Toy Hauler-5th Wheel Screened Patio?

[Sacha]

One decision down a million more to go I am aware there is a toy hauler forum but this one seems to get more traffic/responses so I posted here.

DH and I decided on a 5th wheel over the MH but one of the downsides was having to drive our future Tv to tour in. We started talking about powered bicycles or scooters (Honda/Vespa) and thinking maybe we could carry them with us to use for shorter trips thus eliminating the need to take our big TV everywhere..we decided on scooters (we think) because if we get ones that can go highway speeds it will be more versatile.

That led me to toy haulers

Originally I was looking at the Grand Design 376TH but.....

Then I realized that I could have a screened in 3 sided sun room and a "patio" with a solid floor if we went with a 350M or something similar plus I could have a washer/dryer and keep my closet space in the bedroom. As we were planning on a screened room to carry along I thought hey this could be awesome! I don't have to put anything up or down and it's more protected should it be rainy or windy. Plus it'll carry along our alternate transportation and should we have guests they could have a more private area to sleep in.

So to me this all sounds win/win but as I have already learned I don't know enough

Finally my questions for those that have this type of 5th wheel is my planned use realistic? How often will I be able to drop the back and use the room/patio in the manner I described? What do I not know or have I not thought about that would affect us if we chose this type of RV?

Also anyone else use scooters like we are thinking?

Any other manufacturers I should be looking at that is comparable in quality to Grand Design?

Thank you

[HighDesert]

Just an opinion here as I have never owned a toy hauler, but have had 5th wheels up to 31 feet and 10000+ pounds. What you are looking at is more like an apartment on wheels! I took a look at the model number and the spec says it is 41feet long and a gross vehicle weight of 20000 lbs. Don't know what state you live in, but this may require special license provision to tow (when in Ca., they required special class for over 10K pounds). Have you considered where you are going to go and where you are going to park this puppy? Nice to have all these amenities, but you really have to consider the overall picture: At least a 1 ton dual wheel pickup - most likely diesel for torque, where yo go, as the overall height of this vehicle is listed at 13'5", where you going to turn this thing around at? Screened porches are nice, but not usable all the time. Have to be careful leaving it open as it allows full access to storage area when being used. I think you are at the point of asking yourself the right questions, but think you really need to reassess what it is you are going to do and what you really need. If you are just going down the 2 lane or interstate to the beach, or big RV park .... maybe not an issue. If you are planning on going off the main roads, could have some issues arise regarding accessibility due to (overall) size. Once again, let me emphasize, I do not own one of these, but have had experience with them with friends on hunting trips and at various campground conversations. Good luck on your venture.

[Sacha]

Very good points they are very large. Grand Design does have the 327 or 328M which are 35'11" and I'm sure that size would be easier to tow and Park and I am considering them as an option. However I'm not a huge fan of the floorplan of the living area, but it might be worth the tradeoff. I haven't actually been inside one yet as we will need to travel to a dealer that carries them. We are Ok with the large diesel truck TV and will be leaving California when we retire, probably setting up domicile in FL.

Our plan is to full time for at least 5 years and travel throughout the US and Canada. I doubt we get off pavement very often at least not with the RV still attached to the truck.

Is the heighth 13'5" going to be a major issue? That seems to be the heighth across the board for this brand.

I really appreciate your time and thoughts.

[Scarab0088]

Toy Haulers are great! We love ours and modified the garage ramp on ours to be a deck before it was offered by the factory. Now every Outlaw and most Toy Haulers have the deck option.

We opted for a Dometic Xtend-A-Room vs a screen wall, but both are great to keep the bugs out. Some makers offer zippered plexi-glass walls that keep the AirCon inside the garage too.

Photo credit to RVOUTLAWZ
http://rvoutlawz.com/xtend-a-room-toy-hauler-patio-2/

We just fold it up when not deployed...


The garage is a multi-purpose room that, after the toys are rolled out, can be used as a bedroom, shop, kennel room, craft room, office, den...etc....the list goes on and on.

We have a Cal King bed in our loft and see no reason for a dedicated bedroom - which allows room for the garage. And, some bigger Toy Haulers have both.

About RV size...there's an old saying: Too big lasts a day or two...too small is forever
Our Class A Toy Hauler with car in-tow is 55' in total length (37' RV and 17' for car and tow-set)...we have never had a problem getting where we wanted to go. At the end of the hard-top, we use the car or motorcycles to explore farther.
See: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/clas...rs-130973.html

Hope you enjoy yours as much as we enjoy ours

Best Luck

[Sacha]

Thank you for sharing! I love the screened room idea for the deck and the pictures of it all in use are very helpful.

[Gigattime]

We have a 2016 Grand Design 350M and love it. Tow vehicle is one ton (2011, F350) and does a fantastic job pulling it.

We used from April through November last year (around 40 nights and 3000 miles). Can't wait for this season to begin!

It can easily get in many state parks (stayed in several in Ohio and 2 in Tennessee). We didn't have any issues with size in 4 private parks including Hershey, PA, Carowinds, SC, and 2 KOAs in between.

Height can be an issue especially with trees on entry roads to state parks and on your actual camp site... Definitely something you should always be on the lookout for in my experience.

The rear garage is perfect for us. We use the dinette option for eating and playing cards/games. Our teenage son loves the queen size bed (Happi-jack electric bunk) in the garage as well.

We only used the rear ramp as a deck twice (in the fall) due to summer heat and wanting to keep the garage area cool and comfortable. We have 2 a/c units with ducted vents in the garage along with the 4 seasons insulation package and it worked great for us even in 95+ degrees in the Carolinas in July.

We had a couple of warranty items including the known Lippert axle seals leaking on one of our axles. Grand Design has awesome customer service and our dealership was great to work with. Only small issues, but the work was timely and completed in only a couple of weeks (fast approvals on everything from Grand Design).

We love the floor plan and are happy so far with the overall quality of this unit.