U quinta rota vs. travel trailer debate can cause some confusion. If you’ve decided to join the camping world and buy an RV, you have some decisions to make. Perhaps you know you want a towable RV, but you may not know whether a fifth wheel or travel trailer would best suit your needs. 

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How do you decide which one is best? Let’s take a closer look at the fifth wheel vs. travel trailer debate. Maybe then you’ll have a better understanding of what each type of towable has to offer!

Vantaghji di un RV Towable

Narrowing it down to a towable RV shows progress. Motorized RVs, sometimes called drivable RVs, certainly have their perks. But you’ll find some advantages to owning a towable RV. 

First, you have a separation between your living space and your vehicle. Often this means more space inside the RV, even if your towable is shorter because you don’t have the front cab taking up several feet. The separation of home and vehicle also means when you travel, you can put more things in the truck or SUV and not take up room in the RV.

Avè un veiculu separatu hè ancu vantaghju una volta ghjuntu è stallatu in u vostru campeghju. Allora pudete piglià u vostru veìculu di rimorchiu è curriri in cità per piglià l'alimentarii o fate un passaghju in una strada panoramica senza trascinà tuttu u vostru attellu cun voi.

Fifth Wheels versus Travel Trailers in un sguardu

Now let’s look at the fifth wheel vs. travel trailer dilemma. There are several differences worth noting. Once you have an idea of how you want to travel and where you plan to camp, you can make the best decision for your needs.

The differences below don't make one good or bad; they’re just different. Although you can set up a fifth wheel more easily, you have more towing options with a travel trailer. So just note both have pros and cons.

Taglia

À traversu i sfarenti tippi di RV, a dimensione varia assai. Pudete guidà un camper di Classe A di 30 piedi o un camper di Classe A di 40 piedi. Pudete truvà rimorchi di viaghju ligeri di 30 ft longhi è più pesanti 25 ft long. Qualunque sia a dimensione chì vulete, pudete truvà quellu chì funziona megliu per voi.

In general, the space inside a fifth wheel will feel larger than the space inside a travel trailer because of the higher ceilings. If you compare a 34 ft travel trailer and a 28 ft fifth wheel, you might feel like the fifth wheel is bigger even though it’s several feet shorter. A fifth wheel’s ceiling measures about 9 ft compared to a typical travel trailer’s ceiling, around 6 to 7 ft, because the front cap sits over the truck’s bed. For taller individuals, this matters a lot.

In più di l'altitudine di u tettu, a quinta rota tendenu à esse più longu è più largu di i trailers di viaghju. Offrenu u più bang per u vostru buck. A quinta rota tendenu à avè più spaziu per via di slides in i lati opposti chì facenu u spaziu più grande. U spaziu di a camera principale tende ancu à esse più grande per via di un slide.

Cunducibilità

A quinta rota vincerà quasi sempre in a categuria di guidabilità. Questu hè per via di i sfarenti tippi di attaccu. Un trailer di viaghju, chjamatu ancu un bumper pull, attache via una bola è un sistema di attaccu à u spinu di u veiculu di rimorchiu. Certi pirsuni trovanu tirà un trailer di viaghju più difficiule perchè ci hè menu pesu nantu à u veiculu di rimorchiu. I cunduttori sperimentanu più influenza è menu cuntrollu, ancu s'ellu un camionu pesante aiutarà à eliminà una parte di questu.

On the other hand, a fifth wheel attaches to a special hitch in the bed of a truck. Because it has several feet and a couple of thousand pounds of the RV in the truck’s bed, it places more weight on the rear axle. This means you have more control when towing. 

The turning radius decreases because the fifth wheel hitch pivots to about 90 degrees. Drivers don’t have to swing out as far when making tight turns. The ride is also smoother when towing a fifth-wheel because of the hitching system.

prezzu

Usually, a fifth wheel will be more expensive than a travel trailer. Regardless of length, fifth wheels are heavier and require more production time due to the front cap design. If you have a smaller budget, you probably won’t find a fifth wheel to suit your needs. 

Un novu trailer di viaghju costarà circa $ 25,000 à $ 35,000, mentre chì una nova quinta rota hà da cumincià à circa $ 40,000 ma pudete truvà facilmente mudelli di più di $ 100,000. In novu, questu varieghja secondu a dimensione, l'opzioni è a marca.

Amenità interni

Pudete ottene tuttu ciò chì vulete in ogni opzione rimorchiabile. Se vulete una isula di cucina, pudete truvà trailers di viaghju è piani di quinta rota chì offrenu unu. O supponi chì vulete un bunkhouse, i dui RV rimorchiabili anu mudelli chì presentanu spazii per i zitelli. Se un frigorifero residenziale hè un must-have, pudete uttene unu in un trailer di viaghju o una quinta rota, sempre chì avete un mudellu di 50 amp. 

So the inside amenities compare. The biggest difference inside is the ceiling height and number of slides. As already mentioned, these features make fifth wheels feel bigger and homier, even if they’re shorter.

Ecunumia di carburante

L'ecunumia di carburante hà più di fà cù a dimensione è u pesu di u RV towable cà u disignu propiu. Siccomu a quinta roti tendenu à pisà più, ponenu più stress nantu à u camion, aumentendu u cunsumu di carburante. 

Additionally, many fifth wheels need to have trucks or diesel engines to tow them, which adds to the cost of fuel. A smaller travel trailer will be much more efficient traveling along the interstate or up mountain inclines because they don’t weigh as much.

Facilità di Setup

This aspect of the fifth wheel vs. travel trailer debate is about the hitching system. Because you can easily unhitch a fifth wheel, setting it up feels like a breeze compared to setting up a travel trailer. The kingpin simply slides out of the hitch — no manual labor involved. Often, fifth wheels come with automatic leveling, so with the push of a button, your rig will be set up in a matter of a few minutes.

Per d 'altra banda, avete da fà più travagliu per unhitch a bumper pull. Avete da alzà a lingua è staccate e barre di oscillazione è e catene. A maiò parte necessitanu una sorta di leveling manuale, cusì pudete passà più tempu à stallà u campu cù un trailer di viaghju. 

Storage

A quinta rota di solitu anu più almacenamentu cà i rimorchi di viaghju. Questu hè duvuta à a so altezza aumentata. I compartimenti di almacenamento frontali sò più alti per via di i 2 à 3 passi chì portanu à u tappu frontale. 

The bottom of the RV remains at the same height while the interior floor goes up about three feet. This gives you more storage space underneath. They also have the addition of the storage bay under the front cap that travel trailers don’t have because of the tongue.

Make Sure You’re Towing with the Right Vehicle

One of the most important decisions when choosing an RV is having the right tow vehicle. If you already own an SUV, you will need to look for travel trailers. You can’t tow a fifth wheel with an SUV.

You also want to pay attention to towing and payload capacity of trucks when considering a fifth wheel. Even though a fifth wheel may only weigh 9,500 lbs, its payload may exceed what your Ford F-150 with Ecoboost engine can hold. It’s recommended to tow fifth wheels with a three-quarter-ton truck or heavier so the rear axle can handle the extra weight.

You must pay careful attention to the GVWR of the RV to know what towing capacity your vehicle needs to have. Many RVers choose to follow the 80/20 rule, which means not exceeding 80% of the vehicle’s towing capacity. This leaves room for human error in any calculations and doesn’t put too much stress on the tow vehicle.

Quale Towable hè ghjustu per voi?

Your dreams to visit state parks, mountains, and beaches can come true with the right RV. You just have to decide which type of towable will work best for you. When you’re shopping for your perfect RV, we recommend acting like you’re using it. Pretend to cook a meal, lounge on the couch, stand in the shower, and sit on the toilet. If you do this in enough RVs, you’ll be able to tell which floor plan and layout will work with your family.