# Motorhome vs Travel trailer



## bmxracer

Hi,

I'm interested in hearing from people with experience with both...

My wife and I are interested in purchasing a travel trailer or motorhome and we would like to hear the pros/cons of ownership. We have two boys (10 and 7 years old) and we travel racing BMX at least two weekends a month. Currently, we stay at hotels and travel back and forth from the track each day. At the larger events, racing starts at 7-am and last for the whole day. Most of the larger events have electrical hook-ups. Where we would like input would be the following aspects...

-Ease of maintenance
-Cost of maintenance
-Being able to leave the trailer vs being "tied" to the motorhome at events
-Difficulties when traveling (being stuck in a truck for hours or being able to use the restroom while traveling for example)
-Will using either a travel trailer/motorhome save money over hotels and eating out at every meal

Thanks,
Greg


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## Don Smith

My first rv was a pop up camper many years ago. Since then, I have had pull trailers, fifth wheels and motor homes. Pull trailers are a pain going down the road. Passing traffic, wind, road conditions and just about everything else makes them harder to control. Fifth wheels are a much better choice than pull trailers, but still not nearly as convenient as motor homes. I have owned several motor homes and will never go back to trailers. In almost every case, they are better built with better quality components, hold their value better and are super comfortable. My current unit is a 40 foot Monaco and it's like driving a Lexus down the road. My suggestion is to go to PPL on 59 South and look at all the different types and models. The only downside of a motor coach is that you have to have a toad. (towed vehicle) You can go as cheap or expensive as you like with the toad. The diesel pusher coaches are by far the better built machines. I pull my Harley and Nissan truck behind my rig. I'm a little long, but no one bothers me about it. You will meet some of the nicest people in the world in rv parks. Have fun no matter what you choose.


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## Ducatibilt

*My thoughts here.*

Your weekends sound like ours except we race RC cars.

A couple of my buddies use regular travel trailers and they work great for them.
We have a toyhauler now and it works great for us on race weekends.

Reasons I like it.
Built in generator so we always have power to run the a/c plus anything else we need without having to worry about finding a spot near electric.(Usually run the generator on the way too so the trailer is nice and cool when we get there.)
Has a huge freshwater tank, don't have to worry about running out of water. 
Drop down garage door makes it easy to just throw all our gear into the garage when we're packing up and we use the garage as an air conditioned pit on hot weekends. 
BTW, most weekends the wife cooks most of our meals which is nice since we don't have to run out to get food or just get stuck eating sandwiches.

I honestly don't have any experience with motorhomes, for us personally they were cost prohibitive and didn't really work well for our uses. But like Floatin Doc said, his works perfect for him so everyone has different needs.

Later on down the road when it's just the wife and I class A will probably be in our future.


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## live2fish247

Floatin Doc said:


> My first rv was a pop up camper many years ago. Since then, I have had pull trailers, fifth wheels and motor homes. Pull trailers are a pain going down the road. Passing traffic, wind, road conditions and just about everything else makes them harder to control. Fifth wheels are a much better choice than pull trailers, but still not nearly as convenient as motor homes. I have owned several motor homes and will never go back to trailers. In almost every case, they are better built with better quality components, hold their value better and are super comfortable. My current unit is a 40 foot Monaco and it's like driving a Lexus down the road. My suggestion is to go to PPL on 59 South and look at all the different types and models. The only downside of a motor coach is that you have to have a toad. (towed vehicle) You can go as cheap or expensive as you like with the toad. The diesel pusher coaches are by far the better built machines. I pull my Harley and Nissan truck behind my rig. I'm a little long, but no one bothers me about it. You will meet some of the nicest people in the world in rv parks. Have fun no matter what you choose.


I agree with you somewhat but, the only time I've had any trouble pulling a bumper pull is not enough truck or an improperly rigged trailer. I pulled a older model 31' bumper pull for several years and never had an issue with it. If you use the stabilizer bars and anti-sway bar set properly there is little to no bounce or sway from the trailer. I was pulling with a 3/4 ton Duramax 4x4. I pulled the same trailer with a 3/4 ton 2 wheel drive gas truck and felt like I was fighting it the whole time.

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## Splinter Dad

I pull a 36' fifth wheel and have no problems with it. We looked at the motor homes but I didn't want to have to deal with the maintenance that went with them. What I mean is oil changes, trans services, belts, hoses and all the mechanical stuff that can go wrong with it. We do 2 long road trips a year one to Florida and the other to Atlanta (Stone Mountain) so it would be nice to have the ability to walk around and the kids could us the rest room while going down the road. But mostly we stay around Sommerville and Conroe so it's not really that big of deal to us. Also with a motor home it helps to have a tow vehicle with you in case you need to leave the campsite for beer or ice. 

Cost wise it is cheaper per night to stay at campgounds than hotels but it's the investment in the camper or motor home you have to worry about. We paid ours off so now the big cost for us is the monthly storage. 

If you are into BMX racing the toy hauler may work out great for you. They make some really nice ones and have a lot of work space in the back of it. We started off with a pop up then moved to a 26' pull behind and now the 5th wheel. We are not into hotels so for us being out doors and hanging out with other campers makes all the difference. 

Good luck on your search


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## ujoint

I have seen a few motor homes with a garage, but we use a fuzion turing edition 40' toyhauler and put 4 dirt bikes in it. Take the bikes out, roll out the carpet, men in the back with the TV and the drinks, the women up front with what ever women like to do. If you want a Fuzion I've got one about 45k payoff 409-370-6689


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## Cap-N-Red

I've had 2 motorhomes. I admit that was in the seventys and they have come a long ways since then. However I prefer having a travel trailer as there is less cost for maintanance. We're on our second Airstream trailer now. We drug the first one about 70K miles. Our present one is a 28ft Classic Airstream 2005 year model and it's been pulled over 40K miles so far. It will last me as long as I'm able to keep traveling.


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## J Ipock

I have a motohome and my buddy has a toyhauler, we typically camp together so it works really well, he drags his camper up to wherever we are going and once we are there we have a truck to ride around town in if we need to or we can use it to launch a boat if we need to. With us having the motorhome, we can tow whatever toys we want to play with that weekend, so you could throw the bike in a small enclosed trailer for BMX weekends, or drag the boat for boating weekend. There is definately a plus and a minus to both.


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## skypoke

Motorhomes are nice for extensive traveling, the ride is plush and quiet, bathroom and kitchen are right there, the view is magnificent thru the huge windshields. That's what I currently have, a 36' Foretravel diesel pusher. 

The downside is there's a fair amount of maintenance and upkeep involved in these things. Having to tow a vehicle means you can't back up (not possible with a towbar). Probably what would suit you best is a fifth wheel, and the toyhaulers are nice. Be careful to look into what the actual weights your truck is rated to pull, some of those fivers take a F450 or larger to pull. Being a young family, you guys can probably stand to be in the truck together, and can always pull over in parking lots etc. and let the ladies use the facilities. Go to PPL and look em over, they have em by the droves, some like new, all far less $ than a new one. 

Chuck


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## Bmxstang

just go diesel.. 1500 rpms with 700-900 ft lbs of torque is awesome.. i have a 2500 suburban with the 6.0L engine in it and it does fine but sits at abour 3500-4000 rpms to make decent power.. bumper is ok but way way easier to back into a spot.. the fifth wheel is a bit tougher to back in but your dont have to deal with weight distribution or sway bars.. with a motor home you're stuck unless you pull a car behind you and destroy it because you're towing it around... The 250-350 are excellent to tow with.. but you probably don't care about the truck too much.. but make sure you check your capacity load!!! The more stuff you bring (Bikes, luggage, TV's ect) the more it will go down.. but Jr. and micro bikes are not that heavy.. you really only run into weight problems with the 1500 trucks... but don't take my word on that.. research it also.. the only problem is when you dont have full hook ups.. make sure you get a "Honey Wagon" AKA a giant tow behind the truck grey water tank that you can take to the dump station.. and when your not racing go to some of the state parks... Stephen F Austin has some fun trails.. i think the nobby tires would make you sink but if you have a mtn bike its awesome!!


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## driftwood2

Cap-N-Red said:


> I've had 2 motorhomes. I admit that was in the seventys and they have come a long ways since then. However I prefer having a travel trailer as there is less cost for maintanance. We're on our second Airstream trailer now. We drug the first one about 70K miles. Our present one is a 28ft Classic Airstream 2005 year model and it's been pulled over 40K miles so far. It will last me as long as I'm able to keep traveling.


Cap- What is your towing vehicle for your airstream?


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## Aggie88

We have both a motor coach and a fifth wheel. The fifth wheel is the choice vehicle if you are going to tow. We tow a jeep wrangler behind the motor coach for getting around town when we are out on a trip, we cannot even tell it is back there. I believe for long trips the motor coach is best. We have had several, and they keep getting better with time (ease of driving).


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## CaptainJMB

I have a heartland big country 3691sk. I absolutely love it because I wanted it to feel "home" not "camper". I don't care to own a motorhome. I love my fifth wheel and the only problem I've had is getting my boat to point b with it. I use it for more destination travel - ie: take it somewhere and park it....then pull my boat back and forth so it's easy. 

My brother has a toy hauler that I've gone with to take kids 4 wheeling and stuff. Works great - we took it to sturgis this past year and was a blast. I could've bought a motorhome - but just didn't want ANOTHER vehicle to maintain. 

5er has my vote - I hate bumper trailers. Unless you've got a big truck - then they still suck


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