Motor Home or Toy Hauler
My Daughter and SIL are both retiring soon and moving from NY to Calif to be near her family. They will be buying a house in the Sac Ca area but so far can not find what they want. SIL thinks they sh...
Forum Discussion
BurbMan wrote:
Couple things...toy haulers are built to carry the weight of toys behind the axle and still have adequate pin/tongue weight. When there are no toys in the garage, and no offsetting weight behind the axles, they are impossibly heavy on the pin/tongue. Planning to use a toy hauler with no toys is not a good idea.
That's kind of correct in theory, but not so much in practice.
Our old bumper pull toy hauler was a lot more susceptible to that. It was absolutely balanced with a load in mind. The tongue was very heavy when it wasn't loaded with our bikes inside.
Our garage model fifth wheel is completely different though. We've toured far and wide without the car in the garage (see map below) and it really doesn't make any difference. The larger 5er is so long and heavy that it doesn't matter if the tanks and garage are empty. It's heavy but stable either way.
Having said that, I wouldn't recommend getting the toy hauler if they don't really have a need for the garage. The garage is OK for kids to sleep in, but I wouldn't recommend it for adults. Ours has the double HappiJac beds (queen bed on top and convertible queen/dinette below). It's a good use of the space, but it doesn't have the comfort and amenities of a bedroom. I think a 5er with two bedrooms and baths would be a lot more comfortable.
The only exception is if they plan to dry camp while their home is being built. If that's the case, then I would absolutely go with a toy hauler because of the larger tanks, onboard generator, fuel stations, etc. If they go this route, they should plan to invest a little extra to add four batteries, an inverter, and a bunch of solar panels. It makes a huge difference. We mostly use our generator when it's hot out and we need to run the air conditioners. Otherwise, the solar panels keep the batteries charged up pretty well.
To reiterate on the weighting and balance though, I've been the moderator of the Toy Hauler Forum here for 15 years and I've never seen anybody complain about the ride in a fifth wheel with an empty garage. It really isn't an issue.
Good luck,
Dave
