Ok People,
Mama is not sleeping on the ground anymore!!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]34 degrees in the Mts. is COLD, and WE like the sound of rain on the roof[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]. It is time to buy a camper. We have been looking for awhile now. We bounce back and forth between a toy hauler and a fifth wheel with a trailer behind, it is legal in IL. We have enough truck to pull either one, and both of us are experenced drivers.
So now I need your help..........what are the pros and cons of a toy hauler, VS a 5 fith wheel. We have 2 big machines,
Ok let me have it.

 

Pretty basic really - you probably know all this:

5th wheel and trailer:

Pros - More trailer room for living, no conversion time to change from hauler to trailer, no fuel fumes. Basically a nicer trailer set-up to live in. Once you reach your campsite, you can transport your ATV's via trailer to any riding areas not linked to the campground.

Cons - Forget backing up. May not be legal in all states.

Toyhauler:

Pro's - Easier hauling - you can even back up. If you are only talking two ATVs, most toy haulers will do that easily

Cons - The opposite of the above living conditions - less trailer room, fumes etc. Once you set up camp, the only way to transport your ATV's if needed is one at a time in the back of the truck (except you'll have your 5th wheel rig in there)

The other consideration is price - not sure which would run more - the toy hauler by itself or the regular trailer + an ATV trailer.

As a side note : I've always considered the "ultimate" solution to hauling two ATV's would be to have a toy hauler with a garage long enough so that you could load two ATV's on a flatbed, then winch the flatbed up inside the toy hauler garage. That way you would just be towing the toy hauler on the road to your destination but then you could still transport to different trailheads if needed.

 

Pros of toy hauler - only 1 trailer behind you, cheaper than running 2 set ups, less gas for towing more weight, fewer trailers to do maintenance on
Cons - if something leaks you are sleeping with the smell, wasted space saved for vehicles in the camper. your always taking your camper when you want to haul your atvs anywhere

Pros of dual set up - more camper for your buck, no wasted space left open for vehicles inside the camper, nothing atv fluids leaking inside your camper, having a separate trailer for trips when you are just going to ride and not camp
Cons - more weight and length to tow and negotiate thru traffic, higher cost to tow, higher cost to purchase and more to maintain

I'm sure others will come up with more but that is what i came up with off the top of my head

 

Thanks ,
Most of those we have thought of. It is just hard to decide. We already have the trailer to pull so that part is under control. And we have an idea about a small fold up trailer to pull one machine on and put the other in the back of the truck if we are going very far from camp. Still trying to weigh all the ops. Does anyone know about the weight limit on the bed that is over the back end of a toyhauler. The one we are looking at has a full bed that lowers down over the very back. We were wondering what the weight limit on those are. Falling down in the middle of the night is a little scarry.

 

Just a thought. If you have a bumper pull camp trailer, you can get a above the truck bed deck that will haul 2 ATVs or Snowmobiles. These are can be spendy esp if you go with aluminum (up to 6K). But you can still put gear in the truck box under cover and haul two machines as well as pull the camper.

Around here Snowmobilers use them a bunch. I'm getting ready to pursue one in a couple of months ( hopefully find a used one that a snow jocky wants to part with for a good price).

Good luck

 

Here in Oregon, double towing is only legal for commercial vehicles where the first trailer is 5th wheel, and 2nd or 3rd trailer are 5th wheel w/pintle hitch dolly.

With toyhaulers, the outside of the body of most RV's is 8', meaning two big 4x4 quads may have to be turned sideways. This was the case with my 30' Patio Hauler, a seperate garage type. The 1st one up on the flat floor isn't too bad as you have room to get a good position/leverage and the floor is smooth. The 2nd one, however, has to be turned from a starting position 1/2 on the ramp. I can do it by myself, but it's a strain on the back.

Another issue, if you did the double tow and parked long term in an RV park, you could do day trips with just the trailer and pickup to go to trailheads a distance from the park. With my Toyhauler I'd have to unhook and take the 5th wheel.

GF's parents went the route of Monster Hauler and 31' tow trailer. The Monster Hauler is a steel truck rack with really long and sturdy ramps, and it puts the weight across the floor of the bed. The combination works well for them, allowing day trips from the RV park, lots of living space, and easy to load/unload. There are aluminum truck racks that come out in 3 sections that one person can install/remove but the ones I've seen put the weight on the top of the pickup's bedrails (sheet metal). With the monster hauler you'd better have a shop with overhead hoist.

The 40' Patio Hauler I have now I think will work well for me. I could get two machines in without turning them fully sideways, or I could turn the first one sideways, and pull a second quad, plus a motorcycle in behind.

The Patio Hauler has some really nice features that attracted me. The wall between the garage and living area has an exterior type door, the inside walls of the garage are white metal and the floor has gaps between the slats (it doesn't hurt anything to hose the garage out once in a while), and the garage has big pannels on both sides and the top half of the rear gate that tip up with gas springs. Big screens velcro in those, making the garage a nice bug free porch to hang out in (hence the name, I suppose).

Another buddy has gone the route of a very nice pickup camper, (10/6 Bigfoot) and trailer. High on his list of priorities was to be able to go camping in really rugged areas- to be able to get the camper pretty much anywhere you can get a pickup. Of course, the con is that living space in a pickup camper is limited.

If I went that route, I think I'd opt for a Jumping Jack as the trailer. It will haul 2 quads, but when they are off the trailer flips out into a big tent with 2 bench/beds and table in the middle. Though not heated, at least it is out of the rain, and even in the cold it would be a nice place to spread one's gear out. It would be a nice addition to supplement the heated living space in the camper.

Another possibility would be an RV with a trailer. Of course the disadvantages are that they are expensive, and you would have to pull a car too, if you wanted a road legal vehicle that you could take out around town or whatever. Plus you would have another engine/drivetrain to keep up. One of the folks in the park near the GF's parents runs an enclosed trailer- with a 4 door sedan and two quads inside. Naturally, doing that would require one of the big RV's with like the ISX Cummins or other semi truck type drivetrain...

I've seen other people put the body of a 5th wheel camper on a long goose neck flat bed trailer, with like 20' left of flat bed room for toys. If you already have a huge goose neck, I suppose that would make sense. You sometimes see the same thing done on a class 8 straight truck.

Every route has it's advantages and disadvantages....

 

Well I want to thank everbody for their input. We are going to pick-up our 5th-wheel trailer on Monday. We got a 24 ft jayco Quest, It is small but big enough for the 2 of us and the dog. And it is small enough to pull a small trailer ande 2 machines behind it. It will sleep 4 so we can have company. We are excited to get it and get started camping. Easter weekend is going to be the first trip, maybe to Land between the Lakes, or St.Joe.
Thanks guys for all your help, You had thing in mind that we didn't.
Malinda

 

Well, enjoy it and let us know how it works out.

I'd suggest maybe spending a day/night in the unit (if you can park it by your house). If there are any glitches, you find out without spending fuel to get some place only to find you don't have something you need, or something essential didn't work as intended...

 

Thanks we have a State park about 7 miles from home. I think that will be our first trip. We have both camped alot, and I had a horse trailer with living quarters. I have all the stuff that I had in it so I think that we have everything(maybe) The only thing we haven't done is the sewer system. We have some good friends that can't wait to take us under their wing and teach us all the tricks, and get some of that chili that I cook over the fire.

 

I see... so you have some experience with RVing...

Do LQ horse trailers have sewer tanks?

The main tips I'd give you, if you haven't used one, is to start with 4-5 gallons of water, and don't over do it with the chemicals.

If you are camped with full hookups, you can leave the gray valve open, but leave the black valve shut until you want to dump. If you leave the black valve tank open, the solids will make a pirimid of poo...

When you do dump, dump the black first with the gray closed, so as not to let sewage backfill into the gray tank.