Hi guys, question about buying a toy hauler

[Steve92004]

I've been wanting a toy box forever, just could never afford one
I sold my motorcycle and now I can kind of buy one
I found one that suits my needs. It needed to be able to fit my dune buggy, have a front bedroom for the gf and be able to be towed by my current truck, a 2014 Ram 1500 4x4 Hemi
Pretty tough criteria
So I found a 2007 Weekend Warrior Superlite FS2500 for a price I could live with
Then I started researching it a bit and wound up here in a thread about the class action suit and ensuing bankruptcy of the manufacturer. The toy hauler looks like it falls into the model and year that a lot of members had frame problems with here
This particular one is eight years old, well used and doesn't appear to have any of the symptoms of the frame self destruction.
I asked the dealer about it and he assured me the frame has been inspected and everything is all good.
Does that mean it will probably survive?
I really like it and it's tough to find one that meets all my criteria, especially at a price I can afford
What do you think?
Thanks!

[CarlT100]

htwheelz67 wrote:
Pretty much ANY toyhauler requires at least a 3/4 ton truck to tow no matter what the MFG or dealer says. When they say 1/2 ton towable they mean 1/2 ton "bareley towable" Its way better to have more truck than less truck than the trailer requires.

Hear! Hear! Well said.

[Brisk]

htwheelz67 wrote:
Pretty much ANY toyhauler requires at least a 3/4 ton truck to tow no matter what the MFG or dealer says. When they say 1/2 ton towable they mean 1/2 ton "bareley towable" Its way better to have more truck than less truck than the trailer requires.

Agreed 110%

[htwheelz67]

Pretty much ANY toyhauler requires at least a 3/4 ton truck to tow no matter what the MFG or dealer says. When they say 1/2 ton towable they mean 1/2 ton "bareley towable" Its way better to have more truck than less truck than the trailer requires.

[atwowheelguy]

Steve92004 wrote:
Thanks guys, I looked at truck's owners handbook, I can tow 10,200 lbs and max payload is 1432 lbs

I think the trailer is way under that, well it's advertised as such
It's really the only one with a front bed that fits my offroad car and still be able to tow with my truck

This one is about $6,000 less than identical trailers online
If it doesn't work out I'll sell it

YOUR truck payload is likely to be less than the "max payload" listed in the owner's manual. Look at the tire loading sticker on your driver side front door. It will tell you the available payload for YOUR truck. My '13 F150 XLT had a max listed payload of 1750 lbs. in the Ford source book, but the payload of my individual truck is 1607 lbs.

My 4600 lb. "brochure weight" toy hauler actually weighs 6700 lbs. loaded with two dirt bikes and NO WATER. It has a 780 lb. tongue weight.

[tchil]

Genisis has some nice ones to check out.

I sort of agree with the above comments but just realize that nearly every manufacturer has had issues with frames and rot and ... Unless you buy new you just have to deal with the potential. And even when you buy new you still deal with it. If you read for a while you will see lots of brand new units with major issues. Many of those are not fixed under warranty or if they are take months and lots of work on your part.

In my case I would rather save the money and make the repairs if I have to. I have several friends with weekend warriors and they have their issues but honestly they sold a lot more of them then most other manufacturers so the real question is how many of them are warrior specific and do they have a higher rate of problems per unit then other manufacturers?

[Steve92004]

Well you scared me enough, I just called the financing and told them to cancel
I hope the dealer returns my deposit

Actually the financing was horrible with a super high interest rate
My bank would give me a great rate but they won't do anything older than 2010

What do you guys suggest for a toy hauler with 12" to the first cabinet, 6'6" inside width?

[otrfun]

Steve92004 wrote:

otrfun wrote:

Steve92004 wrote:
Thanks guys, I looked at truck's owners handbook, I can tow 10,200 lbs and max payload is 1432 lbs

I think the trailer is way under that, well it's advertised as such
It's really the only one with a front bed that fits my offroad car and still be able to tow with my truck

This one is about $6,000 less than identical trailers online
If it doesn't work out I'll sell it

I was looking at a number of FS2xxx WW's about 2 years ago. Yup, the price on these things used are attractive. Did my due diligence and passed.

First off, the prices are low for a reason. Unless you know, or you know someone, that knows exactly what to look for in terms of the frame issues, you'd really be taking a big risk.

The tongue area on these WW's were way underengineered. It wouldn't take much for a properly adjusted WD hitch to bend the a-frame on even a slightly unlevel road. Even some of the earlier FS2xxx that were recalled and strengthened by WW were improperly welded by various independent welders that didn't fully understand the repair or the problem.

Then there's the issue of the entire frame from front to back. Even a layperson can look at the main frame rails and tell they're dramatically smaller than typical TH frame rails. Throw in the fact they cut openings in the frame rails (front to back) to reduce weight further, and you've got a recipe for potential disaster. The twisting and under-engineered side supports created a whole other set of problems with the seams/walls seperating and distorting out of position.

Secondly, the white UVW stickers located in the cabinet area on the WW's were notoriously inaccurate. Two owners of a FS2100 were nice enough to let me take their rigs to a CAT scale to verify axle/tongue weight. The white UVW stickers on these FS2100's listed the UVW as approx. 4375 lbs. In reality, empty, they weighed approx. 5500 lbs. The tongue weight was close to 1200 lbs. Keep in mind the maximum tongue weight for a Class IV hitch on most 1/2 ton trucks is approx. 1000-1100 lbs. (assuming the use of a WD hitch).

Unless one is up to the task of making frame and seam/wall repairs as a DIY project, I wouldn't consider purchasing a WW toy hauler at any price.

Well you guys are scaring me
I'm up to fixing stuff, but I don't want to get into a huge mess

Not trying to scare you, just hoping you consider everything with your eyes wide open.

FWIW, here's some additional food for thought.

The unit you're looking at may very well have zero frame issues. The dealer may even be an expert on WW frame issues.

Even so, here's something to keep mind. Maybe, just maybe, is has no frame issues because it's never been really loaded, stressed, or really "used" in the past.

[Steve92004]

otrfun wrote:

Steve92004 wrote:
Thanks guys, I looked at truck's owners handbook, I can tow 10,200 lbs and max payload is 1432 lbs

I think the trailer is way under that, well it's advertised as such
It's really the only one with a front bed that fits my offroad car and still be able to tow with my truck

This one is about $6,000 less than identical trailers online
If it doesn't work out I'll sell it

I was looking at a number of FS2xxx WW's about 2 years ago. Yup, the price on these things used are attractive. Did my due diligence and passed.

First off, the prices are low for a reason. Unless you know, or you know someone, that knows exactly what to look for in terms of the frame issues, you'd really be taking a big risk.

The tongue area on these WW's were way underengineered. It wouldn't take much for a properly adjusted WD hitch to bend the a-frame on even a slightly unlevel road. Even some of the earlier FS2xxx that were recalled and strengthened by WW were improperly welded by various independent welders that didn't fully understand the repair or the problem.

Then there's the issue of the entire frame from front to back. Even a layperson can look at the main frame rails and tell they're dramatically smaller than typical TH frame rails. Throw in the fact they cut openings in the frame rails (front to back) to reduce weight further, and you've got a recipe for potential disaster. The twisting and under-engineered side supports created a whole other set of problems with the seams/walls seperating and distorting out of position.

Secondly, the white UVW stickers located in the cabinet area on the WW's were notoriously inaccurate. Two owners of a FS2100 were nice enough to let me take their rigs to a CAT scale to verify axle/tongue weight. The white UVW stickers on these FS2100's listed the UVW as approx. 4375 lbs. In reality, empty, they weighed approx. 5500 lbs. The tongue weight was close to 1200 lbs. Keep in mind the maximum tongue weight for a Class IV hitch on most 1/2 ton trucks is approx. 1000-1100 lbs. (assuming the use of a WD hitch).

Unless one is up to the task of making frame and seam/wall repairs as a DIY project, I wouldn't consider purchasing a WW toy hauler at any price.

Well you guys are scaring me
I'm up to fixing stuff, but I don't want to get into a huge mess

[otrfun]

Steve92004 wrote:
Thanks guys, I looked at truck's owners handbook, I can tow 10,200 lbs and max payload is 1432 lbs

I think the trailer is way under that, well it's advertised as such
It's really the only one with a front bed that fits my offroad car and still be able to tow with my truck

This one is about $6,000 less than identical trailers online
If it doesn't work out I'll sell it

I was looking at a number of FS2xxx WW's about 2 years ago. Yup, the price on these things used are attractive. Did my due diligence and passed.

First off, the prices are low for a reason. Unless you know, or you know someone, that knows exactly what to look for in terms of the frame issues, you'd really be taking a big risk.

The tongue area on these WW's were way underengineered. It wouldn't take much for a properly adjusted WD hitch to bend the a-frame on even a slightly unlevel road. Even some of the earlier FS2xxx that were recalled and strengthened by WW were improperly welded by various independent welders that didn't fully understand the repair or the problem.

Then there's the issue of the entire frame from front to back. Even a layperson can look at the main frame rails and tell they're dramatically smaller than typical TH frame rails. Throw in the fact they cut openings in the frame rails (front to back) to reduce weight further, and you've got a recipe for potential disaster. The twisting and under-engineered side supports created a whole other set of problems with the seams/walls seperating and distorting out of position.

Secondly, the white UVW stickers located in the cabinet area on the WW's were notoriously inaccurate. Two owners of a FS2100 were nice enough to let me take their rigs to a CAT scale to verify axle/tongue weight. The white UVW stickers on these FS2100's listed the UVW as approx. 4375 lbs. In reality, empty, they weighed approx. 5500 lbs. The tongue weight was close to 1200 lbs. Keep in mind the maximum tongue weight for a Class IV hitch on most 1/2 ton trucks is approx. 1000-1100 lbs. (assuming the use of a WD hitch).

Unless one is up to the task of making frame and seam/wall repairs as a DIY project, I wouldn't consider purchasing a WW toy hauler at any price.

[Bedlam]

Even the lighter Weekend Warriors are too heavy for a 1500 truck. They made extremely heavy models and even their lighter ones had close to 1000 lbs of tongue weight. You will not like towing that FS2500 with your truck.

[Steve92004]

Well that's scary
How do you know if you have damage like that?
I went around the whole trailer, opened every cabinet, pushed on every wall. Spent over an hour
The trailer has some wear and tear but everything works
I guess it's a **** shoot

[atwowheelguy]

http://socalrvdoctor.com/weekend-warrior/

Apparently this RV repair company has experience installing the reinforcements necessary to cure the sagging walls of the Weekend Warrior toy haulers.

[atwowheelguy]

https://www.facebook.com/rvexpert/photos/pcb.1039049896135755/1039049236135821/?type=3&theater

[Steve92004]

Thanks guys, I looked at truck's owners handbook, I can tow 10,200 lbs and max payload is 1432 lbs

I think the trailer is way under that, well it's advertised as such
It's really the only one with a front bed that fits my offroad car and still be able to tow with my truck

This one is about $6,000 less than identical trailers online
If it doesn't work out I'll sell it