Hello, my name is Joe, and although my wife and I are NOT new to the world of RV's, we are New to this forum (Love the idea) and we are VERY New to the world of Toy Haulers. We are SOO New to Toy Haulers, in fact, that we haven't even purchased one yet!! HAWe just recently upgraded our SUV to be able to Pull a Toy Hauler (we are Avid Motorcycle Riders) and looking for something that is NOT Huge, and NOT a fifth wheel (I don't have a truck). We have been scoping out both New and Used Toy Haulers within 400 Miles of our home in Bartlett, TN. (Burb of Memphis). We have found a few Used ones that have appealed to us (The new ones are crazy expensive! Whew). There is a Dutchman NTense 32' at the Camper World in LR we were thinking of going to look at on Saturday.Does anyone here have any reviews about this particular camper/hauler, is it worth the drive, or is there one that we REALLY need to try and find (if possible)? Any help, advice, is greatly appreciated.

Hi Joe. Welcome to the forum. And judging by your member name, thanks for your service.Hopefully you find some good info and good people here.Dave

As said above and thanks for your service.http://rvs.smartcarguide.com/listing/47655886/A little advice make sure you have the right tow vehiclehttp://www.heartlandrvs.com/index.php?p=13I don't have any knowledge of the toy hauler. But I will advise as I always have on this board. If you not laughing at your own offer it's too high.

Thanks guys, both of you. Yes sir, I did serve, I'm a Retired US Marine, Combat Vet from Iraqi War (2003). I do still work full time, and "Yes" my wife and I both ride LOVE IT!!I just recently upgraded from a Chevy Traverse to a Nissan Armada (Which is rated at 8300 lbs towing capacity). So we are looking for a decent sized pull behind toy hauler that isn't too heavy, preferrably in the 26 - 32 foot range.The Dutchman we have found sounds like a pretty good deal, but, if it's NOT, I don't want to make the 2.5 hour drive only to be disappointed.BTW . . . the deal is it's a 2009 Dutchman NTense 32' for $19,900 ... which seems good to me, but . . . Thanks again for your repliesJoe

. . . oh, and thanks for the link to the Tow Ratings, cool. They only have up to a 2012, but . . . a 2012 Nissan Armada is rated at 8200 lbs, I have a new 2014 Armada with Tow Leveling, I will double check, but I think it's either 8300 or maybe even 8400 lbs. I know if the 4X4 model it's 9000 lbs, but mine is 2wd.

GIJoeJarhead wrote:. . . oh, and thanks for the link to the Tow Ratings, cool. They only have up to a 2012, but . . . a 2012 Nissan Armada is rated at 8200 lbs, I have a new 2014 Armada with Tow Leveling, I will double check, but I think it's either 8300 or maybe even 8400 lbs. I know if the 4X4 model it's 9000 lbs, but mine is 2wd. 2WD is usually rated for more that 4WD, but anyway...IMHO you are setting your sights a little too high. Realize that the weights posted on the manufacture's web site often do not include many of the options you will want/have. For instance I bought a TH with a 5500lbs posted weight, and thought to myself....add 1000 lbs for water, 1000 lbs for toys and another 500 lbs for all the other stuff and I am good with my 9000 lbs tow rating. Well it turns out that I was more like 11,000 lbs and my Titan could not handle it.Look for ones that claim to be super/ultra lite and I would stay around the 23ft range.

Newbie to the forum, and to Toy Haulers | Good Sam Community

20 Replies

dougford
Explorer
Sep 26, 2014
Latte sualutes. Funny. Anway, back on topic. Check out this TH:
http://www.jayco.com/products/toy-haulers/2014-octane-zx-super-lite/

Jayco makes good products. I have an Octane T29. Of course, no way you're pulling that with an Armada--it's like 8500 pounds empty, and gives my F350 a workout when loaded. But, the 161 Ultralights look interesting and I thik the ARmada could handle it

OH- I'm retired Air Force, but worked with Marines several times. It was always a pleasure too...
GIJoeJarhead
Explorer
Sep 25, 2014
Haha . . . no Latte Salutes, I salute you for real! Thanks
Looks like the GVWR for the Armada is 7150 lbs . . . I found an Ultralite with 345 lbs tongue weight, problem is I cannot find any of them anywhere close to me! Arrgh!
I'm definitely looking at tongue weight and overall Gross weight.

Thanks again for all the help, I'll keep you all in the loop on when we get something and what we get.

Oh, yeah, BTW, on the Armada I have 317 HP, not sure on my torque ratings. I just went and looked in my owners manual, and they have my TV listed at Towing capacity of 9100 lbs, with up to 910 lbs tongue weight!
FireGuard
Explorer II
Sep 25, 2014
Welcome to the TH world, the most "practicable" RV.
As others have said they are heavy. I have an 07 Ragen 21FB and love it. It's a 21' box and 24 1/2' overall. Huge tanks and 5500w Gen.
I towed it with Dodge dually with a moded Cummins and you know its there. They tow like a brick.
A coworker bought in half ownership and has a 13 Tundra 4x4 so I started doing some research on weights. What kills the 1/2 tons is the tongue weight. His payload was only around 1400 lbs so we weighed the tongue weight with less than a half tank of water. It was right around 1050 lbs. So that leaves him less than 400 lbs for people and anything else he wants to put in the truck..
He just towed it from So Cal to Tahoe and back and said it did ok, but the gas engines like to rev on the hills. He has airbags and Cooper "E" rated tires which helped a Lot.
TH are designed to have a heavier tongue weight empty due to the anticipated toys in the back which will reduce the weight.
Ironically, I didn't need my dually any more so I picked up a 13 Ram 1500 with the Hemi.
I just towed it 15 mi to the beach and it did ok on power but needs air bags. Handling was ok but I will upgrade the stock passenger tires and maybe add a sway bar along with the airbags. If I were going to tow it a lot or long distances, I would go with at least a 2500. I'm actually looking at the 3500 Ram with Cummins and Aisin trans in case I upgrade in the future.
For your vehicle, I would stay in the 18-22' range and add airbags and the best tires you can. Power wise you will be ok. Heck, 20 yrs ago 160 HP and 400 ft/lbs was a towing machine. Now 400 HP and 865 ft/lbs is the norm.
gtsum
Explorer
Sep 25, 2014
You have a nice TV, but honestly it is not likely going to be suitable for TH's in your size range. Check your payload sticker on the inside door jam....that is the weight of all people and gear in the truck....AND the tongue weight of the trailer. Even smaller TH's (26-28) will likely have a heavy tongue weight. You might want to check out "ultra lite" TH's...I am sure there are some out there. Good luck!
dedmiston
Moderator
Sep 24, 2014
thebudman wrote:
Another thank-you for your service- real thanks by the way- and not one of those "latte salutes".

Hahaha. Hilarious.
thebudman
Explorer
Sep 24, 2014
Another thank-you for your service- real thanks by the way- and not one of those "latte salutes".
bobx2
Explorer
Sep 24, 2014
You need to really watch the tongue weights. They typically seem to run high on TT Toy haulers. Mine was a little over 1,100 lbs on a 26' TH.
GIJoeJarhead
Explorer
Sep 24, 2014
Check out what I found on this KZ MXT Toy Hauler, on the KZ Website:

Travel Trailer Toy Hauler CRC222
UVW (Unloaded Vehicle Weight) 5,340
Dry Hitch Weight 345
Dry Axle Weight 4,995
NCC (Net Carrying Capacity) 2,735
GVWR 7,940
Interior Height 78"
Exterior Height w/ A/C 10' 8"
Exterior Width 96"
Exterior Length 32' 9"

So a dry weight of 5340 lbs, MUCH Mo better than the 6850 that the Dutchman is rated at. AND, a hitch weight of 345
GIJoeJarhead
Explorer
Sep 24, 2014
Thanks TinCup, we'll take a look . . . I believe my wife looked at a couple GreyWolves on the web and wasn't too crazy about what she saw. I used to have a KZ Coyote Ultralight, great camper, but we just stopped using it. I'll look at that MXT, and the LivinLite and see what we can find.

Thanks again
Joe
Tincup13
Explorer
Sep 24, 2014
Look at the KZ MXT Toy Haulers also the Livin Lite Axxcess and Cherokee Grey Wolf 21rr. All are lighter weight toy haulers

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