Seeking advice on toy haulers.

[lonzol]

Anyone else here build their own? Thats what I did over the winter. Started with an old 28' travel trailer, ($300), took her down to the frame and started over. Did some heavy reinforcement to the rear since the bikes are behind the axles.

I have an awning that I put over the rear for weather protection while camping.

Lonnie

 

[FZ1riderNY]

That is an awesome hauler! Thanks for the pics!

 

[packnrat]

as for a toy hauler get one bigger than you think you need. as you will find out real quick the larger unit is far and away better. also get a one ton (dully or single) with a good diesel to pull it with.
gassers suck..diesels blow.
with the power to weight ratio the diesel will pull any rv and get you there while passing up fueling stations. gassers will want to stop all the time.
if you can find a good used ford with the international 444 aka: 7.3 liter.
these motors in stock trim have more power than you would want. add $5K worth to the motor and trani and you can double the torque, and even get better millage out of it.

 

[Lonerider59]

I'd think real hard about getting a toy hauler. A few years ago I was in Lake Havasu and really got the bug to get a toy hauler. A lot of guys were coming across the river with their toy haulers full of quads and bikes. At the time I thought how great it wold be to be able to take my bike with me when we went on our winter vacations. Long story short, gas got up to over $4/gal and deisel went to almost $5. It cost a ton to take anywhere and It wasn't nearly as nice for lenghty stays. I only had it about a year before I unloaded it and ate a big loss. Mine was a 32 footer, which is a decent size without being too long but still, my wife complained that it was too small, they depreciate like crazy and are a lot harder to get rid of than to buy. I lost about 50% of the original value in the first year of ownership

 

[RobG]

I've been living fulltime in a toyhauler for almost four years. Mine is a 2006 Keystone Raptor 5th wheel, 38'. It actually measures out to a hair under 40'. It has a single slide-out in the living area and a separate 14' garage.

For fulltime living, it's fantastic. But as others have pointed out, it's not exactly economical to use for its intended purpose -- travel! Even with my diesel pickup, I get an average of 9 mpg.

Your plan for a smaller trailer is definitely a good one. But buying a new one may not be the best move. First, you should expect AT LEAST 25% off of MSRP. If a dealer won't do that, go someplace else. I got 35% off on this trailer ($42k out the door, no sales tax) because it was a two-year-old new leftover.

Look at used trailers. Look for bank repos. See what you can get those for compared to MSRP on the one you want minus 25-30% and see which is the better deal.

Get an extended warranty. Well worth it. The trailers themselves are decently made, especially K-Z's, it's the systems you have to worry about -- A/C, water heater, fridge, stove, microwave, furnace, etc, etc, etc.

BTW you didn't say what kind of truck you have (or if you did, I missed it)... I hope it's at least a 2500-series. I've never known a half-ton to do a decent job towing even a small toyhauler. A friend bought the smallest toyhauler he could find to tow behind his F150 SuperCrew. Three trips later and he traded the F150 on a used F250 SuperDuty Powerstroke because the F150 could barely maintain 55 mph on the freeway. Years ago, another friend bought a half-ton Chevy to tow his race car on an open trailer. Two years and four transmissions later (all under warranty), he got a 2500 with a Duramax.

So if you DO have a half-ton, please consider re-thinking your truck before you buy the trailer, or you'll end up doing it backwards and end up with a trailer that may be smaller than what you'd really want.

Rob