New to Toy Haulers

[crazer42]

My wife and I are approaching retirement and want to begin traveling, we both ride motorcycles and have always thought a toy Hauler would be something we would enjoy.
I have always owned boats, but never an RV so we are new to this, I have a few questions/ concerns.

we have been looking at the Raptors, Cyclones, Fuzions, and the XLR and have liked them all just waiting for the right deal to come we are looking in the 39-42 foot range

as mentioned I have towed boats for years but those only were around 30 feet overall, is a trailer that big hard to get around? getting into gas stations etc is it hard to find camp sites that accommodate a trailer that big?

are they hard to maintain? any suggestions on brand?

Just looking for input from those who have been doing this for a while
thanks

[Alabama_Campers]

Just wanted to chime in as well. We love our 43' TH and soon will become our FT Home!! Yes it's big, sometimes a little painful to get in or out of certain places, or back in at a 90 degree, but as a previous poster stated...once it's set-up...boy do I love the room! Let the back door down, pull down the screen on a nice cool breezy day....hmmm...got to love it!

Steve

[jasonlisan]

I love our 43.5' toy hauler when I'm at my destination and set up and enjoying the fresh air, it's the "sometimes" chaos of getting to the destination and back home that can be a pain. If you're good a backing up trailers then you'll be good to go.

[fj12ryder]

I think the main concern with a toyhauler is whether you want a separate garage or not. With just the 2 of you, IMO, you lose a lot of living space with a separate garage. That wall that separates the garage will make the main living area much smaller. We wanted as much living space as possible when the bikes are out of the toyhauler.

It also depends on how much time you spend inside and the amenities you want. A lot of toyhaulers are along the line of "Hose it out when the weekend is over".

[crazer42]

Yes i have a 2011 F350 DRW so i should be fine as far as weight goes

[steelpony5555]

Heartlands Cyclone is very homey compared to some....

[mrkoje]

With a rig that big it will be easy to get into gas stations mainly because you will be mostly limited to truck stops. Towing I don't think would be much different - more stuff to pay attention to though like weights. That brings me to the next deal - a 39+ foot toy hauler will bring a massive ammount of weight with it so make sure your truck will handle it ok. Really 39+ TH is 1ton dual wheel territory.

I would recommend the Desert Fox because of the quality but that is a tow behind and not in the lenght you are considering. The only thing I've really heard of people saying regarding TH brands is to generally stay away from Dutchman. If I were in the market for a TH FW then I would go with Heartland's Cyclone or Road Warrior.

[EnduroRdr]

Well suggestions will lead to opinions! Are you new to campers in general? I have owned 3 and after the first 2 I formed one of those opinions! Mine is I hate EPDM rubber roofs. Most of the time they are fine but I often camp in wooded areas. All it takes is one branch to rub across the roof to cause issues. Something to keep in mind.

As far as toy haulers go they are no more difficult than regular campers to maintain the only difference is they have a big back door and room to put a toy or 2 inside.

Anyway you ask about brand preference, for my third one I went with a more industrial type and less focus on the frills. I chose a Forrest River - Work and Play. Mostly because it has a solid one piece aluminum roof (no more rubber roofs for me) short of converting an Air Stream this was a logical choice. I also like the heavy duty design of the Work and Play. Heavy Duty usually means Heavy weight but actually this 27 ft 5th wheel weighs about 200 lbs less than my last 31 ft bumper pull trailer.

Anyway - I recommend that if you are just getting started that you find a used toy hauler in good shape. First off you need to find out if you really are cut out for trailer life. Second off let the first buyer take the higher depreciation hit.
If you are already experienced with campers then you pretty much know what you are in for.

Good luck: here's a pic of my latest.