Just purchased a 2010 Raptor Toyhauler

[AClayton]

Traded my 35' MH and bought a 39' Raptor 361LEV. It has a 12' garage for my 2 four wheelers. It tows really well but I think the D rated BFG All Terrains on my truck need upgrading. It has a 3100lb pin weight and even with my tires at max inflation,I get the floating or sway feeling. Taking an atv trip to NC in 3 weeks so I will test it out then. Holds 30 gal. of gas,112 gal. water and over a 100 gal. grey water. It looked like it was well constructed..... what do you guys think of them? Any and all criticism is welcome... good or bad!!





Thanks - Alan

 

[HBarlow]

Alan,

I'm sorry for you. Remember, you asked for "any and all ... ... ... "

Raptor toyboxes are made by Keystone. I've probably towed a hunded Keystones but wouldn't own one. They are cheaply built of thin wood structural parts with crudely cut and fitted stapled joints that sometimes don't even touch and very little insulation. Their frames and running gear are the minimum they can get by with and the tires are $2 ChiComm will-pops.

When I was transporting I hooked up to a smaller Keystone box trailer one afternoon and headed west up the hill out of Pendleton, OR. There was a fierce wind blowing east against me from just south of due west. By the time I traveled about 15 or 18 miles to the Pilot RV Park in Stanfield where I kept my home away from home the entire metal front skin under the front window of the Keystone had torn out of the small number of staples that held it in place. The skin section was hanging from one side and al the flimsy pink fiberglass insulation was gone. I made a U-turn and took it back to the factory and while I waited their shop attached a new section of thin sheet across the front and I took off again. I guess they put a couple more staples in the front sheet the second time.

I slept in lots of Keystones but I still remember one very well. When headed south from the plant in Pendleton to Los Angeles I use to take US-97 down through central OR instead of following I-84 over to Portland and turn south on I-5. I spent a night in a truck stop in Bend when the overnight temperature dropped a little below freezing, perhaps as low as 25*. I had a very good sleeping bag and it had been a warm day and the trailer should have absorbed and held some heat but I was so cold I couldn't sleep that night.

Sorry, I'm no fan of Keystone products. They are okay as entry level RVs for occasional summer weekend or vacation use for a young working family but are not a high quality unit.

Edit: Afterthought. . . you're probably at least 1000 lbs. overweight on your rear axle if its a Ram 2500. Your LRD rear tires are probably rated for about 2500 lbs. each and the kingpin weight is usually much greater than the factory literature claims.

 

[AClayton]

I know I will need E rated tires! I do appreciate your thoughts and experience on these units. My tires are rated at 3300lbs at max inflation of 65psi. Truck weighs 7100lbs but do not know how much of that is on the rear axle. I will need to weigh it in properly. Interesting what you said about advertised pin weight being higher than rated... I will def. have it weighed now. This is the largest trailer I have ever towed and will take time for me to adjust to the bend point in the bed vs. on the hitch. I have yrs of towing on the hitch but none on the 5th wheel. I will just go slow! The tires are Chi-com and I will take everyones advice and get the Michelin XPS Ribs the 1st chance I get.

 

[EricBu12]

Clayton.

I have almost the same 5th wheel. . I have the 3612 2005 model. It has the 2 slides and center Isle. Kitchen on pass. side. I had a 2001 2500 and yes the "E" tires are good but I went ahead and got 19. 5" "F" rated tires. 245/70R 19. 5"



When hooked to the trailer, weighed it and the rear Axle is 6400#. The front was 5200# I had the bad 15" tires on the trailer and had 2 blowouts. Got 16" with Michelin Commercial T/A tires. . These are "E" rate and 80 psi max.



I did have problems with insulation. The front cap has very thin insulation and it had slid down. put in extra strips of insulation to fix that, . . under the bathroom/bedroom floor is no insulation so I bought 2 sheets of 2" Foam to cut and fit into the frame rails. . then a layer of reflectix under that. . This gave R-12 for that floor. especially with the generator running. it makes the storage area hot. .



If you have a pantry next to the fridge that is shorter than the wall, the thin paneling at the back is next to the fridge vent, = heat passage to the pantry melting chocolate snacks. . 2" foam there too. and the cabinet above the fridge. The front vent has wiring for an optional A/C. . I did this and that helped the efficiency of cooling.



Since you have a short bed, I would recommend a replacement hitch box. the 5th Airborne Sidewinder this allows a short bed truck to do a 90 deg. turn with no clearance problems.

 

[EricBu12]

some more pics of the 5th airborne. This has a air bag that helps in the ride and the kingpin is isolated with a wedge so the turret back by the mount does the pivot.



I have a long bed now and I still use this hitch. it works great!. . I had a RV5 extender and I still hit the front of the trailer with my wind deflector. . . $500 damage.

 

[EricBu12]

Another neat thing to do for lighting is to replace the bright, battery gobblers with flourecent lights. . some bright lights can stay. . just the roof lights.

I put 14 LED marker lights all around. . these are wonderful. . have 14 LED lights in them and they last a long time. . visible in the daylight, and are a direct replacement in the size to use the original holes.

LEDTrailerLights.com - Maxxima M23015R, M23015Y LED Clearance, side marker lamp light for RV, cargo & utility trailers, trucks

Some more pics here. . LEDTrailerLights.com -

The other thing is I replaced the cheap (on mine) the square lights. . you might have new LED tail lights now. . I did the 2 on each side 60 LED Lights.

 

[AClayton]

I always respect what you say Harvey..... believe it or not!! I did look over this trailer very carefully and looks as if Keystone may have stepped up their game considerably. I have owned a few MH's and a couple of trailers and worked on several RV's in my time and I think this trailer is made well but certainly not top of the line. I am aware of that and I only use the rig on weekend adventures. I will upgrade the tires ASAP... . I had to put a lot of money down to get the interest rate I wanted so money is a tad bit tight right now. I am going to Florida next month so I want the new tires before that. Thnx Eric for the photos and I will check that stuff when I take delivery.



Alan

 

[Road Dog]

The payload for an '01QC Diesel 2500 is 2,400 pounds dry (more or less). Add a tank of fuel (250#), some passengers and a 3100# pin puts you way over the GVW of your truck. That's why I ended up with a dually.

 

[JHofmann]

I have a 2005 Raptor 3512ss, just like erics except no bedroom slide, just the living room one. Bought it new in 04, use it quite alot. Took a trip to Idaho back in 05, going back to Denver this summer. Plus it gets used alot for track days with my sportbike.



No major problems other than the tires. I ended up replacing the 15's with 16's and Michelin XPS rib tires. Planning on rebuilding the suspension with a Dexter e-z flex kit this week.



I replaced the 12v batt with 2 6v's, and installed a xantrex 2000 watt inverter/charger. Its nice to make coffee at the track in the am without running the genny.



There are alot of nice new units out there that tempt me but mines paid for now and I dont want any more payments so I figure I can make improvements to mine each year for alot cheaper.



I hope you enjoy yours as much as my family and I enjoy ours!

 

[ChrisOlson]

Hello
any and all comments, So I will apologize in advance
A clayton from your signature it would appear that you have a 2500QC, and A pac brake, Yet
It amazes me truly amazes me to see a 2500 truck hooked up to a 39 or 40 ft fiver.
our rear brakes(drum) are pretty much useless even when loaded. I pull a 30 ft old low rent fiver and there are times when i wish I had a dually, EricBU12 that 2001 2500 was 1 beautiful truck, was there a reason why you went to a dually? Because of the Big trailer maybe?
your Raptor Toyhauler is beautiful I have spent a little time in a 30 ft bumper pull and Would consider a 30 ft fiver raptor, I was satisfied with the build quality and I am very critical of construction and usability. I found the raptor adequate in quality. congratulation on your new purchase.

My 2 cents

Chris

 

[EricBu12]

My old 01 had multiple problems that popped up and I was facing Thousands of $$ in repair. I just traded it on a new 09 3500 SRW. . . Not a Dually... Quad cab. my old 2500 I converted to Disk brake with EGR kit. Had a jake and etc. Good power and such. . . I am confident that this new truck will be very good for towing.

On my trailer, I am having problems with the drawers sliders braking from the rear hanger. . They pop out of the plastic clip. . If I zip-tie the clip, it holds. . doing that now. .
The 16" tires I have is doing very well. They roll good and have had no problems in over 3000 miles traveled. .

Cant wait til I tow to may Madness in a couple of weeks. Will post pics of my truck hooked to the trailer.

 

[AClayton]

I took delivery this evening! I like the rig a lot but it is definitely the largest and heaviest trailer I have towed. I pulled a nasty 6% grade and was able to maintain 60mph and egt's never went above 1000* with my twins. I think with my 3. 55's and 285 tires I will just tow in 3rd with convertor locked and rpm around 2100. It handles OD but the egt's go up to 1100 and the R's are way too low for this kind of weight! I am not going over 60mph anyway until I get more used to the length and weight. Tires and suspension took the pin weight better than anticipated and I only put 40 psi in the bags to compensate. Will definitely need an exhaust brake. The brakes work well but it pushes me down hills fast. Maybe I am just used to my 6K lb utility trailer..... which I tow everyday!



Alan

 

[EricBu12]

Alan. Congrats on the purchase.



When loaded, I would be able to do 60 on hills but I didn't have twins and I had a 5600 transmission. ,, Same rear end. . I drove around 65 all the time. . Another bomb for your trailer is a thing called "Airtab" . .



these are wind vortex generators that reduce the drag on the rear of your trailer. When air reaches a 90 deg corner, it wants to curve around it. . causing drag... these things lift and spin the air so the wind goes straight back like a boat tail... These things go on the side and top of the trailer near the rear.



Home : Airtab

 

[AClayton]

Thanks for all the advice Eric. The photos are really helpful also and I think I may look into the 19. 5 tires to. I ordered the Pac-Brake a little while ago and will get that installed before I hook up to it again. I was NOT comfortable with how it pushed me down hills and I think the exhaust brake will remedy that problem. I will post some pics tomorrow.



Alan