Micro Toy Haulers

[JettaJayGLS]

They already have toilets like that

I'm talking about right out the side of the van. Flip it down, take a sit, flip it shut to fling it out.
Its really just a joke....or is it.

My pee funnel idea (before I had grey water) was to have a funnel Y-ed into the sink drain (below the sink). Run the water and pee into the funnel to keep the pipes clean and dilute the pee.

[Paul_E_D]

I'm talking about right out the side of the van. Flip it down, take a sit, flip it shut to fling it out.
Its really just a joke....or is it.

My pee funnel idea (before I had grey water) was to have a funnel Y-ed into the sink drain (below the sink). Run the water and pee into the funnel to keep the pipes clean and dilute the pee.

Ooooh! LOL. As long as you are under way when pooping that would be mint!

[Kurlon]

Ah, thanks

Specifically, the guy that built Kerry's XR built it.

[csmutty]

I'm talking about right out the side of the van. Flip it down, take a sit, flip it shut to fling it out.
Its really just a joke....or is it.

My pee funnel idea (before I had grey water) was to have a funnel Y-ed into the sink drain (below the sink). Run the water and pee into the funnel to keep the pipes clean and dilute the pee.

My friend has one of those in his basement. Funnel goes to a Y copper pipe off of his hybrid water heater. He even hung a shower curtain in front of it.

[Pittenger5]

Are there any good small toyhaulers that would be "wife approved"? ie, needs a bathroom, not twin bed, some extra space. Towable with a Tacoma (~6500 pound limit). Really hoping to not have to buy a new truck.

[jhawley]

Are there any good small toyhaulers that would be "wife approved"? ie, needs a bathroom, not twin bed, some extra space. Towable with a Tacoma (~6500 pound limit). Really hoping to not have to buy a new truck.

We are am XLR dealer, and most of them are monster units. I do have this on the lot. https://www.unlimitedrvct.com/rv-sale/240/
This is one of the smaller units. Gives the wife a nice bedroom and bathroom. your garage here is considered an "open floor plan" Empty its #5600
But the party deck on all the new toy haulers is pretty cool

Also have this one and weighs in at #5040
price is $32970
https://www.unlimitedrvct.com/rv-sale/151/

[OneCheekRider]

Are there any good small toyhaulers that would be "wife approved"? ie, needs a bathroom, not twin bed, some extra space. Towable with a Tacoma (~6500 pound limit). Really hoping to not have to buy a new truck.

That is where we started but still ended up with the Intech Explore...at least as a 'starter' RV to test the waters.

We first looked at the Wolf Pup (single axle with all your requirements) weighing in around 3500 lbs empty. We saw one and weren't thrilled with it -- this may sound silly considering we got the InTech but it just seemed small/cramped. Then we looked at the Grey Wolf 19RR, a few feet longer, dual axle, and weighing in around 4200 lbs but it still just wasn't an ideal layout (in our head at least). We felt the 22RR was exactly what we wanted with a nice hard-door shower, walk-around-the-bed bedroom with a door, and good overall layout, etc. The 22 is ~5000 lbs empty. These are all manufactured by Forest River and are all made from a steel frame and wood. All the units we toured had finishing issues -- nothing major but I could tell some DIY or warranty work would be inevitable for maintenance/repairs. When you start looking at where you can actually take a ~30ft RV, it really limited our usage and storage options. Just things to think about because we looked at a bunch over the course of about 1.5 years.

[Pittenger5]

We are am XLR dealer, and most of them are monster units. I do have this on the lot. https://www.unlimitedrvct.com/rv-sale/240/
This is one of the smaller units. Gives the wife a nice bedroom and bathroom. your garage here is considered an "open floor plan" Empty its #5600
But the party deck on all the new toy haulers is pretty cool

Also have this one and weighs in at #5040
price is $32970
https://www.unlimitedrvct.com/rv-sale/151/

Ive looked at those, they are def on the maybe list. My main concern is even at 5000 pounds, it doesnt leave much wiggle room for cargo. The Tacoma has a 6500 towing capacity. Add a bike or two and things start adding up quick. Who knows, maybe what I want doesnt exist.

[nhbubba]

No. Everyone I talk to says a trailer that size is going to be a scary experience behind a tacoma. They advise going for a much smaller hyper-light or going for at least a half-ton full-size truck. Many are telling me 3/4 ton.
The story I get over and over again is that you may be able to do it by the specs with a half-ton, but it won't be enjoyable at all.

[Vovchandr]

No. Everyone I talk to says a trailer that size is going to be a scary experience behind a tacoma. They advise going for a much smaller hyper-light or going for at least a half-ton full-size truck. Many are telling me 3/4 ton.
The story I get over and over again is that you may be able to do it by the specs with a half-ton, but it won't be enjoyable at all.

People in the states are quite paranoid about towing. Overly paranoid. This is due a particular reason that most people want to it be a no brainer. If you're over doing with capacity then it's a non issue and you can forget about it, load it wrong, go way too fast, make mistakes, don't have proper equipment etc.


Towing is a complicated procedure. Your trailer needs to be in spec and properly calibrated with the brakes, weight inside needs to be distributed properly, you need to have proper weight distribution hitch to balance the vehicle to trailer load on read axle etc.

Towing weight limitation is a complicated number in the states. Due to how big the country is and how varied the terrain is the rating, once given has to be able to accommodate an idiot towing at that rating at 85mph in Texas, going downhill and uphill in Colorado and driving through the windy desert. This means engine power is only one of many criteria that go into the equation. Brakes, chassis, suspension, transmission and even cooling under load are all part of the #.

Because of how more narrow scoped and limiting towing in Europe the same chassis is allowed to tow more over there. There are new speed limits enforced on you while towing, other mandatory trailer brake regulations etc. You won't see a Mark 3 golf going 95mph on the interstate towing a 5000lb pound rig there.

Full size trucks tow well. They tow really and extremely well. They are well overbuilt for most towing people will end up doing which allows people to "set it and forget it" being idiot proof. When your 1500 is rated for 8000lbs + you don't need to weight the 10% on the nose, you don't need trailer brakes to be perfect, you don't need weight distribution hitch etc for your 5000lbs trailer. You can tow in the fast lane, passing people and forgetting that it's there.

Anything can tow anything but the speed is a dramatic factor. Regular car can tow 10000lbs at 1mph if needed, but you need power to go faster, you need brakes to stop it, you need cooling etc. If you're towing in flat Florida at 55mph, your 5000lbs rated vehicle can comfortably tow quite a bit more than that.

If you want easy and comfortable towing and you'll be doing it often, yes get full size truck or SUV. If you're doing occasional towing a few times a year, you can rely on your rated weight number or even more if you're smart about it and don't expect to be a brainless experience, your truck will do just fine.

My $.04

Edit: Many people talk about their scary experiences towing in lesser things than full size truck because as I said, they just set their rig and forgot about it, without doing proper setup. Yes doing things that way can definitely turn hairy. Instead of being smart about it, most people prefer to overbuy what's needed for the job and not worry about it in the future.

[loudbeard]

The weight has very little to do with towing, it’s the size of the brick behind you. Lots of surface area for the wind to push around.

[Vovchandr]

The weight has very little to do with towing, it’s the size of the brick behind you. Lots of surface area for the wind to push around.

Which is why I referenced speed and weight distribution hitches and tongue weight.

Wind at 30mph is a completely different effect than at 65mph. Many people don't care for spending $600 to $1000+ in extra equipment but a proper weight distribution hitch is very clever and every company has their own way of sway control specifically for windy conditions that help keep the trailer inline. Balancing 10% on tongue helps as well but that's another $100+ for a tongue scale and more moving things around in prep.

Otherwise depending on the vehicle but having something like the "coffin" type roof rack attachment on top of SUV's or wagons/regular cars helps spread the wind around the thing you're towing, as well as a V-nose or slanted v-nose to help with aerodynamics. Sort of like big rigs with the extra fin on the cab.

Trucks, all things considered are terrible for aerodynamics around the trailer if they don't have a bed cap on. They are just so overdone for what they are doing that it doesn't have a major effect.

[jimmycapp]

It is funny. Thinking back to fishing with my buddy and his dad, when we were kids. He had an old woody station wagon, with the shrader valve in the license plate to pump up the rear shocks. Towing a massive boat.

[Vovchandr]

It is funny. Thinking back to fishing with my buddy and his dad, when we were kids. He had an old woody station wagon, with the shrader valve in the license plate to pump up the rear shocks. Towing a massive boat.

Last few decades of big 3 marketing and the towing arms race did a great job of convincing everybody that you need at least a 1500 full size to tow 2000lbs or you're going to die in a fiery crash.

Easy to forget that cars improved but weight has not changed and people were able to tow boats, cars, big trailers and other big loads and heavy equipment way before modern trucks were around. Most new towers wouldn't feel comfortable towing in a 1990 K1500.

[OneCheekRider]

I personally have no issues towing a properly loaded 28' 6000 lb camper trailer behind my Grand Cherokee despite everyone saying I'm going to kill myself and everyone within a 1/4 mile radius. I know bc I rented a few of them. Per the owner's manual anything under 30' is acceptable and the 6k is within the limits of the vehicle.

With that said, there are/were times when the wind pushes a trailer that big. Had I bought the bigger Toy Hauler as originally planned, I would have gotten this hitch system: https://www.propridehitch.com/propri...BoC7QAQAvD_BwE

Here's a video on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHDxiFLZF-4

I'm in complete agreement with @Vovchandr 's post above and think getting this smaller trailer does make it easier to mindlessly load up and go. The other plus side is the smaller trailer makes it super convenient if you're only headed out for a night or two: no weighing necessary, easy to connect/disconnect, etc.

[jimmycapp]

I don’t understand what that hitch does.

[OneCheekRider]

I don’t understand what that hitch does.

copy and paste from the FAQ: "The 3P works by projecting a virtual pivot point(tm) to near the rear axle of the tow vehicle. With Pivot Point Projection(tm), or 3P, technology incorporated in the main hitch head, the trailer's effective pivot point is no longer at the hitch ball when a force acts upon the towed trailer. The forward effective pivot point of the trailer shortens the lever arm distance between the pivot point of the trailer and the rear axle of the tow vehicle. Shortening that distance has a dramatic effect on the stability of both the trailer and the tow vehicle when the trailer is acted upon by an outside force. Many people who tow fifth wheel trailers or gooseneck trailers are familar with the stability that a forward pivot point provides."

it basically allows the trailer some movement without moving the rear of the vehicle. my take on it at least as I've never owned one.

[e30addict]

The horsepower wars have corrupted people into thinking they can do anything since things now accelerate with ease.

I've said it in other threads, you can tell who has never towed with old vehicles that had a fraction of hp and few gears to use....

Now any idiot with a drivers license can tow heavy weight with some interesting results. Before, if you were clueless, at least you couldn't get things moving too fast with ease.

Edit: Learned how to tow using a CJ7 hauling a boat. Short wheelbase made for some "fun" times. It once swapped lanes on it's own in the wind. Slowed waaaaay the fuck down after that one I'm glad I learned to haul stuff with a really marginal vehicle. It made me significantly better at driving all around.

[Vovchandr]

I don’t understand what that hitch does.

I don't know about that one specifically but they all do the same principle. They all force the trailer to stay inline with the car by restricting it's side to side movement.

They don't stop it but they fight the lateral sway.

Cheap ones are real easy to see what they do because you have to remove them when you back up or park and they use friction plates.

Higher end ones have mechanical magic of sorts doing the restriction.

Edit: This greatly helps with wind gusts and passing trucks or them passing you.

[e30addict]

Last few decades of big 3 marketing and the towing arms race did a great job of convincing everybody that you need at least a 1500 full size to tow 2000lbs or you're going to die in a fiery crash.

Easy to forget that cars improved but weight has not changed and people were able to tow boats, cars, big trailers and other big loads and heavy equipment way before modern trucks were around. Most new towers wouldn't feel comfortable towing in a 1990 K1500.

I missed this earlier. Love the last line.

I had 2 sport bikes in the bed of 98 K1500 and a car on a steel trailer. Hauled that out to Watkins Glen and turned more then a few heads when I pulled in. People were floored I had more then the car with me. Surfing hills was a thing!

[nhbubba]

I wasn't talking about towing 2000 lbs. I was talking about towing 7000+.

I for one don't want to be sweating having too much water aboard or running around with a bathroom scale trying to balance the trailer just so. The point with these is to be able to gas up, hit the grocery store on the way out of town and go.

I would not want to tow at the rating with my family on board. Just ain't for me.

I am the same guy that towed my father's 16' tri-hull with an outboard all over the white mountains behind an 85HP VW Jetta when I was in college.
Later I also towed with a shit-box 2WD I4 manual Ford Ranger.
I also hooked a 6x12 V-nose enclosed up to a 200HP VW Jetta wagon not too long ago. Wrecked the rear struts in a big hurry.

I've been there, done that with the sketchy towing. Yes, I want a very sizable safety margin. Not sure a 7k gross toy-hauler behind a Tacoma has that margin.

YMMV, of course.

[OneCheekRider]

I would not want to tow at the rating with my family on board. Just ain't for me.

I think the biggest issue that is often overlooked is if you are traveling with a number of people (ie: a family) then you have be aware of the payload capacity of the TV.

[Vovchandr]

I think the biggest issue that is often overlooked is if you are traveling with a number of people (ie: a family) then you have be aware of the payload capacity of the TV.

Lets be frank. There is a huge amount of people that thing GVWR is what the vehicle weights. Stuff like GCVWR just confuses them. Then add axle limits and minds get blown.

As far as the OP is concerned it does sound like a high towing capacity setup is likely a better option for him and family.

Edit: Just saw that you're the OP.

[OneCheekRider]

I think it's funny the micro toy hauler thread theme turned into opinions on tow capacity

[Vovchandr]

I think it's funny the micro toy hauler thread theme turned into opinions on tow capacity

I mean the two kind of go hand in hand.

One of the reasons among others why people go with micro toy haulers is because of their advantageous weight which more vehicles can handle than bigger "truck only" toy haulers.