Toy Haulers??

desertgasser300

desertgasser300

Banned
Any of you have experience with towing toy haulers? AZrickD has been a wealth of knowledge as to what I should be looking for in used hauler. But now my question is can my vehicle tow it? the hauler I'm looking for/at is a 19' Wanderer with a queen size pop out bed in the front. Set up to carry three bikes. Says its half ton towable, what I plan to tow it with is 1998 GMC conversion van w/factory tow package, , 5.7L GM crate motor w/11,000 miles, 4L60E GM Crate tranny also with 11,000 miles. The tranny also has a tow kit installed in it. It tows our 21' ski boat with no problems. Can't even feel it back there. But the size of the toy hauler and the wind resistance worries me. Longest trip I plan on doing is from PHX. to Colorado.
 
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That sounds like a beast of a van.

There should be a placard on the door with your vehicle's specific tow rating.

Then find your trailer's placarded empty weight and try to guestimate all the stuff you'll be hauling. Water, bikes, gear, more gear, people...
 
Here is a link to the GMC tow guide. Check your owners manual or the Id tag on the drivers door for your GVWR. Note: that the ID info on that tag is based on the original engine and transmission that was installed at the factory. GVWR is the total maximum weight of your vehicle, including any payload inside your van and any towed trailer included any payload inside the trailer.

http://www.gmc.com/content/dam/GMC/global/master/nscwebsite/en/home/Tools/Download_A_Brochure/01_Images/2014-gmc-trailering-guide.pdf
 
You need to get the actual weight of the trailer and as stated above, check your door tag for the GCWR. The max towing capacity on ANY 1998 GMC Savana is 8,000lbs and that is assuming 4.10 gears and a weight distribution hitch. I tow a 24' travel trailer that weighs about 7k (with 3 minis inside the trailer and 2 fullsize bikes in the van) with an extended body E350 with the 5.4l (similar power as your vortec 5.7) and it does just fine... albeit slow on big grades. The WD hitch makes all the difference to minimize "porpoising," I'd recommend this over airbags if the van squats excessively from tongue weight. Speaking from first hand experience with 700r4/4l60 tranny's, get the biggest trans cooler you can buy and install a gauge so you can keep an eye on trans temp.
 
Desertgasser300,
If this is any help, I towed a 27' camper 4615lbs with a 97 GMC K1500 ext cab with 3.42 gears, 305, 4L60E combo with no troubles. Drawtite hitch with load level bars.
 
Thanks for all the input, I have no placard or sticker on my door stating GVW or towing info. It does have a tranny cooler installed, but does not have a temp gauge, which I think I will install one. This winter I am installing a Power trax auto locker in the rear to ease the pulling off the boat ramp. When I'm there I will take a peek at the gearing and see what ratio is installed.
 
Well I picked this up yesterday, hopefully I did well? This is my first trailer/hauler. I liked the idea of this type with the pop out beds on each end and the small toy box on the front. Im not sure who said this but I was remembering what someone posted on here when buying used. "You are buying the unused portion". That kept ringing in my head when I bought it. So with that I chewed the guy all they way down from $7700 to a final price of $5800. Its home was in Yuma, AZ so it was in the dunes for most of it's life, which was evident by all the sand I cleaned out of it. The only off roading it saw was in the sand. The seller powered everything on for us, the fridge is icey and the A/C is very cold, microwave, stereo, stove, water pump everything seemed to work like it was supposed to. Even plugging in the trailer lights they all worked, which never happens to me!

As for towing, the family van did a great job. It motored up to 65 with ease and I didn't feel the trailer much at all. I did feel it when coming to a stop with the extra weight back there but it wasnt to bad. I am putting in a brake controller today just as a precaution and peace of mind. I'm leaving for CO tomorrow morning to meet up with a couple guys from this forum. So it will have it's maiden voyage very soon.

FYI Steve, we are staying in this if we make it to St. George again this year. And no endurocross for me this time.
 
Cool setup! We wandered through an RV lot last weekend and I was surprised at the interior size of the hard sided trailers with the tent type popouts. It really is deceiving from the outside. I'm just curious how they do in high winds (like 40-60mph that we often encounter in the desert around sundown.) It really does look like the best use of space without having to buy a gargantuan trailer. Let us know how you like it!
 
desertgasser300 said:
Well I picked this up yesterday, hopefully I did well? This is my first trailer/hauler.
Click to expand...

That's frickin' awesome :cool::cool:

I need to show my wife that picture as she's against anything too big to haul. I really like that concept too, great to have storage in the front for fuel, etc, so you're not getting all that in the interior of the hauler.

desert - can you take a bunch more pics when it's setup, the interior, and everything else and post 'em here? I can't see a model or name in the picture, but I'd appreciate you posting that - like to check out specs on the web. And let us know how many people it would sleep comfortably if you don't mind. I can easily see getting something like that for our family of 4, especially since we could chuck the boys outside in a tent when they get a little older...lol.

Have a blast on your trip, that sounds epic! I know I'd enjoy reading a ride report (or several) when you get a chance to go through picture and any video you might have :D :D
 
That's a good lookin' setup...not to big. I wish building codes would've allowed me 10 ft high doors. That setup would back right into my shop...if I had taller doors.
 
Please let me know how this setup works. I am looking for the same thing. I have a Tahoe as a tow vehicle and 5 kids and would like a hybrid because it would really be the only thing that we can tow after the vehicle is loaded with toys and kids. Given the fold out beds we could sleep more per unit weight.
 
As I recall, it has pop-out (tilt-out) bunks front and rear.

What does it do for bath and generator?

I can't argue with the price.
 
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