purposes of toy hauler

My wife and I have been researching 5th wheels for the last year. We have ignored looking at toy haulers because we have thought that the only purpose was to haul things like ATV or motorcycles, etc. But now I'm coming across other uses of that space such as sleeping for kids, an open porch area if the weather is good, etc. and wondering if we should be looking at them.

What are the varied purposes of that space in your opinion?

Anything you would use a small shed for. A hobby workshop, sitting out a rain storm, etc.

Personally I would use it for storing bicycles and kayaks (hung from the ceiling), and other gear I want quick access to.

Setting up the ramp as a deck and sitting in the back like a porch sounds good too.

my nephew bought one  just haul his parrots so i guess its what ever floats your boat

my write up.....

Hopefully this post will help others come to a decision or at least get them further on their ideas. It was a few years ago when I decided my young family would enjoy a camping rig and I started to explore all options. I am a Sith lord level handyman and at one point I was ready to build my own travel trailer. I purchased plans from Glen-L but even as an experienced fabricator I found the plans lacking.

So a couple summers later and a huge unexpected summer work bonus I was shopping for a used trailer. I came across so many toads before I found our princess. I even bought a travel trailer, towed it home, and flipped it the same day for a $1,200 profit because I wasn't in love with the style. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice 2008 Pilgrim custom build with a MASSIVE bathroom but that bathroom came from the expense of the living quarters. At this point I really started thinking "what am I really looking for in a camper?" Well initially I totally avoided toy haulers as my old man said a friend had one and complained the cabin always smelled like gasoline and that would be a perpetual problem for haulers.

So I was mainly looking at travel trailers on the local Craigslist. I tossed out the idea of any motorized RV (Class A, B, C, or bus) because I wanted the ability to leave the rig and drive to the fishin' spot, dry goods store, or restaurant and know I wouldn't lose my spot at the camp ground. I didn't want a fifth wheel (even though I love them) because my tow vehicle is a half ton (but still bad @ass for a half ton) and I didn't want to sacrifice my pick up bed. I also threw out pop-ups because we wanted a solid rig, something a large wild cat couldn't claw it's way through. Tossing motorized options out limited my opportunity to take our boat with us as well but I decided I would tow doubles because A) America and B) I am a bad @ss trailer puller as my old man had me backing the boat before I had a driver's license.

After weeks of getting frustrated by dumb Craigslist people I decided to open my mind to toy haulers. I researched other forums and discovered lingering gasoline smell is really hit or miss and many of the people complaining of the smell admitted to spilling gasoline on the floor during transport. As soon as I considered the toy hauler the reasoning crashed on my head. We do have mini bikes, quads, off-road go-karts, wakeboard winches, full size grills, and more. And I liked the idea of having some open space for whatever, even normal household furniture like my favorite leather recliner.

How would you get half of this stuff through the door of the travel trailer?- you wouldn't. And what if you didn't have all those internal combustion toys?- who cares. With the hauler you get a large rear door to roll what ever you're into, into the rig. So that's what we decided upon, A) we can take toys, B) if we don't take toys we can take things that give the rig a more home type of feel. On our first trip with the toy hauler, we fell a dead oak tree and burned some of it at our campfire. I wanted to bring the trunk home and the toy hauler was the perfect solution. And oh yeah- there wasn't a hint of gasoline in the cabin even after towing the trailer in 100+ degree Arizona weather for several hours.

If this post helps, please comment and tell us about it. Happy trailer-ing my friends!

Super:

Great summary!

The back can also become the kids bedroom.

grashley said:

Super:

Great summary!

The back can also become the kids bedroom.

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How would that work? Would one need to install bunk beds in that part of the 5th wheel or do they come as part of the configuration?

I guess I'll need to go and look at a few in person at a dealer and see what can be done in that part of the trailer.

Some toy haulers have benches or beds that fold down from the side walls. If it has blank walls you can build some bunks on one or both sides.

Or just use cots, sleeping bags, or air mattress. A hammock or two would be neat!

We absolutely love our toy hauler. The versatility is beyond what you can imagine. Our has two queen beds that can bed raised and lowered by a touch of a button. The bottom queen size bed also can be converted into the dining area with an additional table. We use ours mostly for camping at the horses shows we compete in. We've hauled hay, tack, dirt bikes, etc. the porch off the rear is also super nice. Ours is a 2017 heartland road warrior 427. I can't say enough how much we love it!!

We love our toy hauler too.  Yes we haul motorcycles in it.  But... when the bikes are unloaded, we have a nice large living room, open unobstructed space.  We can fold down the benches and set the table if we want to, but we have a big open space.  I've seen folks set this up with living room furniture if they don't travel so much.  And when we're camping and not riding, we can easily bring the canoe or the windsurfers or camping supplies for all our friends...  It's no problem, just throw it in there.

One thing I don't understand is the big 5er toyhaulers with a wall between the "back garage" and the "living room".  Why would you want that?  I'd want to move the toys out as soon as we arrive, and have more living space.

I guess the wall might help with the gas smell.  But I've got to say it....  We've never had any gas smell at all in our toyhauler.  This in spite of hauling up to five bikes all over two countries.  But we never ever fill the tanks when the bikes are indoors, and we carry the gas jugs on the hitch box.  I suspect those gas jugs are the culprit, get them out of your living space.

Oh, one more thing...  I saw back windows on some TT's and thought "we can't have that in a toyhauler."  But we just leave the ramp down and we have a *huge* back window.  We love backing into spots next to the ocean or a river and having the great view.  If we're in a safe spot we leave the back open all night and enjoy the view.  When there are bugs we pull down the screen but we can still see out.

Ours has a wall in between the "garage and living space. I actually love it bc it gives great privacy when being used as a suite. It has its own heat and air with another bathroom. Having it's own entry door also comes in handy when you have muddy/dirty boots and need to use the restroom. Ours also has the 3 season doors and screen for when the ramp is down and converted into the rear patio.

My boss got a toy hauler and converted the area to a sewing room for his wife.  She loves to sew and when she goes out camping, she gets frisky.  Bingo, she doesn't mind camping and he is happy too! 

rockman said:

when she goes out camping, she gets frisky. 

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And that's a bad thing?    ;D

Mud room. Place to hang wet clothes it weather is still bad or fishing waders.

We have a Carbon 31 we can sleep 7 very comfortable with the garage area used as a guest suite for my Daughter and the Grand kids. They have a separate room for privacy and its great when you put the kids down you can close the door, they have their own TV and we can watch TV without hearing theirs. Its so great to carry the Quads but when we do not take them I carry the bikes or anything bulky I need to bring with us. I am looking at adding a coupe Kayaks that will also ride back there. We love the Toyhauler concept, roll down screen adds a Screen porch when the temps are tolerable. It is a trade off for living room space but we love the flexibility of the added room and sleeping ability without dedicating a Bunk room that is only good for sleeping. These garage rooms can be anything you want them to be (Dinning, Porch, Play room, Garage, Bedroom and I sure others use them for many other things).

Ironic for me to see this thread. The DW and I have been researching the tiny house revolution for a couple of years now. Looking for something to plant on our property out in the woods to replace our current TT. Something with the structural integrity and insulation for winter camping/living.

We went to a camping and RV show here in town just yesterday. Looking around for more tiny house info and to see what was new in the RV world. Checked out park models, TT's, 5er's, the whole show. Nothing available pertaining to tiny houses.

I was aware of toy haulers. The DW knew nothing. We went through a few at the show. I was surprised at my wife's response upon seeing these up close. She really liked a 31' Avenger we scoped out. Now we are beginning to rethink what we want to do in the future. The versatility of a toy hauler is amazing! With the slide outs the Avenger had, along with the floor plan, I can see us in this unit being a perfect fit for what we might want. If only we can find a winter friendly package of some sort. Meaning a MI winter weekend or longer.

My brain is starting to ache.       

My wife and I can work anywhere we have internet service.  Sometimes we put folding tables back there and wheel our office chairs up the ramp. Presto! An office.  Sometimes it has her Can-Am Spyder and my motorcycle.  Sometimes it hauls our ATV. It's where our guests sleep.. More than a few times, it's kept 2 wet Bullmastiffs out of our hair until they dry off.

Pretty handy!

The garage of our toy hauler functions as a place for the ATV's during transport, then it transforms into a great sitting room or play room for the kids if the weather goes south. At night, it turns into a bunk room for kids or anyone else that is staying with us.  It's uses are almost endless!

One time, I hauled our trailer to a great spot a day ahead of my wife and kids arriving. I backed the trailer right up to a creek and set up. That night, I put the ramp down and closed the screen to keep the critters out. It was the best sleep I ever had. The sound of that creek amid the absolute silence of the forest will forever be in my memory.

A few other pluses to toy haulers is that they often come with built in generators (and their own fuel tanks), as well as larger holding and fresh water tanks. These things make a few days of boondocking in the middle of the woods more enjoyable for us as we can have all the power we want and we don't have to worry about extreme water conservation when it comes to bathing or cooking.