CLASS A MOTORHOME vs. 5th WHEEL

OK.. At the risk of starting some unintended feud here...

How many of you have ever had a Class A Motorhome (specifically Diesel Pushers) and then moved to the 5th wheel?

What were your reasons for moving to 5th wheel and do you ever think you made the wrong decision?

Now, don't get me wrong. We love the Redwood 5th Wheel. We'd be perfectly fine traveling and living full-time large right here.

Over the weekend, we went to a Motorhome lot to look around. They sure are Purrrdeee!

I can see pro's can con's both ways.

Just interested to hear your horror stories and regrets...

That would be interesting to get the feedback, I have never owned a Class A, looked at a number of them, still like the open feel of a 5th wheel for fulltime use, just my preference

We traded in our Class A for the Redwood and there are many pros & cons so won't get into all of them.
Main reason for the switch was price. We wanted to upgrade and just could not see dishing out that kind of cash right now. Once we started looking at 5th wheels we quickly saw this could work for us. The class A new in 2006 was a little more then we paid for the 2014 RW but it gave us many good travels.
I do have to say there were almost no problems with it and I can not say that about the RW so that is a question I always wonder if we made the right choice. At this point I do see a MH in the distant future.

The MH is definitely easier to get around fuel stations and campgrounds as the RW takes a bit more room. We also had a Jeep in tow which we could zip around anywhere and you just can't do that with our new TV as easy. But we flat towed so we could not back up and at least I can back up now.

RW is much more comfortable inside since it has separate living areas as the MH did not except for bedroom and your always looking at your front seats. Once again this was a 38'2006 so newer ones are much nicer.

After this years adventures with the repairs and upgrades to the RW I will have much more info.

Steve

Thanks Steve.

There is a definite price point change. That's for sure.

Some of the frontal differences I note are the engine maintenance costs, and tire costs. The roofs are fiberglass instead of "slip-on" covers.

I would be interested to know the driving characteristics. Are they night and day? Or about the same?

The overall frames ride much closer to the ground. In some cases, it appeared to be about 6" of ground clearance.

The interiors are basically the same. Some might agree that the 2016 and 2017 Motor homes are exceptionally well groomed. Our favorites (so far) are the Foretravel Realm FS6 (more like a dream machine), the Monaco Dynasty and Diplomat, the Itasca Ellipse Ultra and the Entegra Coach Anthem (although the exterior color schemes are not really to our taste). There are many others we have not seen yet. Again, I'm not saying were changing anything! But as I tend to over-analyze every, I'll probably do the same with this.

From a safety factor, the "front door" is much beefier (is that a word?) than that of an RV. It's steel vs. Styrofoam. The locks are much better.

A couple of other things we have been made aware of is that you don't have to leave the RV to go to the bathroom, make lunch, take a nap and everything is on the same level once you're in. You also don't have to worry about someone getting into your truck and hauling off with you.

But just from a comfort level of living, did one offer a better advantage over the other?

I think from a cost point, it looks like it will be a significant difference.

Anyone else?

You must have pretty Deep Pockets, don't those Foretravels start around a million or close too?

You must have pretty Deep Pockets, don't those Foretravels start around a million or close too?

Found them as low as $675,000 MSRP. Take 40% off for negotiations: $405,000 + tax

Our favorite was listed at $799,000. What a steal! Oh...They do go much higher if you can afford it! Like I said...It's the ultimate dream machine. Maybe second hand?

Back in '08-09 when we went fulltime we seriously considered a MH instead of the older 5er we already had, but at that time we only found 1 floor plan that you didn't have to turn 90 degrees or look straight up at the television & it was out of our price range, so opted to trade 5ers which was the smarter choice since already had the truck. Then 4-5 years later the MHs just got more expensive so we upgraded to the RW & don't regret that choice other than it would be nice to not have drive the dually everywhere, but that's what we have.

You must have pretty Deep Pockets, don't those Foretravels start around a million or close too?

Found them as low as $675,000 MSRP. Take 40% off for negotiations: $405,000 + tax

Our favorite was listed at $799,000. What a steal! Oh...They do go much higher if you can afford it! Like I said...It's the ultimate dream machine. Maybe second hand?

The really neat thing is that for what it will loose each year you could by a new truck.

The RW is our first RV so have never owned a MH. When we started looking MH's were quickly discounted due to price point being incompatible with my heritage.

Didn't like any of the floorplans. We like the elevated front living, which isn't available in MH's.

You must have pretty Deep Pockets, don't those Foretravels start around a million or close too?

Found them as low as $675,000 MSRP. Take 40% off for negotiations: $405,000 + tax

Our favorite was listed at $799,000. What a steal! Oh...They do go much higher if you can afford it! Like I said...It's the ultimate dream machine. Maybe second hand?

The really neat thing is that for what it will loose each year you could by a new truck.

You make a really excellent point.

At the current price point (MSRP $300K - 40% = $180K + or -) and waiting 2 years, that brings most units within the $125 range or less. But if you could buy right, depreciation would slow after that. But again, you make an very excellent point I had not considered.

On the Redwood, we bought right. It will be another year or two before the value drops below what we paid. Now, we still intend on a few pricey upgrades which could contribute significantly to the price of a new truck. That's for sure. Hopefully the depreciation rate on the Redwood slows further for a few years.

The only way you could not loose money on a rv is if you bought the dealership, most of them make a ton in sales & spend nothing on service or bill the manufacturer for half a## service repairs.

We've never owned a Class A but we've looked at quite a few of them. One thing that is a turn off for us is the lack of ceiling height compared to most 5ers, the additional height makes our RW feel bigger and more comfortable.

Add to that is the convenience of unhooking the truck and going to get diesel in town compared to the higher prices at interstate truck stops and simpler less expensive truck service costs

A final comment, the truck is handy for doing work around the house (topsoil, moving furniture etc.) partially offset by neighbour's requests (could you take this stuff to the dump for me?)!

We had a non-slide gasser MH before, TTs and several 5ers. We took the leap for a diesel pusher and here are a few of my impressions coming from Redwood.

Realistically, with MSRP of a luxury 5er topping $130K and trucks now over $70, you are already in DP space. The markups and discounts on the 5er and MH being about the same, the truck a little less, so overall depreciation is faster on a MH. However, they are built to last longer and I've found an active market out there for even the 1990 era pushers, whereas I don't think there is a market for 5ers in that era.

Our Redwood was very spacious, especially in the back lounge, but MHs are enormous now with full wall slides: (this is the first MH I opened the door on!) Just look at the room in front of the bed!

The downside is with all the slides now, they aren't as roomy as Rober De Niro's Pace Arrow in Meet the Fockers would lead you to believe when rolling down the road 🙂

However, you can still watch TV from the couch, use the bathroom, take a shower, take nap, or make a sandwich rolling down the road if you want. With huge inverters and generators, you never really notice whether you are plugged in or not. Sometimes you just don't bother for an overnight.

They do appear to be 6" off the ground, true, but in reality the huge frame rails are set inside the wheels, and the coach manufacturer builds around them, with outside cabinetry that fills the gap between the floor of the coach (about my chest height) and the ground. Cabinetry it typical aluminum and steel, some are plastic.

As a result, NO MORE BELLY! You want to work on the water pump, access the surge suppression, run a new wire, even check your tanks, open a cabinet door!

Those were the big things I noticed first. Maintenance started out intimidating, but when you research and ground yourself a little; Tires - 7 years and $550 each for Michelen, less for Toyo; 12 Batteries - 7-10 years @ $250 each for gas mat; Engine service, $300 through Speedco (trucker Jiffy Lube). Warranties similar to a truck, 5 yr/100K miles engine and transmision. It's more expensive no doubt, but not completely out of line like I originally thought. Access is much easier, even to the engine. I can access this one and it is far more simple than looking down through the hood of that Powerstroke

Yes the entry door does close like a bank vault, and everything about the MH seems more sturdy and more seriously an RV. Most of the companies that build them have been around longer than me, and they build most of their own stuff.

The disadvantage is you can't disconnect 1/3 or 1/2 of your investment and drive it to work, but I disliked that dually so much I didn't anyway. It sat. I like the concept of having a smaller vehicle when you get there.

Just my observations - loved our Redwood.

Thanks Brad, that was insightful. What do you think about the comment I have heard
"If you stay in one place for long periods of time the 5er, If you move around a lot, then a DP"?

Thanks Brad, that was insightful. What do you think about the comment I have heard
"If you stay in one place for long periods of time the 5er, If you move around a lot, then a DP"?

Scott, there is some value in that statement. Its a lot of money tied up in a chassis to have parked if you are an snow bird that moves it twice a year or even 3 or 4 times a year.

I always enjoyed taking our Redwood to the lake for 10 days - it was just about right to set up all the stuff involved for camp. For those runs across country stopping on overnights, it was a bit more work (although the Redwood with auto jacks was much easier than our prior 5ers).

Cross country seems to be what the MH is built for - quick stops, level it and slides out, don't even bother with hookups. Carry water and waste for a few days and maybe dump the third. Plug in if you need AC in the campground, otherwise don't bother. Over Memorial Day holiday we were out about 10 days at a place with no sewer. Twice I just fired it up and went over to dump and put it back. Really easy. (again, the Redwood wasn't that bad either, but took more work).