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Comment by mattmaroon | Hacker News Reader

I’ve got a 35’ travel trailer I live in usually for 4-6 months at a time for this reason. The benefits:

1. Just one engine to take care of. If you have a motor home, you’re towing a car too. So that’s two sets of drivetrains with all of the maintenance and expense that goes with it.

2. Easy to replace the drive part. If my truck dies I can just get another truck. The trailer lives on. Whole lot easier than dealing with what happens when an RV dies.

3. More maneuverable (though also harder to learn to tow if you’re not already used to it) because it pivots at the point where it connects to the vehicle.

4. Much cheaper in the long run. A diesel 3/4 or full ton truck barely depreciates at all in absolute dollars even in normal times. RVs can’t say that at all. If you buy a camper and a pickup you can probably sell them in five years for most of what you put into them.

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>3. More maneuverable (though also harder to learn to tow if you’re not already used to it) because it pivots at the point where it connects to the vehicle.

5th wheel trailers help with this (so I've been told by family members that have them).

Can confirm. I've been fifth wheeling for >20 years. They're much easier to tow and you don't need as much length behind the tow vehicle for an equivalent amount of space (because the bedroom is usually above the hitch point). They're also much easier to hook up in the first place because you don't have to repeatedly back up the truck "blind" to get the tow vehicle into the perfect spot.

Fifth wheels can seem scary to people who are not familiar with them, but the benefits are numerous if you can overcome that fear.

I can also confirm. A fifth-wheel trailer with the proper size truck is very stable; even in severe cross-winds.

I use a gooseneck adapter on my RV since my farm trailer uses that and it's a bit more difficult to hitch up but you get used to it quickly.

Before COVID used fifth-wheels were very cheap -- my current one is a 2016 model I bought used for $17k in 2019. Things are a bit more expensive now but I figure the used market will probably go back to normal by next year.

>repeatedly back up the truck "blind" to get the tow vehicle into the perfect spot.

This problem went away with bumper and tailgate cameras.

They don't affect maneuverability all that much when compared to a standard travel trailer. However, you get a lot more living space in the same effective length due to the portion between your pin and rear truck bumper being now livable space.

They do however TOW quite a bit better than a travel trailer as far as comfort. Going from a 28ft TT to a 40ft Toy Hauler yielded a lot better towing/reduction in driver fatigue over long trips (also went from a half-ton truck to 1-ton, so some differences just there as well).

Wasn't familiar with this concept. Funny though: in my language, "5th wheel (on a car)" refers to someone being as useful as... well, the 5th wheel on a car, i.e., not useful at all. The "on a car" part is often left out.

(Sidenote for anyone wanting to argue the usefulness of 5th wheels: I'm not my language designated responsible for sayings and common phrasings. Also: 5th wheels tend to be the emergency spare wheels - which obviously do have a use.)

Not familiar with that meaning. Around here, we have a phrase ‘third wheel’.

I’ll give you the reasons I bought a small RV over a trailer. There are always trade offs!

1. You can boondock much more discretely. I can move quietly from the driver seat into the sleeping area without letting the neighborhood know anyone is there at all. Also safer in that if someone is bothering me, I can also just drive away.

2. Much faster to setup. I usually just hop out of my rv, connect the power cord and back in. Press a button for leveling out. When you have a trailer and you need to go somewhere, it probably involves disconnecting the hitch which is a ton of work. It’s possible to leave it connected but the length of both the trailer and car is usually too long for a campsite

3. Slightly related to that last one but length. My RV is 24 feet, I can just pull straight into most driveways, press a button and I’m setup. Not a fan of backing trailers into steep or across uneven driveways.

4. Incredibly easy to drive. As other people are discussing letting folks overtake you, it just wasn’t as necessary because you can drive a short rv like a car. Miss a gas station? Just hit that uturn at the signal and go back. Good luck with a trailer or even more fun in a 5th wheel

5. Cross wind. I haven’t driven much with a trailer but in the desert, the cross winds were sorta scary while driving an RV. I have to imagine this is worse with a trailer.

6. Having that back living space easy to reach. Thirsty on that 6 hour drive? Just send a passenger back to the fridge to grab a cold drink or food from the pantry

7. Storage. This can go two ways but I only have a driveway for two cars. My RV fits in one spot. If I had a trailer, I would have to park the truck separately which wouldn’t leave room for another car off the street

8. Battery recharging. When the RV is running, the deep cycle batteries charge. I can let the car idle instead of running the connected generator. There is also a button you can hold down and it uses the deep cycle batteries start the car engine in case the car battery dies. The whole system is integrated so you theoretically can’t have a dead battery on both the engine portion or the rear living space portion

9. Ac, I have had issues with my rear AC, I can start the car and run the AC from the front vents to keep the back area livable

I agree with all benefits you list, why my wife and I want to get a van in addition to our travel trailer eventually.

Just one nit pick, #8 is common and easy to setup with trailers as well. Our truck charges our rv batteries

Much cheaper in the long run

That's assuming that you actually want or need a truck (or other tow vehicle large enough to pull your trailer). I went with a motorhome (but don't pull a car) because my other care is a small EV, and I don't really have a use for a truck or other large vehicle.

Same. Got a van and converted to an RV. We don't need a large truck for our daily. The van only gets travel miles on it.

It's still cheaper.

A truck and trailer is nearly always less expensive re: total cost of ownership than a similar motorized setup. It would have cost about the same to buy a truck and trailer than a motor home, and they depreciate far less, and maintenance costs for less.

Your other car doesn't have anything to do with the cost savings. The cost savings exist before even assuming you get some other use or value out of the truck other than a tow vehicle

Same boat.

When you look at the total cost of ownership, cost of maintenance, depreciation, and the relative comfort of driving a new nice diesel truck vs a box van it's a no Brainer. When we're too old amd weak to disconnect the trailer from the truck we'll get a motorized rv, until then we'll stick with our truck and trailer.

> 1. Just one engine to take care of. If you have a motor home, you’re towing a car too. So that’s two sets of drivetrains with all of the maintenance and expense that goes with it.

Now you're doing your grocery shopping, sightseeing, and trailhead parking with a dualie pickup truck.

And when one engine breaks, you are stuck...

Maybe that's me being too european but why towing a car? Here in europe most RV users either carry a 50 to 125cc moped or a set of electric bicycles to wander around. Seems like using a car is just a bit excessive for really small trips.

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