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Camper Choices

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Msw1382

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My wife and I did a trial run of camper life with our dogs over the past weekend. We were concerned about our husky being an *******, but as it turns out, all went well, and we think that camper life will suit us well.
I'm really leaning towards a toy hauler as we have bikes and likely soon a side by side. The issue I'm running into is that a lot of 5th wheel toy haulers payload ratings outweigh the payload of my 2025 2500 Cummins (2,260lbs). It is what it is, but I'm curious if anyone out there has a 5th wheel toy hauler that they've safely towed with a 2500.
 
Toy haulers are tough, when empty the pin weight is very high but once the garage is loaded a smaller ones could fit your setup. I towed a standard 35ft 5th wheel with a 2022 2500 for over a year with no issues. Was always under my axel weight rating but over my payload. Thats a decision for you to make but managing weight and always having to plan what goes where and what we can/can't take was why we upgraded to a 3500. It took the fun out of traveling real quick for me and it's much more enjoyable being able to take what ever I want and put it where ever it fits best.
 
Look into travel trailer toy haulers. Thats what I pull because I ran into the same issue. The pin weights on them are way higher than a normal 5er and i didnt want to go up to a 3500 so travel trailer was my solution.
 
Well, technically I use a frame mounted receiver hitch to tow my TT. Not the bumper, so….
 
Screech said:
Look into travel trailer toy haulers. Thats what I pull because I ran into the same issue. The pin weights on them are way higher than a normal 5er and i didnt want to go up to a 3500 so travel trailer was my solution.
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About those... Toys, by their nature, are going to get dirty as all hell. The TT models i've seen have at least part of the garage in the living area. How do you keep the living area from getting trashed\smelling like toys?
 
Msw1382 said:
About those... Toys, by their nature, are going to get dirty as all hell. The TT models i've seen have at least part of the garage in the living area. How do you keep the living area from getting trashed\smelling like toys?
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Before I moved up to a fifth wheel TH I had two different bumper pull toyhaulers. Both had vapor walls between the living quarters and the garage and they had separate ventilation. I never had an issue with dirt or vapors in the living area. Not sure what the manufacturers are currently offering as far as floor plans. I agree, parking the toys in the living room is a no-go for me.
 
We've had our Grand Design 21G toy hauler (piece of crap) for 4 years. Its a "park the side-x-side in the living room / kitchen" rig, not a separate garage model. The Can Am X3 rides all over hell's half acre back there and we have NEVER had any funky smells or mess to deal with beyond what a simple whisk broom and a few minutes couldn't remedy. The "ventilation system" consists of a couple side windows left partly open on the highway. About the worst of it, some rain water dripped on the floor when we loaded the X3 just after a downpour. A few dirty towels tossed underneath and it was handled. I wouldn't let that reasonable yet unsubstantiated concern be a deal-breaker.
 
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ErikTheRed said:
We've had our Grand Design 21G toy hauler (piece of crap) for 4 years. Its a "park the side-x-side in the living room / kitchen" rig, not a separate garage model. The Can Am X3 rides all over hell's half acre back there and we have NEVER had any funky smells or mess to deal with beyond what a simple whisk broom and a few minutes couldn't remedy. The "ventilation system" consists of a couple side windows left partly open on the highway. About the worst of it, some rain water dripped on the floor when we loaded the X3 just after a downpour. A few dirty towels tossed underneath and it was handled. I wouldn't let that reasonable yet unsubstantiated concern be a deal-breaker.
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I mean you left such a glowing review... lol

It is a deal breaker for my wife and I. If it was just me using it to haul toys and sleep, I would look past it. However, using it as a living space and thinking through the need to clean toys before they are put back in the "garage" just kills it for me.

The priority is living space, garage is secondary. I did find some nice 5th wheel haulers that my truck can handle w\out issue so I'm likely going that direction.
 
Step one in a trailer selection is to figure out what the rear axle of the truck can handle.

Look at the rating on the rear axle, which is probably around 5 - 6 K lbs. ( label in the door frame on the drivers side )

Subtract from that the weight that is on it right now, either using a scale or if it is printed out. What is left is the max weight of the trailer's tongue can exert on the truck. This is going to be 1000 - 2000 lbs most likely.

In order to be stable, and deal with the varying weight in the trailer, a first estimate is that 10 - 20% of the trailer weight needs to be on that tongue, so as an example:

( 5 ) x ( 1 000 lbs of available capacity ) ~ 5 000 lb trailer.

If you post the numbers on the label, then others will of course chime in with improved suggestions. The 2500 is a nice truck, but don't pay any attention to the max tow ratings on pick ups, they are nearly meaningless marketing numbers.
 
ErikTheRed said:
We've had our Grand Design 21G toy hauler (piece of crap) for 4 years. Its a "park the side-x-side in the living room / kitchen" rig, not a separate garage model. The Can Am X3 rides all over hell's half acre back there and we have NEVER had any funky smells or mess to deal with beyond what a simple whisk broom and a few minutes couldn't remedy. The "ventilation system" consists of a couple side windows left partly open on the highway. About the worst of it, some rain water dripped on the floor when we loaded the X3 just after a downpour. A few dirty towels tossed underneath and it was handled. I wouldn't let that reasonable yet unsubstantiated concern be a deal-breaker.
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If your GD is a POS then I’d hate to see your review of some of the campers built in the bottom 1/3 of quality.
 
AH64ID said:
If your GD is a POS then I’d hate to see your review of some of the campers built in the bottom 1/3 of quality.
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I share ownership(with the bank) of a GD as well and use similar terminology quite frequently in regards to it. The “lower grade” unit I traded in was much better built in every aspect, just didn’t have the most favorable layout. Just know when you buy any RV that there will be repairs necessary.
 
whitexc said:
I share ownership(with the bank) of a GD as well and use similar terminology quite frequently in regards to it. The “lower grade” unit I traded in was much better built in every aspect, just didn’t have the most favorable layout. Just know when you buy any RV that there will be repairs necessary.
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Lots of work and upkeep, especially if you use them off of paved surfaces frequently.
 
AH64ID said:
If your GD is a POS then I’d hate to see your review of some of the campers built in the bottom 1/3 of quality.
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ALL campers these days are overpriced junk. ALL of them. Sure, some might have more problems than others, but thats like saying a cow's ass is just a little less sh***y than a pig's. We did a TON of research before we landed on the GD in 2020, and we paid quite a scosch extra for it thinking we were buying something better. WRONG! Its a pile. My brother's 18-yr-old Weekend Warrior has fewer problems. My bro-in-law has a cheapo Attitude trailer and his has been pretty good too (compared). Good friend has a Sandstorm (Forest River) with some problems but nothing like our crappy GD. Everyone we know who has a camp trailer has problems, but nothing like the experience that we've had with this thing. The lesson? They're all built like caca with the cheapest crap they can find and literally ZERO quality control. So when you buy one, buy on price only-- don't get fooled into believing that if you pay more, you'll get more. You won't. The only thing you "get" is ripped off even worse.

whitexc said:
Just know when you buy any RV that there will be repairs necessary.
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100% correct, and most of those repairs will be fixing stuff that the manufacturer screwed up from the very start. And DO NOT think your dealership service department is going to fix anything, likely they'll just make it worse. They don't hire mechanics or technicians, they hire dirty rednecks with a Harbor Freight tool kit (takes one to know one).
 
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