My wife and i are looking at getting a toyhauler for the family. Is a 39-42 foot too big for a first one? We have looked at a cyclone,raptor 365(wife likes this one)Fuzion 400 and the 405. I like the 400 myself. Am planning on looking at more cyclones as from what i understand their quality is supposed to be a bit better Would love to hear about anyones experience or opinions of either.
Perhaps some details will help you get some good responses such as:
How many and what type of toys, how many kids, what type of camping (dry mostly?).....
That's a pretty big rig. For instance, I have a Jayco Octane T24Z which is a 28'9" rig. I can fit my Rhino and Raptor with full water and fuel tank load....I tow it with my 08 Nissan Titan with no issues.
Without the Outback Room put on, I can sleep 8 adults without any issue! I've had just 2 adults and 5 kids at a time too. With the Outback Room installed, I get an additional 7' of living space which I call my desert breezeway.
Just depends on what you can tow, what you want your quality of life to be and most of all, what will make you happy.
What's work? Oh, playing in the sand in the Southwest!
You can find us hanging in our Jayco T 24 ZX or out riding.
Unless you are an experienced truck driver stay within the limits of your good sense. Your asking makes it clear you have doubts. There is more to driving a truck/trailer combination than just steering. Take a ride with someone first to see what it's like before spending the $$$.
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garyhartaz wrote: Perhaps some details will help you get some good responses such as:
How many and what type of toys, how many kids, what type of camping (dry mostly?).....
That's a pretty big rig. For instance, I have a Jayco Octane T24Z which is a 28'9" rig. I can fit my Rhino and Raptor with full water and fuel tank load....I tow it with my 08 Nissan Titan with no issues.
Without the Outback Room put on, I can sleep 8 adults without any issue! I've had just 2 adults and 5 kids at a time too. With the Outback Room installed, I get an additional 7' of living space which I call my desert breezeway.
Just depends on what you can tow, what you want your quality of life to be and most of all, what will make you happy.
It would be the wife and I along with 3 kids. 13yr old and 8 yr old twins. It would be used to haul Quads,bikes,motorcycle etc. We also have several relatives that would join us on occasion.
As far as my towing experience. I have been a diesel mechanic for 10+ years and carry a class A license. We tow our 40 foot busses when they can't be repaired on the road.
bearsfolks wrote: Unless you are an experienced truck driver stay within the limits of your good sense. Your asking makes it clear you have doubts. There is more to driving a truck/trailer combination than just steering. Take a ride with someone first to see what it's like before spending the $$$.
My question was more about it being too big for a first purchase. Have also had a few people say it might be too big for some camping areas.
I really have no concern with towing the thing. Got over those jitters years ago when we would tow a bus and had to have someone sit in the bus to BE the brakes.
No, I don't think its too big. At least not for our sized campgrounds over here. I have heard some of the west coast campgrounds have smaller lots not suitable for 40' 5ers. We have family in Vegas who have told us that. But in my opinion, you'll have WAY too many instances where you wish you had more camper versus wishing your unit was smaller.
We haul quads or a golf cart in ours. Me, the wife, two sons. Our Cyclone is 43'11". I wouldn't go back to a smaller unit for anything. Get what you want and have a blast.
Yup, out here in the west, AZ, CA, UT, NV, NM, CO, you'll find it tough to get a 40' 5'ver into a lot of places. There are plenty of campgrounds but in a lot of the forest areas, you can forget a rig that big.
I looked at it this way, if I wanted to take my house with me, I would have purchased a fixed second home up in Northern AZ.
It does sound like you have a "full house" so you're gonna need something big.
We live in AZ and have a 43' Cyclone and haul a Rhino and a small quad for our sun. We love the space and spend at least 7 days a month in it. Hauling it presents few problems as we use diesel in the TW and truck stops are always available to us. We can sleep 7 easily and in relative comfort. We can dry camp for five days without having to dump tanks and take on water and generator fuel. As with any new vehicle you need to practice with it to get the feel and turning radius.
Wow, that thing is huge! That from someone who pulls a 16’ TT. But I can think of tons of campgrounds and roads where you won’t go and not all that many where you will. But that’s the key, where do you want to go. It’s a pretty straightforward tradeoff, the bigger you are the less spaces you can fit into. Arizona’s state parks have a 35’ limit though I think some people manage to get a little bigger in them. And I recall a recent post where someone from CA was unhappy with their rig, smaller than what you’re contemplating, because there were hardly any coastal cg’s they could get into. So I think you first have to decide where you want to take the TH, then see what size limitations it imposes.
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But I can think of tons of campgrounds and roads where you won’t go and not all that many where you will. But that’s the key, where do you want to go. It’s a pretty straightforward tradeoff, the bigger you are the less spaces you can fit into. Arizona’s state parks have a 35’ limit though I think some people manage to get a little bigger in them. And I recall a recent post where someone from CA was unhappy with their rig, smaller than what you’re contemplating, because there were hardly any coastal cg’s they could get into. So I think you first have to decide where you want to take the TH, then see what size limitations it imposes.
