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Toterhome Build Dreams/Reality Check

Speaking for myself—the advantage of an RV is more weekend trips. What you’re describing sounds like a major PITA to me, and something that I would only willingly do on big week-long trips. Those don’t happen often enough for me to keep all this stuff.

I say all this to say I think you’re trying to optimize for the exceptional trip, not the regular (hopefully frequent) one.

This was my point also.

2 or 3 times a year you have to have both rigs, take a gooseneck and rent an air bnb or trailer when you get there.

Would suck to have a 90' semi/toy hauler everytime you wanted to go out for a day or 2.
 
Speaking for myself—the advantage of an RV is more weekend trips. What you’re describing sounds like a major PITA to me, and something that I would only willingly do on big week-long trips. Those don’t happen often enough for me to keep all this stuff.

I say all this to say I think you’re trying to optimize for the exceptional trip, not the regular (hopefully frequent) one.

I've said from the beginning I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too, im aware im being a problem child :stirthepot: The perfect infinite money scenario is a 35-36' class A that pulls a 30' trailer when I want both (have to buy trailer and class A), a 20' trailer when i want one (own this one already), and nothing when we just go camping.

I just cant seem to find a class A in the price range that i can swing right now that isn't completely whooped out. I also own a 1 ton truck that i need for other trailers so it seems silly to walk away from the toy hauler arena right now.
 
75RamRunner any interest/consideration into an already assembled crawler hauler setup and then making some changes to it as needed as opposed to starting form scratch?

Here's one I found that would have plenty of toy room, and enough room inside for a growing family. Biggest issue with most of crawler hauler setup is they tend to not be the greatest for "normal camping".

 
I've said from the beginning I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too, im aware im being a problem child :stirthepot: The perfect infinite money scenario is a 35-36' class A that pulls a 30' trailer when I want both (have to buy trailer and class A), a 20' trailer when i want one (own this one already), and nothing when we just go camping.

I just cant seem to find a class A in the price range that i can swing right now that isn't completely whooped out. I also own a 1 ton truck that i need for other trailers so it seems silly to walk away from the toy hauler arena right now.

Do you have a cdl?

What about the open rear deck style toy hauler with a lightweight car trailer for the sxs behind it on these rare trips?
 
If I had the money and the toys to haul that you are looking to do I would go with a MDT or HDT short box truck converted to the RV with passthrough from cab then just get 1 nice trailer that can haul both toys. Weekend trip? Take the RV and a small trailer with 1 rig, long trip take both. That way the tow rig is registered as an RV which is easier with license and tags\insurance and you have access to the living quarters from the truck, and easier to keep eye on kids\dog etc while driving (with appropriate seating and belts obviously).

If you want you could just start with a longer chassis semi truck and get rid of sleeper for an RV section then leave enough room on back of frame for GN hitch, pull SxS partially up onto the neck and stuff ramcharger behind it to keep trailer length down.
 
Do you have a cdl?

What about the open rear deck style toy hauler with a lightweight car trailer for the sxs behind it on these rare trips?

Yes i have my CDL

If I had the money and the toys to haul that you are looking to do I would go with a MDT or HDT short box truck converted to the RV with passthrough from cab then just get 1 nice trailer that can haul both toys. Weekend trip? Take the RV and a small trailer with 1 rig, long trip take both. That way the tow rig is registered as an RV which is easier with license and tags\insurance and you have access to the living quarters from the truck, and easier to keep eye on kids\dog etc while driving (with appropriate seating and belts obviously).

If you want you could just start with a longer chassis semi truck and get rid of sleeper for an RV section then leave enough room on back of frame for GN hitch, pull SxS partially up onto the neck and stuff ramcharger behind it to keep trailer length down.

That's kind of a mix of where im at, the wife and the 2 year old are not going to camp out of a sleeper recreationally, boijee i know :flipoff2: So some sort of camper/toy hauler needs to be in the mix.

I'm going to look at some 36' genesis toy haulers today, pull through garage 18' of cargo space, plenty for the SxS and a quad. Also short enough to pull behind a 300" WB HDT. Which if my math can math, should be enough frame to get the truck on there with room for the gooseneck hitch assuming i keep it under a 48" sleeper.
 
So then answer my 2nd question :flipoff2:


Honestly, it sounds like you just want a semi toter. Not that I blame you :laughing:

i do want a toterhome, none of you fucks have told me im wrong yet either :grinpimp:

The open deck toy hauler ends up being 15-16' of living space with 16-18' of deck and now I'm right back into a trailer that doesn't recreational camp well.

Anything i pull that has living space or use to pull that has living space needs to be 35'ish max. That way we can go and do as the wife pleases in the national forests and such. Wether is be a diesel pusher or a trailer.

We looked at this guy yesterday and ill be honest, it just about checks all the boxes as far as a toy hauler goes for us


18' of garage space 83" at the narrowest, 36' overall, and more living space than my current 40'. Dude is out to lunch on pricing right now but there some used ones with the same floorplan that are in the budget.

They make a 46' version with 29' open floor that's 96" I.D and has 6400lbs of payload. On different wheels the truck and can-am would fit.....but fuck me that's a pulling a house around :shaking:
 
The only downside I see is RV depreciation is about the worst possible.
 
i do want a toterhome, none of you fucks have told me im wrong yet either :grinpimp:

Are you offing the ram or keeping it?

The open deck toy hauler ends up being 15-16' of living space with 16-18' of deck and now I'm right back into a trailer that doesn't recreational camp well.

But a 40' toy hauler behind a 300" semi does? :laughing:

Anything i pull that has living space or use to pull that has living space needs to be 35'ish max. That way we can go and do as the wife pleases in the national forests and such. Wether is be a diesel pusher or a trailer.

We looked at this guy yesterday and ill be honest, it just about checks all the boxes as far as a toy hauler goes for us


18' of garage space 83" at the narrowest, 36' overall, and more living space than my current 40'. Dude is out to lunch on pricing right now but there some used ones with the same floorplan that are in the budget.

They make a 46' version with 29' open floor that's 96" I.D and has 6400lbs of payload. On different wheels the truck and can-am would fit.....but fuck me that's a pulling a house around :shaking:

I camp a family of 5 out of a 7' pop up cper so I guess I have a hard time seeing how 16' of living space isn't enough.

You can also get the sundowner in an enclosed. I just can't see spending the money to go with a semi, but still having a garbage built toyhauler.
 
Lets talk HDTs.

right now its just me the wife and the man child (toddler). With at least one more little one in the plans, would a 32-36" sleeper be adequate as the "Back seat"? I really love the looks of the Pete's with the short top sleeper. Like the w900s a lot too. but they seem to all be day cabs or with a 6' box.
From what I've read COE ride like 70 square body, not a huge fan of the looks although it would be a big factory into staying length legal....

Any engines to steer way away from? I'm thinking a big cam Cummins 350-400 or a 3406b are my ideal powerplants. Want to stay out of electronics for now, the selling point for the wife is its also the bug-out apocalypse rig. Heard there's a low flow version of the BC cummins in the late 80s that wasn't a trainwreck but the previous version were better. I know fuck all about Mack's but they look cool. I'm thinking a 70s-90s is the truck ill land on with my budget.

Keep in mind were talking about pulling a combined 25k at best so its not like im going to be stressing the HDT package.


For the flatbed:

Height is a concern, ill likely be building a "bumper pull" mount the for the toy hauler 5th wheel and convert the box to a gooseneck. most toy haulers are around 13'9-10"

The shortest height combo would be a recessed wheel ramps where the belly of the truck sits center over the rear axle. should get 12"-14" before the pumpkins hit the frame rail.

The shortest length combo would be to throw a 25-45 degree ramp on and pull the tires to the back of the sleeper. I have concerns about the nose being 14'+ in the air. 11rs are 42" tall, assuming that level with frame or lower, 4" for structual steel, truck would be 11' to top sitting flat, so i have some veritcal to play with but 3' tall platforms so i stay around 14' that every bit of a 16' deck still. Might as well leave it flat.

Just to throw out some info to clutter things up.

My current tow rig is a 99 Freightliner, double bunk sleeper with 12.7 Detroit and a flatbed. We are in a similar situation. I prefer to take both rigs when we wheel, as my wife is a better driver than passenger. Some times we are just going for a weekend, sometimes a week. Sometimes its just me. If its just me, I load the single rig on the flatbed, and sleep in the sleeper. If there are two of us for a weekend, I'll take my gooseneck with both rigs, and sleep in the truck. If I am going for more than a couple days, I will load both rigs in my toyhauler. Toyhauler is a converted 53' semi trailer. 21' LQ, 32' garage. The trailer is 9' interior height, and 102 width. I have also pulled an enclosed BP behind it on occassion. (bumper pull trailers behind an HDT without a cushioned hitch tend to take a beating, especially on the frame/hitch)
For me, this is the best all around option. With the bunk beds in the sleeper, we can sleep 3 semi-comfortably (fine for a weekend trip). For a week out (Trail Hero for example), completely off grid, the semi trailer is perfect. Has plenty of room for the 2 rigs, an enclosed garage in case we need to get out of the rain or cold, can sleep an additional 4-6 people in the garage if its a big group, plus it has the generator/welder/air/tools/spares/etc. Other than the time/money to build it out, this setup was by far cheaper than any other option I had at the time.
My overall length is 72' @ 13.9 height.
 
Are you offing the ram or keeping it?

But a 40' toy hauler behind a 300" semi does? :laughing:

I camp a family of 5 out of a 7' pop up cper so I guess I have a hard time seeing how 16' of living space isn't enough.

You can also get the sundowner in an enclosed. I just can't see spending the money to go with a semi, but still having a garbage built toyhauler.

1. Gotta keep the dually, have various other trailers it pulls for work. It's also currently my wife wagon while i drive the stickered work truck

2. Lost in the cloud of posts, the 300" semi scenario pulls a 25'ish bumper pull toy hauler not the fifth wheel

3. Boujiee glamping life/4 full size (120lb and bigger) dogs is an absolute clusterfuck without some sq footage. Again i fully acknowledge im a abortion and a half when we try to go somewhere with everything. I'm camping at the Con this weekend with a sleeping bag and pillow planned ot lay in the back of the ramcharger, 3 burritos for breakfast/lunch/dinner and a cooler of adult beverages. So just know i didnt come this way:flipoff2::lmao:

Just to throw out some info to clutter things up.

My current tow rig is a 99 Freightliner, double bunk sleeper with 12.7 Detroit and a flatbed. We are in a similar situation. I prefer to take both rigs when we wheel, as my wife is a better driver than passenger. Some times we are just going for a weekend, sometimes a week. Sometimes its just me. If its just me, I load the single rig on the flatbed, and sleep in the sleeper. If there are two of us for a weekend, I'll take my gooseneck with both rigs, and sleep in the truck. If I am going for more than a couple days, I will load both rigs in my toyhauler. Toyhauler is a converted 53' semi trailer. 21' LQ, 32' garage. The trailer is 9' interior height, and 102 width. I have also pulled an enclosed BP behind it on occassion. (bumper pull trailers behind an HDT without a cushioned hitch tend to take a beating, especially on the frame/hitch)
For me, this is the best all around option. With the bunk beds in the sleeper, we can sleep 3 semi-comfortably (fine for a weekend trip). For a week out (Trail Hero for example), completely off grid, the semi trailer is perfect. Has plenty of room for the 2 rigs, an enclosed garage in case we need to get out of the rain or cold, can sleep an additional 4-6 people in the garage if its a big group, plus it has the generator/welder/air/tools/spares/etc. Other than the time/money to build it out, this setup was by far cheaper than any other option I had at the time.
My overall length is 72' @ 13.9 height.

Lets see this rig again! I know the enclosed semi is really the best move as i can outfit it as i need. plus tools and recovery with no concern with weight for the given scenario.
 
1. Gotta keep the dually, have various other trailers it pulls for work. It's also currently my wife wagon while i drive the stickered work truck

2. Lost in the cloud of posts, the 300" semi scenario pulls a 25'ish bumper pull toy hauler not the fifth wheel

Gotcha, so you want a trailer you can also just hook to the ram and go to koa's for just camping?

3. Boujiee glamping life/4 full size (120lb and bigger) dogs is an absolute clusterfuck without some sq footage. Again i fully acknowledge im a abortion and a half when we try to go somewhere with everything. I'm camping at the Con this weekend with a sleeping bag and pillow planned ot lay in the back of the ramcharger, 3 burritos for breakfast/lunch/dinner and a cooler of adult beverages. So just know i didnt come this way:flipoff2::lmao:



Lets see this rig again! I know the enclosed semi is really the best move as i can outfit it as i need. plus tools and recovery with no concern with weight for the given scenario.

4 dogs sounds rough, we have 2 big dogs (st Bernard mix and a great pyrenees) and they don't come on most trips.

I just feel like if you want to spend the money on the ultimate set up, id avoid your run of the mill toy haulers.
 
Lets see this rig again! I know the enclosed semi is really the best move as i can outfit it as i need. plus tools and recovery with no concern with weight for the given scenario.
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Stumbled across this earlier this morning. With some major rework (bigger axles, wider bottom trailer, etc), it could haul both toys for ya.

It was just a neat looking trailer but not something I figure you’d actually be interested in.

 
Stumbled across this earlier this morning. With some major rework (bigger axles, wider bottom trailer, etc), it could haul both toys for ya.

It was just a neat looking trailer but not something I figure you’d actually be interested in.


Does the rear of the deck lift and stay up? Or are you supposed to skewer the top rig off the framework? :laughing:
 
Does the rear of the deck lift and stay up? Or are you supposed to skewer the top rig off the framework? :laughing:
No idea there and based on the sellers description of knowing nothing about the trailer, I’d take a guess the seller doesn’t know either.
 
Does the rear of the deck lift and stay up? Or are you supposed to skewer the top rig off the framework? :laughing:

No, you are supposed to drop it on the exo-cage of the bottom rig. You know, for stability. :laughing:

Hopefully its pinned at the top, instead of having the hydraulics hold it up. :eek:
 
annnddddddddd were back.

Momentum is sold. did some future planning with the Mrs. and with our current goals for the property (read as me building more shit) its a better quality life/dollar to buy another trailer, put the semi on hold until i have a real shop to build/work out of (i can barely jack up the tires off the ground on my work rig before the rack hits the roof joist in the current barn).

So tough luck butter cup to the big truck :shaking:

None of the trailers local to me tickle my fancy, nor does the price. And i don't have another trip planned until late Oct so i have some time to window shop.

The Dune Sport posted earlier is super enticing. The drive to LA from CA is less enticing, but fuck me that thing is sweet. 20k more than i planned on spending but its a bit of a buy once cry once game too.

Checked out some attitude toy haulers, the build quality just didn't impress me. I know all the new stuff is cheapo china everything but they didn't even try to lipstick the pig....
 
annnddddddddd were back.

Momentum is sold. did some future planning with the Mrs. and with our current goals for the property (read as me building more shit) its a better quality life/dollar to buy another trailer, put the semi on hold until i have a real shop to build/work out of (i can barely jack up the tires off the ground on my work rig before the rack hits the roof joist in the current barn).

So tough luck butter cup to the big truck :shaking:

None of the trailers local to me tickle my fancy, nor does the price. And i don't have another trip planned until late Oct so i have some time to window shop.

The Dune Sport posted earlier is super enticing. The drive to LA from CA is less enticing, but fuck me that thing is sweet. 20k more than i planned on spending but its a bit of a buy once cry once game too.

Checked out some attitude toy haulers, the build quality just didn't impress me. I know all the new stuff is cheapo china everything but they didn't even try to lipstick the pig....
I can put you in touch with her if semi-serious. She's a motivated seller as she cannot use it anymore. Would meet your requirements of hauling a rig, and nice sleeping areas for "normal camping" trips. Budget wise, it's only $$$ they print more everyday :lmao::barf:
 
I can put you in touch with her if semi-serious. She's a motivated seller as she cannot use it anymore. Would meet your requirements of hauling a rig, and nice sleeping areas for "normal camping" trips. Budget wise, it's only $$$ they print more everyday :lmao::barf:

You must drink the same coffee my wife does:flipoff2:

I want to be 100% certain of my path before i bug her, i like window shopping but i don't want to start a conversation if I'm not ready to buy. I appreciate the connection ill PM when/if I'm ready.
 
You must drink the same coffee my wife does:flipoff2:

I want to be 100% certain of my path before i bug her, i like window shopping but i don't want to start a conversation if I'm not ready to buy. I appreciate the connection ill PM when/if I'm ready.
Haha. You and I shop the same but apparently our wives shop the same too. :lmao:

Me: Hey our budget for this needs to be X.
Her: Well I found this one for X but then found Y for only $5k more than that budget amount…
 
Haha. You and I shop the same but apparently our wives shop the same too. :lmao:

Me: Hey our budget for this needs to be X.
Her: Well I found this one for X but then found Y for only $5k more than that budget amount…

If yours only goes 5k over then I'm sending mine for a summer retreat at your place:lmao:

I've had to start intentionally stating 20% under my actual budget so we only go 5-10% over.

I also created said monster so I cant bitch too much :homer:


I do have one favor, can you see the overall height of the opening? I didn't see it listed. Gotta entertain the fantasy a little bit :stirthepot:
 
If yours only goes 5k over then I'm sending mine for a summer retreat at your place:lmao:

I've had to start intentionally stating 20% under my actual budget so we only go 5-10% over.

I also created said monster so I cant bitch too much :homer:


I do have one favor, can you see the overall height of the opening? I didn't see it listed. Gotta entertain the fantasy a little bit :stirthepot:
Haha although based on the humidity here, you may want to opt in to a Fall/early winter retreat.

Will do on opening.

Edit: Just text with the owner and the overall height of the opening is right at 7'. When the rear bed is all the way up, there is still right at 7' of clearance overall.
 
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Diesel pusher/coach with a hitch and 2 car bumper pull. Con would be putting gas in the toys at a service station or filling a tank before hand.
Putting 4 people in a semi sucks over long distances.

We took a Full Expedite truck and 36' bumper pull to KOH from the East Coast. It wasn't too bad with a spotter. Roughly 90' long total.


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Edited: Found a better picture.

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Um do you know dean?? i want this setup...camper/expediter looks like a win.
 
Um do you know dean?? i want this setup...camper/expediter looks like a win.
Yes. Need to yell at him sooner than later. Jason bought this rig off Alan, IDK where it ended up. I liked this more than the 5th wheel camper. It sucked to turn around, but Had alot more usable space inside the truck. You could fit 10 people on the back porch and out of the weather easy.
 
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add a double car trailer and get on with your life
 
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