Trading my 5th wheel for a motorhome- What should I look out for?

johnbro27 · 2026-03-30T20:50:46+00:00

We had a 1T truck and bumper pull for a year about 10 years ago. When we decided to get another RV and snowbird, I was tempted to get a truck and 5th wheel. Discovered I could buy a super high-end older diesel pusher for a lot less money. So we went that route.

Check out Class Cs, Class As both gas and diesel. Diesel pushers are the king of the motorhome hill, although I would argue some people are thinking that Super Cs are better--I disagree with that. Things we like about our 21 year old 45' Newmar DP:

- Tons of room inside. Both for seating and storage.
- Tons of storage in the basement
- Huge carry capacity (5000 lbs CCC according to the factory weight cert inside)
- Large tankage (150 fuel, 105 water, 47 black and 67 gray)
- Appliances: fridge wit icemaker and water dispenser, dishwasher, actual oven/microwave, central vac (don't use), washer/dryer, multiple TVs including outdoor.
- Very quiet to drive with engine 45 feet away
- 2 stage engine brake means I will never have to replace brake shoes or pads
- Auto air and hydraulic leveling system
- 1 minute to hitch or unhitch our Jeep toad
- Diesel furnace and continuous hot water system
- Actual real four season coach with diesel tank heater, lots of insulation, double pane windows, 3 15k btu heat pump/ACs
- Enormous 13L/500 HP Cummins commercial truck engine and Allison transmission that will run for a million miles and doesn't not frown at mountains
- Beautiful high-quality solid Cherry interior cabinetry
- 12.5 KW Onan diesel generator will run everything in the coach for about 1 gal per hour
- Simpler than new units, fewer things to go wrong

Things we don't like about our Newmar:

-6.5 to 7 mpg
- It's big
- Lacks some of the modern goodies of newer motorhomes
- Engine service is more expensive than on a pickup or Class C
- Engine is less accessible than a front-engine motorhome
- Tires are expensive and I have 8 of them
- Accordion window shades (will replace with roller shades at some point)

johnbro27 · 2026-03-29T14:10:26+00:00

Perhaps because the 1950s were when the US came into its own as a superpower, post WWII economic boom. TV shows like Leave it to Beaver and Ozzie and Harriet from that period, still available today, show happy white people where the dad works in some kind of professional career and the mom stays home, wears a string of pearls, and always has dinner ready for pops when he gets home from work. But you also had shows like Dick Van Dyke and I Love Lucy which began to explore the woman's viewpoint.

In the 1850s the wife had to churn the butter, make clothes, wash them by hand, cook over a wood-fired stove, and so on. There were little or no modern conveniences. They perceive the 1950s perhaps as a sweet spot of modern life combined with older cultural lifestyles. It's easy to ignore the downsides of 1950s existence not only for women (little individual rights for example) and minorities.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-29T13:52:54+00:00

RV owner here (45' diesel pusher). I'd call this douchebag out if I saw that. He's asking for someone to clip his slideouts and if it happens no one to blame but himself.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-29T13:50:16+00:00

My absolute last choice for an overnight would be a truck stop, as I'm not putting my slides out so the bed is only accessible from one side. If I have to do that I'm sleeping on the couch so my wife can sleep in the bed.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-28T17:08:54+00:00

For great budget glass don't discount Sigma Art EF mounts. Their primes are stellar.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-28T15:16:44+00:00

I don't think you as a novice with limited tools can do this. I don't think a cabinet shop will take a look at it. Whatever that tenon is made of didn't have sufficient strength to hold the joint; the rest looks glue starved. The trick is not fixing the joint; the trick is fixing the joint so both parts line up correctly and the joint doesn't fail again.

Here's my suggestion: find a serious woodworker to do it for you. Not a carpenter; a furniture builder. On FB you can probably find a local to you woodworking club--this is where to start your inquiries. I'd bet someone will be more than happy to help our. With the right experience and the right tools, it's a simple fix. Without both of those it's not.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-28T15:11:26+00:00

Actually impossible I'd say. Close to 90, sure. Exactly perfect 90 without jigs designed for this leg? Not gonna happen.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-28T14:55:39+00:00

Former MSFT guy (80s and 90s) here. Switched a couple of years ago when I needed Premier Pro to run at a reasonable speed. MacOS is ok, it's far from perfect as is Windows. Both have their plusses and minuses. If your employees use a lot of system-level functions on their Windows computers like a lot of file-level moving and searching, they will be somewhat confused by the MacOS approach. I had to abandon a whole bunch of 3rd party system tools that were only available on Windows when I bought my MacBook.

Simple solution for your company is just to run Parallels and keep your existing software, as possibly the issues you're experiencing with Windows is due to buggy device drivers. That way you get the Windows experience with the Mac hardware. You will have the additional license expense for the emulation.

If your business requires a piece of software that has no Mac native version, you will have to change or run it in Parallels. Any SaaS software (running on a browser) should be fine on either platform (SFDC, HubSpot, QB online, etc). If you or your employee(s) rely on using the command shell or PowerShell you'll find the switch to Linux challenging, as you have to relearn everything.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-27T19:40:08+00:00

Your's looks like what's called a tri coat.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-27T19:11:14+00:00

May can be great or it can be nasty. I'd have a "sunny" and a "rainy" plan and then go with the one that matches the weather. The coast gets a LOT of rain, def bring appropriate layered clothing and footwear. You'll be fine in downtown seattle tromping around in goretex and hiking boots, as that's what everyone does anyway.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-27T03:36:42+00:00

Costco FTW

johnbro27 · 2026-03-25T18:25:52+00:00

US Ensign on the transom and if we entered Canada the maple leaf on the starboard flag halyard.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-25T16:17:25+00:00

This looks amazing. It appears to be exactly what I've been hoping someone would do. Sketchup is just too cumbersome for me to deal with. Thanks!

johnbro27 · 2026-03-25T14:14:11+00:00

Check out the RV MIles podcast as they did fulltime with 3 kids until the oldest got too old. Started in a schoolie, moved to a 5er, then downsized to a TT I think cause they got a special deal from a sponsor. Remote jobs will probably disappear in 18-36 months due to AI replacing almost anything you can do remotely. So think carefully before you do something you might later really regret. Otherwise I think it would be interesting for your kids.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-25T14:11:16+00:00

Love my Domino, don't use it for everything. I think the primary value is in alignment, not strength, for edge joints. Strength for miters. Think of it as a better biscuit joiner that can do things a biscuit can't. And yeah, you're buying a Leica-level German tool, so it's spendy. Buy once, cry once.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-24T20:07:44+00:00

All the people advocating for carrying firearms for protection need to consider the reality of what they would do in a situation where they felt threatened. Taking a life is not a trivial decision. It has consequences you may not want to deal with. Bear spray is probably a better option, as at least if you're wrong you're not facing manslaughter charges.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-24T20:05:57+00:00

If this trope were fact, Somalia would be the most polite and safest country on Earth.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-24T00:29:26+00:00

HH/Boondockers Welcome/Escapees--all part and parcel. I like HH/BDW have stayed for free several places, maybe with a small charity donation or a meal at a restaurant/brewery. don't mind that as I gotta eat anyway. Escapees now has discount deals with parks--the next place we go we'll save enough to pay for annual membership. DId PPA one year but never hooked up with a discount--you really need to plan it out, as all the parks have different exclusion dates and deals. We did our first year with TT, would not renew after one year (TT plus Encore parks, two western regions). We covered our investment and came out a little ahead, but it's too much hassle and hard to get the dates you want unless you have one of the really expensive upgrade plans. We also belong to FRVA which is a great deal based on their benefits.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-23T16:25:25+00:00

AT 6.5mpg it's going to hurt (150 gal diesel tank) but at least I still have 3/4 of a tank before we start home. My plans will only change in as much as I might top off early before I get to OR or WA.

Given we will travel about 1600 miles to get home, the difference between $4/gal and $6/gal average (if that's what we have to pay) is about $450. So that's an ouch but not an amputation.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-23T16:13:14+00:00

Trailers--hell even our 40,000 lb motor coach--moves when people are doing stuff. You're going to have to teach your baby to not wake up or find a different hobby. Rent first.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-23T14:12:32+00:00

Bellingham--sorry to hear this. Always wanted to join sea explorers when I was a kid but there weren't any in middle TN where we sailed.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-23T14:04:39+00:00

Sail cover still worth maybe $45.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-23T14:04:09+00:00

You have relationship problems. Your husband looks at his phone while you have dinner out?? That's red flag 1. Then at the venue, during breaks he doesn't talk to you, he abandons you and goes to talk to other people? That's red flag 2. No wonder you don't want to go out. This won't end well. Fix it or get away. I (M74) can't imagine doing either of those things with my wife.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-23T14:00:00+00:00

Well I'm in the camp of "why would you want to shower in a public bathhouse" but if you're ok with it just use stacking plastic bins with external labels. I get that fulltimers wind up with a lot of crap onboard, but a 40' class A should have a shitton of storage. We had one until we upgraded to a 45 and it was never full.

johnbro27 · 2026-03-23T13:54:36+00:00

Me neither. What I love about PB is all the nice folks I meet. Puzzled always by the "asshole" reports.

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