The “Fifth Wheel” is a strange term.  They have several wheels.  Which one, exactly, is the fifth, and why are the others not numbered?   Ahh, the mysteries of life on the road.   Ha.

Actually, the term goes back to horse-drawn carriage days, when a horizontal wheel was added to the hitch, and it allowed for dramatically more stable turning.  The concept for the coupling device of a towed trailer is similar and as they evolved, the name came with them. 

Now, the device is planted in the bed of a strong and sturdy pickup, and the front level of the fifth-wheel trailer hangs over the bed.  These are very much like the hitches on 18-wheeler tractor-trailers. 

The obvious advantage of this is that the overlap saves you space.  Your 20’ pickup, plus your 32’ trailer would be 52’ (plus the hitch).  In that same 52’ length, you could fit a 40’ (or so) fifth wheel because of the overhang.  Bonus space!

So, what do you if you have a SUV or a regular car?  You get a travel trailer and use a trailer hitch.

Either way, your towed home can range from magnificent to modest, with prices to match.  They’re less than pricey motorhomes because, well, they have no motor.  Duh. 

BUT this also means they will not have motor malfunctions that could leave you stranded without your home for days or even weeks.  If your truck or SUV breaks down, you still have a place to shack up – provided you can get it to someplace legal -- and pickup/SUV parts are much more common than motorhome parts, especially in rural areas that may not have as many auto parts vendors.

Many of the fifth wheel trailers are two-level living quarters with the bedroom in the front, over the pickup bed, and the living room, kitchen and what-all down in the lower level.  Trailers tend to be all one level.

When you shop for these, to see that many – maybe even the majority of new ones – are fifth wheels. 

You already own your truck, and you just buy the trailer (or camper) as a big-ass accessory.   The trailer may be fancy as all get-out, but you still have to tow it, and you still have to find a place to park it, and you still have to back the dang thang up.

It has most of the same advantages and disadvantages as the Truck Camper, especially that park-it-and-drive-away ability, but, again, you’re in a pick-up and all your stuff is back at the campground.

So, I never really gave this option a thought either, since I didn’t own a pick-up.  Sure, I could have bought a pickup and gotten a tiny travel trailer, and maybe that would have been OK for the occasional trip, but for full-time living, it just didn’t sing.

  Buying both a truck and a big-enough trailer would’ve been a lot like buying a small motorhome, money-wise, so that was ruled out before it ever had a chance.