Over the last several weeks my wife and I have been looking @ several different toy haulers. Weekend Warrior, Jayco Octane, Attitude, Titan, just to name a few. As far as quality goes we noticed that the Jayco and the Attitude had less visible cosmetic problems then anyone and better value. The weekend warrior was very close and obviously is a very large seller but I have heard a lot of bad things about Weekend Warrior and frame issues, Mostly from other dealers, and Weekend Warrior dealer trashed every other brand. Who do I believe? That is why I am here, I suspect that we have narrowed our end down to Attitude then Jayco but not ruling out Weekend warrior yet. What input can anyone give us on any of these haulers as far as problems, quality, reliability and happinesses.

I appreciate any information you can provide
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Thanks

 

I have had a Carson Fun Runner and a Sierra Sport.

I look at toy haulers like this. Generally you can see quality, pricing will be in accordance to quality, but not always.

WW makes a good trailer, and has a big name. They have their share of problems though just like any other coach. Problem is, they charge a premium for their stuff and when it breaks, it's much more annoying.

Also consider that WW dealers are notorious at bashing...case in point, I had the Fun Runner, which is the entry level toy hauler. Had it for 3 years and it was spotless and flawless. WW salesperson decides to show me a Tahoe and a WW each 2 years old.....the Tahoe was obviously abused and was in bad shape and they said it was poor quality. The WW was nicer, but I told them my Fun Runner was in better shape a year older and they said "They make a good hauler, plus if you take care of them, most will do well." Decided change from his earlier comments.

Bottom line, if you take care of your rig, most will hold up. Find one in the size you need, options you want and price you want to spend and you'll end up with the right trailer.

TPR

 

I can vouch for the parts problems with WW.

Only bad thing I've had happen that could be considered a factory flaw.

Was letting the back door down, and one of the springs broke. That in turn put too much stress on the other spring, which caused it to break. Not that the door isn't that heavy, but if you're not expecting to get the whole weight at once, it can really cause for a bad time.

Even WW said they'd have to order them, and maybe I could just take the springs to another place that sells things like that and get a replacement.

I have since just taken them completely off, and just muscle it up, and get ready for the weight shift when I lower it.

BTW, it's a 2006 model that we bought barely used. Got it for just under 15k. Had a dealer up the road (1/2 mile) tell me I'd never find one new or used for under 22k.

 

Every dealer will amp up their product over the other. Don't believe them about how much weight your tow vehicle can handle, either.

A good way to gauge quality is to pull a few drawers in the kitchen and look at the structure in there. Press board and staples? Photo-laminate covered particle board and nails? Hardwood plywood with screws, and roller bearing drawer glides?

Anyway, I would highly suggest going used, unless money is not an object for you. These things loose a big part of their value in the first couple years, even when they are well taken care of. Also, pretty much everyone I know who has an RV learned from their first one what features really matter to them... and started shopping for something different.

Take a hard look at the floor plan. Many have just barely adequate head room inside for a taller person, then they use a tub/shower that is several inches higher than the floor... Showering stooped over, or with your head in a little 14"x14" dome skylight would get old.

A lot of toyhaulers seem to put the entertainment center in an ackward place, where people on the sofa have to look off to one side, or the TV is behind the people on one side of the dinette....

Also take a look underneath. If you are going to use the thing in the winter, enclosed underbelly is nice. You might see pipes hanging low, supported by a cobbled on loop of metal straping, and other attention to detail kind of stuff...

 

Wardman,
Toy Hauler Trailers can be a dream come true or an accident weighting to happen. My below comments are lengthy but worth reading before purchasing.

Where you can get into trouble with a Toy Hauler is with weight distribution of the cargo carried. Unlike other trailers a Toy Hauler is made to tow grown-up toys which, depending on the size and configuration, can fit many different types of cargo. Besides the cargo most Toy Haulers are fully self contained including a generator, full kitchen, bathroom, etc.

Case in point with respect to removable cargo, my Weekend Warrior Toy Hauler Trailer can carry a Jeep in the cargo bay which rests pretty much over or partially rear of the axles plus 1,000 lbs of fresh water, 415 lbs of Gray Water, plus the Black Water Tank holds approx 415 lbs. of Toilet Waste, a total of four tanks forward of my tandem axles. Semi offsetting the removable weight forward of my axles I have a 40 Gallon Fuel Tank under the rear of my trailer aft of the rear axles that supplies fuel to my Genset and Fuel Station.

If I remove the weight of heavy cargo from the cargo bay yet keep the water and waste water tanks full my tongue weight then exceeds way over 2,000 lbs which even though I have a Reese Class-V Tow Beast Receiver Hitch with a 2 ½" Square Receiver that allows up to a 1,700 lb. Tongue Weight while utilizing a Weight Distributing System on the trailer I'm way above the safe towing limit of my Class-V Tow Hitch. My tow vehicle is a Ford F250 Super Duty Diesel Pickup Truck.

If I use all my fresh water while camping and empty my holding tanks and leave for home after a camping trip carrying my toys I now have too much weight behind my axles which is a recipe for a disastrous loss of control due to high speed sway of the trailer. I've taken many pictures of totaled Toy Haulers and Tow Vehicles over the years on the highways. What I'm getting at is you can't just load up and go no matter what the salesman tells you!

I use a Sherline Trailer Tongue Weight Scale on all my trailers every time I change my cargo configuration. To see an affordable Sherline Trailer Tongue Weight Scale, a good towing checklist, and also read horror stories of disastrous trailer accidents see: http://www.sherline.com/lm.htm


If you're thinking about a used Toy Hauler one of the most disheartening things to find after the purchase is the dry rot caused to the roof, side walls, and floor caused by a roof or window leak. Most Toy Hauler floors goes on before the walls so you are talking about big time problems. You also want to closely inspect for cracked and sagging (bent) front trailer frames which has been affecting quite a few of the Toy Haulers. There are a lot of used Toy Haulers that had fibreglass sidewall delamination which people are trying to unload! A good URL to read through prior to purchasing a new or used Toy Hauler is the RV.net Forum at:

http://www.rv.net/forum/index....gs/forum/13516802.cfm


If you have the right tow vehicle I'd also contemplate a fifth wheel which usually have less problems with weight distribution as the hitch sits above your tow vehicles rear axle.

Good luck to you,
Jim