Why Fivers? (Fifth Wheelers) (1 Viewer)

Bryan

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Jul 19, 2007
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Hi,

We often see fifth wheelers at motorhome shows and they are often spoken about.

But why do people choose them over the very similar travel trailers?

Surely travel trailers offer slightly more space and the fact that you can tow them more conventionally mean that you can choose from a much wider selection of tow vehicle and are not limited to pick-ups.

Bryan
 

chatter

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I think you will find that most 'cars' cannot tow the weight of a travel trailer so you would still be stuck with the pickup and they have a limited train weight on them as well, but with the 5ver you use the payload area of the truckbed to take the pin weight bringing a lot of 5vers within 'permissable train weight'
 
Nov 10, 2008
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Ditto Chatter.
Also most people probably still think of pick ups a basic vans with a box on the back. My Navara drives like a car has electric / heated seats, leather everywhere, dual AC, Sat Nav, 6 air bags, bluetooth, 2/4WD, Muti CD radio, seats 5 easily and even has courtesy lights in the wing mirrors! Also being not as big as the Yank versions, you can park it in Sainsburys.
It also has a big box on the back and can pull a 4 ton 5er.
My wife has a certain red German sports car and always uses the Nav?
JJ

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Ant&Debs

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Jun 24, 2009
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Ditto

Our pickup only takes up 4 parking spaces in tesco's:winky:

Mind you that will be our last tesco's shopping trip for a while as we are leaving UK Wed for Spain & Portugal:Smile:
 

ourcampersbeentrashed

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some people believe pick ups have more "prestige" over other tow vehicles according to something I read a number of years ago.

Dont know whether its the same these days though especially as many are gas guzzlers

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scotjimland

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Hi,

We often see fifth wheelers at motorhome shows and they are often spoken about.

But why do people choose them over the very similar travel trailers?

Surely travel trailers offer slightly more space and the fact that you can tow them more conventionally mean that you can choose from a much wider selection of tow vehicle and are not limited to pick-ups.

Bryan

Personally, I think an RV with a toad is a better combination than either a 5er with a yank truck or a travel trailer which also requires a truck

A small car is far cheaper and easier to park than a large yank truck .. and the overall MPG must be about the same .. if not better with the RV and toad ..

for example.. our RV averaged 14 mpg , the toad 50 mpg

if both did the same annual mileage, the average is 32 mpg

The only benefit I can see with a 5er is a single VED, Insurance and MOT

But .. it's clearly horses for courses .. everyone's needs and likes are different else we would all be driving Vdub campers :roflmto:
 

ourcampersbeentrashed

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But .. it's clearly horses for courses .. everyone's needs and likes are different else we would all be driving Vdub campers :roflmto:


quite right but given half a chance we would have something similar to Jims or bryans but with parking rules in london we dont stand a chance xxxxxxx
 
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I have been tempted towards a 5er, but all the ones I have looked at dont quite have the layout I want. Also I havent driven one to see if a like it.

One question to 5er owners. I looked at about 3 of them at Newark and all had mahoosive showers ind tiny sinks in the bathroom. Why?

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Ant&Debs

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I have been tempted towards a 5er, but all the ones I have looked at dont quite have the layout I want. Also I havent driven one to see if a like it.

One question to 5er owners. I looked at about 3 of them at Newark and all had mahoosive showers ind tiny sinks in the bathroom. Why?

Hi

Depends on which make and also what model number you have. Some have sinks and showers in the bedroom, some have seperate toilet from shower sink, ours has a onsuite bathroom large shower normal size sink, and marine type toilet (ie, not plastic).

Can't speak about UK 5ver bathrooms.

Regards

Ant & Debs
 

jbcampbell

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JC

The idea of a travel trailer does seem much more versatile than a 5th Wheel system, certainly as far as a towing car goes, and would seem an obvious choice. Despite this outside of shows they are rarely seen (neither are 5th wheels come to think of it). I suspect they are limited for length as for conventional caravans and probably tend to be significantly heavier than conventional caravans, there are UK suppliers who are actively trying to provide practical trailers of this sort however and things could change considerably over the next few years.
Comparing a fifth wheeler with a conventional caravan (apart from having to source the pickup if you don't have one) the benefits are major. They are much more spacious, much better equiped and much more comfortable and give much better value for money (debatable if you buy new from the 5th wheel company).
The real debate is with motor homes or RV's Both of these are probably quicker to set up and easier to reverse than 5th wheelers but that apart the 5th wheelers score heavily. You can buy a new or nearly new European spec'd truck and trailer for about the mid ÂŁ40,000's. For that you have a very big and well equipped accomodation facility and also a very versatile and useful truck (most of which are reasonably economical to run)which can be very handy even when the trailer is secured in a storage facility. There must be few, if any motor homes that can match the space and comfort of a 5th wheel at any price (no slide outs for a start) and comparable RV's (fabulous though they can be) are massively more expensive both to buy and usually to run, and certainly lack the versatility of the pickup truck (try taking your garden rubbish to the tip in an RV!!!). Fuel costs have been mentioned and are worth considering but the biggest consideration cost wise, as with any vehicle, has to be depreciation.
With regard to the bathroom thing. I quite agree with previous comments. However from our point of view we usually stay on sites with good washroom facilities and don't use the sink or shower on board anyway. We use the shower area for a clothes dryer and it is perfect for that function.
Rv's and 5th wheelers are both rare in the UK. I am sure I read somewhere that in the States where both are common that 5th wheelers outnumber RV's by around 3 to 1. Having said all this it is ultimately down to personal preference and all these systems are actually very good.
 

haganap

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sorry, after over 10 years of caravanning and motorhoming iI do not know what a travel trailer is, anyone explain? :Blush:

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haganap

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yank name for a caravan

so in essence, a very good question from Brian as I thought a 5th wheel was no more than a posh caravan? so being american, presumably it will be big, does it need a big truck to tow it ow would you tow it on say a mondeo estate?
 

scotjimland

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so in essence, a very good question from Brian as I thought a 5th wheel was no more than a posh caravan? so being american, presumably it will be big, does it need a big truck to tow it ow would you tow it on say a mondeo estate?

its' a generic name for anything you can live in and is towed behind with a draw bar.. they come in all sizes .. from canvas folders to monster triple axle Airstreams

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MrJinks

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does it need a big truck to tow it ow would you tow it on say a mondeo estate?

Like American RVs they are much heavier that UK caravans so would need suitable vehicle to tow. Unlikely to be saloon car, more like big 4x4 or pick-ups. Trouble then is overall length ...probably more than 50ft
 

scotjimland

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Not all BIG

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Bryan

Bryan

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Thanks for the replies.

It seems the only real difference is the length of the final combination and it also appears that the load capacity of the pickup can be taken into account when calculating towing capacities etc.

I assume that the choice of vehicles that can tow travel trailers is very limited then?

(By travel trailer I mean the large type similar to a fiver but with a draw-bar connection instead)

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Landy lover

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Having had a caravans and tents in the past looked at motorhomes and the A class we decided on a 5'er to go full timing in - I am a fairly large chap and find small cars uncomfortable so would always prefer a larger car. As I happilly admit to anyone I do have a thing about Land Rovers. IMHO the only major difference between a travel trailer ( generally they are large well appointed caravansand have a slide out ) it the drawbar arrangement. A 27ft 5'er would have 27ft of living space. A 27ft travel trailer would either have 27ft of living room and be 32ft plus long or would have and actual living space of about 23/24 ft. The other point is comfort of towing. A travel trailer hooks on a hitch on the back of the vehicle. A 5'er hooks on a fifthwheel roughly in line with the back axle of the towing vehicle so has far less yawing when towing on rough roads and cannot get into a snake like a conventional trailer. So basically more room for the same weight and easier more comfortable tow and a more comfortable vehicle when unhitched.
Very much down to each persons perception of what they want from their unit. One major point I would make though - what ever you decide on ignore what the salesman says about weights, license issues,etc so many people I have found have worked on listed weights and found they are running overloaded when they actually put it on a weighbridge. Once you think you have the unit you want start with the weighbridge before parting with money.
 

davidjones

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I have been tempted towards a 5er, but all the ones I have looked at dont quite have the layout I want. Also I havent driven one to see if a like it.

One question to 5er owners. I looked at about 3 of them at Newark and all had mahoosive showers ind tiny sinks in the bathroom. Why?


Still think wash hand basin better than in normal caravans although I'd prefer our Kountrylite WHB to be bigger and have a non rigid tap that obscures the basin!
:Doh:
 

buyer

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i agree with landy lover, i had a 5th wheel for 10 years and enjoyed every minuite of it .excelent value for money compared to an rv with a fraction of the purchase price for very similar amenities/size.i also used the tow truck every day for work (towing my recovery/transporter trailer )so it made very good economic sence. i have been running an rv for about 9 years after selling the 5th wheel and i love it to bits,the main difference is ease of use,because it is easier to use an rv ,but if you want transport when away and you pull a toad then the ease of use advantage has gone.i am now thinking of selling the rv and getting another caravan as we go to about 15 events per year that would benefit from me taking one of my american motors with us,and if i put the trailer behind the rv its overall length is 59 foot 6 inches ,and even though i have a class 1 hgv licence that length can sometimes get a bit scary.Anyone wanting a real bargain i will sell my rv for 10k,you can see photo's at www.shautos.co.uk then click on gallery. just a thought if i sell the rv and become a tugger again can i still be a funster. steve.:thumb:

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