Ing kalima wheel 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. 

Kualitas JSK casting kalima wheel 37C

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!

Kaluwihan saka 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.

Duwe kendharaan sing kapisah uga mupangati yen sampeyan teka lan nyiyapake ing kemah sampeyan. Banjur sampeyan bisa njupuk kendaraan nggeret lan mlayu menyang kutha kanggo njaluk sembako utawa numpak ing dalan sing apik tanpa nyeret kabeh rig karo sampeyan.

Fifth Wheels vs Trailer Travel ing Mirit

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.

Ukuran

Ing macem-macem jinis RV, ukuran beda-beda banget. Sampeyan bisa nyopir motorhome Kelas A 30 ft utawa motorhome Kelas A 40 ft. Sampeyan bisa nemokake Trailer travel entheng 30 ft lan luwih abot 25 ft dawa. Apa ukuran sing dikarepake, sampeyan bisa nemokake sing paling cocog kanggo sampeyan.

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.

Saliyane dhuwur langit-langit, roda kelima cenderung luwih dawa lan luwih amba tinimbang trailer lelungan. Dheweke nawakake paling akeh kanggo dhuwit sampeyan. Roda kaping lima cenderung duwe ruang luwih akeh amarga geser ing sisih sing ngelawan sing nggawe papan luwih gedhe. Ruang kamar turu utama uga cenderung luwih gedhe amarga geser.

Drivabilitas

Fifth wheel bakal meh tansah menang ing kategori drivability. Iki amarga macem-macem jinis alangan. Trailer travel, uga disebut bumper pull, dipasang liwat bal lan sistem alangan ing mburi kendaraan nggeret. Sawetara wong nemokake narik trailer lelungan luwih angel amarga bobote kurang ing kendaraan nggeret. Drivers nemu liyane sway lan kurang kontrol, sanajan truk heavy-tugas bakal bantuan kanggo ngilangi sawetara sing.

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.

Rega

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. 

Trailer lelungan anyar bakal regane udakara $25,000 nganti 35,000, dene roda kaping lima anyar bakal diwiwiti udakara $40,000 nanging sampeyan bisa nemokake model luwih saka $100,000. Maneh, iki beda-beda gumantung saka ukuran, opsi, lan merek.

Fasilitas Interior

Sampeyan bisa njaluk babagan apa wae sing dikarepake ing salah siji opsi towable. Yen sampeyan pengin pulo pawon, sampeyan bisa nemokake Trailer travel lan floorplans wheel kaping lima sing nawakake siji. Utawa umpamane sampeyan pengin bunkhouse, loro RV sing bisa ditarik bakal duwe model sing nduweni ruang kanggo bocah-bocah. Yen kulkas omah iku kudu-kudu, sampeyan bisa njaluk siji ing Trailer travel utawa kalima wheel anggere sampeyan duwe model 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.

Irit Bahan Bakar

ekonomi bahan bakar wis luwih apa karo ukuran lan bobot saka RV towable saka desain nyata. Wiwit rodha kaping lima cenderung bobote luwih akeh, luwih akeh tekanan ing truk, nambah konsumsi bahan bakar. 

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.

Gampang 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.

Ing tangan liyane, sampeyan kudu nindakake liyane kanggo unhitch bemper narik. Sampeyan kudu ngunggahake ilat lan nyopot bar lan rante. Umume mbutuhake leveling manual, supaya sampeyan bisa nggunakake luwih akeh wektu nyetel kemah karo trailer lelungan. 

Panyimpenan

Roda kaping lima biasane duwe panyimpenan luwih akeh tinimbang trailer lelungan. Iki amarga tambah dhuwur. Kompartemen panyimpenan ngarep luwih dhuwur amarga ana 2 nganti 3 langkah menyang tutup ngarep. 

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.

Towable Endi sing Tepat kanggo Sampeyan?

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.