Modern Day Toy Haulers- Junk?

I’ve been down this road. I’ve got an older Jayco 5th wheel toy hauler for summer camping/dirtbiking with my family. It’s actually really well built and I’m happy with it, but you’re right the new ones are junk. 

I also wanted a more utilitarian setup for hauling into the middle of nowhere and snowbiking in the winter so I did a living quarters conversion on a V nose wells cargo bumper pull. To do it right it ends up costing more than just buying a toy hauler but it’s absolutely rock solid and I wouldn’t hesitate to haul it anywhere. 

The difference between a living quarters horse trailer and a fifth wheel is huge! Besides the chassis the living quarters portion is usually of way higher quality construction too. Probably why they cost twice or more times as much. Lots of 8' wide horse trailers out there but the mangers are usually built in taking at least a foot and a half out of that width.

If you want quality buy a renegade and a trailer and be done with it

Yes junk!

My Torque is less than a year old. Always park under an cover and have in the dealership with a good list of repairs.

Largest is the roof had to be replaced already. 
Noticed the issues when I got up to wash the solar panel.

The good news I will pick it up today and have for a race weekend.

A good buddy says pay 30grand or a couple hundred grand. They are all pieces of Shit.

Our previous Sandstorm gave us zero issues in 10 years.

Good luck finding your trailer

I've been slowly converting my 6x12. Just built the closet in front in case I want to put a bathroom in it.

Checked out a toy hauler last night. Forest River 180RT. I think I'll go that route. For me I would rather spend time fixing the toy hauler than building a cargo.

The newer cargo trailers are junk too. 

If you’re interested in quality (and can afford it) you need to check out the all aluminum ATC trailers.  

Clean that shit off and cover the seem with Eternabond roof tape. The cap and roof are different materials, mean they will expand and contract at a different rate. Tape will hold them together much better, can go over the tape with roof coating for extra insurance.

Check out Liz Amazing on YouTube. She is exposing the RV industry and their deceitful practices. There is an episode where she got a company to buy back a half million dollar motor home because it was junk.

I've decided to keep my old Leakin' Warrior. It's the devil I know.

yes, garbage. everything from the roof to the axles. Every single one comes with under rated axles, and thats not to mention how many ive seen where the spring perches break off the frame. These units were built to be parked at campground, not to be used for racing dirt bikes. Toy hauler means use it to get your golf cart to the KOA, and store it in the garage when not being used. We had a brand new bumper pull toy hauler when my kids were on 50's to 85's, the axles were bent just from normal use. They could not support the weight of the trailer, and 3 kids dirt bikes. It was pathetic

Back in '04 I went with the cheapest toyhauler I could find, and just resolved myself to fixing it when it needed anything. As it turns out, the darn thing lasted for several years! My brother in-law even had to live in it for 6 months, and it did fine with everyday use. We sold it after about 6-7 years because our life changed, but nothing broke on it.

Fun Runner by Carson Trailer. They also have a brand called "Titan." 

The industry is f&cked.  Really just 4 main players,  no government oversight(except axles) and they do not build to last. The average rv is built in less then an hour.  Down to 15 min for a small pod trailer,  5th wheels about 1.5.  The jayco 5th wheel line puts out 23 in 24 hours.  That is frame rolling in, to completed rv rolling out.  There is no testing when it leaves only a detail crew on top of that.  Everything is built for speed,  not quality.  If you buy an rv there is ways to mitigate the eventual destruction due to leaks.  Most people dont do this.  My advice is to buy a lightly used 5 year old rv cheap and apply these fixes.

Agreed. I'm in the market and have been researching heavily, ATC seems to be one of the best options for quality construction. 

InTech also makes a solid trailer, my buddy has the Flyer Forge and it's built extremely well and has all the right bells and whistles. https://intech.com/rv/

If you like wood screws holding fiberglass together with pipes basically connected with zip ties, buy an RV.  This is why a properly and quality converted sprinter van is 200K and people act like it's robbery.  Also why a Prevost or high end bus like Roczen and others use are 2million+.  

There was a noticeable drop in quality after the ‘09 crash, and they weren’t great before that. I have assumed there was another big drop in quality after Covid just like everything else. 

The whole RV building practices are ancient technology with modern appliances. and electronic is like Harley Davidson quality. Nothing even close to the electronic system of our dirt bikes. 

If the wall frame and roof are wood it shakes itself to death going down the road.

You get what you pay for. After comparing to a Thor We spent the extra $ and went for a Newmar 3927 front engine diesel class A with a garage that has a fiberglass roof. With every RV and trailer you still have to check the roof at least 2 times a year to make sure the self leveling sealant has no cracks so there are no leaks or damage from it.

No matter if you are buying new and especially used get up on the roof and closely inspect it. Roofs are a very frequent problem.

Like the post above look at ATC

I've had my fair share. They are all garbage. The biggest thing is keeping up on caulking the roof at least twice a year, and checking all of the vertical seems once a year.

Toothpicks and bubble gum. The only thing worse than the quality of construction is the incompetence of the service and repair. Without exaggeration, I have never encountered a more inept industry from top to bottom. 

From wrong orders to cancelled orders to wrong delivery addresses, it took a year for them to replace a ramp door on mine. And when they did finally put it on, I literally lost the spare tire attached to the ramp door on the way home from the dealer! Just gone when we got home. For all I know it caused a 10 car pileup on I35. They didn't even tighten down the nuts on the damn thing. 

You'd think I paid bottom dollar, but this was a high end dealer that my insurance company sent me to. The place had over 50 coaches that were $5000k ++ sitting on the lot. 

My wife wants a bigger newer one and I refuse. The expense and headaches aren't worth it.

+1 on eternabond tape. That shit is better than any lap sealant out there. Used it on an older trailer we had and still have some of the roll leftover. I've used it around the house on different things. When I say that shit is sticky, its basically permanent. Its like a thick glue layer with a cover on the top. 

My buddy owned a rental house in Elkhart (where all the RVs are built).  His tenants were alway guys that worked at the RV factories.  During Covid, those guys could work 24/7 if they wanted to. Back in 2021, he had some of his tenants “move out” to jail.  He had to take the house apart down to the studs to get all the meth out of the house.  They are all junk, but if you moto, they are kind of a necessary evil.  I buy new cheap ones knowing that I’ll be lucky to get 5 years out of one.

I don't doubt this one bit, but the philosophy remains: Buy cheap, because expensive isn't better. Sad but true.

Jayce used to be a little better but I think that ship sailed years ago. The components are really all the same. There are at best two different manufacturers of each component like water heater, ac, refrig, etc. Not really any competition to drive innovation or better quality. 

In my experience most have poor workmanship and cheaply made and seem to require constant fixing. If you store outside the weather will substantially shorten the life of roofs. Make sure you look at tires and load limits. Seen many where stock tires are  maxed out when you load them up with water, gear and bikes. 

Best day of my toy hauler experience was the day I sold it. 

What do you guys do if you want to stay at the track?

It's ironic this thread pops up today. I've been debating on a small toy hauler vs building a 7x16 cargo trailer. 

I think for me a toy hauler is the way to go. I completely understand the shitty construction methods, I build homes for a living so I feel like I could do a good job keeping it on the road.

I could build a really nice cargo trailer, but I know how much time it takes from working on my 6x12.

Have you looked into snowmobile race trailers? Logan coach, trails west or charmac, all well built and have LQ's with large garage options. Just a thought..

Sundown trailers are made in Oklahoma. They have living quarters up front and big garages in the back. They look more like a horse trailer than a big 5th wheel. 

I bought a new Eclipse Attitude in 2011. Got 25k+ miles out of it, and it held up pretty well. I am a good mechanic, electrician, and plumber: you have to be. Made a lot of great memories at the track with it, but I was happy to see it go after 12 years. They are a shitload of work, even the good ones.

2016 era Forest River work and plays, they are amazing. Can be difficult to find. 

The most interesting (and scary) part about the RV business is anyone can buy a triple axle 5th wheel and there is zero certification or testing proving they are capable of driving it.  The large ones especially pull like shit, are easily affected by, wind, and anyone can jump right on the interstate and drag one behind their Power Stroke at 70-80 miles an hour. I drive from Salt Lake to Southern Utah and see several RV's annually trashed and flipped in the median.