Why 5th and not MH?

[kiltedpig]

Going back and forth between Montana 5th and MH. Any thoughts?

[K0LCB]

I owned 4 different motor homes over a thirty year period. I traded for my Montana March last year. If you move around a lot, and can wait out cross winds, motor homes have some advantages. I think I have more usable living space in my 37 foot fiver than I had in a 40 foot mh. I know the fiver is easier to handle in a cross wind. I don't have to unhook to fill propane bottle, and six level up jacks are tester than four, this is my opinion and not that of the forum or anyone else

[Bigboomer]

Kiltedpig,

We have done the research, done the shows and in the end we keep coming back to Montana. We are awaiting our second Montana, this time the new 3610RL floor plan.

As for the difference between the 5th wheel and a MH.....here is how we looked at it. With a MH you going to have to tow something anyway to get around once you are parked. A half decent diesel pusher will run you in the high 100's to low 200's at a minimum. MH's tend to have less room inside and less storage overall. If you have to get major service done on your MH you loose your home until it is fix. A 5er has less moving parts so there is lessened percentage that you will have an extended time without your home. If your tow vehicle needs work you can at least park your 5er at a near by campground.
Now also if you want to change your TV or your 5er it is easier to do either or. Generally speaking maintenance on a pick-up or a 5er is a lot less than on a MH.
Now these are our thoughts....everybodies experiences are difference.
Hope this helps.

Les

[BB_TX]

My decision was based on our travel plans. We are not fulltimers. Not even part timers. And have no plans to be. We use the Monty around 35 nights per year. Of those we are actually traveling on the road maybe 10 days. And we put around 2,500-3,000 miles per year. I could not see having a MH and only putting 2,500 miles per year on it and it sit idle for 330 days per year.

For a "future fulltimer" my reasoning probably has no merit.

[steelpony5555]

We have had both and it boils down to road handling and upkeep/maintenance. Unless you can afford a decent diesel pusher I would not even both with a cheap gas rig. First their road manners are terrible especially in the wind. And upkeep and maintenance on a motor home is just as expensive as buying one. Seems like with gas rigs there is always something going wrong or breaking if you put any kind of miles on them. I know we complain about Keystone the problems we experience, but they are nothing compared to a MH. Now if you can afford a big diesel rig then you can afford the upkeep and they usually run down the road a lot further with no problems..... Although I do have to admit pulling in at night in the pouring rain and just pushing a button for the jacks and then another button for the genny and then going to bed was nice. Not to mention having the wife go back and make you a sandwich or put on a pot of coffee running down the road was sweet too....

[davidaf]

Funny we were just talking about this today. The fact that I already owned a Dually helped but it came down to livability when setup. The 5th wheel feels like a little house when we drop it. Neither the wife nor I wanted to be in a bus when parked. I've never walked into a MH that felt as homey as a 5th wheel particularly in the sub $300k range. They all felt like a bus. There are times I wish I had a MH like when I need to move 5 spots over, have to dump my tanks or simply just don't feel like towing, but I'm happy we stuck with a 5th wheel.

[DQDick]

For us it was; 1st more living space in the Monty, 2nd if there is motor or transmission problems our home isn't in the shop and us in a motel, 3rd we can decided to trade either the pulling unit or the home separately and lastly we didn't want our driving seats to have to be part of our living room set.

[dieselguy]

Although I'll never be a full timer unless I jettison my significant other, I well agree with the previous statements about maintenance, usable floor space, and handling in adverse weather conditions. You'll most always have to pull some fashion of a "get around vehicle" because who wants to setup and tear down every time one wants to go get or do something. Sight seeing in a MH with no toad is generally not an enjoyable experience.

[nowinter]

We have looked at motor homes a few times but when putting everything on paper, it always ends up with the fifth wheel winning. IMHO the fifth wheel has more living space, feels more like home and the biggest reason is it is cheaper. If I ever have to have the fifth wheel repaired, I can drop it off and get a motel. Our friends that have motor homes have a much larger problem when it comes to repairs. But it really comes down to personal preference or what you feel most comfortable in.

[richfaa]

We did a lot of research. There is more usable space in a 40 foot 5th wheel than a 40 foot MH. According to Helen's tape measure there is more counter space in a 5th wheel than a MH.

I wanted a MH bad. I drove big busses and IMO a MH is easier to maneuver than a 5th wheel. MH's are better built than any 5th wheel. I was however out voted one to one.

[rames14]

We asked that very question before we bought our Montana. The dealer was very helpful. His thought was - how will you use it? If you are going to tailgate, just weekends and only stay a day or two at a time - MH. If you go and stay days at a time - 5th Wheel. It has proven good advice for us. Good luck finding the right decision for "you".

[D and M On The Road]

Since 1984 we've had two motorhomes, two tent trailers, two trailers, one VW Pop-Top Camper Van and numerous tents. We constantly searched around trying to find what fit us the best in terms of RVs.

What I didn't like about owning motorhomes is that they gave me "cabin fever".

Since July of 2001 we've had one 5th wheel. It's so easy to travel with and more like a home inside. I guess I just prefer to travel in a truck and then be able to go inside something I haven't been in already for several hours.


Margee.

[richfaa]

Our local dealer did say that if you are going to spend the $$$ for a quality MH you don't want it to sit in the driveway for long period but then again the same applies to a Montana 5th wheel as they are not cheap. If we were not long timers we certainly would not have a big 5th wheel. Just my opinion but for long periods of travel a MH and A toad make more sense than a 5th wheel and a big truck. MH expenses are more I think although we spend a lot of $$$ in maintaining the truck. All of our expenses for this 08 Ford are listed in "My Ford' and it is a bunch of $$$ over the 7 years we have had it.
We are happy with then 5th wheels and do not feel real cramped for the 6 months we live in it during the winter.

[1retired06]

X2 to everything said. Three motorhomes that pulled out of our corner of the park here in Florida after sitting for the five month season had problems, ranging from bad alternator to blown radiator. Not designed to sit for months at a time. For us, assuming a high quality Monaco or Beaver like Diesel Pusher coach, top advantage of a motor home is weight and therefore quality of the interior. Top disadvantage is overall purchase/maint/insurance costs and complexity of maintenance issues.

[kiltedpig]

Everyone has been so helpful answering my questions. I have been asking a lot of questions because we will go fulltime in a year or so and will be retired on a fixed income so I can't really make a mistake.

[richfaa]

Mike has a great point about a Motor vehicle sitting for months at a time. Most MH folks do run the MH from time to time but few will take it out for a drive. We sit for 6 months at a time every winter and even then we are never sure if the slides will come in or the level system will retract. In 7 years of sitting for 6 months at a time everything has worked perfect when we were leaving.

[johnp4191]

We have always needed a truck for our daily life so it has made more sense to us to own a trailer. I prefer the stability of a 5ver over a hitch pull. Having a MH just gives us another drive train to maintain and we would need a toad too. We did try a MH and found it a great inconvenience to have to tear everything down whenever we wanted to go somewhere (we had our boat along, not another vehicle).

[mhs4771]

We too looked at MHs before our 5er. But we also wanted a truck for around the Home Base. Now we have just one vehicle so reduced operating cost and insurance. With features such as the Level-up, we can set-up and tear down as fast or faster than friends with their DP and Toad.

[JandC]

I agree with about everything already said. We found that the living area was generally bigger and suited our needs better in a 5th wheel as compared to any MH's we looked at. I know my abilities driving and backing up a PU pulling a long heavy trailer. I was also aware of the severe limitations of trying to back up a 40' MH with a 18' car or trailer hooked to the back (it aint going to happen). I probably logged over 2 million miles of interstate driving during my career and I observed that 5th wheels seem to handle the cross winds much better than MHs or TTs.

[Hooker]

quote:Originally posted by kiltedpig

Going back and forth between Montana 5th and MH. Any thoughts?

Now that you've asked this question on a 5th wheel forum, ask the same question on a MH forum. Here is one that, IMHO, is better than RV.net, http://www.irv2.com As Paul Harvey would say, you'll hear "the rest of the story."

MHs come in different sizes and classes. Even Class A type MHs are totally different. Several posters commented how their trucks/5th wheels handled rough weather better than MHs. Maybe a small gasser, but a big heavy diesel pusher is totally different. I agree the MH is more expensive, but it's one great way to travel, and we have things in our MH we don't have in the S and B home.