Travel Trailer vs Class A Advice??!!??

[auntie]

We have a Jayco Eagle travel trailer. It's seven years old..and while we sometimes think we should trade in or "up" for something larger, it has served us very well. Other than wanting a newer model..we don't have any real reason other than a different layout. It is a good brand, and we'd be looking to stay with the line. Although, having ours paid off...and I kind of like not having a payment. If I were to buy another, I would go with the fiberglass sides as they are easier to keep clean...but they also add more weight.
As far as a 5th wheel...I noticed you said you have a Tundra. Great truck, and it's exactly what we are looking at currently. Really leaning toward it, however, from what I've read..and researched, I'm not so sure it would be suited to a 5th wheel. There aren't many 1/2 ton trucks that are really made for them, they can get pretty heavy. Good luck with your search, have fun looking!

 

[abbdrey]

I never considered a 5th wheel. I did not even think the Tundra could pull one. I will take a look at them when we go to the RV shows. I am really looking forward to the search!!

auntie: I love the Tundra. We have a 2007 Double Cab Toyota Tundra and it has been great. I like the new 2008 body style. We bought a year too early, but I am still happy with ours.

Thanks again for all the advice. I will let you know what we end up with. I am sure it will take us awhile to be in auntie's shoes to where we do not have an RV payment. What a nice thought though!!!

 

[JCJRSmith]

You may want to consider one of the hybrid's like Ftwildenressguy has, they have a lot of room and are within the reasonable limits of your truck. Lots of people use the 80% rule for weight of a trailer, take your trucks towing capacity and your real world max will be 80% of that. Also consider the overall weight of the truck, trailer, gear, water, food and passengers and make sure that is within the GCVWR (gross combined vehicle weight rating)

Try looking for the angle showers, we had a small tub in our other unit and went with the angle glass shower doors on the new one and found it to be roomier, I am a big guy and the other trailers bathroom was tight for me.

We went by Lazydays near Tampa when we were down in December, I was impressed at the number of units they have. I dont know how their sales staff is but you can shop online and get a good idea before you go look at it. I do know people that have had problems with their service dept. We bought our trailer from a local dealer (General trailer) I have used their service dept for our other trailer and their service people are first class all the way. For us it was a good mix of service AND price.

Enjoy the search, its fun.

Scott

Take a look at the link in my signature. That will take you to pictures of the Jayco Kiwi we bought in 2001. That is the Jayco Kiwi 23B (now called the Jayco Jay Feather 23B). 23 feet long when towed, 27 when opened up. About 5500 pounds fully loaded. We towed it with a 2001 Ford F150 Supercrew with the 5.4L V8 engine.

We don't get to camp as often as we would like, and the truck was my everyday vehicle and the gas costs were killing us as I tend to have to do a LOT of driving for my job. We traded the TT in on a 27 foot Jayco Greyhawk class C - I haven't posted pictures yet, and traded the truck for a Saturn Ion, my new everyday vehicle - so much easier on gas. We had the car modified so we can tow it behind the MH when we travel.

We loved that Kiwi, and we love the motorhome.

 

[LONE-STAR]

I just want to add take a look at a toy hauler. When we bought our 5er we did not have any toys. Well now we have a golf and I want a toy hauler. Its just one more thing to thank about. That is in the future will you want to take a cart to FW with you?

 

[abbdrey]

I just want to add take a look at a toy hauler. When we bought our 5er we did not have any toys. Well now we have a golf and I want a toy hauler. Its just one more thing to thank about. That is in the future will you want to take a cart to FW with you?

Yes, we have a golf cart that we bring out now. We actually have to make two trips. We bring out the camper on the first trip and then we go back and pick up the trailer with the golf cart. It is a huge pain, but we really like having our own golf cart out there. The only reason we bought the golf cart was to use at Fort Wilderness, so it would be silly to leave it at home.

We may end up renting a TT or Class A and take it out to Fort Wilderness and see which one we like better. Our pop up is a Fleetwood and brand new. We just purchased this one about 3 months ago. I like it, but wish we had a little more storage space and an oven. Although, I have heard the ovens in the travel trailer and MH's are not that large. I am not sure I would be able to do my Thanksgiving turkey in it!!

Anyway, thanks again for all the posts. I really appreciate all the different opinions!

 

[Shannone1]

We LOVE our motorhome We had a 5th wheel and although the interior room was nice, it wasn't that comfortable riding in the truck with the dog. We didn't have much storage space either.

With the motorhome we can move around a bit while on the road. I tend to get motion sick if we are driving in the rain and if that happens, I just go lay down in bed and one of the girls rides shotgun in my place. The dogs have much more room too. We usually stop at a rest area around lunch time. The kids go play catch and stretch their legs, dh takes a little nap and I make lunch for all of us and take the dogs for a walk. It's great...we even use the motorhome for local daytrips and parades.

MH's are great for people that want to travel and explore the country. If you are just going to be doing local camping I would definitely look into something cheaper and with less maintenance.

 

[Minnie's Mate]

There is always the cost difference and specific maintenance differences between a motorhome and a travel trailer, but it really boils down to would you rather tow your rv with your automobile or tow your automobile with your rv.

We have an Airstream and it is aluminum sided of course. There are specific maintenance issues with it and it doesn't have slides (there are some models that do) but the specific floor plan we wanted did not. Ours is 30' long and almost required a 3/4 ton tow vehicle so I bought a diesel F-250. Between the two, I have over $100K invested...I could have bought a basic motor home for that investment, but I preferred a travel trailer...an Airstream in particular.

Go to the RV shows and plan on being there all day...possibly two. Spend time in anything that you think will fill your needs and go back and revisit them after you have seen them all. Then imagine how you would use each one that you like and see how they would meet your needs. Slides do make a big difference in the usability of the interior space, especially when it rains. Also, the particular Airstream plan we have is the only Airstream plan that has ever had two permanent bunk beds plus a separate master cabin. We didn't want to have to make and un-make our two son's beds every day so that is something else to consider if you have children.

One last thing: I don't know how all manufacturer's end their model years, but we bought our '06 in May of '06. As it turned out, this was about the time Airstream introduced their '07's. You might get a better end-of-year deal in the next couple of months than in November.

 

[2goofycampers]

I like it, but wish we had a little more storage space and an oven. Although, I have heard the ovens in the travel trailer and MH's are not that large. I am not sure I would be able to do my Thanksgiving turkey in it!!

!

To solve the small oven problem we bought an electric roaster oven. Sam's Club had the biggest one I could find, holds a 22lb turkey. It also doubles as a huge crockpot. Since you cook with it outside, the camper doesn't get hot and you save on propane too....Mrs.

 

[auntie]

To solve the small oven problem we bought an electric roaster oven. Sam's Club had the biggest one I could find, holds a 22lb turkey. It also doubles as a huge crockpot. Since you cook with it outside, the camper doesn't get hot and you save on propane too....Mrs.

What a good idea!

 

[abbdrey]

To solve the small oven problem we bought an electric roaster oven. Sam's Club had the biggest one I could find, holds a 22lb turkey. It also doubles as a huge crockpot. Since you cook with it outside, the camper doesn't get hot and you save on propane too....Mrs.

That is a great idea!! I could even do that now with our pop up. I always try to bring stove top or crock pot dinners. I have the hardest time trying to plan meals. My girls are young and very picky. I recently saw a cookbook called the Sneaky Chef, which tells you to puree vegetables and add them to brownies. I am not sure if I could fool my girls!!!

 

[LONE-STAR]

We went with the 5er because I always have a 1ton diesel. I trade my truck every few years. So I know I have dependable transportation. Plus I did not want to maintain another motor.

 

[bradisgoofy]

....As far as a 5th wheel...I noticed you said you have a Tundra. Great truck, and it's exactly what we are looking at currently. Really leaning toward it, however, from what I've read..and researched, I'm not so sure it would be suited to a 5th wheel. There aren't many 1/2 ton trucks that are really made for them, they can get pretty heavy. Good luck with your search, have fun looking!

There are now fifth wheels that can be pulled by 1/2 ton trucks.

 

[aldebnj]

We made the progression for pop up, to TrailManor hard sided pop up to Class A and now to Class C. I preferred the Class A but we needed the separate sleeping space for our teenage daughter and her friend in the over cab bunk. We had to weigh out the lack of a regular vehicle at our destination vs. travel comfort enroute. Plus, now we never leave anything behind when we go sightseeing for the day. Seems we would always forget something in the trailer or end up packing almost everything in the back of the TV if we went out for the day.

Happy Camping,
Al

 

[CCIntrigue]

We upgraded from an Airstream TT in 2006 to a Class A motorhome. Haven't looked back! We had our TT for 20 years, I was sorry to see it go and hated to say goodbye, but honestly I didn't know what I was missing.

Setup and takedown are so much easier in a MH. Having a generator while on the road is a definite plus. Traveling is so much quicker because we only have to stop for fueling and to change drivers ... I could go on and on!

 

[wrongagain]

class A is the way to go but I must admit the price of fuel for our trip to disney in december was a bunch of money.
$1500.00
other than that it is too much fun.

 

[lisa8200]

We have a 38' 5'er and have been considering a class A. Like everybody is saying, there are pros and cons to all of them. Right now, we have all the room and comfort we want while camping.When we have company we always stay in the camper and give the house to family, they felt bad until they saw the camper... I started thinking about the fuel for the truck ( 8-10 mpg ) under load compared to a class A, transporting the Cart, set up, and most important, Momma's comfort on the road.We could never buy new, and our fiver is paid for so it gets harder. I guess we'll have to see if I do the smart thing ( keep the paid for 5'er ) or the childish thing ( buy the class A so I can feel like a rock star on tour ). Maybe I should ask our 11 year old, she seems to know everything .

Mike

 

[AlyLynn]

We bought a brand new Jayco Jayflight last fall after going to the RV show in Hershey. We had never owned a tt before, and absolutely love it. We use it primarily for FW, too. We have 4 children, ages 2-13, and they love it too.

We did have to buy a new truck to pull it, as we only had minivans that would hold all of us. We are still learning the ropes, and plan on going to Hershey again this year to the RV show "just to look". (Yeah, right )

 

[dtum]

5th wheel for us this time around. Had two PUPs and a TT, but fell in love with Titanium by Glendale. Have 3/4 ton diesel and no problem towing it...speaking of towing. A fiver is sooo much easier to tow. With a TT you actually loose 3' because the hitch is counted in the length, but the length of the fiver is true. If the Tundra can do it I'd seriously consider looking at a 5th wheel.

 

[JCJRSmith]

We bought a brand new Jayco Jayflight last fall after going to the RV show in Hershey. We had never owned a tt before, and absolutely love it. We use it primarily for FW, too. We have 4 children, ages 2-13, and they love it too.

We did have to buy a new truck to pull it, as we only had minivans that would hold all of us. We are still learning the ropes, and plan on going to Hershey again this year to the RV show "just to look". (Yeah, right )

We bought our Kiwi in 2001 at the RV show (when it was still at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg) from Gayle Kline RV. When we traded for the Class C we went back to Gayle Kline in Mountville (near Lancaster). Wonderful folks to deal with there.

 

[4mickey2]

we currently have a lance truck camper. it does have a slide and a dry bath. so, we do have some decent room in it.

we would eventually like to buy a super c or an a. i think we are leaning more towards an a.

we don't want to tow a trailer. all the fifth wheels that we like are double axled. i could drive an a or super c. i don't know if i would want to drive with a big fifth wheel behind.

the other plus to a motorhome for us, is that our dogs are in the vehicle with us. when we stop we don't have to take them from the truck to the camper. plus, you can sit at the table while traveling and watch tv