General Toy Hauler Floorplan Comments

[SCPOBob]

Brother/Sisters.

Is it just my wife and I or is there a general lack of understanding from the RV makers on what many of us are looking for in terms of a fifth-wheel RV today? I know these units started as toy haulers for multiple dirt bikes and/or off-road vehicles, but I am seeing more and more of us are using this as remote bases of operations for riding our road-bikes and as such are looking for floor plans that meet the following:
- Bike storage (generally 10ft will do) upto about 1,000lbs for a single bike
- Accessory storage (closets and such) near the bike
- Dont really need 40gal of fuel onboard, but I guess this can be nice to have
- Opposing slide outs in the living area (very much like the larger RW models)
- Ability to move around the bed without performing acrobatics (but those can be fun to watch)...look at the floorplans for the larger RW's and Cyclones, what's with that stupid angled wall?
- Living/Kitchen area storage for minor neccessities like food, cookware, etc

We recently were looking at RWs lineup and liked the bedroom area and the overall size/weight of the 301, but the garage/living area of the 381; and where ready to pull the trigger...but alas this was not to be as our dream unit doesnt exist in any lineup. We understand that we will need to make compromises, but they should be small (storage locations, colors, etc).

Thoughts?

 

[PUG]

After never owning a camper or anything and retiring, we decided we just as well go big and bypass what most people do by buying, moving up to something larger, again and again and spending more money. We purchased the 3950 Cyclone (09) and used it for three years. The trl itself, the garage, etc. were pretty good. Toy haulers are fair weather trls mostly not insulated as well and mainly made for fair weather in spring, summer, and fall.

The trl fit our needs but after three years the living room/kitchen got real small. We usually had a four wheeler or a couple of dirt bikes with us and didn't want to not have them. We ended up purchasing a SOB similar to the Grand Canyon but actually 38 ft vs the Cyclone at 42 ft. The new trl has a full wall slide plus a couple of other slideouts so we now have living area about three or four times more than the Cyclone. To handle the ability to bring our toys, I purchased an eight foot wide x eight foot long utility trl. This gives us room to haul about anything we want. I had the dealer install a hitch up under the new trl and pull it that way.
You will find on this website, http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm , the lengths and restrictions per state that you can pull. I found that most states you can go up to 65 ft total length of everything. There are a few like washington, oregon, and some of the Northeast states you can't pull a double trl unit.

The 8 foot wide utility trl lets you see the trl a little better. I run a TST tire sensor system and installed sensors on the utility trl to let me know if one of the little tires pops. You don't back up much or very far but other than that it isn't a problem pulling the little trl. I have a Ram 3500 DRW, short box, mega cab, a 38 ft trl and the utility trl making it just under 65 ft.

We travel around Idaho a fair amount and go south in the winter taking advantage of the warmer weather and good riding both dirt and street. Having the large living area and very nice quality of the unit we purchased has made a huge difference in our long term stays of three to four months. Hope this helps in giving you a different perspective. Works well for us.