Fifthwheel or Class A

[Mike & Michele]

We have been talking to dealers and some people with  RVs.  How do you decide what is best for your? We plan to retire in 2 years, but would like to get started traveling soon.

My husband has a heart condition. and is not handy at mechanical things. We need something easy to drive, park etc.  We plan on doing a lot of traveling .

Any advice would help.

Thank you 

Mike & Michele

 

[Tom]

Hi Mike & Michele, welcome to our forum.

Many factors influence the choice between a motorhome and a 5th wheel or travel trailer. In the simplest case, if you plan on moving a lot, there's less to do when breaking camp with a motorhome, whereas if you plan on being in one place for a long time, there's no reason to have the expensive chassis of a motorhome. Since Mike isn't mechanically inclined, there's a lot less maintenance required on a 5th wheel or trailer than a motorhome. But, many of the chassis maintenance things can be dealt with by a service shop (for a price of course).

If living space is not an issue, there are numerous other options, such as vans and pickup campers, each of which has its own merits. Click here for an illustrated description of various types (or classes) of RV in our library. Reminds me I need to update that file.

Hopefully others here will chime in with more of the pros and cons for each type.
[edit]Link update[/edit]

 

[Ron]

Welcome to the RV Forum.  You have found the right place to get information you need to help you decide what is the best RV for you.

Tom mentioned more maintenance on a MH than a 5er.  If you include the necessary tow vehicle I firmly believe the maintenance issues become equal.  True if you plan to travel and change locations often then the motorhome is better suited is you plan to go to one location and set for several months then the 5er might be more appropriate.

Some of the things we considered when making the same decision was safety in a motorhome if you stop for lunch in a rest area and things going on around you make you nervous then all you have to do is move to the driver position start and drive away.  With a trailer you have to get out of the trailer and go to the tow vehicle to drive away.  Even in a campground if you feel threatened in a motorhome you do have an option to lay on the horn, drive away, or both without exposing yourself to the outside while with a trailer you do not have this option.  Now we have never felt threatened but it is a consideration.  We find RVers to be very friendly, helpful and considerate of others.

Personally I prefer to have the larger heavy thing (motorhome pulling the smaller lighter thing (car) rather than the smaller thing (tow vehicle) pulling the larger thing (trailer).  My better half who drives 90%+ of the time would not be happy driving a big truck to the store for shopping which would be the case if we had a trailer large enough to fulltime in.

I'm am sure you will get a lot of opinions which will help YOU decide which is best for you.  Please continue to ask any questions you have and let us help you make the right choice for you.

Thanks for joining us.

 

[Carl L]

We have been talking to dealers and some people with RVs. How do you decide what is best for your? We plan to retire in 2 years, but would like to get started traveling soon.

My husband has a heart condition. and is not handy at mechanical things. We need something easy to drive, park etc. We plan on doing a lot of traveling .

Any advice would help.

Heart condition?  Motorhome.  Just keep the length down and the automation up.

And I am the trailer cheerleader.    ;D