Help picking a toy hauler

[KBennett]

I will try to keep this short.

Last spring at this time I owned a Toyota Tacoma until friends gave us a 1970 20' Terry travel trailer. Of course I could't pull it through the mountains with the Toyota so I bought a Cummins powered Ram

I only took it to a couple spots last year. We had it parked up in the mountains at our friends and a bear got in and did some damage to the cabinets and drawers. I started working on the brakes last week and may have to purchase a new axle for $400 because the current setup is too old. I would also like to have a secure area to haul our dirt bikes. The back of the truck is getting tight for two full size and two small motorcycles.



So now I am thinking is it worth it? Should I spend the money fixing it up or buy new? My wife is really supportive of a new one so we sat down and figured we could afford around $10K. I know this isn't a lot but we are still paying for our beautiful truck.



We are looking at these from Forest River but I am open to suggestions.

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[Matt400]

I went from a Class C motorhome with cycle trailer to my Ram and TT.

I have to admit that with the TT its a PITA getting bikes out and back in with the trailer connected.

Most of the time the terrain is such that I don't feel comfortable unhooking so just jack knife it.



Rolling a muddy dirt bike into a toy hauler seems odd unless its a separate garage in back. Maybe someone else that has one can chime in on that.



Another thing I don't care for is having to pull the tail gate off due to the short tung I can't tow with the gate down.



If I bought another today I would at-least look at a toy hauler but the wife at the time wouldn't have muddy, gas smelling Dirt Bikes in the living quarters.



A longer tung with room for a big tool box up front plus being able to leave the gate on/down would be nice. Heck even if the TT rear bumper could handle a bike that would be nice.

 

[DPelletier]

Check my reader's rigs for my solution to the whole camping, dirt bike thing. Bad part is I spent quite a bit more than $10,000 and I figure I needed a dually to haul it all since I'm at 12,500 GVW and 17,800 GCVW.

I've never seen a Forest River before. I partially camperized my 16' Wells Cargo (just for the kids) and my buddy did the full meal deal with his 20' Wells Cargo (EW2022). His setup or a toybox would work better for you since you have a 3/4 ton short box.

You could build a Forest River or equivalent from a new or used Cargo trailer, if you were so inclined.



Cheers

Dave

 

[DPelletier]

Oh, I forgot to mention. Both of our trailers have a sealed dividing wall between the toy storage section and the living quarters to eliminate dirt and gas fumes, etc.



Dave

 

[NVR FNSH]

Take a look at www.dirtrider.net and www.irv2.com for a lot of toyhauler info. I have not heard good things about Forest River's quality but when it comes to RVs it's more a matter of finding the least crappily built one vs the best built one.



I have a 36ft Patio Hauler 5th wheel that has a separate garage and both the wife and I love the separate garage. Only down side is the 36ft length.



Brian

 

[Fireman]

I agree, I would want one with a wall that seperates the cargo area from the living area. Our first one was 24 ft and with a seperate cargo area the living quarters were no larger than a slide in. It was OK for weekends, but for longer trips or times of bad weather for days on end it got pretty crowded in there. Our 35 ft FW gives us enough room for extended use without wanting to kill each other, but it is a big trailer. Both cost over 10K new.



Fireman

 

[KS_Cummins]

I was thinking about buying a toy hauler from this guy. He has the best prices I've found so far.



http://www.lbtrailers.com/home.asp

 

[Spooled-up]

Check out the garage area of this trailer.



If I could only hit the lottery.....



H&H



I love the stairs up to the roof! You could set up a gas grill up there and it would be like your own little patio.

 

[Matt400]

Wow... thatsa nice oneOo.

 

[crobertson1]

Kirk,

I think a Weekend Warrior with triple axles and with triple slide outs and ... oh never mind, you only have a 2500.

Just kidding. I agree about the Forrest River quality issue. We have one. But for our purposes, it works nicely. It's a toy hauler. Not a coach for full timing. The gas fume and mud problems have never been an issue. The gas containers go in the back of the truck. If you're careful and use some common sense, mud and dirt won't be a problem either. Kirk, for what you want, I think the Work and Play trailer would be great. Hopefully they come in Graphito!

The separate garage would really be nice, but you would need to get a much bigger unit to get that.

Call me, I'll go shopping with ya.

Craig

 

[wcjp]

I'm not sure is this would work for you. But, the price is near what you're looking for.



http://www.panpacificrv.com/1379.html

 

[Matt400]

Originally posted by wcjp

http://www.panpacificrv.com/1379.html

Never seen anything like that, kinda interesting and it makes me wonder if one could add a fold out platform to the back of a TT. Fold it up when the bikes don't go camping. Wonder what an extra 650 lbs back there would do to the tung weight?



For sure wouldn't need the equalizing bars and might have to add ballast, maybe longer tung and big storage box... .

 

[NVR FNSH]

I've seen a couple of TT that guys have added bike carriers to at the rear - some nice, some gave new meaning to back yard fab.



IMO RV trailer frames are under designed to begin with and I wouldn't want to add any additional stress.



Brian

 

[KBennett]

Thanks for all the posts so far. My wife and I went to look at the Work & Play trailers yesterday. It is pretty much an enclosed cargo trailer that has been updated with a kitchen, shower, etc. The quality wasn't bad for a trailer. Frame, suspension, walls, floor, etc. were built well. I did not care for the fit and finish of the cabinets and accessories. The fold down beds in the back had metal frames with plywood supports that kinda looked like something that was built in a backyard. On the outside of the shower there were inspection covers(cabinet scraps) and they were just screwed on with drywall screws.

We could of got a 20 ft. unit with all the normal items, shower, forced air, sink, fridge, etc. with 7 feet of space for the bikes for 10K + tax. This was a really good deal but I could not justify spending 10K on a 4K cargo trailer with 6K of living area.

For the moment we are going to stick with what we have. Jim's trailer here in Denver set me up with new armature plates that allow my to use the new style brakes. Jim is a great guy if anybody ever needs trailer work while passing through.

So for now I am going to stay with what I have but I am seriously considering purchasing a cargo trailer and retrofitting it how I want it to be. If you guys have any ideas please post them.

Thanks again, Kirk

 

[EricBu12]

If ever you want to upgrade, The Desert Fox By Northwood is a very nice trailer as I have one.



I have the 28' TT style and it doesn't have a separate wall, you have to get the 38' FW for that.....



There is a couch and a dinette and rear pull down bed. Queen size up front, and full size on the rear. Has ducted air and forced air and my unit was pre-wired for Solar. For hauling the "Toys", hte couch and the dinette fold up to the wall and there is a Carpet that rolls up and you have Linoium on the floor with tie-downs on the floor. Have a 20 gal Gas tank for the 4K generator and a filling station on the side for the toys. . Rear 7' cargo door for loading. Trailer is 13K GVW but with all my stuff and a 700# polaris, it is 11K or so... 100 gal. water tank, 50 gal grey and 50 gal. black.



Here are the 2 floorplans. The link under the flooplan goes to a photogallery of the unit



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http://www.nashtraveltrailers.com/desert-fox.htm



<img src=https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/sizeimage.php?&photoid=12423&width=2/src img>



http://www.nashtraveltrailers.com/38-5U_SHOW/index.html





Also saw this in the Northwood website, there is a 17' and a 21' like the same style of my 28' just shorter...



My unit in action

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[klenger]

The floorplan of the 38-5U is basically the same as my 27-5L with a 10' garage on the back. Cool.

 

[Hudsonhawk]

I have been looking for somthing simular as well. Except, I need to be able to put a 4500 lb. Jeep in the back. I have pretty much decided to get a pace gooseneck and either buy it with living quarters of convert it myself. All of the toy-haulers I have seen are just not up to the task of having that much weight on the back.

 

[DPelletier]

Yeah,

Typically, the cargo trailer types are heavier duty than the toy hauler type trailers.



Dave

 

[NVR FNSH]

Originally posted by Hudsonhawk

All of the toy-haulers I have seen are just not up to the task of having that much weight on the back.

My sentiments exactly - even though Weekend Warrior claims a high enough payload capacity and you do see WW with Jeeps in them. Wouldn't be my CJ-7 in one of them.



Brian

 

[DIESELMAN]

EricBu12 - You can appreciate this, Last month I filled my Desert Fox with a dissasembled PIROD tower, didn't look anywhere near full, and filled my truck with hardware and 130 gallons fuel. Drove 1200 Miles in two days ... . Truck scaled at 10,200 ( SRW-GVWR9900) and Trailer at 11,600(GVWR11200).



Drove very well, because the load was even over both axles of the trailer.



Mileage, Arizona to Iowa, 9. 4MPG all freeway at 65 Max. Just about finished off the 315 BFG AT's at 28,000 miles total on them.



I have no real complaints about the Desert Fox, though the workmanship is basic or even sloppy. When hauling Toys you get tired of pushing them out the back door every night to eat and be comfortable, but the sleeping room is unnafected.



Longer is definitely better.