Toy Haulers

[WillRide]

Great photo. I have a 23' Superlite made by WW. Chose it because at the time my tow vehicle was a half-ton Z71. It could pull it, but I don't recomemend it (I've since upgraded!!!). Bought the trailer new 3 years ago and haven't really had any problems with it. It's small compared to the units you guys are talking about. What I like best is it has a bed up front that I can close off, that's MY bed, and it's pretty comfortable. We did get the screen room but I rarely put it up because if it's really windy, it doesn't hold up very well. Not crazy about the metal siding. It's kind of hard to wash with all the horizontal creases. Other then that I love my little trailer.

[Kendo]

Kendo...note it's a Tow hitch.

Ken - note it was being pulled by a Dodge Durango.

[Ken]

LOL....good one.

[Kendo]

Well, thanks to Ken and Lori, I am now more confused than ever. We looked at 5th wheel models yesterday and did find some really nice ones. Ken wanted to make his home in this 38 foot Winners Circle triple slide, he made an odd sound upon entrance to the coach and it was all we could do to drag him out of it. Made some mention of a towel and a cigarette too. I'm not sure I want to know what that was about.

As much as I like the 5th wheel, I think I am still stuck on a tag or bumper pull. Can anyone give me any other reasons other than those previously mentioned why one would better or worse than the other? I'm talking real world experience too, like - I couldn't go to (insert name here) because my 5th wheel was too big. Or, we had 5 people in my tag trailer and it broke out into a fist fit every night after dinner due to lack of space. Maybe comments from someone who has owned both?? That would be even better.

We sat in a 34 foot Dune Chaser for a good while yesterday talking to the sales guy, and I have to say, it was VERY comfortable. Still a big trailer, by any measure, but I think manageable in most situations.

I think it really comes down to a couple of key points - construction, how long are you going to keep it and how many people do you plan to take when you go out? The first two items I think are closely related. Wood construction is obviously cheaper and for a non long term ownership, is probably fine. Aluminum is probably better, but is it necessary??

Too many questions.............

[cajungal64]

Hey Kendo.... Wendy called....

Whatever model you choose...Get the extra beds in the back for sure... Ken & I will be ready whenever ya'll are... That way, Ken doesn't have to buy one too!

[Kendo]

Hey Lori, haha very f'in funny!!

Yeah, lemme just jot that down on my want/need list and get back to you. I'll be sure to get the "lumpy sofa" model, and NO EGG CRATE FOR YOU!!!

[WillRide]

Kendo,
With most large purchases it makes sense to consider how it will hold up many many years from now. However, I have personaly found that with RV's (especially a toy hauller), your needs change fairly often. In as little as 5 years, you may have different people going with you, and different types of toys. I would go with the unit that looks like it will meet your needs now, and in the next few years.

[Kendo]

That's actually a great point Will. I am thinking of that in terms of financing too. Do I really want to lock into a 15 year deal and in 5 decide I want something else? No way I could sell for what I owe, so I'm stuck!

Also a good arguement for used versus new. Let someone else take the depriciation hit, finance for less time and still have something worth a bit by the time you're ready to sell.

I have all but decided on a barely used 1-3 year old pull trailer in the 26-30 foot class. Brand is still up in the air, but I know what features I want. Now I just need to get it all nailed down.

[Lander]

Last year we also went through all the looking and research on what 5th wheeler toy hauler to buy, which meets our needs the most. We narrowed our choices down to the WW (very pretty, with wood constructed walls) and GearBox (also very nice. but has aluminum constructed walls). After going back and forth looking at both, we ended up with the 33.5' GearBox. There is tons of storage in this thing, we can fit our 2 quads side by side in the back and still have the entire trailer to use while traveling. I also really like the corner shower, lots of space in there and having the shower separate from the toilet was a plus. We've had it a year now and it has been used a lot with no real problems. We love it! Anyway just my 2cents on this topic. There are a lot of nice ones out there and it is a huge investments for sure.

Happy trails,
Carrie

[oldtrucks]

I have all but decided on a barely used 1-3 year old pull trailer in the 26-30 foot class. Brand is still up in the air, but I know what features I want. Now I just need to get it all nailed down.

Whatever you do don't buy a tow behind, It will kill your fuel economy,I heard a story about a guy that bought a used tow behind in San Diego, he towed it home and barely got 10 mpg with a Duramax.

[ontherks]

Why would a tow behind kill your milage but the 5th wheel won't?
Thats BS tow behinds (tag) trailers are lower and do not up in the air as much. Yeah the wind may get down between the trailer and truck.
I know towing my 5th wheel there is a ton of wind in the bed, Ive had empty Ice chests floating and they would of blown out if I did not have a strap thru them. Also My 5th wheel is 14' in the air, other than a stacker Ive never seen a normal tag travel trailer anywhere close to that.
As far as milage. Any one bitching about 10 mpg towing should not be towing. I get 5mpg with the 06 6.0 ford and almost 6mpg in the 07 5.9 dodge. I got the best with my 03 7.3 ford, and that was about 7mpg.

[Kendo]

Larry is funny, must have been talking to that bald guy that calls himself a forum admin.

Yep, picked up the 26 foot tow behind WW a couple weeks ago and got 10 all the way home - over the Grapevine, thru the valley, didn't matter - 10 MPG. I was really hoping for about 12, but I have to think about my old Ford 460 that got 10 with nothing in it on the downhill slide. If I still had that, towing this pig, I would pray for 5. hahaha

It's also good to hear that the other guys cough cough are not even approaching 10 towing.

So, I'm not bitching, just wondering how some people can get 13-14 towing and I can only muster 10.

Then again, there are those that claim to get 20-22 with their D'maxs and the best I have seen has been 18. Again, not complaining, just wondering how???

Taking her out for the maiden voyage this week, can hardly wait!!

P.S. Oh yeah, we weighed in Lathrop on the trip back, truck, trailer, one quad (Polaris Haweye 550lbs.) and a few other misc items plus me in the truck (probably another 700 total) - we tipped the scales at a hefty 15,900 lbs. We did have full propane and fuel tank on the trailer (35 gallons) but no water and no waste. I figure the trailer dead empty goes about 7500. A far cry from WW's calim of 5650 in the brochure.

[Ken]

I have all but decided on a barely used 1-3 year old pull trailer in the 26-30 foot class. Brand is still up in the air, but I know what features I want. Now I just need to get it all nailed down.

Whatever you do don't buy a tow behind, It will kill your fuel economy,I heard a story about a guy that bought a used tow behind in San Diego, he towed it home and barely got 10 mpg with a Duramax.

ROFL....

[springtuckyn]

I have an 01, 26' Tahoe Transport that I pull with my 03 Duramax. I'm getting about 10.5 MPG at worst. Looking at doing some performance (chip) upgrades that might help out a little on the mileage and power... looking at www.thedieselplace.com (duramax forums) it seems most people that are reporting higher mileage ( towards 18 ) are getting it when they are not towing and are cruising the highway with the cruise control on, and empty...

Here is a link on this page that shows a user poll for MPGs:
http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/tdpf ... php?t=9775

We like our trailer, but anything will have its issues I suppose.

[Kendo]

I have an '02 Dmax crew cab 4WD and I have a 4" exhaust, ARE air intake (don't waste your money) and a Diablo Predator. On the way back from SD we were at the 65hp setting. I am going to try it at the 40hp setting and see if I can do better.

I recently pruchased but haven't installed a John Kennedy boost controller, I hope to clean up some of the smoke and get a tad bit of performance out of that as well.

We're loaded up right now with a Sportsman 700, 2 Hawkeye's and full everything including water. Should be tipping the scales at 18K plus. I'll let you know about the mileage when we get back.