Full time rv

[Pawtna]

My wife and I have a 40 Newmar toy hauler, and are thinking about going full time living in a 5 th wheel. Only problem is the garage space takes up so much room, that we are thinking about another trailer. Not for sure what would be a good brand and why. I know this can open up a whole can of worms, but would like other peoples opinion on what works for them.

 

[John From Detroit]

For Full timing I recommend a Class A,, Pull a light weight fuel efficient car  Here is why.

Though you may well drive 100 miles or more going camp to camp.. You may well also park for weeks at a time once you get there.  Your motor home/car combo may get 7-10 MPG.

Your Tow vehicle/trailer combo.. About the same

Drop the trailer you may get 2x that

Drop the towed.. It may get 3x-4x that

And you may find you do as much, if not more, driving of the towed running to the store, and the area attractions, and church and such.

So, that is my advice.

There are other advantages too.

Was speaking with someone here the other day and mentioned my rig is a Bath & a Half model.. (In fact, it is because of that feature my wife insisted I buy THIS rig)  He was mentioning several of his friends had gotten into a Bath and a half floor plan and... Now when the salesman shows them a single bath model they say "NO THANKS" before he can even show it.

They won't switch back to "One Hole, Wait your Turn"

 

[Wendy]

We lived in a 5th wheel full-time when we were working seasonal for the National Park Service. We spent 4-6 months in one place before moving on to another place for another 4-6 months. Now we travel 6-8 months a year in a motorhome. The motorhome works much better for the way we travel now because we usually stay less than a month in one place before moving on.

Enjoy your travels
Wendy

 

[Mike68959]

Don't mean to but in, but I'm a bit surprised at the choice of Class A over a 5th Wheel.  We haven't bought our RV yet, but we'd settled on a 5th wheel (for our purchase next Spring) for a few reasons:
(1) With 2-4 slides and getting a 30-35-ft'er, they seem 'roomier' than the Class A's (at least in our price range - $18K-$25K, used of course)
(2) We can get a much newer 5'er for our money than a Class A.
(3) My wife feels that a Class A would be harder to drive.
(4) Maintenance would probably be higher for a Class A.

Are we wrong?

(A bit more info ... we'll be on a fixed income until we can draw from our Roth IRA and SocSec (if it still exists) (we're 53 this year).  We'll make ~$38K/yr via military retirement.  Sale from our house will net a small profit that will fund wholely, or in part, the RV.  So, our situation may not be typical of Pawtna, or others considering this choice.)

 

[Rick and Cheryl]

Its about evenly split between those who think Class A's are best, and those who think 5th wheels are best.  The ones that dont think one or the other, vote for Class C's or TT.

The truth is that each decision is based on a combination of facts, usage, budget, personal preferences and perhaps other issues, and that for your individual decision, different facts, different usage, different budget, different personal preferences, and perhaps different other issues may lead you to one type of rv over the rest.

You seem to have a grasp of the issues, and likely will arrive at an effective decision. 

 

[BernieD]

This subject has been discussed many times over. Search the library. As Rick mentioned, there are many other factors that you haven't seemed to consider. IMHO, one of the more important ones is how are you going to use your RV. If you travel a lot, the Class A may make more sense. If you will be staying put for extended periods the 5th wheel may be a better choice.

 

[nwtraveler]

My 2 cents worth. I'll 5'5" and on most Class A diesel pushers I looked at
I had to pull the seat so far forward that the steer column was right up
against the seat. It felt rather confining.

Kim

 

[Marsha/CA]

Kim,

Most diesel pushers, especially if it's on a freightliner chassis, have telescoping steering wheels which also have an adjustment for tilt.  They sometimes come with adjustable foot pedals as well.  I'm 5'4" and I don't have any trouble driving a diesel pusher and I definitely don't have the seat all the way forward.

Marsha~

 

[Daisy]

Newmar also has made motorhomes with a "bonus" room.  It is manufactured "I think" as a toy hauler, but then you can have it upgraded into larger living space.  Some suggested uses were for a sewing room, hobby room, extra sleeping space, use your imagination.  What I'm suggesting to you is that you could keep what you have and convert that space into something useful to you.

You might want to call the Newmar specialists for other ideas they may have.

Daisy

 

[Mike68959]

I had no idea; thanks!

 

[Pawtna]

Daisy that is not to bad ideal about talking to Newmar about upgrading the room thru the factory.

 

[Daisy]

Pawtna:

I'm not sure that Newmar will do an upgrade, but they may have suggestions as to how or what you can do.  If you are a handyman and into that sort of thing they may be able to help with suggestions.  If not, there are several businesses around the country that will retrograde and do an outstanding job, but you should know what the limitations are before starting anything.  A call to Newmar will answer a lot of your questions.

Daisy

 

[Pierat]

One of the reasons we chose a Class A and towed vehicle was our observation that we would drive a lot more miles in the towed than in the motorhome. We use the MH as a base. The towed is more economical and maneuverable for side trips of all kinds, than we perceive a truck would be if it is large enough to tow a large fifth wheel.

 

[tworootless]

Went full itme 11 years ago.  Started out in a motor-home.  After one year we traded to truck and 5th wheel.  Extended stays, 5th wheel.  Extensive travel one place to another short stops in-between, Motor-home. Simple 

 

[Pawtna]

I thing that we will be staying in one place for extended periods of time. Want to still work as camp worker during summer and go where there is no snow in the winter. our truck is a class B freightliner, am OK with driving it around. Even thought about my wife following with a smaller car.

 

[ArdraF]

Are we wrong?

Well, maybe.  At least your wife should try driving one of each.  I love driving our 40-foot DP but definitely would not enjoy driving a 30-35 foot 5er.  Motorhomes are actually pretty easy to drive.  It depends on what she's driven in the past and the "fear factor" many women have - wrongly I think.

Also, sometimes you can get a lot more for your money by buying a higher quality "gently used" motorhome.  All RVs vary greatly in quality, so be sure you look at that before signing on the dotted line.  This will be your home and you won't be happy with anything that has poor quality workmanship.

Based on my knowledge of the people in this RV Forum, more people started fulltiming with trailers of one kind or another and later switched to motorhomes than the reverse.

ArdraF