Trailer vs Toy Hauler

[twitch13]

Hi just looking if anyone has opinions / experience on hauling a trailer with the bikes in the back of their truck vs a toy hauler. I've got a half ton truck and I would be close to the limit if I put my families dirt bikes in the box (2 adult size and 2 kid 70 cc size) and haul a travel trailer. The upside of this is a used travel trailer is significantly cheaper than a toy hauler but being new to towing I'm not sure how good of an option this would be.

The toy hauler option seems to be simpler as it makes hauling easier, but they are more expensive and they don't seem as comfortable as a regular trailer, plus the worry of spilling gas or having a big mess in the toy hauler is an issue for my wife.

Keeping in mind that I'd likely only go camping with the dirt bike 3-4 times in a summer.

Let me know what you think.

[dirtyboy]

I had 3 different travel trailers and hauled my motorcycles in the truck bed along with a bunch of other stuff. I used to hate having to unhook the trailer and unload. So I bought an Outback 210RS toy hauler and it was nice. But I kept thinking to myself why was I so special that the bike can't ride in the truck bed? The rest of the family didn't like the toy hauler trailer layout. It was a hassle to have the bed on a rear slide. I ended up selling the toyhauler too. Overall I would just run a standard travel trailer if I was to do it over again (wife would be happier with the better trailer layout) unless I was the only occupant.

I can't see that 3-4 trips justify a toyhauler price tag.

I'm hoping to get a van next before I go back to the good old pickup truck.

Sincerely,
Never Satisfied....

[350scott]

You're probably heard this, but the 1/2 ton truck may be your biggest problem. As you've mentioned, once you put the bikes in the box (if you can fit them all) you're almost guaranteed to be over your rear axle and/or payload rating once you put a trailer suitable for a family of four on the hitch. So know you're in for the cost of a bigger truck (but you get to buy a bigger truck and that's always good).

On the flip side if you get a toy hauler (likely with separate garage) suitable for your family, with toys and everything else, you're probably going to be near the limit of your truck. And you have the extra cost of a toyhauler.

The other option is to leave the family at home. This really opens up your options, but may be the most expensive option. I've heard rumours that divorces can be expensive.

My take, if you can afford it, get a toyhauler that you can legally pull with your truck when loaded. At least this way you should be able to bring everything and stay legal. Then start saving/planning for a bigger truck. It's easy telling other people to spend money!

[Dobi]

I went through this for years. We sacrificed my precious dirtbike for trailer layout and family convenience. Fast forward 12 years and we were faced with 5 dirtbikes and all the gear that goes along with it. My last set up was a 35ft bumper pull with all the bikes in the box. I was generously donated a set of box rails that allowed me to put the two adult bikes on the edge of the box above the wheel wells and the rest of the bikes in the middle of the box. This was a good solution, but meant my trailer was full of gearbags (which coincidentally hold mice when left under the trailer at night...) Then on our way back from Kookanusa one spring we made the mistake of pulling on the scales. My 2500GM was 1700lbs over on the rear axle and had to run aribags at 60psi to maintain a level ride.

We moved into a bumper pull toyhauler in the summer of 2017 and could not be happier. The garage holds all the bikes and gear, as well as all the other camping toys, bins, chairs, etc. This leaves the box bed open for firewood, pedal bikes and the likes. We do use the trailer a bunch without bikes and that back room is such a good set up for hordes of kids to hangout on a rainy day. The other upside is that I can store all my kids bikes in the toyhauler over the winter, along with spare truck tires, lawnmower, pressure washer, etc. allowing all that extra room for my wife to park her van in the garage in the winter.

As for the smell, I am religious about shutting fuel off and running the carbs out of fuel before going into the box. I have never had a smell complaint from the wife or kids. The biggest mess so far has been a blown fork seal. We roll a carpet out over the floor when we get to the location and that makes the trailer feel much cozier.

The new ford 1/2 ton has a ridiculous pulling capacity and while near the limit with a 10,000lb trailer I would suggest there are plenty of toy haulers that can be pulled comfortably by it.

[350scott]

If you really want some good input reach out to Robert (RJHenry) and I'm certain he will regale you with stories. He's done alot of pulling a smaller toyhauler with 2 adult bikes and 2 kids bikes using a F150. I believe his trailer is/was a Hyperlite XLR 27HFS.

[malcolmzilla]

I rarely hitch up anymore, 4wd moto-creeper van love.

Doesn't really answer your question, but with that many bikes and bodies, I think the toyhauler is the way to go.
More security in the city and en route, flexibility to load up night before and maybe unload the day after a late return.

[Dakota_c69]

.... The new ford 1/2 ton has a ridiculous pulling capacity and while near the limit with a 10,000lb trailer I would suggest there are plenty of toy haulers that can be pulled comfortably by it.

I would be careful with this as well. I am just coming from a 1/2 ton F150 Ecoboost and it had a tow rating of about 11,000 pounds. That truck pulled our 9800 LB GVWR bumper pull trailer with authority, BUT, when faced with any serious wind it made for a very sketchy ride and a seriously anxious wife. I only carried one dirt bike and supplies for one rider. I even tried E Load tires hoping that would correct the issue and it barely helped ...

Now the new F150 is even more powerful and has a higher tow rating, but it is lighter then the previous generation. I think the lighter truck would make it even more sketchy, unless there are some other changes to that truck, I would never consider it to tow a high 9000 pound RV

The thing that did fix the problem entirely was an upgrade to a F350. The trailer no longer pushes the truck around like a toy!

I am not familiar with how switching to a 5th wheel version of a tow hauler will help you. I believe Brass did some towing with a 5th wheel and 1/2 ton combo, so he may have some insight.

[twitch13]

I would be careful with this as well. I am just coming from a 1/2 ton F150 Ecoboost and it had a tow rating of about 11,000 pounds. That truck pulled our 9800 LB GVWR bumper pull trailer with authority, BUT, when faced with any serious wind it made for a very sketchy ride and a seriously anxious wife

Thanks for the insights! My half ton is rated for 9230lbs towing and max payload is 1610lbs. The travel trailer size I was looking at are approx. 4800lbs dry, add in 1500lbs of stuff for total weight of 6300lbs. Throw the bikes in the back of the truck (2x adult @ 230lbs each & 2x kid @100lbs each) is a total approx. 660 lbs. I looked up on the internet for calculations which are not super clear on breaking out towing vs payload, but with my low powered brain it looks like the math works on towing and on payload.

I had 3 different travel trailers and hauled my motorcycles in the truck bed along with a bunch of other stuff. I used to hate having to unhook the trailer and unload. So I bought an Outback 210RS toy hauler and it was nice. But I kept thinking to myself why was I so special that the bike can't ride in the truck bed? The rest of the family didn't like the toy hauler trailer layout. It was a hassle to have the bed on a rear slide.

What was the issues with the slide/this unit overall? I also looked at this unit as an option as it is cheaper, shorter for regular camping in a stall and light weight. If it is the same as your old one, it stores the bikes in a smaller compartment in the front. Did you have a hard time fitting bikes in?

[350scott]

I had 3 different travel trailers and hauled my motorcycles in the truck bed along with a bunch of other stuff. I used to hate having to unhook the trailer and unload. So I bought an Outback 210RS toy hauler and it was nice. But I kept thinking to myself why was I so special that the bike can't ride in the truck bed? The rest of the family didn't like the toy hauler trailer layout. It was a hassle to have the bed on a rear slide.

What was the issues with the slide/this unit overall? I also looked at this unit as an option as it is cheaper, shorter for regular camping in a stall and light weight. If it is the same as your old one, it stores the bikes in a smaller compartment in the front. Did you have a hard time fitting bikes in?

At one time this was my trailer and I towed it with a F-150 Ecoboost equipped with air bags.

Towing:

With a properly set up hitch and brake controller, I towed it no problem, even in windy conditions. One of the benefits/drawbacks of this set up is the very high hitch weight. Benefit=this adds a lot of load to the truck, effectively increasing it's weight and stopping the trailer from pushing the truck around. Note, for this to be the case you need to ensure the hitch is set up properly to distribute the weight between both front and rear wheels. It's also key your brake controller is set up properly. Drawback=to stay within a 1/2 ton GVRW you will have little payload capacity (bikes in the box is probably out). There is also a very real possibility you exceed a 1/2 ton hitch rating.

Layout:

Good=The minimal length is great as it allows you to fit the trailer almost anywhere you'd like. The layout works well for one or two people. The garage/kids room is great as it's a separate area that can be used to store anything that fits and is also a great place to make a mess. The upper bunk in the garage makes a great shelf. Bad=For a family, the layout is really tight, particularly in the kitchen/living/dining area due to the lack of a side slide. The garage is really only good for 2 full size bikes. The upper bunk is really small and hard to get into. Relatively small water tanks.

[RJHenry]

If you really want some good input reach out to Robert (RJHenry) and I'm certain he will regale you with stories. He's done alot of pulling a smaller toyhauler with 2 adult bikes and 2 kids bikes using a F150. I believe his trailer is/was a Hyperlite XLR 27HFS.

All true.

First, we pulled a 7700 lb gvw 27' travel trailer with 3 bikes in the 5.5' box of my 6000 lb 2009 F150 with 5.4 V8 and 11,200 lb towing capacity. Payload includes people and bikes and tongue weight, so we were over legal on the rear axle even with a good equalizer setting. I added airbags and that helped the handling and looked level, but it was not strictly legal.

Then, we pulled a 9600 lb gvw 27' toy hauler as Scott describes. Tongue weight is closer to 1000 lbs so with people, gear, generator, firewood... We were still over legal rear axle.

The truck pulled it like a champ, and we did a 13,400 km trip all over the desert in 2014 with that setup. Airbags made it much more comfortable, but it still got pushed around a LOT in cross winds. I added a friction sway stabilizer and that made it a bit better. Working a half ton like that does add up, however. We cracked both exhaust manifolds, changed front and rear pinion seals, power steering cooler I think... All failures I attribute to heavy pulling near rated capacity.

We eventually make the jump to a 2500HD and now are legal (2000 lb payload) but still only barely with tongue weight. The truck weighs 8,000 lbs and does not get pushed around nearly as much.

In your case, a shorter travel trailer closer to the weight of the truck will definitely be more manageable. If you have a 6.5' box and the bikes are not a total headache to squeeze in... I would stay with the lighter, cheaper setup. Airbags are cheap and do help... But you will likely never be legal in either scenario and that carries some risk... Mostly insurance risk if things go really wrong some day.

On the other hand, those kids will move up to bigger bikes before long, and maybe you will start doing the race circuit, and next thing you know you'll own more truck and trailer than any sane person should... If this sounds like you, my only caution is to buy a new trailer only once when you are sure of what you want... Because they depreciate way faster than used ones, and changing your mind too many times gets costly.

Good luck!
RJH

[RJHenry]

Towing:

With a properly set up hitch and brake controller, I towed it no problem, even in windy conditions. One of the benefits/drawbacks of this set up is the very high hitch weight. Benefit=this adds a lot of load to the truck, effectively increasing it's weight and stopping the trailer from pushing the truck around. Note, for this to be the case you need to ensure the hitch is set up properly to distribute the weight between both front and rear wheels. It's also key your brake controller is set up properly. Drawback=to stay within a 1/2 ton GVRW you will have little payload capacity (bikes in the box is probably out). There is also a very real possibility you exceed a 1/2 ton hitch rating.

The hitch weight is a good point, and perhaps a bit subtle.

The Outback with front garage is extra heavy when loaded because the empty trailer still has to have enough tongue weight (usually ~10% of axle weight minimum) when the garage is empty to maintain stability.

Rear garage toy haulers have the opposite problem, the axles are set further back on the trailer so that filling up the garage with bikes doesn't make the trailer too light on the tongue and lose stability. Unfortunately, this means that an empty rear garage toy hauler is extremely nose heavy.

What this means is a 50/50 use profile is awful in either case... Half the time the toy hauler will be very nose heavy, whether front or rear garage. Using a regular trailer also has the same issue... The 50% heavy case is just bikes in the box in addition to the trailer tongue.

[vwrally]

Interesting topic, so many different options! I’ve agonized over travel trailer vs toy hauler, and continue to do so… I have a family of 5 with fairly young kids, and the trailer gets used more for non-moto family vacations than it does for moto trips/races. I ended up with a nice 33 foot quad bunk travel trailer, nice functional layout and works great for the family. I haven’t seen a toy hauler layout that we could live with, even the big triple axle 45 foot units seem to waste a ton of space with couches and fireplaces rather than fixed sleeping spaces. Giving the kids their own fixed space with their beds always ready to go is a big reason for me to stay away from the toy hauler layout. Keeping them clean and gas/oil free seems like it could be a pain. My trailer is more of a park style, so the holding tanks are smallish, ground clearance isn’t great, and it’s very light duty construction. I worry about it’s longevity, but seems to be holding up well for now and doing everything we ask it to, mix of pay campgrounds and short term random camping. Though I have to be careful about not going too far off the beaten path, mainly due to the ground clearance issue. I also try to take it very easy on the rough roads. Compromises!

My trailer is about 6800 lbs, loaded, including 36 gallons of fresh water. Tongue weight is about 830 lbs. I’ve pulled it with my 2016 F150 5.0L. It has a 7000 lb GVWR, 3450lb GAWF, and 3800 lb GAWR. GCWR is 14,200 lbs. The truck weighs 5390 lbs with driver and a full load of gas. The cargo weight for a race weekend is (bike 275 lbs, genny 75 lbs, wood 50 lbs, kids 150 lbs, wife – well, let’s call her 100 lbs ) 650 lbs. So my total combined weight is 12,840, within the max GCWR with room to spare, a little over 1300 lbs.

Rear axle weight is a different story. The trailer tongue weight of about 830 lbs, actually works out to be closer to 1000 lbs of weight on the rear axle (even a little more, but to keep it convenient I’ll use 1000), this is because some of the weight the front axle would normally carry gets levered onto the rear axle, even with a weight distribution hitch setup properly. The unloaded weight on the rear axle is 2111 lbs, add 1000lbs to the rear axle with the trailer connected gets it to 3111. That only leaves 689 lbs of spare rear axle weight carrying capacity. Considering the weight distribution of passengers and cargo and taking the rear bulkhead as approximate center of the wheel base, about 66% of my passenger + cargo weight is going to end up on the rear axle, so about 400lbs. A whopping 289 lbs under capacity, give or take, probably take. Remember the approximate 1000 lbs from tongue weight plus front axle weight transfer, in reality I’ve measured it at 1200 lbs, but that was also with a heavier truck and the hitch not quite transferring enough back to the front axle. So that could easily eat up a chunk of that of that leftover 289 lbs Good thing my wife doesn’t ride, and my son is only on a pw80, for now. The kids are only going to get bigger and heavier too. We also sometimes add 100 lbs of pedal bikes into the box. It’s right on the edge, probably slightly over weight on the rear as others have stated.

In that configuration the truck handled it like a champ. Rode and tracked well, though obviously working hard in all respects. Didn’t get pushed around much, likely due to good tongue weight balance and well set up weight distributing anti sway hitch. The engine was working overtime, I kept it to ~100kph on hwy just so that it could pull in 4th and 5th gear most of the time, rather than 3rd and 4th at higher speed. It only nicked into 6th on downhills. Trying to keep up with traffic at 120 resulted in 3rd gear engine roaring at 4000 rpm guzzling fuel at 28 liters per 100 km. Not the most relaxing driving. I certainly wouldn’t want to take it on a BC trip trough mountain passes. An eco boost engine would handle this better than the 5.0 for sure.

Long story short, ½ ton pickups can take a lot of abuse, but you can hit that rear axle capacity pretty quickly depending on your trailer, it’s tongue weight, and how many dirt bikes you load in the box.

I ended up picking up a 2009 dodge 2500 with 6.7L diesel. The engine pulls along at 120 kph against the wind effortlessly, and the heavier truck is even more stable pulling than the F150 (it’s 7800 lbs vs. 5390). With a 6200 lb rear axle capacity I have almost 2000 lbs of remaining weight carrying capacity available, so room to add few more bikes, it’s also a long box, so they might actually fit. It does have some drawbacks, it’s only a quad cab so the kiddos have a bit less leg room which is ok for now as they’re still small enough. It’s also a 3rd gen dodge so it has a bit of a lumber wagon ride, I think you need to get into a 4th gen to get away from that.

A friend of mine has a nice setup, he’s got a 2013 Chev 3500 with duramax diesel. He pulls a 36 foot quad bunk travel trailer (it’s a heavy duty unit, around 11,000 lbs), with a sled deck in the box that can fit 4 bikes on top plus gear underneath. It pulls great, rides great, has power to spare, and is comfortable for 4 adults. He often takes the family camping with two quads and a bike on the deck and weighs in just under his 22,000 lb GCWR. The bad thing about it is loading bikes on to the sled deck can be scary…. But the 3500/350 trucks are truly awesome these days.

Whoa, long post, sorry

[RJHenry]

Whoa, long post, sorry

Your thorough treatise is very appreciated.

[twitch13]

K been looking into the new and used market and my cheapness is kicking in. Anyone ever consider a tent trailer? I know the typical cons of not as much privacy, set up and tear down can be a pain and you have to dry them out, but the positives are light weight, easy storage and CHEAP!!! I have also looked at the tent units that have the front deck for dirt bikes so I don't have to pile the bikes in the back of the truck and some of them have small water, grey and black tanks. It would get the family off the ground and could solve the girls middle of the night pee problem. Has anyone tried a tent trailer or tent trailer toy hauler for dry camping or general camping?

[Dakota_c69]

We had a hybrid trailer with pop out tent ends. We did end up getting rid of it due to condensation building up on the tent walls over night and running down and making the sleeping areas wet, plus it was harder to heat on cold nights and having to crawl over the spouse to go to bathroom at night was an issue too.