Motorhome vs Trailer thoughts and experiences

Boy, where does one start. Most subjects have been beat to death; however, here's a little more twist. Everything will depend on the money available. Don't overlook used equipment. I bought a 2001 30' Airstream for $30,000 in 2006. It's still going strong with few maintenance issues.
My thoughts are mostly how do you think you want to travel. The issue here is you can stay at a campground for months or weeks. My experience says 2.3 weeks of cost equal a month's cost so it's cheaper to stay for a month(s). Secondly, do you plan on chasing the seasons? Summers in the mountains and Winters in the South. Months at a time would tend to indicate a separate vehicle. There's small (19' - 12') trailers that can be towed with a medium SUV. Larger trailers would need a diesel powered truck for overall stability. Just about any campground has pull-thru sites that require no backing up.
If possible a visit to the RV Super Show in Tampa FL is a great 'see everything' available. Then look for used in what you like. There's usually 1-3 singles in every place we have been so you find a lot of company. Join the activities and you'll enjoy the stay.
Ask questions everywhere you go. Most will want to share their experiences. HandyHank

 

"Residential" refrigerators are now available in some 5th wheel models! Yep! I think the only downside I found with these - along with other residential features such as induction cook tops - is you can only boondock with generator power capable of the load these pull. But there are some beauties out there now.
Happy Trails!

 

You seem to have info mostly from couples who have seen single women in parks. I 've been full time by myself since 2005. I was in my fifties then. I had a new trailer and a good looking tow vehicle. Met a lot of men looking for a source of support. Traded to a less expensive trailer (for one) and met mostly normal, interesting people. Two years ago I replaced the tow vehicle. If I had bought a van or class c, the engine and many of the systems would be failing now, as would my budget.
Backing in and hooking up is not difficult. If someone wants to help me, I steer clear of people in fifth wheels, as they back differently. I ask that they just point in the direction the rear of the TT needs to go. But all you need is a little practice.
If you have your own vehicle you can get parking at any post office or city farmers' market. You won't be tempted to get into that strange man's truck, just this once. And, there are many of us out here. You can take everybody sightseeing in your truck. I also think that it is best not to park in a place you might suddenly need to drive off from. What if they let the air out of your tires. If you drive off, they'll chase you and drive you off the road. The dark, unlit road that they are familiar with.
You may have gotten your perfect RV by now and are enjoying your adventure. I hope everything has been wonderful and exciting, and that the street smarts you picked up during your stay at home life are serving you well now.
Love and peace, Christine

 

By now it's obvious that there are lots of answers to this question ... and there is no single "right" answer. But I can offer my own experiences.

In 2007 we bought a used, twelve year old, 42' Blue Bird Wanderlodge (no slide outs) from a full timer who'd 'upgraded' to a new Class A RV. This coach with 360 square feet of living space was actually larger than my first apartment. Our plan was to sell our house and live in this RV full time. Unfortunately, our timing was horrible as the 'housing bubble" broke just as we put our house on the market (it did not sell, and we withdrew the listing). However, for the next 40 months, we traveled 36,000 miles through parts of 26 states, usually in blocks of 3 to 4 month "trips." (Since our house couldn't be sold, we preferred to over-winter in our California home. Our goal was to find an area where we might retire. (I was self employed and after setting up the "forward salon" as an office, I was able to do my work on the road.)

With the Wanderlodge, we towed our then 15 year old Toyota Camry. I was able to get a "transmission lube pump" that allowed us to tow it "four down" (with a tow bar). Prepping the car for towing cost about $1800 with the transmission lube pump and a supplemental braking system. This was a lot to spend on an older car ... but it had the advantage that the car was paid for, and should the towing "ruin" it, there wasn't a lot of money tied up in the vehicle.

Pluses: The Wanderlodge (even at 12 years old) had many features that brand new $400,000 coaches did not offer. (One example was the AquaHot system, it provided interior heat and "endless" domestic hot water. It also "preheats" the engine in cold weather.) The coach was very comfortable. It only cost $120,000 to purchase. (List price on our unit when new was about $525,000 -- in 1995. The last brand new Wanderlodges (2009 model) ran around $1.1 to $1.3 million. Wanderlodge did not survive the "great recession" though there are many good units available on the used market -- discounted in view of the closure of the Wanderlodge division.

Minuses: It was huge (48,000 lbs when packed for the road -- Wanderlodges are steel busses (with fiberglas end-caps). In the west (where we live) we only got about 5 MPG (traveling east of the rockies, the fuel use went up to about 7 MPG). The 300 gallon fuel tank (1) allowed us to select the STATE we might fill up in. (2) for a time, with $5.00 per gallon diesel fuel, $1000.00 charges for refuel were not uncommon.

While the coach was in reasonably good condition, there were a few repairs (new muffler, broken shock absorber mount, radiator "boil out") that were required. We'd received good advice to hold out about $10,000 to cover "unexpected" repairs. We also had to pay for remodeling the forward salon into an office -- and pay to restore it to a "living room" when time came to sell the Wanderlodge.

Overall maintenance was expensive. While I've changed oil in cars I owned, and have done lots of home maintenance, I was not equipped to do (much) maintenance on the Wanderlodge. Oil change required 10 GALLONS of oil (I had no way to drain that much oil out of the engine) and so on. Annual service typically cost about $1000.

Towing the car proved to be a modest headache. The chief weakness was the umbilical that operated the car brakes and provided power for the transmission lube pump and signal lights. I quickly started carrying a second umbilical cord, as "poor contacts" would cause alarms to sound if/when the lube pump quit getting power. (I used Radio Shack "tuner cleaner" to restore the contacts on the cable ends and on the coach and car to full operation. Mostly the problem was a build up of corrosion on the cable ends -- so swapping cables when the warning bells sounded was the best way to handle the situation.

Driving an older RV required some maintenance of items you might not encounter with a new coach (if the RV builder died every thing just right). Fortunately, I was able to handle most of such items relatively well.

After selling the Wanderlodge, we re-examined our desires for RV travel, and decided that we would prefer doing shorter trips ... and towing a car with the attendant headaches. We then bought a brand-new Roadtrek Class B RV based on the Mercedes Benz Sprinter van. This style RV fits entirely in the existing Van (The class C units place a wider "box" on the chassis behind the van's driver area -- with the advantage of more room, but also larger size.)

The 42' Wanderlodge (65 feet on the highway with the toad) was great on freeways, but only so-so to drive on secondary highways and especially challenging on "back roads." In contrast, the Sprinter Van handles all such roads very nicely -- we'll even use it for day trips, so we'll have the kitchen and bathroom facilities with us on such trips.

Pluses: The Class B (Roadtrek) is easy to handle, gets excellent fuel economy (16 to 20 mpg on diesel), is comfortable to drive. And is only a moderate challenge in tight situations. At 22' 6", it is just slightly longer than some of the larger pick up trucks. It is tall at 9' 7" with AC unit on the roof. (The Wanderlodge was about 13' tall.) No car to tow, as the Van is workable in store parking lots and driving in traffic in towns. (Not always wonderful, but workable.)

Minuses: The interior is "tight" ... after some experimentation, we leave the bed set up in a "twin" style (easier to reach some overhead cabinets, easier to get in and out of bed). We added a 4" "space foam" pad over the cushions that make up the mattress. The shower is a "wet" bathroom, so for convenience we more often use campground showers ... The 6 gallon hot water heater makes a shower a "emergency standby" arrangement. However, this season I replaced the OEM water heater with a Truma "tankless" hot water heater. A HUGE improvement. The tiny shower is still not great ... but it is reasonably comfortable to use when necessary, and there is NEVER a shortage of hot water. Some of the features of our Roadtrek were disappointing (cheap microwave/convection oven died after only light use ... just after the warranty ran out). Some of the newest Roadtreks have features I would have liked on ours. It cost about the same as what we paid for the used Wanderlodge, about $120,000. Our unit was a "floor model" at the dealership. The price reflects a desire by the dealer to "move it out" for a newer display model.

Having ruled out a fifth wheel or regular travel trailer when I first considered RV travel, there little I can say about it. However, it seemed to me (back when I got the Wanderlodge) that with a trailer you're always "stuck" driving around in a large, heavy-duty truck to sight-see or run errands. It just made more sense to do such driving in a comfortable and probably more economical auto that was towed. The Sprinter Van is no worse (and probably better than some) of the vehicles used to tow heavier trailers.

 

The fall RV shows are starting now. Attend as many as you can, but do not buy at this time. Just look, ask lots of questions, take notes and pictures of what you like and don't like. Check out manufacturers' websites for different models and floor plans. A number of large RV dealers have fly and buy programs. RVs are expensive to purchase. Traveling and maintenance costs can also be expensive. But it can be so freeing, traveling down the road, visiting family, friends, places you've always wanted to go, etc. Do your research before you buy. They say you will go through five RVs before you find 'The One'.


I am a single, soon to be 65 year old woman. I stand 5'1", weigh ~105 lbs. I have full timed twice, 15 months and 3 years. I've had an 18 foot travel trailer and currently a 34 foot travel trailer I am now selling. My truck has already sold. I will be moving up to a newer used diesel pusher and will have a toad. A couple of reasons are first and foremost I must have enough room to actually live in my RV. Starting at the recliner in front of the picture window, six steps to the kitchen sink or bathroom, ten steps to the bed is not enough room. Not every RV park is going to have an area suitable for working out. I have to be able to do everything myself and that means being in shape, so working out I must do. Second, it's a lot of work setting up and tearing down by yourself. Just manually leveling my trailer can take an hour or more, especially if the site isn't very level. Heavy power cord, heavy water hoses, leveling blocks - the list goes on, plus anything else you want outside. Storage is extremely limited in a TT. I have to bag up out of season clothes and stash in the farthest reaches of the TT. It was a constant sort through, weed out, get rid of, reorganize, etc. Then there is the cold. TTs are not very well insulated. My first one had no insulation. Under the kitchen sink I could see daylight through the side and could see people as they walked by. Then the backing up. OMG!!! Had no problem if obstacles aren't close. But with just one person, even with a backup camera, it was constantly getting out to check. All of this amounted to me being worn out from setting up and then having to start a couple days in advance to teardown. Far less to do, easier, quicker with a motorhome.

 

I have traveled with a pickup and trailer for the last four years. I am usually gone about three months.
I agree with many posts about motorhomes being easier than trailers. BUT it really depends on the individual's background and what kind of rving the person is going to do. For this old country girl I want my pickup free to see around the different areas I visit, shopping, sight seeing, etc.
The newer lite trailers are easy to tow and set up. I highly recommend a new two axle trailer around twenty feet.

 

Our reason for choosing a motorhome over a towable is a bit more trivial than the reasons presented in the other great posts in this thread, but it was important to us. We have always traveled with 3 cats. (Had 3, lost 2 to old age, got 2 more). The cats behave fine in our home and in the motorhome, but not so much during the time it takes us to get them from the house to the MH and vice versa. They also ride just fine in the moving MH, but they do not ride well in a car, so we knew it would be a lot of trouble having them ride in the tow vehicle. However, we couldn't imagine letting them ride in the trailer by themselves, and we knew that if we constantly had to move them from a trailer to the tow vehicle, we would wind up with a lot of scratches, and more importantly there was the possibility one of them would get loose during the transfer. Also in the MH they have access to food and water and their litter box while we are driving down the road, where as these items would be difficult to carry in the tow vehicle. So there really was no other choice for us, and having the MH has suited us and the cats just fine for many years now.

 

Not being a pick-up guy I don't pretend to know that much about them. However, I do have to question the post that they bought as "brand new" Dodge, now Ram, diesel 2500 pick-up AND fifth wheel for under $70K. Just doing a quick search of Ram dealers in the Buffalo, NY area the least expensive 2016 Ram 2500 diesel was $64000! And that was not the Laramie fancy model. An acquaintance of ours just bought a brand new GMC diesel this summer for over $90K! They also traded down their 42 foot Montana fifth wheel for a model from Grand Design that have about half the features of the Montana. Compromise with the $90K pick-up I would assume.

 

$90K for a GMC HD truck? Did they have some aftermarket add on or a hauler bed installed?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

An F250 or 350 will run you at least $50K for a super cab XLT to nearly $70K for a super crew King Ranch. I'm sure Ram & GM pricing is competitive.
The 2016 super cab GAS F250 XLT I bought a couple months ago that was discounted over $8K due to incentives was a hair over $40K.
My wife and I have spent many hours in the last few weeks at an RV dealership in Oregon looking at mid profile (head knocker - toe stubber bedrooms) that begin in the low $40K's for Sundance XLT's to over $50K for Coachmen Chaparral lite.
Full profile models start at $50K. The smallest Arctic Fox 5th wheel is well over $50K. These prices are sticker prices. Yes there is room for negotiation, but I saw nothing to indicate someone could purchase a new diesel truck and a new 5th wheel for $70K as "Fangs" claims.

 

Personally I would buy a 1 ton no frills Dodge truck new for $44,000 used at around $30,000 & a 32 foot RSV DRV Mobile Suites 5th wheeler. This only extends the truck length 24 feet which is easy to handle.
Reason - you unhook from the 5th wheel & as a permanent live-in, I would only move monthly or less as a full-timer. That being said the hook up / unhook is at most a once a month exercise & with just a little experience becomes simple.
The DRV new 2017 model is $80,000, used from $35,000 for a 2011 & the reason is it is built to last. This is not a week or short term camper but a solid thick 3 1/2" wall tubular steel home.
You will wear out a normal cheaper camper after 7 years & similar to an Airstream - the DRV will last a long time - means buy 1 & thats it - 20 year life.
Seriously - you get what you pay for & the reason I am against a Class A - inconvenient to Drive, many seem to live in the shop & very expensive to buy & maintain. A class C is basically a smaller A & still a pain to drive around town shopping. B's are van conversions & claustrophobic with space problems unless you are a longtime bachelor living cheap.
BTW - I am retired Oilfield & not a salesman. Considering buying the new 38 foot model now & becoming a full timer.

 

You might consider a pick-up with a slide in camper. Then you have a vehicle that can go anywhere and no need of a toad.

 

I'm a Solo woman and believe that this gal will likely be on a learning curve for a while. She would do well to connect with Escapees, attend a boot camp even before buying, and maybe even take a driving school lesson.
I started learning with a TT. After 3 years, I was ready to sell my home and full-time. I drive a 38'Monaco Diplomat diesel pusher and tow a CRV. I love having a sturdy home. Life is a great adventure. Don't underestimate what women can handle.

 

Recommend contacting https://www.sistersonthefly.com/ and http://www.rvingwomen.org/ along with women members of Escapees/Xscapers. We've met several solo women happy traveling with a nice 23' or 25' Airstream towed by a luxury SUV or fancy half-ton pickup.

 

My husband and I have had 5th wheels, campers and 2 motorhomes. From these experiences, If I wanted to travel by myself I would definitely get a small motorhome. For a female I think they are easier to drive and safer! You don't have to get out of your vehicle (at a rest area) to use a restroom. You have your own! I would look at a class B+ for myself.

 

Well, I'm going to reply to my own post
I wrote that if I had a chance to do it again I'd have chosen a small to mid-size fifth wheel - WELL WE JUST DID!
While we haven't had our new toy for a week yet, and so far have only camped out in our driveway, we eliminated the two biggest chores by not needing an anti-sway hitch and adding the optional Level-Up leveling system. So far, so good. We're going camping for several days over Veteran's Day weekend, so I'll give a report.
I do however feel like an idiot when backing the 5th wheel into tight spaces that had become a breeze with the travel trailer. It's unexpectedly different.

 

Once upon a time, I had my Class A for sale. It was a great motorhome and I had replaced and/or modified nearly everything about it. It still had a few issues and I wanted to make sure I was aiming my sale toward someone who had some 'fix-it' skills.

An elderly,female, unexperienced RV novice wanted to buy it and I tried to talk her out of it. When I asked her why she was so insistent on buying a used Class A, she replied that if she had a 'call-of-nature', she would feel much more comfortable dealing with it in a Class A, than walking back (outside) to a towable to conduct her 'business'. Good point - as a male I had never been concerned about something like that. BTW, I did manage to talk her out of this particular one, and found a buyer who had prior DIY experiences with a rig like this.

Just my dime - which still makes a handy screwdriver.

 

1) Why buy a 2nd or 3rd [huge] engine and all the component parts, when 'getting there' is so much more simple with a towed vehicle?

2) Factor in maintenance of a motor; sleeping on a tankful of gasoline or diesel fuel; having to pack up every time you want to go down the road 100 feet; not being able to disengage at will to take a "small-road", side trip;

3) If you have kids, the distraction index of a motor home is unreal.... and keeping them belted in is a real challenge!

4) Taxes on a motorhome are much more.....

Hears enough? as a single woman, you don't want the extra burden of maintaining a vehicle, do you? Just get a really well-built trailer and GO!!

 

Hi. I'm a single lady and have been out traveling in a class C motorhome for over five years. I love the parking part but sometimes driving a heavy vehicle through construction areas and mountains can be a little hairy. You can do it.

What ever you choose: A vehicle or combination of vahicles, choose one that is very well-balanced, stable, has adequate cargo carrying capacity, and is easy for you to drive. You don't want to feel shaking as you drive down the road. You will also be behind the wheel for 2 to 3 hours at a time and want to be comfortable.

Pick a high-quality RV that is easy to maintain since you will find that you are capable of fixing many of the things that go wrong. I find that I can hear things going wrong and to get my tiny hands into places very easily in these tiny homes. I feel I have an advantage keeping things running. I call the appropriate repair man for major appliances and challenges I want to delegate. My tough Ford V-10 has never caused problems, but if it should need maintenance, I plan to find a motel with a nice shower.

It took years to decide on the vehicle I wanted. (I eventually chose a midbath Lazy Daze with solar.). I joined Yahoo! Groups and other Internet groups of users to see what kind of problems they had and learn how to handle them before I bought my vehicle. Good luck on your travels. You are smart in asking this group or some of the RV users. Many of them know far more than the salesman, who will tell you anything to make a sale.

 

Even though there is a lot to chew on in the previous comments, I'll add one thing I didn't see above - boondocking safety. My husband and I full-timed for 12 years (so far!) and it only came up a couple of times, but if you are boondocking somewhere, you might be glad to have a motorhome if you need to cut and run due to feeling threatened. We stopped in at an old shopping center one time and asked management if we could stay overnight (there weren't many cars in this large lot, even in the light of the day). Given permission, we got settled in (but we never unhook our car when we boondock) - about 3:00 in the morning, a group of rowdies came in and did some "drag racing" past and around our motorhome. Lots of yelling, wheels screeching, etc. We had no idea if the kids were just having a good time or if they were up to no good; however, we wasted no time in ruining their "fun" by getting dressed and moving on. If I become single while I'm still able to drive, I will want to keep going - but I'll have a dog and a motorhome so I'm not unable to get behind the steering wheel without going outside my rig. Just another thing to think about.
Laurie