Motor Home vs. Travel Trailer

I'm pretty sure most everyone here are Motor Home people.  What I am wondering is why you went that route as opposed to a Travel Trailer.  I already have a more than adequate tow vehicle although my Duramax is right at 300,000 miles.  My wife has recently been asking why go the Motor Home route when the Travel Trailer route would be much cheaper.  I much prefer the Motor Home but I admit she's right about the cost, and finding an acceptable toad isn't as easy as it once was.  I've also found it best to explore my wife's questions because every once in a while she's right. 

Pros and cons equally welcome.

Thanks!!

Gary

Hi Gary,

A travel trailer is surely the lower cost decision as long as you don't have to purchase a $50,000 pickup truck to tow with, and have to drive around at home with when you can get by with the easy to drive 30 mpg family sedan.  And if you primarily travel to a few destinations and setup camp and stay there for extended periods, a travel trailer is an excellent choice.  They are very popular with snow birds who setup camp for months at a time, and drive around locally with the pickup truck.

Irene and I travel to multiple destinations on our 3-4 week trips.  It is rare when we stay in one place more than 3 nights.  Being on-the-move so much, traveling around in a motor home is surely a more comfortable choice.  It is nice that Irene takes care of her personal bathroom needs while I keep driving, and she also gets food and drink.  Irene will put in a movie while I drive.  It's nice to listen to when trying to make time driving later into the evening.  We love the "travel experience" with our PC.  It changes the dynamics of road trips.

But it is not torture towing a travel trailer either, as long as your setup is right.  Invest in a weight distribution hitch, and tow with "the right" vehicle.  I see lots of people stopped at rest areas, enjoying a meal in their travel trailer.

Travel trailer or motor home, if your plan is to tour national parks and other public lands, don't go "big".  Go as small as you are comfortable with.  The national park road system & camp grounds are not designed for big motor homes or trailers.  A 30 foot anything rules out many camp sites which are already slim pickings at peak season.

Ron Dittmer

Hello Tall Guy,

I'm glad you asked this question. My wife and I are in the same situation. So I'm looking forward to reading the opinions from those more experienced in RV living.

Fred 

Tall Guy
Here in Michigan travel trailer registration is a one time fee.

A motorhome is an annual fee. For example I inquired some for sale; 2013 Lazy Daze 30IB was $749 a year. Tiffin gas 36 LA was $850 year. PC about $300_400 year. Plus add insurance!

Call some MH for sale in Michigan for prices.

Ron

We've done it both ways. . .started in 2001 with a 30ft. used Airstream trailer and we loved it.  The downside was mostly unhitching/hitching in all kinds of weather.  Also, the inside temp has to start from scratch (warm/cool)when you are ready to get in it for the night.  If you want to stop for a pit stop or lunch break in between stopping points, you have to get out of the tow vehicle and deal with the above temp situations. Disregard what Lucy did in "The Long, Long Trailer".    

After going up to a Class A DP, we loved, loved, loved the ready for living climate control in the motor home.  Need to stop for whatever. . .no problem with weather, etc.  We had a toad, but now that we have our PC2400, we've found ways to manage without one.  After having to get off the road for health reasons, we went for a small trailer to keep our hitch itch in check, but all the negatives listed in the first paragraph reared their ugly heads, and we bought our 2400 Sprinter for all the motor home reasons.

I guess if $$$ is a major factor, the trailer route could be better for some. . .we never noticed any substantial difference.  Motor homes have their expenses; so do trailers (ask us about replacing an axle on an Airstream while out in the wilds of East Texas  ).  I guess whatever floats your boat.  

Not sure there is a right or wrong answer, everyone is different.

For us we went with a motorhome because:
1) Do not own a big truck so would have had to buy a tow vehicle
2) Parking on our lot is available for a single 30' vehicle.  So a 2552 PC works but a trailer and a big truck would not fit.  Car goes in the garage.
3) We like that the passenger can get up and go into the house while moving for a drink, snack or use the restroom
4) We generally travel not camp, so 2 or 3 nights max at any location so setting up and breaking camp is different than if we were staying for a month
5) Like being able to pull into a rest stop and cook lunch.  Sure you can do that with a trailer but I don't think it is as convenient.
6) Person not driving can go in the house and take a nap in a real bed
7) Don't have to go outside in rain or weather to get from the cab to the house.

But they make lots of trailers, so just decide what works best for you.

All excellent advice from  Ron.D, Dos Hammies, &  Ja Trax

The gracious owners of this website have a used 2350 listed in thier current inventory  for about the price of a new 20 ft travel trailer.

Replacing the tow rig with a motorhome eliminates  added maintenance and insurance cost considerations.  The cost of insuring an rv  varies widely based on replacement value. Talk to Good Sam.

Many states including CA have a 55 mph  trailer towing speed limit.

We don’t have or want a toad. Uber goes everywhere there's cell phone service.
If wer'e  camping down in a river valley or canyon we bring plenty of groceries and have no need to go anywhere.  Day trip parking with a  2350  sometimes requires hanging the back end out over the weeds, or finding a  bigger lot like a nearby grocery store.  The 158" wheelbase makes it very easy to maneuver. The shorter model 2100 is designed to fit in a  driveway or standard parking space.

My husband and I have had 3 trailers in the past.  The pop-ups were easy to pull and hook up, but were absent on amenities, including toilet.  Our last trailer was self-contained.  We had to pull it with an F150.  It required a 50 pound stabilizer hitch and was a challenge to level.  We had been looking at both 5th wheel and motorhomes in preparing for retirement.  The 5th wheel would require us to upgrade to larger truck, I did not like driving the F150, so could not imagine dealing with a bigger truck.  When I lost my husband unexpectedly, I realized I could not manage the truck and trailer alone.  After lots of research, help from my folks, who have been RVing for 30 years, I found PC.  I have great hopes that my new 2552 will allow me to continue to camp and travel without the struggles that came with the travel trailer.

Most of our reasons have been listed but I'll toss in just a few. Our main factor when looking was no tow vehicle and no experience towing but we're really thankful we're in a motorhome for many reasons. Here are a few:
 - We traveled with a cat and she would sleep in a safe spot on the bed, get food or water and use her litter box while we traveled. We didn't choose motorhome for her but it worked far better than hours of howling in a carrier.
- There was one time John got really sick on a day we had to drive a good way to camp so he was tucked in the bed with quick access to the bathroom while I drove. He was down for three days and I dropped a day or so after him. I'm not sure where we would have sat for so many days or how we would have traveled in a truck cab with someone that sick.
- I'm an early bird and John needs ample wake up time. On long runs, I can get up and start driving while he sleeps or does his morning coffee and news. I've managed 3-4 hours of drive time before he was awake and coherent enough to take over. We're ready to roll when we get to our destination.
- And last, per our then eight year old granddaughter "if I'm hungry I can eat, if I'm tired I can sleep and I can use the bathroom if I need to go. Our camper house has everything we need... and nothing else.

For Mrs V and I this was a big choice. We looked at a few F250/350's, and ~30' 5th wheel camper setups. The 'pro's' of the setup was that it gave us a pickup to use at home when not camping. And TONS of space. But... that was about it. I commute 60 miles a day, so using the big rig would be costly or require another car for daily driving. We have a couple acres with a large drive, but storing a ~30 foot camper was still a concern.

Mrs V prefers the 'all in one box' setup a coach gives us. As stated by others above, the ability to use the camper when on the road was a HUGE factor. She loves the option of laying down out back while I drive, and being able to fix a snack while rolling. The bathroom has also proven to be VERY handy on the road at speed.

I also 'exercise' the coach regularly because it is so easy to hop in and drive away. Not sure how often I would hook up the 5th wheel and tug it around to keep it 'limber'. And down here, sitting things tend to rust.   

Like CalCruiser I have a 2350, and it fits in some tight spots. I daily drove the coach for about the first month, and it was rarely a problem fitting where i wanted. "sometimes requires hanging the back end out over the weeds" - WELL said. 

And we just got a 2000 Nissan Frontier for a toad, so now we have a pickup for house use. It is my daily driver now, that gets 25MPG and fits in a small space. 

So... for us, the motor home is a win-win all the way around.

Reading through all the replies after my post, I can relate to just about all of them (we don't have a pet), and agree with every reason.

Gary, Keep in-mind that you are asking "motor home" people why they choose it over a travel trailer.  To be fair and complete in your research, you should join a travel trailer forum like the one on www.RV.net and get the scoop from the flip side.

Ron Dittmer

I'm pretty sure most everyone here are Motor Home people.  What I am wondering is why you went that route as opposed to a Travel Trailer.  I already have a more than adequate tow vehicle although my Duramax is right at 300,000 miles.  My wife has recently been asking why go the Motor Home route when the Travel Trailer route would be much cheaper.  I much prefer the Motor Home but I admit she's right about the cost, and finding an acceptable toad isn't as easy as it once was.  I've also found it best to explore my wife's questions because every once in a while she's right. 

Pros and cons equally welcome.

Thanks!!

Gary

Travel trailers take a fair amount of time to setup and breakdown.  Motorhomes you park, plug-in and you are done.

Travel trailers are bigger.

With the right motorhome, you don't need a toad, my 2551 goes anywhere I want, from shopping to sightseeing.

Typically, it is illegal to have passengers in a travel trailer while it's being towed.  No "rolling pit stops" in a travel trailer.  With a motorhome, passengers can not only take a potty break, but can even watch TV or DVD's if they so desire.

Travel trailers + tow vehicle have only 1 drive train to maintain.  Motorhomes + your everyday driver when you are home each have their own drive train.

Etc.

We met a couple last summer in a beautiful FW.  They wouldn't stay at Cracker Barrel, Walmart etc.  because if they felt uncomfortable (crime, noise, cars racing around the parking lot......) they had to get out of the FW to get to their truck  to leave the area.

Flexibility to pull a boat or off-road toys is another MAJOR advantage of  a motorhome.

We met a couple last summer in a beautiful FW.  They wouldn't stay at Cracker Barrel, Walmart etc.  because if they felt uncomfortable (crime, noise, cars racing around the parking lot......) they had to get out of the FW to get to their truck  to leave the area.

If we have a toad on the back, we have to get out to reset the toad before driving. We turn her off and lock her down overnight. We usually walk the rig before rolling. We've spent many nights in parking lots and never had a problem. I heard Cracker Barrel can be scary because they shut off the lights and don't have security cameras but Wal-Mart and others usually have both. We go to the area they tell us to but choose the best lighted spot. We also tend to be with other rigs or truckers.