We've always had more vehicles than drivers. Generally my truck, one nicer SUV and one economy vehicle that we rack up the miles on going back and forth to work. The economy vehicle saves us on gas money for routine transportation, and it saves miles on our more expensive vehicles making them last longer.
Now retirement time is approaching and we are considering an RV. From our shopping, we are leaning toward a 5th wheel to get the large bed, separate living and sleeping area and a reasonable kitchen.
My current truck is an F150 4X4. I use it to tow the boat, general farm hauling and pulling my aluminum gooseneck stock trailer. It does the job and is exactly what I need most of the time. But it won't be what I need if we get a 5th wheel. I'm not interested in the ultra-light 5th wheels. I don't like the build quality and trade-offs. Since I'm a big fan of having plenty of truck for what I'm pulling, I think a 1-ton dually is the right answer for most 5th wheels to make long distance towing more comfortable.
A dually makes sense for the RV, and would be fine for towing the stock trailer, but they are kind of a pain as a daily driver or for trying to park in a ramp parking lot.
So the thought has entered my head to look for a well-maintained used F350 that is already set up for towing a 5th wheel that has 90-120,000 miles on it. I'd use this truck almost exclusively for towing the bigger trailers and it would be parked inside when not in use.
But then towing the boat and a daily driver for me is up in the air. It's not that I can't use a dually for that stuff, but it seems silly to rack up the miles on something that is expensive to operate and harder to maneuver. To complicate things a little, if we want to head to the lake with the boat and RV, we'd either need a tow vehicle for each one, or make two trips on each end. That's an extra 6 hour round trip on each end of a vacation at one of my favorite lakes.
Though snow isn't a constant problem here, we have a 1/4 mile driveway and having some vehicle that can handle snow is desireable.
So it comes down to what I see as two options:
1. Sell my F150 and get the 350 for the RV and my daily driver and get my wife an SUV that can tow the boat when needed.
Advantages: Fewer vehicles to plate, insure and maintain.
Disadvantages: Less convenient and more expensive as my daily driver. SUV will not get good gas mileage when traveling. Dually isn't an ideal off road or snow vehicle even with 4WD.
2. Keep my F150 as my daily driver and boat hauler, get a 350 for the RV and get the wife a third moderately economical vehicle (Taurus or similar) for day to day use and trips without the RV.Advantages: Convenient Daily driver and good second tow vehicle for the boat. Saves miles on the expensive dually and can probably get by with an older one. Having the F150 4X4 would allow me to have a 2WD dually vs 4WD. Wife's daily driver will be more economical.
Disadvantages: More vehicles to plate, insure and maintain.
I guess my main question would be whether it makes sense to have a dedicated vehicle for the RV?
I've always felt a 5th wheel is a better option than a motor home since you'd have to tow a car along to have easy transportation once you are on site with the motor home anyway so you might as well drive the truck. Even if the truck is sitting when you aren't using the RV, it's no different than the chassis of a motor home sitting parked when you aren't using it.
Appreciate any thoughts.