Toy Hauler Travel Trailer – A Recreational Vehicle Review
Toy Hauler Travel Trailers can be a small stepping stone up from the Tent Trailer or a very luxurious move up-town. They are a good compromise when considering price, size, and comfort; there by proving to be one of the most popular Toy Haulers on the market today. Travel Trailers are towed via a heavy-duty hitch at the rear of your tow vehicle.
A Toy Hauler Trailer is less expensive than the 5th Wheel Trailer, starting around $15K. That’s quite a jump from the Jumping Jack Tent Trailer that has a price tag around $5K. Don’t let the low price fool you, it’s easy spend the better part of a years wages on one, if you choose.
Manufactures have responded to the SUV market by producing “lightweight and ultra-light” Toy Hauler Trailers. Yet loaded with fuel, water, and the toys, my 23 footer has a gross weight is near a whopping 10,000 pounds. My experience is that a rig can “comfortably” tow a little more than one half of its rated towing capacity. Keep this in mind if you will be towing in mountainous country. My Dodge diesel is rated at 16,000 pounds towing capacity. Which gives me a little power to spare in the mountains.
Initially, our plan was to park our new trailer in the same space as our little motorhome, but when it arrived we found that it was much bigger than it looked in the dealer’s lot. We barely had enough room. With the help of my wife to guide me, we managed, but quickly realized that we had a trailer with almost no-where to park it. The lesson we learned was to be sure to measure your parking space before you buy. Keep in mind your maneuvering room. The corner of our house is quite a bit closer than I remember. It’s certainly a tight fit, so I recruit the wife, and I back the trailer in ever so slowly.
Proper hitch set up is very important with Toy Hauler Trailers. Large trailers are subject to catching wind and can be sensitive to proper load distribution. A good hitch will make towing a pleasure for you. Seak the guidance of your RV dealer in setting up your hitch.
When you move up from a smaller unit into a Travel Trailer, the comfort levels really start to rise. The kitchen is bigger, (although ours is kind of small), you can usually sleep up to 8 comfortably. There is actually a bathtub and shower! We love the large living room that is created after the toys are unloaded, and I’m kept entertained by a TV and Stereo System. Some models have a slide-out which provides more room to relax in. No need to worry about having to get up and move to let someone pass by. Some floor plans have the slide-out area converting into dinettes while others slide the couch out for leg stretching.
What I really like about the Toy Hauler Trailer is the extra goodies, especially created for hauling toys. It has a fuel station that can hold upward to 30 gallons of gas and has its own electric fuel pump and nozzle for filling the toys. A 4000-watt Onan generator powers my tools and keeps the lights burning bright while I’m working on the quads. During the day, the large checkerboard awning keeps the rays off my bald head, and believe me; you’ve not experienced sunburn ’til you’ve burned the top of your dome. Man that hurts!
Overall the Toy Hauler Travel Trailer gives you the best bang for the buck and is quickly proving itself in the travel trailer market.