TT toy hauler vs 5th wheel toy hauler

toytacoma8 wrote:


...

With just one bike you might check out some of the side loading garage units like the Outback. They have a large bedroom and living space with a smaller garage, sometimes in front.

...

Good point but I believe the Outback sideloading units are still only 8 feet wide on the outside. Most likely not enough room on the inside of the garage for the big bikes he plans on hauling. Another thing with the side loaders is they generally don't have beaver tails to prevent bottoming out on the top of the ramp.

I think the OP would be better served by a rear loading beaver tailed setup.

I went with the TT TH by Northwood because 1. they don't make a FW version and in my opinion they are about the best trailers made. 2. The king pin weights of similar length FW TH are pushing high 2500 - 3000lbs+ dry. That is too much weight for my little 2500 and I wouldn't feel safe I don't think. Those are the biggest reasons. I do like the fact that I have my entire bed available now for other things.

What you really need to be concerned with on a TT TH is the tongue weight. I didn't even think I would have an issue with mine until I dived deep into the specs. The dry tongue weight is around 1600lbs. On mine, the holding tanks are all in front of the axles so if I'm hauling water then there will be more tongue weight to deal with. I had to get a heavier duty WD hitch setup just to handle the additional weight. Now when you add your toys to the back behind the rear axle then it will reduce some of the tongue weight but not a lot.

Towing seems to be about the same as my previous trailer. This trailer (13k GTWR) and the Cummins knows it's there unlike the previous TT I had that maxed out about 8k. Other than that though I couldn't be happier with all the features they pack into these units.

Generally speaking 5ers tend to be taller, and have greater ground clearance, but their ramps also tend to be steeper. There is a plus to the TT with a bike, many have issues with steeper ramps and backing down (or at least a fear of backing down).

5ers tend to have larger tanks, so do compare - but as you note you won't be doing a lot of dry camping so this may not be a big issue for you.

If you get the right hitch, like a Hensley, you really won't find any towing difference between a TT with good hitch and a 5er.

The big plus to a TT is it's all one level, no step up to the bedroom, but you also lose the storage that comes with that step up too.

Personally I found towing my 39' Raptor so much easier then with our 28' TT. But if I'd found a comparable 5er and TT I'd be hard pressed to decide.

I just got done going back and forth with this decision. Big questions are do you want a seperate garage? With just one bike and a trailer that big I would think yes. If thats the case the TTs like that are about 32-35 ft in length to the tounge and usually have a very small from bedroom. If you get a Fiver that length it will have a nice large bedroom. Also the trailer is about 4+feet forward of your bumper instead of a foot behind it which makes your overall length alot shorter.

With just one bike you might check out some of the side loading garage units like the Outback. They have a large bedroom and living space with a smaller garage, sometimes in front.

The next issue is the pin weight. Most of the fifth wheels with a seperate garage have pin weights north of 2600lbs..... Peope will argue all day if thats too much for your truck or not one other cargo is involved.