I'll throw in some perspective. My folks did the full-time RV thing for many years.
They started with a 38' Teton 5th wheel pulled by a then-new 2000 Ford F-550 with a Centurion pickup bed (550s don't come with beds, or didn't at the time). Tetons were top of the line back then and this thing was no exception. It was a triple slide unit with a front master bedroom and rear living room, allowing for the panoramic rear view. Triple axle, but they weren't real axles -- they were the rubber torsion units, independent at each wheel. It was a really nice trailer.
But it was too much for even an F-550. It was about 30,000 pounds loaded, and that was at the tippy-top of a 550's rated capacity. And dad wasn't comfortable with it. So they bought an F-650 Super Crewzer. Arguably the better tow vehicle in every measure of towing. Cat 3026B engine would pull anything up any hill. It was a cake walk for that truck. But they got tired of having to take their truck to town all the time. Even a dually pickup is hard to park in small towns you normally encounter when full-timing. The wheelbase is like that of a 737's, so it pretty much everything takes a 3- or 4-point turn.
Plus, they wanted to get into Jeeping, and unless you use two drivers or double-tow (which isn't legal in many areas), you can't do that with a 5th wheel. In short, they found a 5th wheel too limiting for what they wanted to do.
So they bought a coach. A 2004 42' Monaco Dynasty. Again, one of the better of the coach builders, they build their own rolling chassis...nothing is converted from anything else. It was set up right -- triple axle, rear tag lift and steer...it had it all. This coached served them very well, and they used it until they quit full-timing. They pulled a lot of vehicles behind this, including the 2005 Acura MDX that we own now. They found EVERYTHING to be easier with a coach. You do have to unhook your toad, but you just do that at the campground office when you check in. They had a much better space selection with a coach because they can back into, and pull through in, many spaces that are too small for the longer 5er/truck combo. They had a ton more room in their coach; it was a 4-slide unit with a full basement, so dad had ALL of his stuff and tools in the coach. With the 5er, a bunch of stuff has to be kept in your truck because they don't have good basements, or at least didn't back then.
Many of the benefits of coaches won't apply to weekenders -- the extra storage room is most useful to full-timers. People who do it all the time also prefer to drive something less than what is essentially a semi tractor when they go into the local Walmart for groceries. This is why most full-timers are using coaches with a toad. Most weekenders are not, but that's clearly a case of using the right tool for the job.
They started with a 38' Teton 5th wheel pulled by a then-new 2000 Ford F-550 with a Centurion pickup bed (550s don't come with beds, or didn't at the time). Tetons were top of the line back then and this thing was no exception. It was a triple slide unit with a front master bedroom and rear living room, allowing for the panoramic rear view. Triple axle, but they weren't real axles -- they were the rubber torsion units, independent at each wheel. It was a really nice trailer.
But it was too much for even an F-550. It was about 30,000 pounds loaded, and that was at the tippy-top of a 550's rated capacity. And dad wasn't comfortable with it. So they bought an F-650 Super Crewzer. Arguably the better tow vehicle in every measure of towing. Cat 3026B engine would pull anything up any hill. It was a cake walk for that truck. But they got tired of having to take their truck to town all the time. Even a dually pickup is hard to park in small towns you normally encounter when full-timing. The wheelbase is like that of a 737's, so it pretty much everything takes a 3- or 4-point turn.
Plus, they wanted to get into Jeeping, and unless you use two drivers or double-tow (which isn't legal in many areas), you can't do that with a 5th wheel. In short, they found a 5th wheel too limiting for what they wanted to do.
So they bought a coach. A 2004 42' Monaco Dynasty. Again, one of the better of the coach builders, they build their own rolling chassis...nothing is converted from anything else. It was set up right -- triple axle, rear tag lift and steer...it had it all. This coached served them very well, and they used it until they quit full-timing. They pulled a lot of vehicles behind this, including the 2005 Acura MDX that we own now. They found EVERYTHING to be easier with a coach. You do have to unhook your toad, but you just do that at the campground office when you check in. They had a much better space selection with a coach because they can back into, and pull through in, many spaces that are too small for the longer 5er/truck combo. They had a ton more room in their coach; it was a 4-slide unit with a full basement, so dad had ALL of his stuff and tools in the coach. With the 5er, a bunch of stuff has to be kept in your truck because they don't have good basements, or at least didn't back then.
Many of the benefits of coaches won't apply to weekenders -- the extra storage room is most useful to full-timers. People who do it all the time also prefer to drive something less than what is essentially a semi tractor when they go into the local Walmart for groceries. This is why most full-timers are using coaches with a toad. Most weekenders are not, but that's clearly a case of using the right tool for the job.
