school me on toy haulers

Its still a buyers market out there. My advice is don't be afraid to get quotes from far away and go make a trip to pick it up.

Local dealers sometimes won't budge much on prices. But big places will. I bought a new Outback 5th wheel toy hauler in 09. Fuel prices were high at the time so the RV market was crap!

Started looking in october and found a place in december (perfect time to buy), bought it and picked it up in april.

All the local dealers wanted $30-$32k. Found lakshore RV in michigan (i'm in NJ) and they went down to $23k for me and then gave me a few add ons at cost that i wanted. Was a 2 day trip to go get it - but was well worth the savings. One day to drive there - then the dealer had a full hookup pad that we slept in our rv that night. They went over a walkthrough in the morning, answered all our questions, installed a 5th wheel hitch for us while we did our walkthrough and we drove it home.

Make sure you widen you search and be willing to travel a bit for a good deal.

 

Must be a common problem, our bedroom dvd/tv player went bad too. Was under warranty so they gave me another one free of charge. But then I upgraded to a bigger one (I have a brand new one in the box if yours ever goes bad again out of warranty- just saying )

I had my shower leak a bit - they resealed it with calk. Then the door to the bedroom came off its slide rail and they fixed that. All under warranty.

Tightening of cabinets and such. but i bet thats all rvs since they are moving.

 

They seem to make nice stuff. I wanted one (the XT220 I believe was all they made back then) when I was looking. This was before the bust, and the only one I could find wouldn't budge much on the price.

An RV retailer being hard on the price? Hard to even imagine these days.

I ended up getting a Weekend Warrior in Georgia. It was a little scary, as I had never pulled anything that big before. Suddenly, I was many miles from home with this HUGE THING on the back of my truck (that I had just paid a bunch of money for). But I was fairly comfortable with it by the time I got to the Florida border.

BIG price difference though.

 

Yes, that is the one i am looking at. Here is a link: http://lazydays.com/rvs/Travel_Trai...River_XLR_Hyper_Lite_Travel_Trailers_001.html

 

Thanks for all the input everyone. I went to the dealer yesterday and while just taking a casual look and not even talking dollars the salesman said he could get me 20% off the ticket price. I'm thinking if I hammer them I could get them to 35% off or so and maybe some add-ons.

 

http://www.thegreatoutdoorsrv.com/Cherokee/295WP.htm


that's the one I have. it's great!

 

Nice. Even a slide out!

My first thought is that it is close on the weight for your truck. Does your Titan have a "towing package" or the like? If you are considering the option of upgrading the truck to have the toyhauler you are taking a sensible "try and see" stance.

Many can't swing that and end up with a hauler/trailer option that just doesn't work that well (or isn't that safe).

The manufacturers are notoriously optimistic on the weights. Not to mention that you need to add the weight of "stuff" (generator, fuel, bikes, spares), and particularly water for the tanks if you are someplace (like a racetrack) without water hookups.

My trailer is smaller (19ft) and hauls great, but I notice it when I have the water tank loaded up, even though the tanks are low in the frame.

I used to try to get water close to my destination (and still do sometimes), but in many cases it is more trouble than it's worth, so I just fill them at home.

The "Florida Flatland" syndrome definitely makes it easier on a tow vehicle, but a setup pushing the limit can often be a handful in storms or windy conditions.

 

Yeah my Titan has the tow package etc. I am figuring about 1200 lbs worth of stuff (not including water). What do you guys figure? I usually have two 600s and a pit bike, plus all the normal stuff. Should I factor in some more weight? The titans are rated at 9400lbs. I originally planned on buying a truck and trailer at the same time, but figure it can't hurt to give the Titan a shot since it is nearly paid off.

 

Smilodon.
More info on this statement please:* Get the best weight distribution and anti-sway system you can afford.

What makes a good system or bad? I've never towed anything that required this stuff, but have done a little research and most weight distribution hitches I am seeing appear to be basically the same.

 

We use a Reese "Dual Cam" hitch which is a load distribution and anti-sway controller - and love it. Of course, towing with a dually cuts down on the sway some.





A great hitch (set up properly) and a great brake controller (we use a Prodigy) go a long way in towing.

 

plus a 5th wheel screws up your bed space

 

Not if you have an 8' bed it don't. I still carry my honda 3k gen in my bed along with other stuff easily. And you get a lot more room inside your rv with a 5th wheeler (in my opinion) A 5th wheel tows the easiest also. The trailer feels like its part of my truck! No sway or anything.


976 - whats the back door on your outback too? I have a middle door on mine that goes into the kitchen/living room. And my ramp that comes down for the rear garage. Just curious as to what that last door you has is for.


+20 for the prodigy brake controller

 

I ended up getting a generic setup from the dealer (standard "bars and chains" setup). Yes, it does work, but is a pain to hook-up (even a little scary sometimes), and generally needs disconnecting (also a PITA) when doing maneuvers like backing into a tight spot.

There are better designs out there. Two popular ones are the Reese dual-cam and equal-i-zer. They both have superior mechanisms in place of the "chains and hooks" of a standard setup. Easier on and off, and less or no need to disconnect when doing tight turns.

There is also something called a "Hensley arrow" that many folks swear by, but is hugely (HUGELY) expensive. Not as popular, due to that if nothing else.

At the top of my upgrade list is a new hitch (I was leaning toward equal-i-zer) and electric tongue jack. My current hitch and jack are the cause of most of the aggravation (and minor injury) I've experienced with the trailer. That, and trying to back into tight spaces (which is always fun)...

 

I have the equalizer and love it.

 

I have the Equal-I-Zer. Works pretty well and it's easy to setup, but it does have some quirks. The hardware works loose on a regular basis, so you have to tighten it or it will fall off on the road (safety wire helps, too). It adds some sway control, but with the addition of noise (popping and creaking, if you hear that on a rig going through the paddock then they probably have the same hitch setup). They make a set of delrin pads that quiet the racket but they also limit the anti-sway.

 

I was under the impression that all guys with 5th wheels had longbeds.

 

Thoughts on warranties? Worth it?

 

agreed. I have to tighten mine like its a two stroke race bike. Mine does not seem to make so much noise anymore. How about the weight of those bars? Every component of the system weighs a ton.

 

::shrug:: It's the back door is all.



Seriously, though - on the 230 that's where the dinette is, but on the 280 the dinette is on the port side in a 4' slide out. The back door just lets you enter the coach at the rear king bed instead of having to walk through the cabin to get back there.

I notice on the new 280s they have bunk beds in the garage - the older ones like mine have a one-level Murphy queen (or full, maybe) bed.

 

Not if I had to pay an arm & a leg for it. We just replace/upgrade parts on our own as they fail, which to date has been about nothing. I put a new stereo in ours (the Jensen unit sucked)... that's all I can think of in 14 months of ownership. Some stuff is cheap and you'll want to replace with newer nicer stuff, anyway. If I had to do it again I'd hedge my bets against a warranty and save that money for my own repairs, which would probably be better than stock, anyway. YMMV.