TRUCK CAMPER OR SMALL FIFTH WHEEL

Newbie with mixed emotions on which way to go. TC or small 5ER (What better place to get input on TC than a TC forum )

Objective: Travel across North America. Do this in the most convenient, comfortable and cost effective manner.

Time on the road: Four to Eight Weeks.

Current Truck; Ford Super Duty F-250 Lariat Short Box Diesel

Fifth Wheel option: 25 feet; one super slide; Total Dry Weight 6000lbs; 1000lb Pin weight; Allows room in truck bed for extra fuel tank as an option

Truck Camper Option: Something with a slide. Guesstimate 3000lbs

Some of my Thoughts (THINKING OUT LOUD):
(Please correct me if I am missing something)

Loading & unloading both 5er & TC pretty much same amount of time and work

Storage issues: Typical length for TC 17ft & 5er 26ft; 5er is 9ft longer;
Triple or double slide Equivelant TC length is 20ft - 23ft; 5er is only 3-6 ft longer

Driving experience: I assume pretty much the same

Stop in an area of interest for 3-7 days: 5er wins hands down – no brainer

Purchase price: TC same or more

5er wins hands down when spending an evening in campground for overall comfort. Recliners or sofa to relax & watch TV

5er wins hands down for sleeping; No need to crouch & stoop to get out of bed

5er wins hands down for bathroom real shower

5er wins hands down for storage and all amenities

Bottom line, my question is why would someone buy a TC instead of a small 5er. Again, what points, information, rational am I missing?
I am assuming that I am missing a key point(s)

Thank you for all your comments and input

Camping off road in remote areas - TC wins. Do you hunt or have ATV's?

Ease of parking while traveling - TC wins. Ever stop for lunch?

Able to tow boat or trailer - TC wins. Do you fish? ski? trail anything?

I have a TC (no slide) & my brother has a 26'5er and I have camped out of both. I like my TC.

If traveling and you want to go downtown and check out places to eat or to see, you can park in a parking lot and not have to worry about leaving the 5er at an RV park. If you see some backroad on the map that you would like to take you dont have to worry about pulling a 5er down some dirt road only to find that you may have to turn around in little or no space. And believe me, you will see a lot more on the back roads than you will from the interstate. Lot less tires, brakes, wheels, lights, weight to worry about not to mention backing into some small space for the night and having to unhook the truck because its sticking out in the road. I have had a 5er before and I would rather have my TC any day. Nothing like driving up into the back country and parking just about anywhere. Plus I don't think I would have a slideout. Just not enough extra space for the weight. Plus you can tow your bike, car or Jeep(in my case).
Gary

Expenses!
5th wheel, full insurance; TC, rider on truck only.
5th wheel, registration annually; TC none (its cargo with no title)
5th wheel, 4 to 6 new tires every several years; TC, none
5th wheel, longer, more expensive storage unit

I came from a 30' 5er to a Lance 830 this spring. Is it smaller and are their sacrifices, yep. Are we happy we did it, yep.

We have both a fifth wheel (32') and a truck camper, so I can speak from experience:

Current Truck; Ford Super Duty F-250 Lariat Short Box Diesel

Fifth Wheel option: 25 feet; one super slide; Total Dry Weight 6000lbs; 1000lb Pin weight; Allows room in truck bed for extra fuel tank as an option

Truck Camper Option: Something with a slide. Guesstimate 3000lbs

First, when considering a fifth wheel, don't pay any attention to the dry weight...it's a meaningless number. First, manufacturers are not require to weigh each rig as it comes off the line, so for most rigs, the dry weight doesn't include factory-installed options nor dealer-installed options...and it certainly doesn't include full propane tanks, a full fresh water tank, nor all the supplies you'll load into it. Instead of dry weight, look at the 5er's GVWR.

The first thing you'll want to do before you decide on either one is to load your truck up with all the people (and pets) who will be traveling with you, a full tank of fuel, and all the gear that will be carried in the cab and go get it weighed. Once you have the *real life* weight of your truck, subtract that weight from the truck's GCWR...that will give you the maximum weight of a *fully loaded* 5er that you should be pulling. Also subtract the truck's weight from its GVWR...that will give you the maximum payload...either pin weight for a 5er or loaded camper weight.

Loading & unloading both 5er & TC pretty much same amount of time and work

Neither is difficult, but we can disconnect the 5er in less time than we can unload the camper and lower it down. However, this is probably one of those things that really shouldn't have any bearing in your decision...it's sorta a "6 of one, half a dozen of another" situation.

Storage issues: Typical length for TC 17ft & 5er 26ft; 5er is 9ft longer;
Triple or double slide Equivelant TC length is 20ft - 23ft; 5er is only 3-6 ft longer

Certainly, if you have to pay for storage space, or have limited storage at your house, the camper will take up less space and *should* cost you less at a commercial storage yard.

Driving experience: I assume pretty much the same

There's really no difference in driving other than, with a fifth wheel, you have to pay attention to turning corners and, of course, backing up is different with a 5er attached than it would be with a camper.

Stop in an area of interest for 3-7 days: 5er wins hands down – no brainer

I'm not sure I understand your reasoning here. If you're going to be in one place 3 to 7 days, you can unload the camper from the truck which would be the same as unhooking a fiver. Or, don't bother unloading it...we spent 4 months in our camper this summer and rarely unloaded it. We had no problems finding a place to park...our truck and camper pretty much parks in any standard parking lot space. The one advantage of not unloading the camper from the truck is that when you're out exploring, you have your bathroom available and a place to stop and fix lunch.

Purchase price: TC same or more

For the size fifth wheel you're considering, and if you buy new, that's probably a pretty fair statement.

5er wins hands down when spending an evening in campground for overall comfort. Recliners or sofa to relax & watch TV

I'll give you that...it's much more comfortable to stretch out in our recliners in the evening to watch TV or read a book than it is to sit at the dinette in our camper.

5er wins hands down for sleeping; No need to crouch & stoop to get out of bed

Depends on what kind of fiver you're looking at. There are low profile fifth wheels that require crawling into bed (no stand-up room in the bedroom).

5er wins hands down for bathroom real shower

There are campers with dry showers, although the fifth wheel shower will *probably* be bigger.

5er wins hands down for storage and all amenities

I'll give you the storage (although I've seen some fivers with very little). Amenities? Other than not having recliners, our camper has all the amenities as our fifth wheel, just in a smaller package.

Bottom line, my question is why would someone buy a TC instead of a small 5er.

We got a camper because we wanted to go places where we wouldn't consider taking our fifth wheel. Even with a small fifth wheel, you still have extra length behind you and have to carefully consider where you go, and parking in a parking lot in order to do shopping, is more of a problem with the longer length behind you than it is with a camper.

I did want to comment on one thing: you mentioned a double or triple slide camper on your 3/4-ton short-box pickup. First, are there any double or triple slide campers made for short beds? Even if there are, I suspect they'll be too heavy for your pickup (this is where weighing, as I described above, will become valuable). We've looked at some of the triple-slide campers and, in every single case, they were all too heavy even for a 1-ton with duallies...it would take something like an F-450, F-550 or equivalent to carry one of these behemoths.

As others have pointed out, you do have 4 more tires with a fifth wheel and you *probably* won't have to register a camper (although this varies from state to state...some do require a separate license plate from the truck). If you want to tow a boat or a trailer with ATVs, or whatever, it's much easier to do behind a truck with a camper in the bed than it is behind a fifth wheel.

5er wins hands down when spending an evening in campground for overall comfort. Recliners or sofa to relax & watch TV

Interesting, when I go vacationing I spend most of my time out relaxing in the fresh air! Not inside of an RV watching the telly. I do that at home!

5er wins hands down for bathroom real shower

If you really need a roomy shower and you do not wish to use the excellent showers at most RV parks these days, then set up a special shower tent next to your exterior shower outlet box. A chair nearby, a foldout folding shower pallet (Cabella’s catalog) inside to stand on, and experience the best damned shower you ever had! Improvise! Adapt! And Overcome!

Bottom line, my question is why would someone buy a TC instead of a small 5er.

At Lower cost to store operate ($25 auto Ins. Add-on), more covenant maneuverability, for me easier set-up and take down than fifth wheels as I use my power jacks to level and I’m done. My buds with their big fifth wheels take hours to level/unload camp amenities awnings etc etc. I rarely if ever use my awning. I merely follow the shadow around the rig makes for lots of LOL.

I am a big fan of KISS… Keep It Simple Stupid.

Hint; If we get to tired of living in the camper, the wife and I will stay in a really nice hotel just to vary our vacationing experience. Remember, some communities are going green. Meaning? They are creating narrower roadways and commercial properties are becoming smaller (overall) and more difficult to RV. Dump sites are becoming harder to locate. Least here in California that is.

Here is Cal. One can find himself caught in serious traffic tie-ups, a truck camper can easily negotiate dirt roads, wide spots barely large enough to fit for a wee bit of relaxation, a bit of lunch, even a potty break when others are out scooting it in the raw by the highway in full view. Miles of cars and no amenities!?! I love my truck camper!

In closing, when dry camping, I either tow my trailer loaded with my UTV and various camping supplies wood and so on. If not that then the Jeep Rubicon seems to follow me everywhere if the trailer not there.

If you care too, I wrote a rather lengthy post regards to why a camper is my choice of home away from home.

http://www.truckcamperforum.com/index.php?showtopic=290&hl=