Hey guys and gals,Been reading a ton on here the past few months, but haven't seen this specific question addressed yet.Real quick background on me: I race one (Sometimes bring two) sport bikes, and current set up is a 20' tandem axle trailer with a '04 Ram 2500 crew cab SRW towing it. Trailer loaded is about 6k, which is almost nothing for the truck. Tired of sleeping on air mattresses in the trailer over the weekend and being dependant upon facilities of the tracks. Morale of both the wife and I (And the pup) would drastically increase having a real bed, A/C, etc.What I'm looking for are the MUST-HAVE's for a toy hauler - What yours has that you wouldn't live without, or what your hauler doesn't have that would make your life easier. This, so far, is what I've read that people love:-Wall separating garage-Hauler big enough that you do not have to unload any gear to access living/sleeping quarters-Power awning-GeneratorWhat else is there? Towing handling and truck capabilities aside, is there much of a living difference between a TT and 5th wheel (space/room)? My max tow weight for my truck is just at 13k. Without going into a 40 page debate, I'd like to keep it under that just for liability reasons. So, from what I can tell, I'm going to be looking around a 30 footer (Give or take for different models and such)Budget is going to be limited to 20k and under and I plan on buying used, so please, you 40'+ toy hauler guys need not make me jealous of your setups!

I use my TH year round for work so I need a wall between the garage and living area. I don't want to heat up the whole thing in the middle of winter if I don't need to. I have a Gen and I need it to run a A/C and microwave as well as the 110 but I'd love to have solar panels and a good controller. It's painful to start a gen to charge the batteries. Talk about overkill and inefficient as well as noisy and my honda is pretty quiet for a gen. I am going to get a stovetop percolator coffee maker so I don't need to start the gen early in the morning to have coffee. I haven't found I really need an inverter. Yet. It seems like here in CO most people don't use their awnings for fear of wind. I rigged my ramp/ tailgate with straps so it is a level porch. My wife and I spend a lot of our down time sitting on this watching our kids. It's nice to be off the ground like a deck on a house.We bought a propane fire pit at costco and use it for almost all our cooking not to mention hanging out around seeing as how there is usually a fire ban here in CO. We can even use it on the ramp/porch.Pics are here. http://www.fixedsighttraining.com/Photo--Video-Gallery.html

Alot of THs have fuel stations which is nice for the generator & refueling the bikes.Depending on how many you take with you queen beds that lower in the garage are nice.Personally I would rather have a manual awning.

Our TH (see sig...) originally had 2 queen beds in a bunk-bed configuration.... removed the upper bed (several hundred pounds). If it's just you and the wife, you could do this.Generator is a must, either a portable, or installed, and it's gotta be big enough to run the A/C.On board fuel station is really nice. At the end of the weekend, if you've got fuel left over, pour it in the truck for the trip home.Cables to support the ramp as a deck is nice "round-to-it" project.Exterior 110v outlets are very handy. My trailer does not have ANY exterior outlets. Pain in the xxx. My next project is to correct this design flaw.Exterior flood lights (not just 1156 single bulbs) to work on the broke stuff at night.Rubber matting to replace the carpet, so the oil and gas don't mess up the original carpet. We got rubber diamond plate matting from Costco.The awning can go up or down in less than a minute, manually.

We were in a similar situation as yours. We race quads throughout NC and SC and sleeping in the enclosed trailer on the air mattress was getting old fast. One night a cold front came through and we thought we would literally freeze to death. Absolutely miserable.The hauler needs to have the ability to self sustain an entire weekend. 30+ gallons fuel is a must on hot weekends with two ACs running. We never use the pumping station because our quads use race gas. I'm not running the generator on race gas just for convenience of using the pumping station. Some Raptors have two separate fuel tanks. That would be nice.100 gallons of water is our minimum. That way, we don't have to limit showers. I wouldn't mind even more water like a Voltage holds.Separate garage is a must.Things we don't like:Like Oaklevel said, I'd just as well have a manual awning. You can adjust them. Plus if the toy hauler is leaning slightly to the left, the awning quite often will start to unravel but won't come out. Its just a mess.Our half bath in the garage is a waste of space. I wish it was a closet. Not sure why everyone touts the half bath and it seemed like a good idea when we bought the camper. But for us, its just another black tank that has to be cleaned out. We rarely ever use it. 12' garage is OK. 14' will be mandatory next time. But two bikes aren't as big as four quads.

We have a Dutchmen Rubicon 2900 tow behind TH. It works great for the two of us. With that said it does have:Dedicated vapor wall to separate the 10' garage from the living area (w/slide). Separate bedroom with queen island bed (I hate having to crawl over DH to get out of bed). All the usual heat/ac/8 cu ft. fridge (bigger than the normal 6 cu ft.); microwave/convection oven; full bathroom; on-board 4000 Onan (sp)generator.....We do have a power awning which I (DW) find very handy when DH is away playing, or when the wind pick up at night! We also have a fuel station, we haven't yet used, our toys are bikes & kayaks but this year we may bring the motorcycle!We do have a Happijac bed system in the garage area which could be used for guests if needed, but it stores up toward the ceiling so it is not in the way of the toys in the garage. Ours has a couch as a lower "bed" so it is great for sitting and entertaining. Leave the bed up and bring down the couch...nice little extra!We also have a large (I think it is 90+ gallon) fresh water tank and equally large (40+ gallon) grey and black tanks).What it is missing is an oven, which I (DW) didn't think too much of, but after using the TH for a year - I do miss the oven!DH did not want to give up the space in the bed of the truck, nor go for the expense of a 5'er hitch - so we decided on a tow behind!There are a lot of TH out there without the dedicated wall so keep looking to you find what you want/need.

Toy Hauler Must-haves | Good Sam Community

35 Replies

64thunderbolt
Explorer II
Aug 15, 2013
BobWanderer wrote:
I wish there was a short Fiver 30'-32' that had a separate 11' or 12' garage.
Our Rhino is right at 10' and finding a fiver with a large enough garage means going much longer and heavier which is not an option.

My Tail-gator 5er is 34' and has a 10' garage. My prowler is 9' 10.5" close but works. I put etrac in the floor so I'm sure it's not going to move.

Want to buy it? Thinking of selling it & truck and buying a cabin up north.
GL
Explorer
Aug 13, 2013
Frankandbeans wrote:
GL wrote:
Frankandbeans wrote:
Hey guys and gals,

I race one (Sometimes bring two) sport bikes....
Tired of sleeping on air mattresses in the trailer over the weekend and being dependant upon facilities of the tracks.

I know exactly what you mean - racing bikes I went from a pickup truck only, to an open trailer, to a 14ft enclosed, then finally to the toy hauler. Slept many nights in all of the above, definitely much nicer in the toy hauler. :)

I would definitely suggest an onboard generator, and don't forget that you'll be wanting to run tire warmers too - you'll want a genny that can handle that AND your A/C unit(s).

Our race weekends are usually 3 days, so I burn plenty of gas with the genny - that's what I use the aux gas tank for, I've never used it for gas for the toys. (I wouldn't put race gas in it anyway)

Anyway, good luck with your search!

How much juice does a normal 13.5 or 15.5 BTU A/C use? The haulers I'm looking at are almost 50/50 if they have the Onan 4k or 5.5. My Chicken Hawks draw about 1100 watts. I already have a Honda EU2000, but one of the points of upgrading to a TY is so I don't have to lug around a genny anymore. :) I know the 5.5k would handle it, unsure of the 4k units.

Thanks for all the input!

Running watts on my 13.5 is listed as 1900. I can tell you I've run both units plus a set of Chicken Hawks all day long plenty of times. I have to turn one AC unit off if I want to run more than one set of warmers. (no surprise)
christopherglen
Explorer
Aug 10, 2013
I can run both of my ac's and the microwave at the same time off my 5.5k onan....
mrkoje
Explorer
Aug 10, 2013
I've got the Onan 4k and a 15k BTU A/C unit. I'm not exactly sure how much juice the 15k btu runs but I'm sure it's pushing about 15amps or maybe a little more. From what I can remember and a quick google search 15 amps at 120v should be around 1800 or more watts. I'm thinking that would mean that with just the 15k BTU AC running that on the Onan 4k would be about 50% capacity. That would still leave quite a bit of room left for the microwave or TV etc...
Frankandbeans
Explorer
Aug 10, 2013
GL wrote:
Frankandbeans wrote:
Hey guys and gals,

I race one (Sometimes bring two) sport bikes....
Tired of sleeping on air mattresses in the trailer over the weekend and being dependant upon facilities of the tracks.

I know exactly what you mean - racing bikes I went from a pickup truck only, to an open trailer, to a 14ft enclosed, then finally to the toy hauler. Slept many nights in all of the above, definitely much nicer in the toy hauler. :)

I would definitely suggest an onboard generator, and don't forget that you'll be wanting to run tire warmers too - you'll want a genny that can handle that AND your A/C unit(s).

Our race weekends are usually 3 days, so I burn plenty of gas with the genny - that's what I use the aux gas tank for, I've never used it for gas for the toys. (I wouldn't put race gas in it anyway)

Anyway, good luck with your search!

How much juice does a normal 13.5 or 15.5 BTU A/C use? The haulers I'm looking at are almost 50/50 if they have the Onan 4k or 5.5. My Chicken Hawks draw about 1100 watts. I already have a Honda EU2000, but one of the points of upgrading to a TY is so I don't have to lug around a genny anymore. :) I know the 5.5k would handle it, unsure of the 4k units.

Thanks for all the input!
pronstar
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
Frankandbeans wrote:

What I'm looking for are the MUST-HAVE's for a toy hauler - What yours has that you wouldn't live without, or what your hauler doesn't have that would make your life easier. This, so far, is what I've read that people love:

-Wall separating garage
-Hauler big enough that you do not have to unload any gear to access living/sleeping quarters
-Power awning
-Generator

What else is there? Towing handling and truck capabilities aside, is there much of a living difference between a TT and 5th wheel (space/room)?

So, from what I can tell, I'm going to be looking around a 30 footer (Give or take for different models and such)

I'll offer my opinion on a few of your comments (snipped above):
Living space is small-ish for the exterior size...a 40-foot toy hauler with a 12 foot garage effectively gives you the living space of a 28-foot RV. Of course, if the garage serves double-duty as a separate bedroom, then that changes the equation.

A 30-foot toy hauler with a separate garage...does that even exist? I don't think for a fiver, but perhaps a bumper pull. The non-garage "living area" has got to be small, so keep that in mind.
christopherglen
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
I have one of the 40' TH's - so don't be jealous.
An inverter (I prefer a inverter charger) to run some of the toys with the generator off is nice, 1 ac per ~20' of living space will cool it nicely without leaving the generator running all day long when you aren't there.
2 or 3 batteries to support the inverter and extend time without the generator is helpful.
mrkoje
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
Must haves for a toyhauler: Big enough garage space and enough tie downs to get all of your toys in. I think everything else is kind of a personal preference isn't it?

I like my TH has solar charger, air compressor and pressure washer but I don't think they are "must haves."

The 100gal water tank is a must have even though the gray tank gets full too fast. Really the garage and water tank was the reason we went with the TH to begin with.
miboje
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
tgreening wrote:
miboje wrote:
lawnspecialties wrote:
miboje wrote:
I almost spit out my dinner at the fart comment! LOL!
Anyhow, why would you ditch the half bath? I was thinking it would be more convenient, and would keep down tracking through the main area where there is most likely carpet to be tracked up. Plus, it will keep folks out of the main area if you have the AC on....

Like I said earlier, its just not worth the hassle. If it was plumbed into the main black tank, that would make a difference. But dumping a separate black tank that the dump pipe is located by itself at the back of the camper is just too much hassle considering what its used for.

Most toy haulers (especially Cyclones) stink when it comes to storage space. Make that half bath a closet. Or better yet, forget the half bath space altogether plus the other side (fridge, washer/dryer closet) and extend the garage another 2' or more.

Half baths look cool at the dealership but just get old fast.

Are they all like this? We are looking at the Heartland Torque, so I guess I'll have to find out beforehand.

Another case of one mans hassle is another mans convenience. Personally I like the half bath and wouldn't want to be without it. I have two young girls, and I like "my" bathroom to be just that, though I don't mind sharing with the wife. :)

The separate black tank doesn't bother me at all. If I'm parked for a period I'll just run a hose from each pipe, join them with a Y connector, and stick the whole mess in the sewer. Sometimes I only hook up a single hose to the main dump pipe and when thats finished draining I'll run the hose back to the 2nd station and drain that one. It really doesn't take much time to do it either way so I find no hassle, for me.

There's really no right or wrong, it's all about what works for you and makes you happy. There's nothing wrong at all with a half bath...if that's what you want. If you don't, that's why there are a gazillion different manufacturers with a gazillion different floor plans.

Oh, that's a great idea on joining the two. I wouldn't have thought of that.
And that's the thing for us...we have two girls, and I'd sort of like to keep our bathroom to us, but yet they are going to HAVE to use it to shower anyhow, so it's not really going to be just to ourselves. Unless we figure out a way to hook up an outside shower complete with a curtain, but that would only work when we're boondocking. Pretty sure the campgrounds would frown upon outside showers going in...lol.
tgreening
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
miboje wrote:
lawnspecialties wrote:
miboje wrote:
I almost spit out my dinner at the fart comment! LOL!
Anyhow, why would you ditch the half bath? I was thinking it would be more convenient, and would keep down tracking through the main area where there is most likely carpet to be tracked up. Plus, it will keep folks out of the main area if you have the AC on....

Like I said earlier, its just not worth the hassle. If it was plumbed into the main black tank, that would make a difference. But dumping a separate black tank that the dump pipe is located by itself at the back of the camper is just too much hassle considering what its used for.

Most toy haulers (especially Cyclones) stink when it comes to storage space. Make that half bath a closet. Or better yet, forget the half bath space altogether plus the other side (fridge, washer/dryer closet) and extend the garage another 2' or more.

Half baths look cool at the dealership but just get old fast.

Are they all like this? We are looking at the Heartland Torque, so I guess I'll have to find out beforehand.

Another case of one mans hassle is another mans convenience. Personally I like the half bath and wouldn't want to be without it. I have two young girls, and I like "my" bathroom to be just that, though I don't mind sharing with the wife. :)

The separate black tank doesn't bother me at all. If I'm parked for a period I'll just run a hose from each pipe, join them with a Y connector, and stick the whole mess in the sewer. Sometimes I only hook up a single hose to the main dump pipe and when thats finished draining I'll run the hose back to the 2nd station and drain that one. It really doesn't take much time to do it either way so I find no hassle, for me.

There's really no right or wrong, it's all about what works for you and makes you happy. There's nothing wrong at all with a half bath...if that's what you want. If you don't, that's why there are a gazillion different manufacturers with a gazillion different floor plans.

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