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Fifth Wheel vs Motorhome – Reasons to Consider a 5th Wheel

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Fifth Wheel vs Motorhome – Reasons to Consider a 5th Wheel
Friday, May, 1st 2015 22:07:29

RV Lifestyle Consultant Joe Vartuli discusses before rushing into the decision of purchasing a motorhome and why you should consider: ton the five key points to take into consideration:

1. Interior Space/Ceiling Height.

Typically, fifth wheels provide more living space, especially if equipped with multiple slideouts. Slideout widths are generally smaller in motorhomes to allow for people to move about the cabin, which produces less living space. Also factor in large interior ceiling heights in fifth wheels, and you’ll feel more at home.

2. Furniture/Appliances.

Large size residential amenities provide that home away from home feeling, with optional items such as central vac, solid surface counter tops, and also larger AC units, heating systems, and appliances depending on the model of the fifth wheel.

3. Storage.

The combination of exterior and interior storage provides extra space to bring along any and all items. Because there is no engine or cabin, fifth wheels generally have large bulkhead storage for bigger sized items.

4. Towing vs Driving.

As Joe mentions, 80% of people end up towing another vehicle behind their motorhome, whereas with a fifth wheel you always have a dependable tow vehicle with you, allowing you to easily unhook and travel wherever you would like. Either way, you will be towing something.

5. Cost/Maintenance.

Insurance plays a key role in cost for owning a motorhome because there are more moving parts. A fifth wheel can be up to 30% cheaper to insure than a motorhome. Plus, you have to factor in all general maintenance items like the chassis, tires, wheel bearings, brakes, compressed air systems, hydraulic systems, oil changes, etc. Overall, maintenance costs will run higher for a motorhome vs a fifth wheel simply because of the mechanics and build.

As you can see there are many factors to determine whether or not a motorhome or fifth wheel is more suitable for you and your family. As Joe explains, fifth wheels will provide you with more livability, which is better for longer stays, and motorhomes may be better suited for quicker stop and go trips. We hope we shed some insight on the differences to help make your decision making more educated.

Pete’s RV Center is an extraordinary recreational vehicle dealer with locations in South Burlington, VT, and Schererville, IN. An RV sales and service provider since 1952, Pete’s RV Center carries an extensive inventory of Keystone, Crossroads, Coachman, Heartland, Evergreen and Forest River RV-branded campers. We can be reached at 1-888-902-9352.

Make sure to subscribe to the Pete’s RV YouTube channel for more informative videos and information on news and events.

Video Transcript | Fifth Wheel vs Motorhome – Reasons to Consider a 5th Wheel

Hi, I’m Joe Vartuli, RV Lifestyle Consultant, here at Pete’s RV Center in South Burlington, Vermont. I’m going to do a little bit of a buyer’s tip here. We’re actually doing a Fifth-Wheel versus a motorhome. I want to give you reasons why you should consider a Fifth Wheel if you were thinking you were in the market for a motorhome and depending on how you use it, how the Fifth Wheel can benefit you, alright?

some of the few things that we’re going to go over in kind of this quick video are interior space ceiling height. If you’ll notice, I’m in a triple slide right now. This has a tremendous amount of floor space in it. It has lots of storage everywhere. It’s all very usable. also, the ceiling heights are incredible in the Fifth-Wheels. The, no matter how tall you are, you’re not going to hit the ceiling. It’s, it gives you the feeling of space and openness, which a lot of people like.

a couple of the other things is the furniture. some of our units have very, very plush furniture in ’em. The Fifth Wheels, this unit here, in particular, has heated massage, theater seating, that actually has a power reclining in it. So it’s, it’s all right at your fingertips, LED lighting, and solid-surface counter tops. frameless windows on a lot of our fifth wheels, fireplaces, central vacuum systems if they don’t come with a, with a Dyson already.

also, Josh just showed you the full residential style of refrigerator, which is coming in more and more of the high-midline and upper-end Fifth Wheels. Big appliances. This one has a 30-inch, over-the-counter Microwave that you can see, and we are in a Bighorn 3875 so I will mention that. this is a, a front bathroom model, has a lot of great features.

But back to what we were talking about, otherwise I’ll keep rambling. storage. You notice the cabinetry everywhere inside of here. So inside and out, Fifth Wheels give you a tremendous amount of storage. On the outside, you have pass-through [store 00:01:59] [00:02:00], which we can’t show you here, but tremendous pass, pass-through compartments. Drills, chairs, blocks, whatever you need to put in there, even a small refrigerator will fit in some of the the outside storage compartments on these units. So you can bring everything with you. All right?

Towing and driving. One thing with a Fifth-Wheel is you’re only going to have one motorized vehicle. 80% of motorhome b-, motorhome buyers will end up towing a car, maybe a trailer with a motorcycle in it, but they end up towing something.

This, you have a nice tow vehicle with you all the time, so you always have a good dependable vehicle. once you’re unhitched at the campground you go to, state park, wherever you are, you have a reliable unit that you can go anywhere with.

next thing is cost and maintenance. Insurance cost on this is, is a fraction of what a motorhome would be. So it’s, it’s a third of what an average, maybe even a gas-class A would be. maintenance is very simple because it’s not another motorized vehicle.

You have your roof system to take care of, you keep it clean, you have your brakes and your, your axles. You keep your bearings lubed. And that’s not a whole lot more that you need to do with a, with a camper. A few other small items, but with another motorized vehicle, you have the class, you have the oil changes, the transmission fluids. You have a whole other motor vehicle that you have to take care of. And the ins-, like I said, again the insurance is a big part of it. There is a lot more.

Also going back a little bit to the towing, if you have the right-sized pickup, mated to the Fifth Wheel that you want, you back in, you drop your tailgate, you stop into your hitch, you put up your power legs and away you go. It’s very, very simple.

a lot of people ask me when they come in during the week, you know, I, really want a motorhome because it’s, it’s because I want to move a lot. We want to be going every one or two days here and there. It w-, the motorhomes will work terrific for that.

That being said, if you want to do extended stays at any point, the Fifth Wheel gives you much more livability in it. it will give you more space, more storage. Some of them have two bathrooms. bigger furnace systems, bigger air-conditioning systems until you get into your really high-end level diesel pusher motorhomes.

In a lot of ways, we’re trying to tell you the Fifth Wheel will give you a great option if you’re willing to look at it. I hope you enjoyed this buying tip from Pete’s RV. My name is Joe.

Pete’s RV Center is an exceptional dealership group serving the United States and Canada since 1952. With multiple locations, Pete’s RV provides sales, service, parts, accessories, and education to our community of RVers all across North America.

How to Clean Your RVs Holding Tanks Sensors

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How to Clean Your RVs Holding Tanks Sensors
Wednesday, November, 26th 2014 15:26:23

Resident RV Expert Randy Murray discusses a multitude of ways to clean your gray/black water holding tank sensors, clearing all inaccurate monitor panel readings from your camper on the†Pete’s RV YouTube Channel.

Sometimes you may get a full tank reading on the monitor panel inside your camper even after youve dumped your gray and black tanks. Randy notes that this is generally caused by a buildup of waste materials or anything that might have made its way down the toilet. These items can block the sensors preventing the correct readout.

Randy provides a few preemptive approaches to make sure you won’t have to deal with that faulty reading. The first is making sure before you flush that you add extra water so the toilet paper (making sure you use RV toilet paper) won’t clump up or dry out to the inside of the tank walls, the next is making sure the tanks are as full as possible (making sure not to overfill) before they are dumped. Randy suggests the use of a tank flush chock to assist in filling your holding tank before it’s dumped.

The good news is that there are other tools for when all else fails. The first one Randy recommends is what’s called an RV swivel stick, which he explains attaches to a hose and sprays around water at a high velocity to break down any tank buildup. †Depending on whether you own a travel trailer or fifth wheel, a longer flexible version is available for the harder to reach holding tanks. Lastly, filling up a 5-gallon bucket with hot water and pouring it down the toilet should help alleviate the issue by steaming away the blockage from the sensors.

Pete’s RV Center is an extraordinary recreational vehicle dealer with locations in South Burlington, VT, Schererville, IN and South Windsor, CT. An RV sales and service provider since 1952, Pete’s RV Center carries an extensive inventory of Keystone, Crossroads, Coachman, Heartland, Evergreen and Forest River RV-branded campers.

To learn more from Randy as well as stay up to date on all things Pete’s RV be sure to visit and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

How to Properly Use The Air Conditioner in Your Camper

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How to Properly Use The Air Conditioner in Your Camper
Wednesday, July 3oth 2014 20:03:48

Learn All About Using Your Campers Air Conditioning on the Pete’s RV YouTube channel.

Randy gives a quick important lesson teaching us that air conditioners work by removing warm air and moisture from around the room, which then gets sucked outside leaving the room cooler.

In order to make sure your AC is running properly, Randy shows us how to remove and check the air filter to make sure there isn’t a buildup of dirt and dust hindering performance. Making sure the fan is on will increase efficiently with the AC system, as well as making sure that all doors, windows, and shades are closed to prevent heat from working its way back inside the camper.

Randy advises turning on the AC when temperatures are cooler (typically early morning) for optimal air flow and a cooler camper throughout the day. By using the quick cool option to restrict airflow from the ducts, the AC can effectively cool the room faster and when it reaches a temperature to your liking, airflow can be redirected back through the vents for everyone to enjoy.

To learn more from Randy and stay up to date on all things Pete’s RV be sure to visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Video Transcript | How to Properly Use The Air Conditioner in Your Camper

Randy: Hey guys, Randy with Pete’s RV TV today, another quick-tip segment for you. Today I’m going to talk about air conditioners and the proper way to use them. I’ve been taking a lot of calls around the country and we’re in the middle of our warm season in Vermont, the little warm season that we get up here in the northeast. But people are having trouble with their air conditioners freezing up. People are saying they’re not cooling properly for them. And sometimes that’s the case, but usually it’s operator error about 99 percent of the time.

When I went to RVIA school back a million years ago when I first started in the industry and got certified to do this kind of stuff, one of the first things they taught me about air conditioners is they don’t make cool. They remove heat and they remove moisture, as well. cool just happens to be a byproduct.

So, when we allow our coach to heat up inside, we go to the pool all day, we’re out shopping or doing, visiting the sights around the area and we’ve got the air conditioner off, we go back to our camper at 5 o’clock at night. It’s 100 degrees inside the camper. We turn that air conditioner on. That air conditioner actually has to pull the heat out of the carpet, out of the bedding, out of the couches, out of everything inside before we start to feel cool.

So what I want you to do is I want you to do is turn that air conditioner on in the morning. it’s a little bit cooler at night, so when it’s a little bit cooler at night, of course, the coach stays a little bit cooler. So when you get up in the morning set that thermostat at about 65 degrees, 67 degrees. Let’s maintain that cool from the night before. Now, if we never let our coach heat up, the air conditioner is going to have to work a lot less hard to maintain that cool and we’re actually saving energy.

The other thing that we want to do with our air conditioner, too, is while we maintain it while we’re using it is we want to make sure that the filters are clean. So we can remove that very easily on this guy here and we just want to take this guy out and make sure it’s vacuumed. If it starts to turn brown that usually means there’s a lot of dust.

Another thing that makes an air conditioner work very effectively for us, or makes them work better, is more air flow. So with a clean filter we can get more air through this air conditioner, especially on those [00:02:00] hot, humid days.

the other thing we’ll, we’ll want to do is we want to set our fan on high. I usually use the auto setting on mine, if you let the air conditioner run all day. Again, the more air that we’re moving, the more heat we can take out of the coach and expend outside and put the cold air back inside the coach. So fan definitely on high.

We also want to make sure our doors and windows and vents are closed. I went to a camper on a campground the other day. A lady says, “My air conditioner is not cooling very well. Can you take a look at it?” I went inside. I put my hand up to the air conditioner, it was cooling just fine. What she had was both of her doors were open. She had some vents open, a couple windows open. So what that air conditioner was doing was pulling the heat from the outside and just getting rid of that and returning it so it could never bring the temperature of the coach down because it was just kind of maintaining.

What these guys will do is they’ll actually do about a 20-degree air differential, air temperature differential. So, it sucks in here, blows out here or out through our vents, and it’s going to be about a 20-degree differential. Now, if it’s just pulling air from a door, it’s never going to really bring the temperature of the coach down, so make sure all windows and doors and vents are closed. and again, that high air flow moving through the air conditioner is going to get that heat escape faster and help us with freeze up a little bit, too. The moisture will actually pass over the evaporator coil a lot quicker and not have a tendency to grab on there.

Another thing, we just got to our campgrounds, its 5 o’clock at night, we’ve been traveling all day, inside the camper it’s very hot because it’s a hot day out, so you got to turn your air conditioner on to cool this guy down. Instead of forcing it through the vents, if you’ve got a ducted air conditioner, open up the quick-cool option. This way we’re going to get a lot of airflow and we’re going to cool the coach down a little bit quicker.

Once we bring the temperature down, we can go ahead and close this and we can go through the ducts. The ducts are going to restrict the airflow a little bit, but once we bring the coach down the air conditioner is running efficiently, then we can go ahead and put it through the vents in the ceiling.

So if you try out my quick tips here, run it on high, set it in the morning, let it run all day to keep that cool inside so we don’t have to remove all that heat from building up in the sun all day. Also, if you can close your shades and things [00:04:00] like that, keep the UVs down, that’s going to help out a lot as well.

But all these should help you make your air conditioner work a lot more effectively for you. Save a phone call to me and just have a better camping experience, keep you guys cool. Now, out there having fun, you get hot, you want to come into a cool area, at least I do, and it makes it a lot more fun when you’re drinking a soda or whatever while you’re watching TV, as well.

So thanks again for watching Pete’s RV with Randy today. keep an eye out for our quick tips. Join us on our Facebook page. Sign up [ 00:04:26] on Youtube and happy camping (laughs). Have a great one.

 

Setting Up Dual 12 Volt Camper Batteries

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Setting Up Dual 12 Volt Camper Batteries
Monday May 19th, 2014 19:02:48

Resident RV Expert Randy Murray displays how to properly connect two 12 volt batteries in parallel for extended dry camping power.† Rather than a single battery connection where you will be required to replace it with a fresh battery, a dual connection alleviates this procedure and provide more even use of battery life.

By connecting the campers positive wire to the positive terminal on one battery and connecting the campers ground wire to the negative terminal on the second battery, Randy illustrates the correct way to achieve equal battery drain and how to ensure top notch battery life.

With the use of jumper wires (one for both positive and negative as Randy explains) that are equal or greater to the gauge of wire found on your camper, connect each line to the corresponding positive and negative battery to complete the connection and enjoy some extended dry camping.

Make sure to subscribe to the Pete’s RV YouTube channel for more quick tips and information on sales and other events!