Forest River Work & Play Toy Haulers
Anyone have any opinions about or personal experience with the Forest River Work & Play toy haulers? I've been looking at the 16UL and 18EC. I've been told the roof trusses, sidewall framing, and...
Forum Discussion
Appreciate everybody's input. Just purchased a 2013 16UL (~18 ft. cab/~21 ft. overall) "Ultra" Work & Play toy hauler. UVW is 4775 lbs. A little heavier than other toy haulers with a similar cab size, but for good reason---stronger frame (more floor bracing), 5k 6-bolt axles (instead of 3.5k 5-bolt), fiberglass/plywood siding, etc.
Looking directly from the rear and the front it looks exactly like all the Ultra Work & Play toy haulers (18 to 30 ft), it's just shorter. Has the front, aerodynamic "dome" on the front instead of the usual flat face used on the standard Work & Plays. I'm convinced this has a positive effect on mileage. The 16UL has a front kitchen (right side) and front bath (left side), and a rear, loft electric bed. Very similar to the smaller Weekend Warrior and Eclipse toy haulers. I chose the 16UL over the 18EC because the rear cargo area is completely open and almost 20 inches wider than the 18EC. The 16UL has almost 12 ft of cargo space on the right side, over 8ft on the left, 7 ft (84 in.) between the wheel wells, and 5ft of "middle" space between the front, left side cabinets/walls and the right side wall---plenty of space for my big ole Yamaha jetski and trailer (or two road bikes side by side). The bath has a vanity sink, medicine cabinet, porcelain toilet, and larger, rectangular, 3 sided shower. My only complaint is the frig is mounted right on the floor (hard to access) and is very small with only 3-4 cubic feet of space. With this one exception, IMO it has a lotta nice features and functionality for a small, toy hauler.
Fit and finish is pretty good top-side; however, a close look underneath reveals some very sloppy welds (some even have welding rod/wire still attached). A few of the black/grey/water tank braces are a patchwork of 3 or 4 *scrap* pieces of angle iron welded together.
FWIW, my 2012 Tundra with the 401 ft. lb., 381 HP 5.7 pulls it easily. I get about 11-12 mpg at 55-60 mph with it empty. I'm guessing my mpg's will drop to 10-11 with my 1000 lb. jetski & trailer loaded inside.
All-in-all, I'm pretty pleased.
Looking directly from the rear and the front it looks exactly like all the Ultra Work & Play toy haulers (18 to 30 ft), it's just shorter. Has the front, aerodynamic "dome" on the front instead of the usual flat face used on the standard Work & Plays. I'm convinced this has a positive effect on mileage. The 16UL has a front kitchen (right side) and front bath (left side), and a rear, loft electric bed. Very similar to the smaller Weekend Warrior and Eclipse toy haulers. I chose the 16UL over the 18EC because the rear cargo area is completely open and almost 20 inches wider than the 18EC. The 16UL has almost 12 ft of cargo space on the right side, over 8ft on the left, 7 ft (84 in.) between the wheel wells, and 5ft of "middle" space between the front, left side cabinets/walls and the right side wall---plenty of space for my big ole Yamaha jetski and trailer (or two road bikes side by side). The bath has a vanity sink, medicine cabinet, porcelain toilet, and larger, rectangular, 3 sided shower. My only complaint is the frig is mounted right on the floor (hard to access) and is very small with only 3-4 cubic feet of space. With this one exception, IMO it has a lotta nice features and functionality for a small, toy hauler.
Fit and finish is pretty good top-side; however, a close look underneath reveals some very sloppy welds (some even have welding rod/wire still attached). A few of the black/grey/water tank braces are a patchwork of 3 or 4 *scrap* pieces of angle iron welded together.
FWIW, my 2012 Tundra with the 401 ft. lb., 381 HP 5.7 pulls it easily. I get about 11-12 mpg at 55-60 mph with it empty. I'm guessing my mpg's will drop to 10-11 with my 1000 lb. jetski & trailer loaded inside.
All-in-all, I'm pretty pleased.
