OT: Motorhome vs. 5th Wheel

[massimoManca II]

If the unit is being used mostly for PSU tailgating in the PSU lots, I’d go with a MH over a 5th wheel. It’s just much easier to load it up, drive it there with friends and family enjoying the ride, and set it up and start your tailgating as quickly as possible.
However, as an overall camping machine, I’d take a 5th wheel over a MH. Once you arrive at your destination, you have a vehicle to explore with. Also, not having to deal with motor, transmission, and other problems that are typical of motorized vehicles is a big bonus.

agreed... travel-trailer for tailgating is not ideal... 97% of trailers & 5th wheels lack an onboard genset... and i recall that portable generators are verboten in the tailgating areas (though some ayyholes disregard this rule)...

IMHO much of the fun of tailgating in a MH is packing 15 friends and family in with you and enjoying the painfully slow trip into the stadium parking areas...

 

[MJG-90]

Does anyone know of a fifth wheel that could easily be towed with a 2004 GMC Sierra 5 3/4' bed, crew cab, Z71 with a 5.3 liter V8? I've only found one so far and it's not quite what I want (has a wet bath and no sliders, so too narrow).

 

[massimoManca II]

Does anyone know of a fifth wheel that could easily be towed with a 2004 GMC Sierra 5 3/4' bed, crew cab, Z71 with a 5.3 liter V8? I've only found one so far and it's not quite what I want (has a wet bath and no sliders, so too narrow).

without knowing your towing capacity (it’s posted on the doorjamb), gotta think your Sierra is a half-ton p/u, which might be fine for a boat or a small/medium TT, but a honking 5th Wheel is lot to ask for even a 3/4 ton TV

a 323cu inch engine is going to be overmatched by common Ridiculously oversized 5th wheels...

 

[MJG-90]

without knowing your towing capacity (it’s posted on the doorjamb), gotta think your Sierra is a half-ton p/u, which might be fine for a boat or a small/medium TT, but a honking 5th Wheel is lot to ask for even a 3/4 ton TV

a 323cu inch engine is going to be overmatched by common Ridiculously oversized 5th wheels...

It's over 7,000 pounds. I'm thinking 7,500 without looking. I realize it's asking a lot. That's why I've only been able to find one so far.

Trailer Escape 5.0

Towable with a half-ton truck, this fifth-wheel offers a spacious interior with its one-piece fiberglass shell.

escapetrailer.com

 

[Lion Son/Husband/Father]

My thought process on pro rv is every morning you hit the road and the whole crew is in the rv together. An instant party on wheels. Just a festive tone all around. The downside for me is moms will probably balk at the added cost of a pull behind vehicle.

 

[ChandlerPearce]

One financial aspect to consider is deprecation. Within 10 years whatever you purchase will be worth 10% - 15% of the original price (except used Airstream trailers). For example...I just purchased a 2000 Airstream 36' MH....Cat engine, Freightliner frame, Airstream interior.... original price of $145,000 and my cost was $15,500. I however never buy new when a quality used saves me so much...I just hate buying anything that depreciates to nothing! As for the MH vs 5thWheel.....as another poster stated, comes down to personal choice. My wife is not a fan of public restrooms......so the ease of setup and extra conveniences of the MH are best for us.

 

[massimoManca II]

One financial aspect to consider is deprecation. Within 10 years whatever you purchase will be worth 10% - 15% of the original price (except used Airstream trailers). For example...I just purchased a 2000 Airstream 36' MH....Cat engine, Freightliner frame, Airstream interior.... original price of $145,000 and my cost was $15,500. I however never buy new when a quality used saves me so much...I just hate buying anything that depreciates to nothing! As for the MH vs 5thWheel.....as another poster stated, comes down to personal choice. My wife is not a fan of public restrooms......so the ease of setup and extra conveniences of the MH are best for us.

have travelled both paths... 10yr old MH and a 20yr old MH... previous ownership is key, but Constant maintenance and upgrades are required ...and are just as important as the previous owners diligence

a 10yr old motorhome that depreciates its way into your driveway will be as painful as it will be fun... even if you’re lucky enough to provide it with indoor Offseason storage - these prove to be a handful with regard to leaks, wall delamination, mechanical, “hardware” and systems issues ... been there done that... if you’re lucky enough to land a good looking a ten year old coach - keeping it looking decent is a formidable challenge as well

a 20yr old motorhome? Been there done that as well (though not a pusher/Cat diesel) - I can say were it a gasser, it’d end up making you restrict your trip radius Based on drivability/ reliability worries... and eventually you‘ll want to drive it off a bridge... furthermore, if your 2000 Airstream was the coveted/iconic silver-sheet aluminum behemoth Classic, that $15.5k was well-spent/ a steal... you’d be primarily concerned with drivetrain and systems... but your “squarestream” Land Yacht likely has steel framing supporting that fiberglass roof, and those are known to turn to orangedust once water breaches the EPS beadboard (and it certainly will, if it hasn’t already) ... if your framing is aluminum you’ve got a good rig (not exactly sure if/when Airstream switched back to aluminum frames on the LY’s )

 

[RLCookie]

It's over 7,000 pounds. I'm thinking 7,500 without looking. I realize it's asking a lot. That's why I've only been able to find one so far.

Trailer Escape 5.0

Towable with a half-ton truck, this fifth-wheel offers a spacious interior with its one-piece fiberglass shell.

escapetrailer.com

The first travel trailer I purchased weighed 8,000 lbs. My truck was rated to pull 8,000 lbs and the dealer assured me it could handle it. I pulled the guts out of the truck and ended up having to get rid of it. I did some research and many that tow were recommending 80%. Don't tow anything that is over 80% of what your vehicle is rated for. I now subscribe to this rule and towing is much more pleasant. I'm not saying your truck won't pull 100% of what it is rated for or even 110% . You will probably get away with it for a while but in the end it will catch up with you if you do it to often.

Just my 2 cents speaking from experience.

 

[RLCookie]

One other thought in regards to RV vs 5th Wheel, if you are planning on using this to tailgate at PSU I believe the only place you can actually take a 5th wheel is in the ORV lot. If you don't already have one, passes for that lot are next to impossible to come by.

 

[MJG-90]

The first travel trailer I purchased weighed 8,000 lbs. My truck was rated to pull 8,000 lbs and the dealer assured me it could handle it. I pulled the guts out of the truck and ended up having to get rid of it. I did some research and many that tow were recommending 80%. Don't tow anything that is over 80% of what your vehicle is rated for. I now subscribe to this rule and towing is much more pleasant. I'm not saying your truck won't pull 100% of what it is rated for or even 110% . You will probably get away with it for a while but in the end it will catch up with you if you do it to often.

Just my 2 cents speaking from experience.

I agree with this. The truck is rated at over 7,000 pounds. The fifth wheel I linked has a dry weight under 4,000 pounds and a GVWR of 5,500. If the truck is rated to tow 7,500 pounds, 5,500 pounds is just under 75% of the truck's towing capacity. And is about the most I want to tow. I'm looking for something in that range or less.

If I don't get a fifth wheel, I'll be towing even less. I'd like to stay under 4,500 loaded ideally unless I can find the right fifth wheel.

EDIT: I just checked and it is 7,500 pounds, towing - 13,000 GCWR. The truck weighs over 5,200 alone. So adding a couple of people and a few hundred pounds of luggage and bicycles knocks towing down closer to 7,000.

 

[Fac]

I'd rather Motorboat , but that's just me.