as a week at a time.  I just drive a rental car during this time, which is covered under my vehicle warrantee. If I had a motorhome, I presume I would have to move into a motel whenever I needed this kind of maintenance.

Also, my trailer tires are 16" and it costs about $110 each to replace them (six of them).  A motor home would have 22 1/2 inch tires costing more than $300 a piece, for six tires, that's a big chunk.  Tires aren't the only thing more expensive on a motor home!

We've never had to stay at a motel while having work done on either of the motorhomes. Most facilities that take care of motorhomes have hookups sites where you can plug in at night. Once we sat in the motorhome and watched TV, ate lunch, took naps, while they worked underneath on something or other.

OTOH we did have to stay in a motel in Joliet on our anniversary while work was done on our pickup truck.