trailer or 5th wheel?

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albireo13

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Oct 8, 2015
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Hi,
We are newbies and looking for advice. We are looking to sell our house and downsize.  Kids are all off on their own now and we'd love to get something for traveling and vacation trips.  Always wanted an RV but not motor home style.  At first we looked at A-liners but decided we want something wit a tad more room. A basic with bathroom space.  Thinking of a modest sized trailer or 5th wheel.  We don't have a truck or pickup yet. I want to size the trailer first before looking for a pickup.
  This is the 2 year plan.  Need to sell the house before making any moves on an RV camper.

Have started looking at RV dealers but they just want to push their inventory.  Looking for more credible advice.  Anyway, should I look at 5th wheels or trailers?
Any good advice/stories to tell?
  Thanks
Rob in NH
 
Hi Rob. Where are you located in NH? I'm in Farmington. We have a fifth wheel and live in it in the winter in FL. When shopping for a RV at a dealer, a couple of things. Do not bring your check book or plastic money and don't believe everything they say. Do your homework as far as the tow vehicle and the size and style of trailer. If you're going to fulltime, you'll want one with plenty of room (3 or 4 slides) for it to be comfortable.  Remember that a salesman will tell you anything you want to hear just to make a sale.
 
Welcome.
TTs are generally less expensive.  Fifth wheels offer more living space  for length on the ground.  But require way more truck to pull them.  As a first RV, but a TT and be sure you buy used.  Most people tend to fall into one of two catagories shortly after purchasing their first RV.  Either they love the lifestyle and trade for something more to their likeing.  Or they hate the RV life and quit.  Either way, first RVs tend to be short lived.  Buying new you could take a huge financial hit.  Buying used not so much when you sell or trade.  Also, when looking for that ideal RV, get rid of salesmen.  Play house in ones you like.  Pretend to make a meal, watch TV, use the toilet, take a shower.  Well you get the idea. Little annoyances can be overlooked for a weekend, but can become huge problems for long term travelers.
 
I gather you won't be making long trips?  Or at east not months at a time?  The more you travel, the more you will appreciate the towing manners of a 5W on a 3/4 or 1-ton truck amd the (typically) more greater storage as well.

Nothing wrong with choosing a TT, though, and you seem to be looking at smaller sizes (a step up from an A-liner?). 5W typically start around 25 ft and many are larger, so in the shorter sizes the TT selection will be greater.
 
Are you planning to sell the house and  LIVE (full-time) in the RV?  Buy a smaller home and take 2 - 4 week trips?
This will make a big difference on the suggestions.

You are wise to do LOTS of research.  You can easily tell when the salesman is lying.  His lips move.  Independently verify everything.  If you do not know more about the prospective RV than the salesman (which is usually not hard), you are not ready to buy.

As stated earlier, buy used for your first RV.  Save depreciation and hopefully save trips to the dealer for repairs (already done).

If you get a 5er, get a 1 ton truck (F350 3500).  They are essentially the same price of a F250 / 2500, but have significantly higher capacity than the smaller cousin.  If it is a dually, it can pull virtually anything.

HAVE FUN LEARNING AND SHOPPING!
 
When my wife and I started traveling for her job as a Traveling Nurse, we did it on the cheap.  We had a 2001 F-250 and bought an older, in good shape 32' TT to try out the life style.  Six months later we sold the TT for more than we paid for it and upgraded to our current TT. 

Bought a different P/U 4 months later and we have been having a ball with her job letting us go home to Iowa for the summers and to Yuma AZ in the winters,  one feature we absolutely had to have in our 2nd TT was a large bathroom with Full size Shower and real toilet and not what our 1st trailer had (Plastic).  The reason for the choice of TT was to keep my truck box open to carry what ever I might want to carry.  Tools or Motor Cycle or boat. 

Our current TT is 34' and we could easily dow with one 4-6' shorter in the living room area.  Problem with that is it would also compress the Kitchen area which would be hard to live with.  I would like to find a 24-26' trailer with the same bath set up and a good spacious kitchen.  There is just the two of us.

Here is our current Trailer and the truck just peaking out on the off side in Yuma.
 

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We live in souther NH, near Derry.

We don't plan to live in it. We will buy a smaller home, or maybe a condo.  We plan to use the RV for trips, 2-4 weeks perhaps. 
Biggest trip may be going out west and seeing some of the USA for a month or 2.
I'm starting research now, before we even sell the house. I want to start early.
I want to size the trailer we want and buy the pickup first.  That would be the 1 year plan.  Getting the full rig is the 2 year plan.

I'm leaning towards a TT since this would allow the truck bed to be open for packing outdoor gear.  We'd bring 2 bikes plus, we have 2 kayaks as well.
 
2500 series truck.  25 foot TT with at least one slide would be a good start,  big enough to be comfortable and have storage space.  Small enough to fit into NF camp grounds easily.
 
I guess we're the exception that proves donn's rule.
After a LONG time studying, discussing, and haunting RV shows, we bought a new, moderate-sized (30') TT 5 1/2 years ago and have put over 40,000 miles on it since, spending 400 days traveling with it. Mostly 1-3 week trips, but with several major adventures that were 80-90 days each.
While the spaciousness of a medium-sized 5er would be nice, it wouldn't (for us) be worth giving up our Excursion TV.
Most of the time it's either me traveling solo or just the two of us. When we camp within 100 miles of home, the (2) grandkids may join us for a couple of days.
What disappoints about most TTs, and keeps us happy with this one, is storage. Most TTs are really poor when it comes to outside-accessible storage, and I'm surprised at how little pantry and closet space many have, as well.
We prefer bunks to convert-a-beds. We don't often have guests but when we don't, those bunks make great temporary storage areas.
 
If you can take your time and check out lots of models you will get an idea of the floor plan you like and things that you must have. i took my time and did a huge amount of reading on this site and I cant tell you how much that helped. You will be wise to buy used and determine the vehicle after you select the RV. There is much discussion on this site about having enough truck and many folks here will give you their opinion.
Lastly dont be shy about asking any questions. They have all been asked numerous times. The goodwill and great people will surprise you.
 
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