5th Wheel Toy Hauler as a full timer rig? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

GeorgiaX · RV-Dreams Community Member

5th Wheel Toy Hauler as a full timer rig?

Froggi · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have an Escalade by KZ but not sure they are making it right now (due to the economy). All cherry wood, electic fireplace, dishwasher, w/d added (bumps into garage area but opens to living area), kitchen island, queen bed...nicely done.

I think Hearltand's Cyclone is another you might look at.

JLitton65 · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a Heartland Cyclone Toy Hauler. While we do not full time now, we plan to in the (hopefully) near future.

norsado2 · RV-Dreams Family Member

we have 3812TS raptor with a few adds it works for us, gotta have toys!!!!!

-- Edited by norsado2 on Wednesday 15th of September 2010 07:29:02 AM

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

I've seen a couple of the manufacturers that make toy haulers also have some models where the garage area is sealed and they've added two small bedrooms or one office and one bedroom or two offices. Sorry, I can't remember the manufacturer, but it seems there were several models with a variety of layouts using the grage area. What caught my eye was a second toilet and sink (1/2 bath) incorporated into the design of the garage area.

I had always thought a toy hauler would make a great fulltime unit because of all the space that would allow for a variety of uses by just adding or taking away furniture like you would do with a house.

flyone · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have noticed there are a few fiver's with a second bedroom and half bath on the market. One that comes to mind is a Copper Canyon, I don't recall the model number. But something like this would give you a room where you could get away when necessary and have a guest room as well.

Flyone

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

You can always finish off yourself or have someone else finish the garage space custom just as you would like, G

mktobob · RV-Dreams Family Member

Keystone makes a 5er that has an extra room. I have seen them with a sofa that turns into a bed and many times a desk and entertainment center.
This link has several rigs with pictures.
Keystone Challenger 34TBH

GeorgiaX · RV-Dreams Community Member

Of course, I never thought about a rig with a bunkhouse area in the back (that allows one bed to be a couch) and then altering it to our needs (i.e. removing the beds on the opposite side of that room).

Then, of course, the question would be if that style of rig would be durable enough to be a full timer candidate.

Thanks for the ideas. Any others are welcome!

Gary · RV-Dreams Family Member

I've seen a Heartland Bighorn 3800RD (I believe I have that right) that has a room in the rear that can be a den, extra bedroom, etc. Saw it at a show and loved it. Many uses.

Go to their site and check it out.

Howard · Host

Also take a look at Excel Wild Cargo and Newmar X-Aire. We have RV-Dreams friends full-timing or planning to full-time in both.

Camper_Boy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We're the X-Aire owners that Howard is referring to, and we're hoping to be full-time on the road very soon!

We have two teenage boys that are going with us, so we use the garage as their "Boy Cave" when we're parked, and it hauls bikes, grill, outdoor furniture and dog when we're travelling.

We had Carlyl Lehman (Amish furniture maker in Nappanee, IN) construct a queen-sized bunk in the garage area for our oldest son (ours did not come with the optional bunks in the garage), and install a corner TV cabinet. We also replaced the UGLY pass-thru door that came in the unit with a maple french door which Carlyl stained to match the cabinets. We picked up a very nice neutral carpet remnant, had it cut to size and bound, and we roll that out when we arrive at our destinations. Lastly, a couple of Poang chairs from Ikea, and the "Boy Cave is complete -- a really nice room for watching a movie, or doing schoolwork!

Check out our blog posts from June, 2010 to see pictures of the upgrades we made.

My personal favorite was the change to the french door. It is SO MUCH more attractive than the door that comes in the unit (Raptor puts a french door in their toy haulers), making the "garage" feel more a part of the RV living space. Amazingly, there is still total noise isolation between the two spaces with the door closed. The boys can watch a movie on their TV out there, and we can be watching something on the TV in the living room (which is right next to the door), and there is no overlap of sound. We did have to add a separate DVD player for the back TV, because of the way Newmar wired all the TVs into the switchbox, but we were able to put it in the main cabinet in the living room, and just pop a hole through the wall for the wires -- not too difficult.

OK, that was a longer response than I intended -- but go check out the pictures!

Steak Eater · RV-Dreams Community Member

-- Edited by Steak Eater on Friday 15th of October 2010 04:25:54 PM

Ckerr · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a Fuzion 393 by Keystone. The garage area is heated/cooled and seperated from the main living area by a sliding glass door which is great as it can be seperate or feels like part of the same room.

Ours came with 2 beds (queen +) that come down from the ceiling -- the lower one converts to a sofa facing front and back. It also has a tv with dvr, 2 lounge chairs and an area carpet that came from the factory. We added a small refridgerator and a curtain across the sliding glass door for privacy when necessary.

The garage area is also where our washer/dryer connections are. We haven't added those and don't think we will.

While not quite full time, we spend at about 6 months a year in the 5th wheel currently. We think it's a great unit. We've recently decided that we want to switch to a MH, but that is because some other things have changed for us -- not a reflection of the unit itself.

Camper_Boy · RV-Dreams Family Member

OK, I thought I had a picture of the garage all "fixed up" . . . it's in my July 7, 2010 post from Hillman, MI.

Postalpair · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hubby and I have been fulltimin' in our toyhauler for 5 years now. We carry two full dressed cruisers. When they are out, our garage fills up like anybody else's does!!
We are thinking about going down to one large bike ( Gold Wing, etc ) but we absolutely love our toyhauler. We would do it all again....Not sure if Sunnybrook makes their new toyhauler on the Titan frame anymore. But it might be one to look at.

-- Edited by Postalpair on Friday 17th of September 2010 09:27:19 PM

GeorgiaX · RV-Dreams Community Member

Joyce and I went to the Atlanta RV show and saw some different styles that peaked our interest. However, I still think many of the toy haulers (at least the ones that were there and they wer few and far between) still have a lot of hard surfaces and "action-oriented" decor, which I completely understand. Their target market is large groups who do a lot of boon docking at OHV areas, for example. So I do understand, just the look does not agree with what we are wanting.

I also asked a dealer about Heartland and he said he does not carry the brand and he is happy about this fact. When asked why, he said that Thor Industries had purchased Heartland for $200 million last Friday (September 17) and that Thor is notorious for cutting corners. In the immortal words of Howard, "Sheesh!".

Oh well, the search goes on. Thanks again for the suggestions.

Camper_Boy · RV-Dreams Family Member

GeorgiaX,

We felt the same way about so many of the Toy Haulers . . . too much black and chrome, and "kicker" stereo systems. That was one of the things we really liked about the Newmar. Our interior is the same as any other Newmar 5er -- very classic look, you'd never know it was a toy hauler.

Postalpair · RV-Dreams Family Member

Same for our toyhauler. I told hubby no sports theme. Our interior is the same as any other fiver.....no sports theme. We do have what appears to be finish line flags on the exterior, but no big deal.
Again, we love our 5th wheel....if you are planning on buying new, you can always order the rig the way you want it. That's what we did.....went right up to Indiana and ordered our rig the way we wanted it. Find a dealer you like and will work with you.
Good Luck!!!

Ckerr · RV-Dreams Family Member

One of the reasons we picked our Fuzion was because the decor was more in keeping with a contemporary home than a sports theme -- cherry cabinets, contemporary upolstery (sp?). It's got the "extreme" graphics on the oustide, but doesn't have anything to do with the inside. There is some diamond plate in the garage area, but that's actually kind of appropriate as it helps keep the lower walls clean.

Gary · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dang it! Why Thor! Why?

Well, back to the drawing board.

pitbull · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have looked several years for the right toy hauler. We found as you did that you were giving up to much for the toy space. As much as I love 5vers we bought a 37 ft Damon Outlaw Motorhome.

The toy area has a murphy bed with all the wood work, storage and cabinets that you would expect. I get to take my bike and the wife has a great bedroom.

We love the unit with a 8.1 Workhorse gasser and 6 speed allison transmission the milage is 8 to 12. I wouldn't believe it at first but we got 8.5 in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Anyway it was the only unit that had all we wanted.

Pitbull

TwoHavanese · RV-Dreams Community Member

We are looking at the toy haulers because hubby has two teens that may be coming to live with us, a boy and a girl, so we need separate spaces for each of them. This one has sleeping in the garage as well as a loft. We haven't found anything that even comes close to providing sleeping space like a toy hauler. We've looked at so many floor plans, but also checking the "R" factor as right now we live in an RV park in an area that gets lots of snow in the winter. What we've found that fits the bill so far is the Voltage 3950. There's a thing or two we'd like to change, but all in all it seems like a good choice.

Even if the kids don't come to live with us full time, they'll have a place to stay while they're here to visit. We can use the garage area for our office, and use the garage entrance to bring the dogs in to keep the main living area cleaner. We also plan on getting the w/d unit to save on laundrymat output. Now we just have to wait to hear from the dealer if he will accept the deal we offered.

DZ · RV-Dreams Family Member

We've been full-timing in our Excel Wild Cargo for 4 years now. Started out with a Honda Valkyrie in the garage, but it moved out and we turned it into a small office area with filing cabinet, desk, extra pantry and small frig. Excel warranties their fifth wheels to - 10, and will build whatever you want. They are heavy, but they tow very well.

Cyclone Dave · RV-Dreams Family Member

My wife and I have been full timing in our 2009 Heartland Cyclone 4012 for over two years now and have over 20K towing miles behind us. The garage is my office and work room. Since June, we have transported our 2008 smart car in the garage.