Quick question for you RV guys. Advantages or disadvantages of a class A vs a 5th wheel.
Quick question, not so quick answer. We started with a fifth wheel, moved to a class A, and then moved back to a fifth wheel. An obvious difference is the engine, which should be run periodically. This impacts suitability for long stays in the same location. A fifth wheel trailer can be easily backed while hitched. You may need to disconnect your toad (towed car) to back a motorhome. Another difference is back-in vs pull-in, which affect your access to and views at different locations.
Less obvious differences are found after you live with both for a while. For example, if staying longer where temperatures are cooler, the built in propane tank of many motorhomes must be driven to the fill location. Where we are currently in Anacortes, delivery requires 100 gallons or more and extension tanks are not allowed on the ground. Some have mounted them on receiver hitch racks with connecting adapters and the subsequent risk of leaks. (A Newmar dealer refused to install an adapter on ours because of this.) So, pack everything in, drive around, fill, come back, and set back up again. That can get old quick. By comparison, most fifth wheels have smaller removable tanks. We have two 40 pound tanks in ours. So, one can continue in use while we remove the other to refill it. Of course, that means having to lift the filled tank back into position. Thankfully, I can still do that. Some campgrounds can deliver or pick up your removable tank for refill. Thus, the importance of this may vary with your usage. Another difference is in floor plans. It's difficult to find a motorhome that has a decent desk. The 43' Newmar we had had a desk that was part of the dinette. That became problematic when I didn't always put my computers away after work, preventing use of the dinette part for dining. For a pull-in site with a view, the front seats of a motorhome are great. Backing in to a similar view with a fifth wheel may require rotating the recliners at the rear. Another difference is in how you respond to noise. With a fifth wheel traveling down the road, any movement in the trailer is isolated from the tow vehicle. With a motorhome, you can hear movement in the cabinets, microwave, etc. as they are in the same airspace not far behind your seat. While not usually a problem, it can be worrying to some.
With the basement pass-throughs, motorhomes can have quite a bit of storage. However, our 38' fifth wheel with a (rare) rear basement has more storage than our 43' motorhome had. With the motorhome, we lost some storage space for the driving area and some more storage space for the engine. The front storage areas of the fifth wheel are often taller than the basement storage areas of the motorhome. Some motorhomes have their storage attached to the slides. That will affect both their size and their heatability in winter compared with in-basement storage.
Common features can be things like hydraulic leveling, very handy. Something else to think about a slide toppers, the awning that extends out over the room slide-outs. In very leafy areas, these can hep prevent leaves from accumulating on the tops of the slides. However, in very windy areas, these can be torn. The main slide topper on our 43' Newmar tore one winter in Anacortes and had to be replaced. Our Carriage fifth wheel does not have slide toppers. But, it's slides do not have a vertical lip on the outside to catch things. So, leaves brush off when the slides are pulled in.
As you can see, there are quite a few pros/cons both between them and with individual features. For exploring this more in depth, I recommend checking the Escapees RV club forum at
rvnetwork.com or a more general forum like
irv2.com.