A couple of things. The advantage of a motorhome is in traveling. When you're on the road a motorhome is far more convenient. The advantage of the fifthwheel is livability. When you're all set up a fifthwheel has far more liveable space with more floor plan options. So you have to decide which you'll be doing most often. You mentioned the price of a Tiffin motorhome (I think the best choice). In this economy look for a good used one - you could save on a year or two of depreciation. By the way, Doubletree is a good choice as well. As far as double towing - it can't be done in the eastern most states. The roads are too winding. Good luck, I hope you don't step in it any deeper - oh well, what the h---. Might as well go for it all!!!

Terry we looked very close at the MH again before we went with the Mobile Suites 36TK 3.   The first year depreciation on a MH is a killer,  and yes 5th wheels  also depreciated but there is a lot of difference in price.   Also to get a MH serviced it cost a lot of money,  much more than a TV and 5th wheel.   And of course the living area is much better than a MH and you want have a steering wheel in the living area.   As for set up the MH is somewhat better,  however you sill have to go out and hook up the water and sewer etc.   With the Mobile Suites the hydraulic jack system is much improved.   Our Mobile Suites comes standard with side to side leveling system much like the MH.  And we have looked at the Prevost $750,000 dollars and down and found we would have to spend about $230,000 to get the same as our Mobile Suites.   And the MH still feels like being in a bus.   Keep in mind if you have a major engine problem and your full timing you loose your home.   The same is true to some extent buy the turn around time is normaly is faster.  Good Luck with your choice.   Also even with the TV and Mobile Suites 36TK 3 the total cost was  for less than a $100,000.   GBY.....    

The choice is analogous to would you rather live is a ranch house or colonial? It's which feels better to you. There are pluses and minuses to both.

We personally are more comfortable in a fiver, it feels more like a normal home. Even the expensive motorhomes feel "bus like" to us and don't have a home like layout.

I would love the convenience of a regular car to drive around in, but I have slowly acclimated to the dually truck and can park it just about anywhere. Jo, actually prefers the truck, says she feels safer and can see better from the higher position.

I was intrigued when I first read about the smart Car and saw it on the back of a HDT, but recently I think I read in a Consumer Reports writeup that the ride is horrible.

Oh well, this full time life's not easy, but someone has to do it.

Fred

Hi Terry and JO:

    Whether to go with a fiver or motor coach?   Now that is a question that has taken up a lot of space.  It really all boils down to one thing.  Which makes you feel more comfortable. 

    Having traveled in both, I prefer the motor coach.  There are several reasons that I have chosen the motor coach but I suppose the top reason is that by towing a car, I have a back up drive train in the event one fails.  With a fiver, unless you double tow or both you and spouse drive, you will have a single drive train.  If it fails you will be stuck.  The second reason was also a big one for me.  Setting up the motor coach and getting ready to move is much easier and quicker with the motor coach.  To a lesser degree, when we get where we are going and are set up, if we wish to do some sight seeing or just go to the grocery store, we do it in our toad, not a truck.  We tow a Jeep Wranger and we enjoy 4-wheelin in the mountains in the summer.  Without the towed we would be looking at a rental unit which currently runs about $100 per day plus fuel.  Not a nice thing to consider.

JMO

If you are using 2 vehicles...go the motorhome route. I have a DRV Elite Suite and there is no way the frame could handle towing a car even if it were legal to double tow.(check with DRV...they'll tell you that). I tow the trailer and the wife drives the car (like H & L) but if I was to do it again I'd get a MH so we could ride together.

We've been looking too for some time. We also have gone back and forth and have decided on a MH.  We started our serious research about a year ago, and really liked the Holiday Rambler Ambassador. Then we gave the Fifth Wheel a good look, decided on a Carri-Lite and went back to a MH.

I agree the livability is appealing. I think the convenience of the takedown and setup and the extra storage the MH affords are the key reasons we have settled on a MH. Early in our research we didnt think we could afford the Tiffin, but found that the 40' Phaeton may work out.

After visiting 5 dealers last week and touring the factory at Red Bay, we are really looking forward to getting one. But we are still at least eight months away from pulling the trigger, so I guess that can change too. Meanwhile, we will keep researching.

Good luck with your decision!  Be interested to see what you decide.

-- Edited by rwarner22 at 20:14, 2008-08-17

Another option to consider would be a toy hauler 5th wheel with capacity to carry a light weight vehicle for touring. Recently at a campground I saw a couple that had a toy hauler and they carried a small Toyota car in it. When they got setup in their campsite they backed the car out. Then they transformed the garage area into a living/ dining room area. They had a nice big living area when they were finished. Here's what they did: They rolled out a carpet to cover the floor. There was a couch that they moved from the kitchen area (where it rides for travel) along with a couple of recliners. They had a table that had fold up legs for the dining area along with four nice wooden fold up chairs. A big flat screen tv was mounted to one wall along with DVD and audio entertainment center in an upper cabinet. A couple of end tables finished off the decor. It made for a very comfortable living space. I was impressed. The 5th wheel had three axles and appeared to be at least 35ft in length. Two slideouts in the bedroom bath area and one in the kitchen area. I don't remember the brand.

To answer your CDL question, the answer is no chauffeurs or CDL is necessary.  Only needed for commercial vehicles.  I've taught CDL training for 6 years and am quite sure it is uniform throughtout the country or you wouldn't be able to travel to certain states.
Beth

Hi Terry & Jo,

We went through all of the same emotions and decision making before finally buying our MH in June of 2007. Yeh we had a few headaches too !

It gets so confusing. We went to  RV shows...dealerships...talked and asked advice  on several  forums, and even from people in a few RV parks traveling when we visited friends. Got many answers and advice...some good..some  not so good. We must say though the  friendliest, and most helpful was right here on RV-Dreams.

After looking at many RV's...Fivers and MH's we decided on the MH because we wanted to tow my little VW convertible, and so that was settled.

   We went from there, and discussed our reasons for our want lists....then back to search. We both got what we wanted and were happy with our final choice.

We have a front kitchen ...then a lounge or living room with a 37 inch tv mid coach... two sofas and then the bath with a corridor to go around the bath into the bedroom.  We call it our little retirement CONDO on wheels. 

I think the best advice we got truly was to calm down, and try to just enjoy the search. Not to hurry, and not be pressured by anyone.
 What a boring world it would be if we  all had the same taste.

The key we were  told.....was to  find something in your price range...go with whatever floor plan you loved, and was right for YOU !
You will be the only one living in it, and what is right  for one is not for another...the same with sticks and bricks.

 
So I guess  our advice to you... is to go with whatever one you fall in love with...and enjoy the search.
 I hope this helps a little, and I just did not confuse you more.


 We sure wish you every joy, and best of luck.
Arlene & Larry  

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-- Edited by Travelin Duo at 19:37, 2008-08-27

-- Edited by Travelin Duo at 19:42, 2008-08-27

Terry and Jo,

Don't rule out a used Foretravel.  If you like the Tiffen, you will love the Foretravel.  We were very close to buying a Tiffen.   With a FT you get 8 air bags.  You get coach leveling without the use of jacks.  You get a "retarder" as part of the transmission.  The Retarder is somewhat similar to an exhaust brake or Jake brake only it uses the transmission to slow your descent on hills.   Some owners feel it is better.  With a FT you will have plenty of power to pull a toad.

In a Foretravel you will get unmatched build quality and when  you buy used you don't pay depreciation.

Go to your web browser and type in

Oodle Foretravel RV

You will find almost 100 units all over the U.S.  We live in Illinois. We bought ours from Motorhomes of Texas -- 1,000 miles away in Nacogdoches.   No dealer will ever come close to their over-the-top service and correction of problems BEFORE selling you a used coach.

The market is down.  we got a single slide unit for a lot less than we thought was possible.

Hope this doesn't add to the "confusion"

Terry and Jo.... we've been going through the same uncertainties that you have.  We started with being absolutely certain we wanted to get a motorhome -- we had narrowed it down to the Winnebago Journey and Tiffin Phaeton.  We researched many, spent 2 days in Hershey at the big RV show looking at almost every motorhome there.  We ran out of time to look at anything else, but we were certain we had made our decision.   Our reasoning was that we planned to do a lot of traveling -- with our pup Body -- and it would be most comfortable in a motorhome.  We had even decided we'd find a unit that was one or two years old to save on the depreciation.

Then -- we visited our favorite RV resort in Gold Canyon, AZ.  Decided to rent a park model there for a month last winter just to see if that was where we'd like to spend most of our winter with the motorhome.  Well!  That park model was awful nice, and it was located right smack dab in the middle of where we wanted to be.  We took steps to pick out exactly the park model we wanted, and left word with the dealer that as soon as our house sold we'd call and give them the go-ahead to build it.  It was less expensive than a motorhome, with a wonderful floor plan, in a beautiful RV resort setting.  And we could just drive or fly there every year.  We'd changed our mind -- and made our decision -- we thought!

Fast forward to coming back home.... a visit from friends who were fulltiming in their RV got us thinking again.  Traveling all over this beautiful country tugs at our hearts.  But what about the high cost of gas?  Well, the answer we thought might be to get a fifth wheel instead.... travel less, stay longer in one spot.  Fifth wheels are great for long stays in one place.  And DH always has a pickup truck anyway -- why not have a diesel that could pull our new home?  He certainly liked that idea!

So our current (and final we think?) decision is to get a roomy, beautiful fifth wheel -- we're looking at Carriage Cameos right now.  But guess what?  A year has passed, and the Hershey RV Show is only a couple of weeks away. We plan to attend again -- this time checking out all the fifth wheels!

We're firm believers that things happen for a reason -- if we had sold our home a year ago we wouldn't be making the decisions we are today.  Actually a fifth wheel will fit in better with our plans, cause we certainly can live in it for a year or more, and even spend summers here in the Northeast near our family while making MORE decisions about whether to move into a new stick house, or maybe just travel longer!

It's a personal decision for each of us -- whatever works best with our individual lifestyles.  But it's a great idea to get opinions and ideas from other folks -- to see what their thoughts are pro and con.  It's great to have a place to go like this forum to do that. 

Well, Terry and Jo, by now you should conclude that there is no right or wrong answer to the question of MH vs. 5th wheel. It's truly what YOU finally decide is best for you.
We are at exactly the same point in the decision making process. We've owned fivers for about 14 years now. Never owned a MH. We intend to begin the fulltiming lifestyle within the year and we were set on doing it in a 5th wheel.
Well.........we started having thoughts about a vehicle for getting around once we arrived at our location, the time and ease of setup between the two types of RVs, and MANY, MANY other factors. With all of that being said, now we are researching MHs.
We will also be attending the Hershey, PA show and looking strictly at MHs. (We did the same thing in years past, but only looked at 5th wheels).
Tiffin is also on our short list for MHs. I'm sure you've probably already been to the forum, but if not, you might take a look at (www.tiffinrvnetwork.com). It is a Tiffin user's forum, but has no support from the factory, thus folks will give you some pretty frank answers to your questions.
Best of luck in whichever type of RV you ultimately decide upon. If you eventually end up fulltiming, I don't believe you can go wrong in either.

-- Edited by sfischer at 01:49, 2008-08-30

Update time.

We chickened out on taking the trip to Indiana and Alabama to tour factories.  With all we were planning, it was going to end up being about 2800 miles for the full trip.  That would have required us to be driving just about all the time we weren't touring factories or sleeping.  So we opted to visit relatives and then spend a couple of days around Colorado Springs and then go south a ways to some US National Forest campgrounds near Cuchara, CO to see if either of the campsites would accomodate a large MH.

The reason we did that was because we drove the Phaeton 40 footer on August 21.  Jo drove it first on the roughly 80 mile roundtrip drive.  Then while I was driving and the salesman was comfortable with both of our handling of the RV, he turned to Jo and asked her, "Well, what do you think?"

Jo's answer was, "He doesn't want to know what I think."  Now, while I was certain when we began that she COULD drive the MH, it was a question of whether she would be COMFORTABLE driving it.  Thus, her answer to the salesman told me immediately that she was comfortable with it.  That took us to check out those campsites.

Then today, August 30, we drove the 42 foot Phaeton down to the Arbuckles and back.  That ended up being about a three hour drive down and back.  I was pleased with the handling (and Jo was as well), and I was MOST IMPRESSED with the automatic leveling system of the MH.  We stopped in a roadside rest area and Jo parked in a spot where the MH was nose down and passenger side down from level.  When I asked the salesman to demonstrate the leveling and stabilizing system, even he wasn't sure it would work in that setting.  He pushed the button and in about 3 minutes, it was leveled.  We stepped out and the wheels on the passenger side were about one half inch off the ground and it was all leveled and stabilized.

It also handled the grades well.  Even though the grades were about 3 percent, in cruise control it only lost about 2 to 4 mph on the grades.

So, since the 42 footer has a lot more closet space and space in the bedroom, it looks like that one is Jo's first choice.  She also felt like it was a lot more stable driving than the 40 footer.  Perhaps because of the tag axle on the rear.

So now, it looks like we wait for the house to sell while we now research "toads".

Thanks to all of you for your responses.  Each one has been valuable to us.

Terry

Just a thought to consider. 

Be careful with a leveling system that will lift the wheels off the ground.  Coaches can move when the wheels are off the ground.  I also puts additional stress on the suspension system components.

JMO

I have to agree with having 2 vehicles instead of one. You never know where you will go and how far the next town is. Motor home is the way i like to travel best and a small car works good for running around when you need to.