Drive RV or trailer?

[meaningful meanderings]

Since now kind of in the market for a RV I've started looking at the configurations more closely I pass on the road, and it brings up some questions. What are pros and cons of driving the home and towing the vehicle vs driving the vehicle and towing the home. My personal thought is it's easier to get service if a F250, RAM, Chevy, etc breaks down as opposed to an RV, too your also now looking at a hotel room. My thought is I'm going to either be towing a trailer with the truck, or the towing the truck with the RV. What are some of y'alls experiences?

 

[Gramps.busa]

I’m a Newbie also. I chose a motorhome because I wanted family/friends traveling in more comfort & convenience than having everyone in a truck to our next location. Kitchen, bath, sleep, all available as we travel down the road.

 

[meaningful meanderings]

I’m a Newbie also. I chose a motorhome because I wanted family/friends traveling in more comfort & convenience than having everyone in a truck to our next location. Kitchen, bath, sleep, all available as we travel down the road.

Had not considered that angle. For my purposes it would be mainly the wife and myself or one of the guys when I manage to swing a weekend kitchen pass.

 

[Hillman]

We went with a Class A motorhome. After trying to get it serviced and having no luck, and having to learn everything myself if I want it fixed, I would never advise anyone to go this route. If I could go back, it would be a F350 and a 5th wheel. At least the truck could get serviced. Also, the upgrades needed to the suspension and steer systems of some motorhomes to make them anything but a white-knuckle horror to drive can be pricey, and you have to find someone to install them or learn yourself. No. I regret that when we were in your exact position, we decided "drive comfort" over truck and trailer, because it isn't drive comfort at all. I say this as we are a month away from leaving on a 7500 mile trip in it... Oh and it just gets soooo much more fun when you pull a vehicle with the motorhome. Really spices the ride right up.

 

[bpaikman]

We had a 36-ft w/toad for several years - enjoyed it very much. We’re looking for another MH - we like riding up high, and being able to stop, eat lunch, or even sleep without leaving the coach - it’s great when it’s raining.
We take it slow and keep the daily miles down.
Yeah, we had some experiences that put a gray hair or two on my head. Always because we were in vacation mode - traveling in the dark, or clocking long days of travel. That’s not gonna happen after husband retires this month.
One time we did need the coach worked on for 2 to 3 days. They even offered to let us stay in the coach at night at the service center, but we opted for a hotel.
We much prefer the comfort of the motorhome for travel and rarely experienced white-knuckle circumstances. I just took it very easy at those times (high winds, steep mountains grades, big city traffic, heavy rain.)
And yes, I’m the wife. I have better sense of space than husband, and do 90% of the driving. LOVE it. Can hardly wait!

 

[FL-JOE]

We have traveled in a 38' fiver, 39' fiver, 37' gas Class A, 43' diesel pusher Class A, and now a 44' fiver toy hauler. Almost all of that RV experience has been full time traveling.

Two things stand out when deciding between a Class A or C, and a 5th wheel or Travel Trailer.

As you mentioned, breakdowns. Engine, transmission, suspension issues, and a host of other failures could land your motorized RV in a shop and you in a hotel/motel. A breakdown on the road could be especially bad if a large Class A has to be towed.

The second issue is maintenance costs. Our Class A diesel pusher averaged around $800 per year just for engine and chassis maintenance. Compare that to regular maintenance for a F350 for example which is currently running around $250.00 with fuel filter.

Several years ago we had friends that blew a transmission in their 9 year old 1-ton chevy truck. They were towing a long toy hauler fiver. They simply had the fiver moved to a local campground and stayed in their "home" for 4 weeks while the transmission was repaired. If they would have had a large Class A they would have either spent that time in a motel or had to fly home and returned later.

 

[bpaikman]

I can’t imagine a 4-week repair, but you never know. Not arguing about maintence costs of a diesel!. We think motorhomes are better if you plan on traveling a lot ( you have to also figure in cost of fuel, and higher campground costs by the day or week, rather than monthly) fifth wheels are better if you’re planning on staying in one place, like for a temp job....travel trailers seem to be better for folks who don’t like climbing steps. we don’t like the idea of dealing with a fifth wheel hitch.
As for service stays, I wonder if many places would allow you to keep living in your motorhome , depending on the repair work needed. The people where we had the 3-day engine repair job actually offered to let us stay, with electrical! I wonder how many places would allow that - probabaly not big dealer places - insurance, liability, all that.
We’re still buying another motorhome in the next few months - we budgeted 2/3 thirds of our motorhome fund for the purchase, and 1/3 for maintenance and upgrades. Because at first we plan to travel around searching for a permanent home base (keeping our current home for now, with our son paying small rent). We can always change our mind later.

 

[OTH]

We currently have a truck and 5th wheel. Never had a motor home. From our experiences, I know the answer to the OP's question. I want both! I want the motor home when were driving, so my wife can go to the bathroom, move around, etc. When we get parked, I want the floor space and room of our 5th wheel. We went with the truck and 5th wheel for a couple of reasons: First, buying a motor home that we would be truly happy with is expensive. Purchase price, maintenance, insurance, etc.. My truck and 5th wheel wasn't necessarily cheap but less than a nice class A. I love my truck, and I get to use it everyday, not store it. Maintenance and repairs are far less involved on a truck and trailer. Either way you go, your'e gonna tow something. That was my reasoning anyway..

 

[Beetle77]

I chose a 38 foot class A DP for my first rv, mainly because I wasn’t sure yet if I wanted to pursue the RV lifestyle so I didn’t want to invest major dollars in it, my 1997 Silverado was too old and tired to tow with so I would need a new truck first. My 1998 monaco had 35k miles on a Cummins/ Allison drive train and I bought it for 25k, I’m retired and it gets used a lot, so far, so good. It had a few problems but but I spent my career in industrial machine and electrical maintenance so I do my own work.
As far as getting work done, the 2 large dealerships near me will fix any thing you need done, rate is $145 per hour be it motor home or trailer.

 

[KR1973]

I have had bumper pull trailers, a fifth wheel and now I'm moving to a Class A with a toad. Why I want to move from a trailer is that it doesn't travel well. With a large 5er I am restricted to certain spots in some campgrounds and some aren't laid out very well for the big trailers. I also feel as though the F350 dually that I need to haul the big trailer doesn't make a very good vehicle to get around in unhooked. The dually is hard to get through tight streets and parking lots and I've had terrible times trying to park in places that I visit when traveling. The solution to me is a modest size class A (35') and a small toad that both, I can park anywhere. There is also a hope that with having all the amenities inside the drive vehicle that the trip will be better as well. I'm going to downsize some but it should be easier to jump in and go whenever I want and go more often on shorter trips where I might not even need a toad. I don't usually get too excited at the thought of getting the 5er out, hooking up and setting up camp for just an overnight now and I'm hoping that will change.