New fusion420 or new XLR 420?

[BFMC69]

Hi all,

I'm a newbie and I've narrowed my search down to a new Fusion 420 or new XLR 420 and would like any constructive advise from how good the warranty service is from each company to pros and cons of each trailer?

I've chosen these two because of the floorplan / side porch that both offer. They are almost identically equipped and the only thing that seems to stand out to me is the cabinet hinges are resessed on the Fusion and the hitch weight is about 1100 lbs more ?

Also, I plan on towing it with a new Dodge 2500 megacab 4x4 diesel and plan on using the firestone airbags to help make up for the lack of payload.

Hopefully someone has some actual working knowledge to share 🙂

[NC_Hauler]

taken wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:


So, good "guess" on my part about the GCWR being 21,000#?..a GCWR that is 1000# higher than mine. His pin weight will easily hit 3,000# at the least...Guess I like the extra buffer I've given myself in going with the dually/4.10...I won't even go over my truck's GVWR...WELL under my trucks RAWR,and extremely under my truck's GCWR...gives me "peace of mind" towing on mountainous curvy roads and the stability of the dually makes it well worth it....safety is key in my equation on towing.

It wasn't a good guess. Every Thunderbolt AMP is rated at 21k GVWR. 😉

His pin weight WILL NOT exceed 3k and likely won't even hit it. As I posted, my trailer is at 2850 loaded and ready to travel and it goes down to 2650 with the garage loaded. My listed pin is higher than the 420's by 110# so I'd bet money the 420's loaded pin will be lower than mine too. Bottom line is he will be under on his truck's GVWR by over 1k, under on his RAWR, and under on his tire ratings. He will only be over on GCWR if he's loaded heavy ready to tow. I am and am not worried about it in the least. His 3500 megacab will have a GVWR of 12400#. The truck will weigh about 8500 ready to tow. That leave's almost 4k for pin.

As to safety, I have 100% piece of mind with my RV/truck combo. That's a personal thing. Safety is more of a perception than fact based with many people.

yes sir. I will glean from your post and learn from it....BUT safety is more than a "perception", just my view with 40+ yrs of towing behind me..... IF safety was a "perception", something not practiced....I'd never made it out of Viet Nam....safety is something you work at to make it a very important part of one's family life...

[taken]

NC Hauler wrote:


So, good "guess" on my part about the GCWR being 21,000#?..a GCWR that is 1000# higher than mine. His pin weight will easily hit 3,000# at the least...Guess I like the extra buffer I've given myself in going with the dually/4.10...I won't even go over my truck's GVWR...WELL under my trucks RAWR,and extremely under my truck's GCWR...gives me "peace of mind" towing on mountainous curvy roads and the stability of the dually makes it well worth it....safety is key in my equation on towing.

It wasn't a good guess. Every Thunderbolt AMP is rated at 21k GVWR. 😉

His pin weight WILL NOT exceed 3k and likely won't even hit it. As I posted, my trailer is at 2850 loaded and ready to travel and it goes down to 2650 with the garage loaded. My listed pin is higher than the 420's by 110# so I'd bet money the 420's loaded pin will be lower than mine too. Bottom line is he will be under on his truck's GVWR by over 1k, under on his RAWR, and under on his tire ratings. He will only be over on GCWR if he's loaded heavy ready to tow. I am and am not worried about it in the least. His 3500 megacab will have a GVWR of 12400#. The truck will weigh about 8500 ready to tow. That leave's almost 4k for pin.

As to safety, I have 100% piece of mind with my RV/truck combo. That's a personal thing. Safety is more of a perception than fact based with many people.

[CarlT100]

Jim, I agree 100%. I like a safety margin. I would rather have too much truck that be right at or over the limits. But that is just me in my old age. 🙂

[NC_Hauler]

taken wrote:

BFMC69 wrote:
#taken,

Please let me know what you find out about the pin and dry weight of the XLR.

OK, here are the dry weights on a production XLR 420. They are before you add any options, install battery(s), and fill propane tanks.

Hitch-2537#, Ship-14657#, GVWR-21000#.

So, figure the pin loaded and ready for travel will be under 2900#. This is no issue for any SRW 350/3500. Also remember that the pin goes down the more you load the garage. Not a lot, but some. The only thing you will be over on is GCWR. Oh, and another great option on the XLR, especially for us SRW guys, is the Tuson Sway Control. It has the ability to pulse the trailer brakes on one side or the other to eliminate sway. With the lighter pin weight, this really helps keep the trailer in line with the truck. I've already towed ours over 3k miles this year and it's like an arrow behind my little SRW truck.

So, good "guess" on my part about the GCWR being 21,000#?..a GCWR that is 1000# higher than mine. His pin weight will easily hit 3,000# at the least...Guess I like the extra buffer I've given myself in going with the dually/4.10...I won't even go over my truck's GVWR...WELL under my trucks RAWR,and extremely under my truck's GCWR...gives me "peace of mind" towing on mountainous curvy roads and the stability of the dually makes it well worth it....safety is key in my equation on towing.

[taken]

BFMC69 wrote:
#taken,

Please let me know what you find out about the pin and dry weight of the XLR.

OK, here are the dry weights on a production XLR 420. They are before you add any options, install battery(s), and fill propane tanks.

Hitch-2537#, Ship-14657#, GVWR-21000#.

So, figure the pin loaded and ready for travel will be under 2900#. This is no issue for any SRW 350/3500. Also remember that the pin goes down the more you load the garage. Not a lot, but some. The only thing you will be over on is GCWR. Oh, and another great option on the XLR, especially for us SRW guys, is the Tuson Sway Control. It has the ability to pulse the trailer brakes on one side or the other to eliminate sway. With the lighter pin weight, this really helps keep the trailer in line with the truck. I've already towed ours over 3k miles this year and it's like an arrow behind my little SRW truck.

[ksss]

lawnspecialties wrote:
My dealer says working with the Fuzion folks on warranty issues is great. Probably the best one the service guys recommended. But that being said, a lot of that has to do with your own dealer and their relationship with each manufacturer. My dealer sells a LOT of Fuzions but usually only carries a few XLRs at a time.

On the other hand, if you're going to keep the 2500, you gotta go with the XLR. In my opinion, hitch weight is THE biggest factor when hauling with a single rear wheeled truck. I've gone from an F450 back to an F350 SRW. The XLRs are high on my list for our next toy hauler because they seem geared toward lighter pin weights; even on the triple axle models.

I've also had great success with all my Forest River campers.

I have had really good experiences with Fuzion and their warranty support, but I credit the dealer with a lot of that. I like the Fuzion trailers, I have had two and doubt that I will look elsewhere.

[taken]

You won't be disappointed with that truck! They are nice rigs indeed. One thing I would recommend is getting the supplemental air suspension that Ram offers. It will make your unloaded ride softer and keep you dead level no mater how your pin weight fluctuates (which happens a lot on a toy hauler due to the garage changing the pin weight.)

As to the pin weight, I have not heard back from my contact at XLR but it is Labor Day so I'm assuming he won't be thinking work until tomorrow. If I don't hear back from him by tomorrow night, I'll try him again. However, Couch's sells more XLR's than anyone so if that's the number they are showing, I'm betting it's correct. You could also try calling them in the AM. I would ask for Brannnon. He's their sales manager and a top notch low pressure guy. Tell him Rodney from MA gave you his name. He'll remember me.

[CarlT100]

That could well be true because the axles on the XLR are set a little forward than most toyhaulers. That reduces pin weight. Remember, those are dry weights and not what you will be towing.

I applaud your decision to go with a 3500. That is a wise decision and you won't regret it. Enjoy that new truck.

[BFMC69]

#taken,

Please let me know what you find out about the pin and dry weight of the XLR.

Jeff Couch's RV nation shows the XLR420 Dry weight @ 14,716 and the Pin weight @ 2,537 which if that's correct ? then the Pin is about 1200lbs lighter than the Fusion !

#All
FYI, I'm going to get the 6.7 Diesel 3500 4x4 Megacab SRW. I've talked to 10 different people since i started this thread and all of them plus most of their friends pull similar TH's with 1 ton SRW's. Thank you all for your input...

[tinner12002]

Well if the suspension and all under the truck were the same as you state, under a 2500 vs 3500 then why are you afraid to go with the 3500?? They shouldn't ride different IF they were the same! I personally wouldn't want to pull either one with a SRW 3500 let alone a 2500!!!

[CarlT100]

Rodney, I agree 100%. I would tow it with F-250 properly equipped as the F-250 is just a derated F-350 SRW. That said, I am sold on the stability of DRW's. In the OP's case, it is not stability; it is the axles, springs, wheels, tires, and brakes.

[taken]

CarlT100 wrote:

Very well said, Jim. I wish the OP the best and safe travels. Personally, I would never take that risk.

I wouldn't either Carl. If he had a F250, I would as it's the same truck as I have. Ram's 2500 vs. 3500 is a completely different story.

[taken]

lawnspecialties wrote:
My opinion. We really need to find out what the pin weights are. The Forest River website page I saw said "TBD".

I sent a text to the plant manager at XLR on this as all the weight and measures are listed as TBD other than width and height. I haven't heard back yet... likely due to it being labor day weekend. I'll try him again tomorrow if I don't hear. All of the Thunderbolt AMP floorplan's weights are very similar so I'm guessing this one will be too. Will see what he comes up with.

[CarlT100]

NC Hauler wrote:

BFMC69 wrote:
#NC Hauler #taken,

Thank you both for your input and yes I understand the DRW would be the best/safest way to go.

But if I run airbags and go to G rated tires on the 2500 Mega, other than some sway from the coil springs would that still be unsafe?

The SRW 2500 has the same Axles, brakes, motor & tranny as the SRW 3500 and the 3500 has E rated tires. So other than some possible sway in heavy wind, why would the 2500 with bags and G rated tires not be as safe as the 3500 SRW?

My whole point here is I don't want to drive a buck board everyday for work and I'm only going to tow the trailer 6-8 times a year and a small trailer will not work for us.

We've stated more than several times, with facts from airbag manufacturers, that airbags WILL NOT help add payload....only levels the load..

Dually in my sig is a loaded out Longhorn...I'm engulfed in luxury....A dually has been my daily driver for over 10 years now and doesn't ride like a buckboard., I HAVE to have the dually IF I want the 5ers I've towed over the last 10 yrs, ie, the right truck for the job...New 5er in my sig has a GVW of 20,000#, and this truck will easily handle it without "adding" anything to it..Your 2500 has a GVW of10,000#, mine is 14,000#, with a GCWR of 37,500#.. huge difference.

G rated tires don't add GCWR...You're looking for justification to overload the 2500...I can't, in good conscience, tell you that it is ok....or safe...BUT, your choice, truck and most important, your family

You've already made up your mind to tow a TH with GVW of 19000-21000# with a 2500 Megacab. I't isn't a very good idea, but I don't think that really matters to you...drive safely and keep us posted,

Very well said, Jim. I wish the OP the best and safe travels. Personally, I would never take that risk.

[lawnspecialties]

My opinion. We really need to find out what the pin weights are. The Forest River website page I saw said "TBD".