Toy Hauler's

[DHayden]

I admit I am in the beginning stages, and only at this point because the prices have become so low. I have looked at Raptor, cyclone, Inferno and now Fuzion. I was most grabbed by the Inferno until I met the Fuzion. I know I can buy some good books and eventually I will but I'm interested in real TDR members and their experience. Give me the good the bad and the ugly.
Like I said I liked the Inferno best until I looked at a Fuzion. The layout is nice and I like the updated look of the furniture better. Who can tell me about construction? Little problems they noticed that werent evident in the beginning?

I think a KZ Escalade sportster is the cats meow, but way out of my league.

 

[EricBu12]

Several things to look closely at is construction. . and not the awe picture of its size.



I have the Raptor and have had some problems with quality of parts and such. I see you live in a hot climate so the one thing you should look for is Insulation and weather it has a second A/C. . . you see you have a 30,000 BTU furnace but only a 15,000 BTU A/C... something wrong here?. . If the trailer you get had wiring for a second A/C, have the Dealer install it... a Regular 13,500 BTU A/C... If you have a 5400 watt gen, it will run both on low and several small things like a TV and DVD.



Also you need to look at the storage area under the floor of the bathroom/bedroom. . Now your "Insulated " floor is the bottom of the storage area, which is the same level as the rest of the trailer... . so if you use your Generator and it is hot outside. . the storage area will be very hot and go right through the plywood floor an sap your A/C. power.



I insulated this floor with the 2" R-10 foam panels you get at building stores and fitted them between the rails of the frame. . mine is Aluminum. Do this for the whole floor even above the batteries.



Also another insulation problem is if you have a pantry next to the fridge. Usually it is rather short in depth. . this is because the vent for the fridge is behind a thin panel in the pantry. Use the 2" foam for this area too.



Tires (hopefully 16" E rate), suspension, ease of maintenance, good track record of the company are things to look at.



The Fusion is a new model and I have not heard much on how good they are. . Just go over it with a microscope eye and try to envision how this trailer will do in the real world.



Like on my trailer, it has a grease-able axle right at the hub. . GREAT!. . but wait, you need to remove the wheel and tire because the hub cap for the wheel enters from the back!. . PAIN!!. . so my new rims have a pop-off cap that enables me access to the Zerk fitting. Things like that you need to look at. .



Good luck and let us know what you get

 

[Grizzly]

According to my RV Consumer Group guide the Raptor is rated from 2 to 2/12 stars from a possible 5 star rating and is made by Keystone.




Cyclone is rated 3 stars and is made by Heartland RV.



Inferno, I found no data.



Fuzion, is rated 0 stars due to very poor Highway Control and is made by Keystone.



An additional Toy Hauler to consider is the Desert Fox, made by Northwood Mfg, which is rated from 3 to 4 stars.



This guide is what all RV Dealers go by and is available to anyone for about $150.
Some dealer may not be willing to give out information from the RV Consumer Group because of poor ratings on the brands they sell.

 

[DHayden]

Thanks Eric, good tips and nice clean looking installation there. I havent had a toy hauler before, are there any construction techniques/materials of certain manufacturers you would recommend over another? (like frames or the toy section being vastly superior to another product)

 

[DHayden]

Fuzion, is rated 0 stars due to very poor Highway Control and is made by Keystone.

Wow, what can be so different between the Fuzion and other haulers? Wheels, axles and pin box are the only thing I would think could make much of a difference but I wouldnt think it would be that much. Thats my ill experienced opinion though, thanks Grizzly.

 

[Grizzly]

Wow, what can be so different between the Fuzion and other haulers? Wheels, axles and pin box are the only thing I would think could make much of a difference but I wouldnt think it would be that much. Thats my ill experienced opinion though, thanks Grizzly.

There were only two Fuzions listed and both said the same thing. They were given a 0 for Highway Control. Other things are said on the 5 page report. I wish I could send it to you, but it's protected, which means I can't email it. It tells me enough that I wouldn't consider it. Maybe you know of a dealer in Cruces or El Paso that would be willing to let you look at the guide.



RV Consumer Group sent it to me (for a fee) on CD's, which I can not burn other CD's from. I felt it was worth the money to purchase the guild when I was shopping for an RV last year.

 

[Bovee]

we bought an 09 fuzion 35 ft toyhauler. it is awesome. a friend of mine bought one also. both of us have had no problems. it pulls very nice. has everything i could ever want on it. they used there heads when buiding this rig. it's comfortable enough for the wife but has all the bells and whistles for me. i highly suggest you look into the fuzion. it's a great rig. it doesnt' push me around on the highway it pulls very nicely.

 

[Grizzly]

we bought an 09 fuzion 35 ft toyhauler. it is awesome. a friend of mine bought one also. both of us have had no problems. it pulls very nice. has everything i could ever want on it. they used there heads when buiding this rig. it's comfortable enough for the wife but has all the bells and whistles for me. i highly suggest you look into the fuzion. it's a great rig. it doesnt' push me around on the highway it pulls very nicely.

Welcome to TDR Bovee.



My RV Consumer Group only list the 07 and 08 and both have a 0 star rating. Maybe Fuzion took care of their problems and maybe they are rated better for 09.

 

[Bovee]

well hopefully thats the case. i'd have for people to not buy the fuzion cause of that problem. it's such an awesome rig.

 

[dsherman]

According to my RV Consumer Group guide the Raptor is rated from 2 to 2/12 stars from a possible 5 star rating and is made by Keystone.



Cyclone is rated 3 stars and is made by Heartland RV.



Inferno, I found no data.



Fuzion, is rated 0 stars due to very poor Highway Control and is made by Keystone.



An additional Toy Hauler to consider is the Desert Fox, made by Northwood Mfg, which is rated from 3 to 4 stars.



This guide is what all RV Dealers go by and is available to anyone for about $150. Some dealer may not be willing to give out information from the RV Consumer Group because of poor ratings on the brands they sell.

We have a 28K Desert Fox toy box, It is a 4 season rig It doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it a great rig and serving us well, 5 years an no problems.

 

[Grizzly]

We have a 28K Desert Fox toy box, It is a 4 season rig It doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it a great rig and serving us well, 5 years an no problems.

It's well rated as all Northwood Mfg. RV's are. They may not be as plush and foo foo as more expensive units are, but they are constructed better then most and that counts more to me then all the foo foo. Only exception is that Northwood Mfg. are still putting ST China made tires on them. As soon as we got our Arctic Fox home, I had Discount Tire replace all 5 tires with Michelin XPS Rib 16" LT, Load Range "E" tires. I highly recommend good LT tires.

 

[EricBu12]

In my post above, you see the pic of the Rim with the cap off. . this was at Discount tire... The tire is BF Goodrich Commercial T/A LT tire... 225/75-16"... "E" rated 10 ply... Did my 3000 mile vacation last week for 2 weeks... No problem at all... Ran cool, held good pressure, everything.

 

[dsherman]

It's well rated as all Northwood Mfg. RV's are. They may not be as plush and foo foo as more expensive units are, but they are constructed better then most and that counts more to me then all the foo foo. Only exception is that Northwood Mfg. are still putting ST China made tires on them. As soon as we got our Arctic Fox home, I had Discount Tire replace all 5 tires with Michelin XPS Rib 16" LT, Load Range "E" tires. I highly recommend good LT tires.

Ditto on the tires we went with goodyear Load Range G.

 

[RVTRKN]

A buddy of mine bought one and it was nice, but make sure your TV is at eye level. My neck hurt for awhile after a couple of movies.

 

[icman95]

You might want to check out the KZ Sportsman Sportster if the Escaldae is too much $. We have a 33 footer Sportster and love it. This is the cheaper end of the KZ line, but it still functions fine. My gripes with it:



Build quality of certain materials is a bit lacking, but we have found this to be true of most lower end RV's no matter who built them. You don't get the mable counter tops until you spend a bit more coin.



My likes:



Everything else. We didn't buy it off the lot. Our dealer encouraged us to order exactly what we wanted and that's exactly what we got. They offer just about anything you want, so long as you are willin to pay. We could have even ordered a pressure washer to be factory installed, but didn't. It functions exactly as expected. We take our H-D with us on vacation and don't think twice about it. It pulls great behind us and has any amenity we could want.



If I had to do it over I would order the shocks absorbers and a slideout bedroom. Other than that, I like it exactly as is.

 

[Spooled-up]

Welcome to TDR Bovee.



My RV Consumer Group only list the 07 and 08 and both have a 0 star rating. Maybe Fuzion took care of their problems and maybe they are rated better for 09.

Grizzly,



Can you tell us which toy hauler rated the best?

 

[Grizzly]

Grizzly,



Can you tell us which toy hauler rated the best?

I really can't tell without looking at all 5th Wheels and not all are identified as Toy Hauler. Desert Fox is one of the better ones at 3 to 4 stars. There are thousands of RV's listed. Give me some names and I will look them up individually.

 

[JKloppe]

I dont understand why people spend the money on 5vers. They are ALL junk, ok not ALL but 98% are. I like the idea of turning a trailer into a house and not a house into a trailer.





Optima builds one hell of a trailer, or this if you have more money then you...

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[jphaight]

EricBu12 were you possibly in walmart last week in Kalispell MT? I swear i seen that truck in the parking lot

 

[Grizzly]

I dont understand why people spend the money on 5vers. They are ALL junk, ok not ALL but 98% are. * I like the idea of turning a trailer into a house and not a house into a trailer. Optima builds one hell of a trailer, or this if you have more money then you...







Now how many TDR members can afford a rig like that, let alone the diesel to haul it? I don't agree that 98% of all 5er are junk. Get real and keep with the topic.