we have a hitch pull travel trailer it is one of the newer ultra light trailers that weigh significantly less than most and can therefore be pulled by a smaller truck. Which let us keep our current Ford F150 and use it to pull, we were not ready to jump into buying a bigger truck, buying the RV was a fairly big cost in itself. Plus gas costs the bigger the pull the bigger the gas cost!(or diesel)

We have been extremely happy with it. It pulls wonderfully. Ours is by Keystone which makes a very good quality product.
It is a Passport by Keystone ultra light.

A fifth wheel will require the installation in the bed of the truck the hitch mechanism which tends to then leave the bed fairly useless for carrying anything other than smaller items. We wanted to be able to use the truck bed for things like ice chests and the generator, stuff that were not in the bay storage of the RV.

If you do get a fifth wheel look into the special hitches we had watched some videos on some that were really amazing and gave much better results than a standard hitch. I don't remember the name of them.

The only con I can think of would probably be a con for any RV that is the backing up and parking. If you don't have a backup camera especially. We have a good set of walkie talkies we use because when I am at the back of the RV and he is up in the truck no way can he see or hear me with out one.

We also stayed away from the fifth wheel because there is in most all of them a step up into the bedroom and I can not do steps very well now and that will just get worse, so ours is all one level and has no carpet which I love.

I think that you probably nailed it already...A fifth wheel is a good trailer and easy to maneuver. They tend to give you more room and sometimes a better design.

We didn't have a truck that was capable of pulling one and Beloved was also nervous about the backing up aspect of a trailer. We also had to take into the equation our age, our health etc. The cost of a 5th wheel and a new truck would have been just as costly for us as our motor home. The beauty of a trailer is that you don't have to tow a car or rent a car, you unhook and off you go sightseeing.

The main reason though that we chose our Motor home is that with my pain issues, we knew that the big bucket seats would be much easier on my body and keep my pain level at bay.

The only regret we have is that we didn't do it sooner...encourage him, our last trip was beyond amazing...

Raven.. we already have the hitch mechanisms...They came with the truck.. actually more than one... We pull his looong flat bed trailer loaded down with back hoe and tractor equip.... and the bucket seats are so nice and comfortable,, much more so than his Grand Marquis.... Larry can back up just about anything... and maneuver his flatbed like it was nothing at all....I can't even back up my Troy Bilt with a lil wagon in back... LOL

Ruthie, Your motor home is beautiful...but probably out of our league financially....We are looking to spend no more th an $50,000 for a used RV... He paid $60,000 for the Dura Max... but it has bells and whistles I can't even figure out... so I guess it woul add up to nearly the price of a motor home.... but he can use the truck for hauling his equipment....

We traveled some until my back surgery, and that put us at home for a few months..but now we are planning a few short trips to the gulf... (Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana ) but my obsession with bed bugs is over the top... and I strip every bed to check before we put our bags in the room...we really need our own RV.. plus we have Trixie and Lucy and they go where we go...

But if we find a great deal on a motor home.. who knows.. we are looking at alllll options...

CS, Look into used units. You can get some very good deals on fairly new ones.

We started with tents. From there we went to a used 24' tow behind trailer. Two years later we bought a new 30' trailer which we towed with a F150 for the 24', and a F250 for the 30'. When we decided to buy the motor home, a Holiday Rambler Admiral SVE 30', we traded in the F250 and the 30' trailer. We love it! The whole driver side slides out for more living area. I do think that there might be more room in a 30' 5th wheel tho. We tow a Ford Ranger pick up with the RV. When we get where we are going, we park the RV and tour with the Ranger. It certainly saves on gas that way. And we find that the mileage is only maybe 1/2 gallon difference between towing the truck and not towing it. If your DH already has the heavy duty truck with the 5th wheel hitch, and has uses for it other than just towing the 5th wheel, go for it. Gas/diesel fuel costs aren't going to vary much in that case.

As for you being able to back up your Troy Bilt with a little wagon. I will tell you from experience, it it MUCH easier to back a larger trailer than it is to back a small garden size trailer! Try it with someone patient to teach you. If you are going to travel with any type of camper, please learn to do it all yourself, driving, hitching, dumping, all of it. You may not do it often, or like doing it, but it's a safty thing! Don't let yourself be stranded in a medical emergency because you can't do it.

Look around and see what you like the best. We liked them all, but like the motor home best. I can't say as to a 5th wheel, as we never had one.

Tami

You are a big step forward--that is being able to back the trailer up. I like the 5th wheel because we could park and then take the truck and go out. We had a Monoco 5th wheel with so much room and double slides. Had a great bedroom lots of room and the kitchen was so that we could get into the refrigerator and eat at the table at rest stops without putting the slide out. That really makes a difference. Ours was 30 feet, and 12 feet high. We pulled it with a duramax chev automatic diesel, and had a form of exhaust brakes. That is what is important especially if you do any mountain driving, which we did alot. We had plenty of pulling power, as ours was a 4x4 3/4 ton crew cab. I always had too much junk in the back seat, but when we went shopping liked to keep stuff locked up. We also had a extra tank so held almost 100 gallons of diesel.
BUT, had to sell everything about 4 years ago when DH had serious heart problems and cancer. We would still be traveling and we are 80. Just another note: DO not join any travel clubs without checking with someone here. Especially Coast to Coast. We did like Thousand Trails, but you can get memberships much cheaper that thru them. Feel free to ask me any questions about clubs etc.
Good luck and sure wish we were on the road again.
Marie

We have a 39 foot Discovery motor home and just love it. If I could kee Mike out on the road I would but he is a homing pidgeon. LOL We are out right now for a few weeks touring Texas meeting folks from the MH and KT.

I love to cook so the kithen was important to me. I have plenty of counter space and a huge refridgerator. We have four slides so we end up with about 320 square foot of living space.

Like I said at the MH since you already have the truck set up for towing a fifth wheel that would be the way to go. Maybe we will see you someplace down the road. Have fun and use it as much as possible. So many people invest a lot of money in these things and then only use them a few weeks a year.

We have a sleep number bed in ours and it is so comfortable.

We bought an older class A motorhome 2 1/2 years ago. We found we love to travel that way so are looking to upgrade if we can find one we like in our price range. Nita, your motor home is beautiful. Ours is a 1999 Discovery.

We have a 23.5' Class B. WE have had it about ten years. We love it. Small enough so we don't need to tow a vehicle. We have made several trips from MN to TX, one to FL, UT, and several times to the Dakotas. We also camp a lot in summer in MN at our beautiful state parks, and the Army Corps of Engineer campgrounds, as well as the primitive National Forest campgrounds.
We couldn't live in it, but it works great for our purposes. It has two jack knife couches, we keep one made up as a bed all the time, and the other as a couch. Has a decent bathroom, which was important to me. Also a small pantry and a closet.

Thank you all for your input...So much information.... that I am already making up a "notebook" and adding to it as to what personal items needed... plus RV clubs to look into...etc... Larry is a DAV and as such receives discounts with many organizations...

Nita, you motor home is to die for... wow.. that is luxury and style... but as I said abou Ruthie's RV.. that is out of our league.... and a pre owned 5th wheeler that is less than 5 years old with very few miles is what we pretty much are looking at....although we have looked at a motor home or two...

A couple from church is considering selling their motor home and it is not all that large, but it is really nice... and we are going to look at it.. We KNOW that it has been extremely well maintained.. who knows???

Nita, Larry and I would love to "meet" someplace and spend a bit of time with y'all.... It was so awesome when you and Beth came to Tennessee and well, frankly you ladies hugs are just wonderful.. and I would love more... lol Plus I too would love to get to meet some of the folks from MH and other forums as well..

My next thread will be for names of recommended clubs.. .

Thank you all so much..
Carolyn