Choosing is hard !!

Hi !  I'm in the process of looking for a RV.  Choosing between a Motorhome and a Travel Trailer is making me crazy !  How do you decide ??
There are good and bad things to both types.  The big "bad" to a motorhome is having to either tow a car or having to drive the motorhome everywhere you go !
The big reason I'm hesitant to choose a travel trailer is the thought of pulling something that huge is freaking me out !! I don't know how someone is suppose to learn how to do that ! 
I would love to hear people's opinions - what do you prefer and why ?  How did you learn to tow a giant trailer ?  If you have a motorhome, do you pull a car or ride a bike or what ?  I'm really interested in hearing from experienced RV'ers ! 
I know I can learn and I know ultimately I have to pick what I like, but I would love to hear the pros and cons from people who have experience with RV'ing
Thanks alot

A lot depends on how you intend to use the RV.  If you are going to travel a lot, spending a few days or weeks in one place, then moving on, a motorhome towing a car will be more convenient.  If you intend on staying one place for months at a time, the a 5th wheel is probably a better choice.  But then you have to drive the truck everywhere you go.  For other than occasional use (weekends or vacations) a travel trailer isn't a good choice.  It has less storage than either a 5th wheel or a motorhome and generally isn't built for long term use.

Tell us more about how you want to use the RV and we can make more relevant suggestions.

FWIW  I drive a MH and refuse to pull a trailer behind a car or PU  for the same reason.  It doesn't make sense to me.  Others would rather  do the opposite.  I just don't like riding in a truck all the time.  We tow a Jeep now but did haul a big trailer with a Lincoln inside for years.  It's all a matter of choice and no one can decide that but you.  Actually the HM to me is like driving a baby buggy, easier than a car in many ways.  JMO

I want to go full time for at least a year - after that I'm not sure.  It's just me and my little dog (22 lb terrier - the dog, not me)  I don't know how long i'll stay in one place, it'll depend on the place.  I would think I would stay for a week at a time at the least.  
Thanks !

If you're going to travel for that year or more, then you'll be more comfortable in a motorhome, in my opinion.  Tow a small car and you won't have to drive a big truck around when you're parked.  Driving a motorhome and towed is no more difficult than driving a large truck and 5th wheel and is actually easier to park for most people.  I don't think you'd like full timing in a travel trailer with its limited storage space.

Thanks for your input Ned.  I'm leaning toward a motorhome, they just "feel" better to me.  Like I said earlier, it's the "not having a car" deal that seems very wierd.  I'll have to look into towing a car.
I'd love to hear from anyone else who has info and/or opinions  ;D

MollysMom said:

I'll have to look into towing a car.

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What are you driving now? It may be towable.

Good thought Don, it might just be the present car can be towed.

I checked, I can't tow my current car which bums me out because I love it !!!  It's a Saturn Vue, but it's the red-line version (whatever that means !) and that makes it "un-towable" ...

Maybe if you check with REMCO, the towin experts, they may have a way to make it towable.  Never hurts to ask.

MollysMom: We don't have much experience, but I thought you might also like to hear from a Rookie, who is less than a year ahead of you. The older, more experienced folks are great guides, but they don't have recent "rookie experience," like we do!  ;D

The second "birthday" for our motorhome is August 22nd. That's pretty near. We started towing a car, "toad," with the spring thaw, this year. We love the combination we have. Couldn't have done better!  8)

The smartest thing we did, was join this forum a little over a year ago. Then, we rained questions on the old folks, here. Kept them busy!  :

But, you didn't ask that. You asked for the experience - - -.

Our motorhome is easy to handle. Oh, it's big. It's 37 ft long, 12 ft, 6 inches tall, and 102 inches wide. I had to trade my beautiful Volvo for another car to tow, but here's the comparison. The motorhome is every bit as easy to drive. The Volvo had a smooth ride, quiet. The MH is smoother, quieter. The driver's seat is more comfortable and I can see further down the road, from the MH. The width was the hardest to get used to. But, we did it, and quickly. The length has not been a problem. The height is a plus! Well, when driving on residential city streets, we have to be careful of tree limbs, but one learns that rather quickly and simply.

It's the traveling - - -. We travel at home. We may be driving down the highway, but we are at home. We have  a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room and bedroom. It's all the comfort, and all we have to do is pull over, and/or find a camping spot. We don't have to get out, to be home. We even have the dogs, there. They love traveling, too. There is food and drink in the fridge. Relax. Look out the window. The scenery has changed, since yesterday, and just a while ago. It will change again, pretty soon.

Towing the car? Well, I did have to trade my Volvo, to do it, as the Volvo could not be modified to tow. We tried looking at Tow Dollys and trailers. We are a bit physically challenged, and couldn't even lift the tongue, of either one! We went with a tow, "4 down" vehicle.

The process of hitching up the car, to tow, is easy - simple. It requires no exertion. It does not involve backing up, and trying to match the tongue socket to the ball hitch. We simply drive the car, forward, behind the MH, attach the tow bars, the safety chain, the electical connection and the break-away cable, and it's "hitched."

Having the car behind you is not appreciably different from not having it there. You drive the same, either way. The one exception is that you do not back up. If you must, you first unhitch the car and get it out of the way. Hitch it up, again, when you can go forward, again. (We haven't had to do that, yet.)  :

The point is that this is easily done. It's comfortable. It's fun. Having your house along is just plain nice camping. The living room window never looks the same, two days in a row, unless we want it to.

Whichever way you go, put this forum to the test with questions. Ask all of the questions, no matter how important or trivial they may seem. These folks love to have others take advantage of them! Make them happy!  ;D

Happy trails.

Ray D  ;D

Ray D said:

The older, more experienced folks are great guides, but they don't have recent "rookie experience," like we do!

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Not so fast there young man! We owned a gas coach through the late 80's and 90's. Bought a diesel coach 3 years ago and guess what - we were rookies again! But we're fast learners and, thanks to the folks here on this forum, we came up to speed pretty quickly. Still learning something new every day though.

Even the old timers are still learning here.

Thanks for your info Ray - I'm ready to go right now  
Thanks to everybody that's given me info - I really appreciate it !  I'm happy to hear that towing a car isn't a big deal and I love the idea of being able to call it a toad - I think that's very funny !!!
I love this site !!  It's so nice to hear from the experienced and the new RVers - it's nice to know that the "old-timers" still have things to learn

I too am a novice at the RV life...bought a Class C last year and was initially very aprehensive about driving it.  Now, after several trips and several thousand miles, it's a piece of cake.  However, we also felt we were 'missing out' by being stuck at a campground, especially if it was somewhat isolated, without a toad.  We  took bikes and that allowed some freedom but not quite enough.  We also tended to locate campsites that were on a bus route or within walking distance of a town or other facility.  Of course that was somewhat limiting and we really need to be 'out there somewhere' rather than in an urban environment (though that does have its own advantages).  So, I recently bought a used Honda Civic - manual shift - as a toad (not big into off-road requirements) and boy does it make life easier.

I was also very apprehensive about having a car in tow, never having done that before.  The the initial attempt was a nightmare, but after that and the first 200 mile trip,  through the heart of downtown L.A., I now feel very comfortable. We have just returned from a week's tour of the central Calif. coast and wine country, with toad in tow.   However, let me say that towing even a 'cheap' used car can be fairly expensive.  It took close to $2K (not including the car) to get it towable,   requiring tow bar, back plate, electrical work, safety cables, extra mirrors and supplemental braking system.  I also had front end work done to the toad just to be sure it would be okay. A  b.u./rear view camera is next on my 'would like' list and perhaps even 'pressure-pro' for all road wheels.   The cost(s) seem never-ending.  Even then, on my last trip I blew a front tire, which still seemed to have lots of life left and good tread, but was just old.  Four new tires later, we are ready to roll again.  But I must say, parking the MH at a campsite of your choice and being able to peruse the local area in a toad  is a wonderful feeling of freedom and worth the extra effort and expense.  Towing this small toad made no appreciable difference to my MH gas mileage, I just keep my speed to 55mph and let the rest of the world go by.

From recent and newbie personal experience, however,  I would recommend a toad that does not require the hitch to be dropped more than a couple of inches. Mine has about a 5" drop and will occasionally bottom out over curb dips if I don't remove it after towing.  The tow brackets under my toad are also lower than the vehicle's undercarriage will also do the same and just something I have to watch out for.  Other than that, it tows great.  Being small it is also very easy to park alongside my MH and even fits under the shade of my extended awning.

Now I just have to decide what to do with other vehicles, which were not towable without significant modification and additional cost. Sorry I have no experience in towing a FW or TT so can not attest to their strengths or weaknesses.  Good luck with your choice.  I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, It's whatever you feel most comfortable with.

BT

Thanks Buddy for sharing your experience.
Is there a way, other then asking, to know which cars can be towed ?  I did find a list of cars and their towing limits so I have that info, just can't find a list of towables.
Thanks

You can google "Motorhome Magazine Dinghy Towing Guide" and select the year your interested in. I think their website is down temporarily but here is a link to the 2006 guide:

http://www.towingworld.com/DinghyGuide06.pdf

If I only knew then, what I know now...

Sweetie, kids, and me started with a custom GMC van, but decided that packing and unpacking was a huge hassle. Towing our hopper (VW Cabriolet) was easy to accomplish with a tow dolly and it gave us extra storage for hobby supplies, equipment, etc.. Soon enough, we figured out that short adventures did not need the hopper, but long trips required the VW.

Since the VW became a classic, we purchased a mini-pickup and it is equally easy for towing on the dolly and a pleasure amongst the dirt roads. Either way, we have a choice and this expanded our adventures. Truly, the choice is yours and it is a matter of your comfort.

Recently we purchased a Class A classic that included a tow hitch that fits our dolly without expensive alterations. Needless to say, we do have a home base for making our choice of adventures and look forward to the year long road trip. Maybe, my opinion will change with experience ???

In closing, talk to other people that experienced the long road, they will tell you the good, bad, and ugly.

Thanks for the link - I'll check it out.
I really love hearing from everybody !  It's so interesting to hear the different experiences - I can't wait to get started

I've come up with another question and am almost embarrased to ask this !  If you have a travel trailer can you go into it while it's hooked to the tow vehicle ?  I'm thinking if I were to stop at a rest stop or something like that and just felt like taking a break, can i get in the trailer ?  I don't know why I wouldn't be able to, but thought I should ask.  I think it would be nice to be able to take a break now and again while on the road and just want to be sure that I could do that in a travel trailer as well as a MH.
p.s. - I do know that no one can be in the travel trailer while it's being towed !  Just asking about being in it while stopped.