Baby toy haulers. Yay or nay

Yep, I just bought my first enclosed trailer for $6750. 2007 Ragin 24'. Out here in Wera West it gets hot AF in the summer rounds and having somewhere to get out of the elements, good sleeping quarters for everyone, a hot shower, good heater/AC, place to cook breakfast inside when its 30 degrees in the morning. Outside propane BBQ with supply line from trailer. This trailer has made the track weekend a completely different experience for me and the family. I can tow it with my Tundra no problem. dry weight is 4500lbs. Stocked it with everything needed for kitchen/bedding so you dont have to unload/load everything every trip. Shit just stays in there. Just load bike and food and go. Super happy with it. I spent another $2000 on servicing generator and new canopy etc.. so still only into this thing for $9k.

I know this doesnt meet the OP due to height but having a full amenity trailer is something to seriously consider.

 

I've been chasin' toy haulers for over 15 years. I'm a magazine's equivalent of an expert on the subject.
From small to large, cheap to expensive...I've recently considered that, at some point, ya just gotta suffer the compromises and buy the product that's least damaging to the wallet. Not even ATC can build exactly what you want, unless what you want is already in their practiced skillset.

 

Same here. I’ve been researching forever, but just can’t seem to settle on something. I like the ATCs, but even the 20 footer is over $50k now and they aren’t without their problems. I might just settle for a $20k Forest River 190TH to see if I’m really an RV’er, but I have yet to see one in person.

 

Got a link for that 190TH?

For the TL;DR challenged, scroll down to the last paragraph...understand that these are strictly personal opinions, no better or worse than anyone else's.

Before toy haulers were a thing, it was car trailers with living quarters...that's your ATCs, et al. When toy haulers started to become a thing, it was campers with ramp door garages, usually no bigger than a 10' garage, 8' was more the norm, neither being competition for the car hauler types.

Then the garages got bigger and toy haulers became an industry category of their own vs a sub-category of modified camper "called" a toy hauler.
When they became their own category is when I figured I'd find one that I liked better than my original "want", CampMaster's fifth wheel, a division of RoadMaster...car haulers. Toy haulers still weren't competition for dedicated car haulers as far as capacity is concerned, but there are a few. Those few, however, are too heavy, too expensive and too spartan to compete with the palatial offerings from today's offerings of uncounted brands, most of which are owned by less than a handful of parent companies.

One of the first to strike my fancy, and not one that jumped into the category blindly, was Palomino's "Puma Unleashed". Palomino had been around since 1968. Their first toy haulers offered a lot for a little. They've fallen under the Forest River umbrella but maintain their own, separate division.
After numerous go arounds with the likes of Jayco, Cherokee Wolf Pack, Grand Design, ATC and others, I've come back to the Puma Unleashed. Inexpensive, capable and straight forward. No flashy gimmickry, fairly decent reviews (at least, no severe horror stories) and coming back to them a second time around tells me they were a viable first choice in the game of toy hauler ownership.

Still haven't bought one, but given my previous "latest choice" woulda been in the $70K-$90K range, I'm more than happy to consider a Puma Unleashed in the $40K range.
Keeping it simple...
https://palominorv.com/fifth-wheels/puma-unleashed/381FTB/4336
How would I like it optioned?
- I prefer the u-shaped dinette over theater seating. I want a place to sit down for meals, not a place to make my ass-print bigger.
- The Happi-Jac sofas in the garage could be better if they had fold-down arm rests with cup holders, but WTH...compromises.
- The roll-down 3-season screen wall could be better. Again, compromises.
- A ramp patio seems like something I want, it's available.
- Built in generator, Onan 5500, is available.
- 30gal fueling station, available.
- Some people poo-poo on the aluminum siding. I see it as something that will never delaminate and it doesn't add $3K-$4K to the price.
- Rear view camera.
Everything else is pretty much good to go. Immediate upgrades, something a lot of trailers could use, would include real tires...possibly the mattress, too.

What do I particularly like about the layout?
- I'm not walking through, or by, a bathroom between the garage and the living space, which means I'm also not walking through the living space in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom...and the bathroom doesn't waste space by having two separate entries. How fucking stupid are those bathrooms with two entries?
- The garage bathroom doesn't intrude on the garage space and would allow for pets to be safely confined within the main living quarters during the daily "pit" operations. The commode is also angled to provide maximum floor space for when you have to peel your leathers down to your ankles, if you know what I mean...no walls crowding you and making things difficult.
- Only one slide out, contributing to overall weight reduction.
- 11 cu/ft refrigerator.
- Tall enough ceilings but not an excessively tall exterior profile...better fuel mileage, less susceptibility to side winds.
- A SXS fits.

What don't I like that I haven't previously commented on?
- The MorRyde solid steps for the front entrance. Something I'll have to suffer (tolerate) as another compromise.
- The interior window shades. I prefer blinds that can be adjusted for light transmission without blocking a view. Easily rectified, at some cost.
- Graphics. Who gives a fuck? Can I get a discount for "graphics delete"?

Before coming to this model, I even looked at smaller toy haulers where the living room was the garage and you had the benefit of a lower GVWR making it a lot more tow friendly. Even looked at DuneSports, a brand that offers larger, open garage/living trailers and fifth wheels at reasonable prices. Same as the small toy haulers - can't stand the layouts.

A lot of what I like about the larger offerings is lost in smaller toy haulers and those losses are significant - frig size, garage dimensions, privacy, pet security, versatility...even the comfort of just turning around in your own footprint without bangin' an elbow is compromised. I ain't havin' it.

 

Sorry, it’s the 190RT, not TH. It’s available as a Wildwood FSX or Salem FSX. I’d option the fiberglass walls. I have a 2010 Sequoia so this is about as large as I can go.
https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/wildwood-fsx/190RT/4712

 

I have a feeling the price of aluminum over the last couple years is really playing into that......

But yea even back in late 2016 when I bought mine I had to convince myself that the large price premium was worth it. I don't regret a thing, but if we do upgrade in the future I sincerely doubt it's going to be a new unit.

 

Anything else on the list?
Have you seen a Travel Lite Falcon F23TH? Lighter, higher payload, pretty slick lookin' but harder to find. A couple $K over $20K, but a glas-walled 190RT will be, too.

 

I did look at the Falcon, but it’s too small to carry everything we bring.

 

Ain't that always the way? Too small, too big, too heavy, no capacity...discontinued. It will only ever end when we stop looking and just buy something, as if what we want doesn't exist and never will.

 

Hi guys. Some time this year I will be in the market for a small/compact toy hauler.

The only real requirements is AC (easy to retrofit) or indoor/outdoor shower.

I’m not too familiar with the market or manufacturers so I come here looking for some guidance. What are some used brand/models I should be looking at? I’m thinking of spending around $10-15k.

thanks!

 

Go into your search understanding the build quality of most toy haulers are likely not what you might expect them to be. Used ones increase your maintenance issues, but if you shop prudently, may reduce your investment losses certain to be incurred with any depreciating asset.

 

if it has corrugated siding its going to be "cheap". Also "toyhauler" seems to be a catch phrase to attract eyeballs.
Easy to make a gravity outdoor shower with some capped 6" pvc pipe painted black fastened to the roof. Get a couple or (4) 10x10 canopies to make the outdoor space more livable.