Those Airstreams are sweet but for those of us on a tighter budget, a 5th wheel is a better option. That's why I ended up with a used 5th. Maybe when I'm old and wealthy I'll buy a brand new Airstream.

 

With a proper hitch up, the tow "swaying" is negligible between travel trailer and 5th wheel. You must redo your setup with a travel trailer when loaded, not as the dealer has done when you purchased it empty.

5 wheel are general more expensive and heavier. You will need a heavier truck with a 5th wheel, a f150 wont cut it. A 5th wheel puts more weight on the bed as opposed to a travel trailer.

You loose the bed with a 5th wheel set up, you can put a cap on it, or an ATV in it...

 

Im on my second 5er in two years. Just traded my old 2011 for a new 2011. Dealer gave what I paid for the trade and about 48% off the new. It was at an RV show and they want to move product. That airstream looks sweet but for my family of 4 plus the lab it would never work. Im 6'5" and need the head room you can only find in a 5er. I dont look at the 5th wheel as a long term commitment. I look at it for what suits are needs for the next few years. My kids are 4 and 2. They dont care about having their own rooms (our old 5er was a bunkhouse model) They want space to hangout and play. Momma wants her own space to be able to watch the kids and not all be on top of each other. It would really help of you could write out your list of priorities and then search for those in your budget. Another example is having two baths. We did in our old one. The new one only has one. How much does a 4 year old use the bathroom? My two year old is in diapers. Would much rather have the space then the bath right now. When they are teenagers it will be a different story. Plus emptying 2 black tanks was a pain.
You need to find what works for you. For my family it took a season of trial and error to find out what was important for our family. If you are retired with no kids or grandkids and you want to spend 6 months on the road maybe an airstream is for you they look like awesome units. If you plan to change the trailer over the course of a growing family myabe a 5er is best.
By the way not to muddy the water my buddy has a 34' Keystone Laredo bumper pull that is awesome. I just cant barley stand up in it.
Have fun and be safe whatever you do
STM

 

For us it was pretty simple... we wanted a toyhauler, so we bought a 28' bumper pull and that required some of the living space to be given up to accomodate the Harleys. As we discovered on our first multi day trip, this is very inconvenient when stopping for the night.

After that trip we traded that trailer in on a 5th wheel with a completely separate garage so we don't have to unload the bikes to use the trailer on an overnight stop. The 5er has much more room for our family with the dogs and that is obviously important. I much prefer to tow the 5er due to the stability on the road and the backing up is just a matter of practice. It reacts a little slower when first starting the turn and then it will react faster than a bumper pull... small corrections by the driver and everything is fine.

I won't go back to a bumper pull no matter how nice the Airstreams are...

 

I like the idea of putting together a priority list. We're at that odd stage of our lives. One kid in college and the other in high school. As the kids got older the camping trips diminished as their interests went elsewhere. My wife and I always enjoyed the experience of getting on the road and going somewhere we haven't been to. The kids went along as captives.

Things are different now. They can stay home, but what if they want to go? If I buy one that is too small and they want to go, we got a space problem. Sort of the same dilemma we find with the house, too large for just two people when they go on with their lives.

We looked into renting motorhomes and thought that might be the perfect solution until our lives have settled a bit. Though they pose their own challenges. Hmmm... What to do...

 

My thoughts are to find a floor plan you love and then start looking at manufacturers. They all make very similar floor plans, similar construction, they use the same interior options like faucets, lights, fridge, toilet, etc. so it boils down to exterior appearance, warranty, weight, etc. The things I looked for were axle ratings, tires and wheels (pretty much all made in China, many are junk) who makes the frame, outside storage, etc.

Lots of good choices and deals to be had!

 

I wouldn't consider the Airstream any old tagalong trailer, there in a class of all their own :-) If your worried about total length, with a fifthweel you can get more living space with a less overall length since part of it overlaps with your bed. With a tagalong you have a three feet tongue which is basically unusable length. But in contrast, you have to have a pickup to pull a fifth wheel where as with the other you also have the option of most of the larger suvs/vans as a pull rig.

 

I have had motorhomes from 25 ft Class C's to 37 ft diesel pushers. have towed tagalong trailers for 40 years. I switched to a fifth wheel 2 years ago and have never looked back. All the units were fun to own and take camping but the ease of towing with the fiver and the convenience of having the truck to use when we arrived makes the fiver my choice now.

Regards

 

Actually I have never pulled a fifthwheel rv. All my "5th wheel" experience was actually with gooseneck horsetrailers. Similar but a bit different in the actual build of trailer, and they towed like a dream. All in all the fifthwheel set ups are pretty impressive when your in tight turning situations and you are able to practically jacknife them and turn on dime.

We actually had a light weight travel trailer at the time as well (24' layton), and we had to use the dually to pull the travel trailer and the old standard cab srw (85 Ford 250 6.9 dsl) to pull the heavier larger goosenecks. The small travel trailer just had too much sway and would push around the "small" truck all over the place.

 

My wife and I waited till the kids were gone to buy our 5er. We were told to buy a small 5er to see if it was for us. We had a 21ft boat with a cutty when the kids were small and went to either Lake Erie or Lake Michigan for long weekends and stayed on the boat. Because we loved that we knew we would love camping with a 5er. We bought the biggest 5er we thought my truck could pull. We didn't want bunks because our grandkids would not be going with us that often, We use blowup beds when they do go. This last winter we stayed 3 months in Florida and we loved the time in our 5er. If we would have bought smaller I shutter to think how crowded it would have been... I suggest to all that ask go big or stay home. IMO To me motorhomes are a waste, still have to tow a car if you want to get around when you get where you are going. Letting it set wlile you are not using it can't be good for the engine, I can let my 5er set as long as I want.

 

Thanks for the additional food for thought. I agree, that planning for the occasional kid/grand kid vacation isn't putting the money to good use. I guess the process is to sit down and like suggested by Biggziff above, figure out what space we want and go from there. I am anxious to begin looking since I know the market is soft and deals are to be had. I wish there were more RV shows in my area. Does anyone know where they might be listed on the web?

 

Well I couldn't help myself so here is my .o2. Fifth wheel all the way as I have towed 3 tag alongs and I'm now on my 3rd fifth wheel and will never go back. Better gas mileage, more stability, much more storage, easier to back up, roomier interior, more slides, and just a much more relaxing tow. I tow a Montana 3750FL which is 39" and 14,500lbs, and it tows better then my 24' tag along did. PM me if you would like to discuss more details. You got a lot of great information from fellow members.

 

Thanks Snowhawk. I will certainly will check in with you when I begin figuring them out. I'm sure like the tags, they have unique features that create the proverbial questions about which is better. At this point I am too dumb to ask them.

I followed Epic's transition to a 5er and I solely blame him for my indecision! Actually, I really enjoyed his posts and learned a lot about the hitches from them. He got me thinking about doing something different.

I can ask one semi intelligent question at this point. What are the brands to consider and what the brands to stay away from?

 

We've had 3 Keystones (Springdale and 2 Cougars) and I've referred many folks to our dealer. No one has had any issues to date. We looked at Heartland, but there was a pattern of similar issues not being corrected at the factory over a 5-6 year span. Lots of good feedback on them, but they were heavier and the dealers wouldn't deal anywhere near what I could get for discounts on other brands so we crossed them off the list. Warren Buffett bought Forest River a few years ago and they have a very good reputation as well as a 2 year warranty. I don't think you can buy a "bad" one, but I'd recommend you stay with one of the larger manufacturers. Don't worry about dealer support...there isn't much that breaks that you probably can't fix on your own.

If you decide to go with a Keystone product, let me know. I usually can get a deal that beats even dealers like Lake Shore.

 

My take on trailers... Do the same thing you did with your truck. Do your research and then buy the best quality unit you can afford. I had a Weekend Warrior toy hauler before and thought it was an ok trailer. It is nothing, however, compared to this Holiday Rambler. I must confess I kind of stumbled on this deal but now I know I got lucky. Everything about it is just super high quality. I'm not one to throw money to the wind and I don't believe that more expensive translates into a better value but some things really pay off. The truck is one, this trailer is another. My advice is to go with a manufacturer who has a reputation for quality even if it is substantially more expensive.