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Wife shows me some pictures of camper down in south Jersey, I have 2 6.0 vehicles, an F250 CCLB and a Excursion. She showed me all travel trailers,I'm more partial to 5er's. The crew cab has no goose neck or fifth wheel hitch in it. My question is which gives you the best bang for the buck in room and ease of towing. I'm not a novice to towing,but I tow BIG stuff at work being a linesman. This is a new game for me with the family. Also,I'd like to know what to look for when buying a used camper..........thanks
While there are good reasons for getting a travel trailer, I like the ease of towing my 5th wheel. Also like the ease of hitching and unhitching. For instance' some gas stations don't have room for a long camper so I drop the the camper at a big parking lot, go fuel up, and rehook the camper.
Well for purely "towing" terms, I think a 5er is naturally going to tow better down the road than a TT. That being said, floor plans between TT's and 5ers can be vastly different. Not everyone likes to climb steps to get into the front of a 5er, and most 5ers are set up with the bedroom in the front. If you want a "full height" bedroom, that makes the overall height of the 5er pretty tall. I'm 6'1", and can stand up in our bedroom with room to spare to the ceiling. However the trade off there is our 5er is just under 13' tall.
Where as a TT can have a full height front section and not have a raised roof line, ergo the TT has a lower cross section for lower wind resistance when being towed, and easier clearance under overhangs and bridges when going down the road.
Personally, I perfer 5ers. But I've had both TT's and 5ers before.
I started in the '70s. We have had TTs, a Class A MH, and 5ers. My wife prefers the 5er above all. She likes to feel 'away' to read, watch tv, or sleep while I'm doing something else. Much easier to tow ~ once you go 5er you will not return to TT. However, 5ers are more expensive per foot.... but worth it to us.
If you have kids going with you, consider the TT. That way you still have the truck box for all those extras that seem to come along. Plus, like slowpoke said, less wind resistance and a bit better mileage. Get a good hitch like the equal-I-zer brand (with the square bars that sit on a perch) and the TT is a breeze to tow.
I have travel in both a 5er AND a pull behind with kids... well some was GRAND-kids but I'd STILL take the 5er over the TT. Still plenty of room in front of AND behind the hitch to carry stuff. But all my tow vehicles were long beds.