20 Ways That Drivables and Towables Differ: Which One is Better??

4 months ago
Chad

After spending a good chunk of last year’s season in the Grand Design Lineage Super C — our first experience in a drivable RV — we came away with a much clearer picture of how the two setups compare. We’re not here to declare a winner for everyone, because the right answer really depends on your lifestyle. But we did notice some consistent differences worth talking through.

Travel Prep

The actual RV prep — slides, hoses, sewer, water — is pretty comparable between the two. Where things diverge is the hookup process for what’s attached. Hitching up to a fifth wheel or ball hitch is straightforward. Connecting a flat-towed vehicle like our Jeep is a whole different process: arms extended, brake system connected, lights checked. It’s not difficult once you know it, but it’s definitely more involved.

Traveling

This is where things get interesting. In a motorhome, you can get up and move around while underway — bathroom, snack, change of scenery. Tara got good use out of that in the Super C. The tradeoff is that it can feel a bit bouncy, especially sitting sideways. The noise profile is different, too. In our truck pulling the fifth wheel, we don’t hear a thing going on inside the rig. Not so in a drivable. The RV interior is right there, and you hear the creaking and silverware shaking on every large bump. In a Super C, the engine is up front like a truck, so the noise is similar to what you’d expect in a truck pulling a fiver. A diesel pusher is a different story — the engine’s in the back, so it’s noticeably quieter in the cab.

As for wind and sway, the fifth wheel has an edge there. When you’re in the cab of the truck, big rigs passing or gusty crosswinds, we don’t really feel it. In a large Class A or C, you feel all of it. Daisy also weighs in — she’s solidly Team Truck, with her bed on the center console and a view out the window.

Maneuverability

Size matters here, but if you’re comparing units of comparable length, towables have a real edge. You can cut them tight and back them up. With a drivable towing a vehicle, you cannot back up — period. Our F-450 has exceptional wheel cut and turning radius compared to past trucks, which makes a big difference when maneuvering with a long fifth wheel.

Lunch Stops

Slight edge to the drivable here. Pull over, walk to the back, and you’re set — no slides needed, no setup. Tara could even start prepping food a few minutes before we stopped. With the truck and fifth wheel, we’re getting out, unhitching the rig, and finding somewhere to sit. Not a dealbreaker, but worth noting.

Camp Setup

Unhitching the fifth wheel from the ball or kingpin is quick and clean. Disconnecting the flat-towed Jeep is easier than connecting it, but there’s still the process of getting it back into a drivable state — for our Jeep, that meant going through several steps to restore the power steering after being towed. Leveling was probably the biggest difference. In the Super C, we almost always had to drive the front wheels up on blocks first to pre-level. In our fifth wheels with six-point hydraulic leveling, we push the auto level and watch. Now and then, we’ll slide some blocks under the wheels on one side, but it’s a fraction of the effort.

The rest of the setup — sewer, water, power, interior — is essentially the same for both.

Daily Living

Storage depends heavily on the specific unit, but fifth wheels generally have a basement storage advantage — especially drop-frame models. Our 410TH had basement storage you could practically live in. The 395MT has a straight frame, so it’s a bit more limited, but Grand Design has done a good job working with the space. Class As can have impressive storage too, sometimes with slide-out trays in both directions — so this isn’t a universal win for towables.

Kitchen space tends to favor fifth wheels in our experience. Most have an island with solid prep space. The Lineage was limited on countertops, though we were in a 35-foot Super C, so there’s only so much room to work with. We have seen Class As with pull-out peninsula extensions, so it varies.

The big living-space advantage of fifth wheels is their ceiling height and floor space. Without a drivetrain underneath, the floor sits lower, and the ceilings open up. In the Lineage, the cab area was curtained off and essentially unusable while camped. Most Class As address this with seats that swivel into the living area, which is a meaningful difference from a Class C. Fifth wheels also have the split-level factor — you’re typically going up a few steps to reach the bedroom or bathroom, which some people love and others don’t.

Water and waste tank capacity generally favors towables as well, since you don’t have a drivetrain competing for underbelly space.

Daily Driver

Drivables win this one, no contest. With the F-450, we’re planning routes around overhead clearances and surface lot parking. With the Jeep, we just go. It fits anywhere, parks anywhere, and requires no pre-trip satellite reconnaissance.

Serviceability

This one flips hard in favor of towables. If the truck needs work, we drop it off, and our house stays put. We can even get a different truck if we have to. In a Class A or C, if the engine or drivetrain needs service, your home goes to the shop with it.

Camp Breakdown

Interior teardown is basically the same on both sides. Where the time difference shows up is the toad. The Lineage itself packed up a little faster since it’s smaller with just two slides. But tacking on Jeep hookup time at the end more than offset that gain. Our fifth wheel has more to button up, but once it’s done, we’re moving.

Products 🛒

Some of the links/codes on this page are affiliate links, meaning if you choose to purchase using our links, we will earn a commission.  This commission comes at no additional cost to you but helps us keep providing the content we love to share.  We recommend these products because we have found them helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make. 
Every product we recommend, we use ourselves.

Youtube