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dsrace's avatar
dsrace
Explorer
Dec 12, 2021

purchased a custom dune sport toyhauler

We purchased a custom dune sport toyhauler. received it in early oct, sadly only had time for one trip. this is the only company that i know of that actually allows one to draw your own floor plan, down to the floor tie downs. this floor plan is my design, specifically for i and my wifes use. to haul our sand rail to the sand dunes, with the occasional camping trip. clearly this floor plan isn't for everyone as no one design fits the majority.



we had some requirements and #1 on the list was nothing over 32' on the bumper. i had a 35' in the past and that was horrible to tow in the wind and 95% of the time the wind is blowing as i usually cross three state lines to either sand dunes i visit. nothing on the market under 32' even that has a true 14' of cargo and 4k lbs plus ccc.



my sand rail is 13'2" oal , 80" track width front, 92" track width rear. 1960 lbs wet. i wanted 14' of cargo length as wide as possible. informed the salesmen it would be impossible to back it in so min 20% tw preferred. they can only do what they can do as they order there frames from lippert as most do. as they are custom units i had to ask



i opted for 16" black steel rims with salun 235-85x16 G range ( 14 ply) tires. they installed an H frame with two tire winches bolted to it for the spare tire carrier. its under the frame up against the back door. there is room to move it close to the nose. which i will do as it's tongue lite with my 2k lb sand rail pulled in. i added a 46lb v shaped steel tool box to the nose with my 120 lbs of tools. i have not weighed the wheels but aprrx 200lbs in tires, steel framed carrier and tire winches. that has to go upfront as well. we were so tongue lite for our maiden voyage that the sway ( in a dead side wind) moved my f350 drw diesel side to side. i stopped, moved the two spares to the bed of my truck and my 120lbs of tools up against the bed on the floor. took 85% of that sway out immediately. empty it tows exceptionally well. my aftermarket hitch is rated for 2200 lbs tw so the additional weight it not/will not be an issue.



30' oal with 26' floor


12'6" tall to ac (personaly verified)


7200 lbs/1200 tw

side patio with railings


true 8' tall 3k lbs rated ramp door


1000 lumen lights on all 4 sides


reversible sofa couch bed on hapijac bed lift ( a must have for us)


ceiling mount tv that directly faces the couch


12v dometic fridge - we personally will never go back to lp after having this


convection microwave oven


2 burner flush mount lp cook top turned sideways as we don't use it


corian counter tops with under mount sink


porcelin toilet


2- 13,500 non ducted attwood air command-amazing how quiet they are!

100 gal fresh


50 gal black/grey


his/her wards


3' flip up corian counter top with no base cabinet for cargo width


12 volt blu ray player i purchased and shipped


3 in one winnegaurd omni 360 plus i sent ( one hole vs 3 in roof)

3 dual channel speaker systems i sent as well


solar prep, pre wired to roof and batt with 30 amp controller $179


7k lb axles for 16" wheel and bigger brakes, 6600lb ccc

3500 lb winch mounted in the base under the fridge $550


10 gal electric/lp water heater

a number of other options. $26k base price , $44k final price


they do offer stick and tin or aluminum and fiber glass or a combo of both. i opted for stick and tin for the batt insulation, with a fiber glass nose. i did so as sound deadening is more important for us. i owned an aluminum walled toyahuler and it had horrible sound deadening. we do not winter camp, the dunes are 24/7 and loud. this is the reason for 2- ac units in a 26' box. the bedroom is 6'4" deep x 8' wide, with its own ac....aka the meat locker res queen mattress as well. def quiet inside so perfect for the two of us. very comfortable inside the toyhauler.



i do understand that turning the rear deck into a patio is cheaper/lighter weight then a side patio. we do not like raising and lowering a bed and/or couches to use it. we do use the patio and really enjoy it. we had a rear patio on the last toyhauler and used it on every trip. didn't want any sofa/dinettes on the side walls for full width use. the rev sofa bed on the hapijac is perfect. didn't want any slide outs, yes they do add a lot of room but can become headaches as well. they do offer slide outs as well.


the salesman was very helpful and accommodating during the design process. i was and still am impressed we got all this in 26' of floor. that's all i care to say on that subject, thus far.



in the pics, the fiberglass skins/doors are not white, they just look diff with the direction of the sun.




if anyone else has purchased a dune sport toyhauler or has any comments/experiences..... feel free to voice your opinions. seriously, good and/or bad are welcome.the electrician did an amazing job, cleanest wiring/routing job i have ever seen. the plumber as well from what i can see. i can honestly say that i believe this company has great potential.






















































  • Thx for sharing and great looking rig!
    And fwiw, the price did not seem out of line.
  • andomedadogice wrote:
    Sound good :) I don't have a dune sport toyhauler but I am planning to purchase :)


    just for reference..... pics of my price list and how they price options out.



  • another fyi

    they do offer a pass through storage area in the nose. they don't list it on there option sheet or didn't. i didn't want 32' on the bumper so i asked what i could do to move the bed forward, to stay with 30' oal on the bumper. they were willing to re design the front wall, deleting that 16" of dead space the pass through storage would've used and moved the bed forward 16" thus moving the bathroom and kitchen walls forward as well. this is the only way we were able to get 14' of cargo length in the main area. didn't charge extra for it and again, one has to ask.



    this 2nd pic is of the first floor plan they drew up for us but required a 28' floor 32' oal. i still really like it.

  • one thing i should add about that reversible sofa bed..... that is a lippert product, as far as i know. they are under designed and over spec'd imo. we really like that couch, very comfortable and suits our wants perfectly! having said that, the frame is to weak for 3 women each under 150lbs, to sit on. the frame didn't collapse but it has a bow in it now. i can straighten it and will ad some support legs to the center. if anyone opts for one of those just know that you will want to add support to the center of it before use.

    i do want to add that i do not , never have nor ever will like the looks of corrugated siding. yes, i ordered mine with it in a dark grey. they offer it in a light grey as well and would prob go that rt if i were to do it again. i opted for it because it was 700 lbs lighter and $3500 cheaper then the fiberglass siding ( tech fylon siding). todays fylon has a shorter life span from what i have seen. maybe it's the installation method maybe a lower quality material, i don't know. this corrugated siding in dark grey has a heavy metal flake that looks really good! on a 85* sunny day, the siding in direct sun light measured 120* with my ir temp gun. the lighter grey/silver might do better but i just couldn't stand the white. i knew it the darker grey would be hotter but so far the batt insulation did it's job and stayed very nice inside.

    the attwood air command roof ac's they use are amazing!!! while running, on low fan, 9 amp draw and so quiet you can comfortably speak with someone inside. they are not ducted either. our last toyhauler, the roof ac was so loud on low fan you **** near had to yell! these air commands are quieter then the ducted roof ac that was in our wolf pack 295 fiver toyhauler.

    now , one thing dunesport didn't do, i wish i had known they didn't do it, is to remote the control pad off the face of the ac unit down to the wall. attwood sells an extension cord for this purpose. it's possible they don't know about it as well. the remotes work nice but i don't like relying on batteries. the ac in the bedroom is no problem as i can reach that one while standing on the floor. my wife cannot but i can. the 8' tall side walls make a step stool necessary to reach the one in the living area. not a problem but again, would've been nice to have the control panels wall mounted. this is not a complaint, just an fyi to anyone thinking about these ac units. dometic does make 24 volt roof ac units now, not sure what btu ratings currently but that is what i would want if i did it again. the 10 cu ft dometic 12 volt fridge we opted for is supposedly capable of 24 volt operation as well. so the ac's and fridge on 24 volts would make for a nice boon docking option with a solar charging system and lithium battery bank. just an fyi
  • Y-Guy wrote:
    Thanks for sharing your detailed experience with them. They've been around for sometime and mostly some pretty good reports, but none had shared as many details as you have. Hope for many miles of trouble free trips for you with it, let us know how things go.


    thanks Y-guy

    haven't gotten there yet but hope to.

    i believe they have been around since the late 90's but have been bought and sold a couple times? not sure but under new ownership since i believe 2014 maybe. the new owner can be difficult to deal with but all in all he did finally admit to his mistakes and seems to be correcting them. that's why i said, i believe they have great potential. they are the only company i found that actually custom builds. stw trailers claims to but they don't return email or calls rather then saying no they cannot.
  • andomedadogice wrote:
    Sound good :) I don't have a dune sport toyhauler but I am planning to purchase :)

    i have had issues with this company and all companies have issues of course. they worked with me on the 1st few and say they will on the current few but i have yet to see anything in the last month or so. time will tell on that front.

    if you are going to order one, make sure they stick to the cad print/design. be adamant that they provide updated ACTUAL cad drawings along the way. make sure they know that any unauthorized change will not be accepted and that you will receive a refund of your deposit.

    i did not type that to steer you away and as i stated i do believe they have real potential, but..... they have some issues in that department.

    also, depending on where you are located, they do not insulate the floors. they did not tell me this, i would've paid extra for the insulation, as i was wanting all the sound deadening i could get.

    they did want an extra $700 for a layer of thermal foil and i didn't opt for it but should've. the two ac units handle hot weather no problem what so ever, but that extra layer would've been nice. they do not offer that as an option but will do it. again you have to ask lol they can and will add 99% of the option in the rv market even though they do not advertise them. one has to know to ask though. DO NOT opt for a manual awning from them. they are in capable of properly sizing a manual awning for campers. they use short arms better suited for slide truck campers. they honestly didn't know dometic offered 5 diff heights of side rail arms until i sent them a link to the chart. i know most won't opt for manual awnings these days but i used to use them in every option and they are superior to power awnings. they can install power awnings no problem!

    they do not advertise the installed winch, so you will have to ask for that option. if your toy is 2k lbs then go 4k lbs or stronger as they use harbor freight winch's. the winch option came in very handy as i locked my trans up on the last dune trip. the winch failed 3/4 way up the ramp gate due to loose connections. i did not check them prior and it went into thermal overload so we pushed it the rest of the way up. the 3500 lbs winch struggled as well and i didn't have a snatch block with me. well worth the $500 or $550 option but make sure and check the +/- connection on the winch before hand. they said they are warranting the winch but i have not received the replacement in the last month and a half. the motor now sounds like it has gravel inside it so i do not trust it anymore. i already bought a 4500 lbs winch to replace it so if they do send the replacement i will add that to my flat bed.

    another point of interest..... they offer a 200 watt solar package for $1k. they do not advertise it but they offer a solar prep for $179! that solar prep is......renogy adventuer pwm 30 amp conroller, wired to the batt and up to the roof. they run a pvc pipe up with a sewer vent cap on it. if you are capable of installing the panels your self then that's the way to go. they do not include the batt temp probe so you have to specifically request that be added. it does make a diff on charging rates, maybe not huge diff's but some. i opted for the renogy 200 ah agm batt ( $450) but they can do lithium.

    they do not come with low point water line drain valves so add that if desired. the low point drain sticker is on my frame but no water line drains. they didn't tell me that or i would've. i ordered the installed winterization assy but they forgot to install it. they sent it to me later on and i installed it myself as i have all the pex tools.

    mine is a 101" wide model. i was not informed that they do not use 101" long panels on the roof. they used 8' with a 5" spliced in pieces at the end. i do not like that as i can see every seam and eventually that will cut through the roof. luckily mine is stored in a building out of the rain and snow. i would've gladly paid extra for 1 piece panels with seam tape over the seams vs cut and spliced pieces with no seam tape.

    since these are completely custom, if you don't ask they won't tell. you may not know to ask but if the vast majority of the industry does it one way ....... don't assume they do it the same way.

    as this is my floor plan design, we are obviously very happy with the floor plan. it is a one of a kind after all ! we have had issues with the toyhauler and hope to have the remainder of them rectified before spring.

    just words of advice..... not a deterrent from ordering with them. just advice from a customer that i wish i had gotten prior.
  • Thanks for sharing your detailed experience with them. They've been around for sometime and mostly some pretty good reports, but none had shared as many details as you have. Hope for many miles of trouble free trips for you with it, let us know how things go.