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Tow Rigs - Let's See What You've Got

I had a 2014 raptor I think it was a 27 fs model, (which is not that big- maybe 27-30' long)that was a few years old, it was in immaculate condition and the price was right. This was my 2nd travel trailer to own. Mine had the big garage in back, tall roof, had a generator bay, but no genny. I bought it as a compromise between rv camper for the family and a bike camper for trips that you always plan to use more than you actually do.
The garage had the queen bed that stows at the ceiling, with an option for a second underneath.
My lifted golf cart fit in the garage with a few inches to spare vertically, and plenty of storage around it for all the other gear needed, but no bikes. It would comfortably carry 3-4 dirt bikes or maybe 2 large street bikes.

DISLIKES that I came to realize.
  1. The living/ kitchen area was pretty cramped and there wasn't much room to relax if you weren't in a bed.
  2. The dinette was in a slide-out, but only had one way in and one way out, so you had to shuffle everybody if someone needed out.
  3. The main control panel was in the middle of the living/ dinette, so anytime you wanted to put the canopy up, look at tank levels, etc, you had to walk inside. -This should have been on the wall near the main door into the living/ dinette so it could be accessed from the ground outside the camper.
  4. The tongue jack was manual (bumper pull) It needs to be electric (easily changed)
  5. I had to add e trac in the floor as the factory 4-6 floor tie down locations were not sufficient for bikes.
  6. Pulled well enough with my f350, but wind drag is noticeable with these huge profile haulers - the weight distribution hitch helped.
  7. Fuel mileage dropped to about 8 when towing from a normal 14 (cost of doing business)
  8. Other little ergonomic issues that seem like they just threw together, that I would have changed.
  9. Door and window and roof seals are not all that tight and require constant monitoring / cleaned resealed annually at least.
  10. Rubber roof - see 9.
  11. cabinets liked to open in rough driving (I-10 in Louisiana)
  12. not enough AC with one unit, in the bald sun - many small fans were in storage.
  13. General trade off in quality associated with most production rv I've seen- see 9 and 10 and add cheap components like fridge, ac, inverter, etc.. as well as it seems a bunch of drunk school kids build these at high speed, little attention to detail.
  14. Sewer duty - black tanks just suck and require some degree of knowledge and forethought for trouble free operation.
LIKES:
  1. Pretty good storage for gear, cabinets; garage was big enough it was easy to pack all the extras around your bikes etc.
  2. Awesome for bike camping
  3. Good sized fridge
  4. garage walk in door was nice. Rear ramp into garage was awesome. Beds weren't bad. Kids got the rear queen and were isolated from us sleeping.
  5. Alot of power outlets and even a few usb.
  6. rear jack beds are awesome if not hauling really tall vehicles.
  7. bathroom was pretty large and adequate (for a camper)
  8. Kitchen was functional, but I always brought the mini grill for most cooking.
  9. Fresh water tank for dry camping. Could have been larger with all girls camping, but more than sufficient with males.
  10. My big Honda 6.5kw inverter genny ran it fine - gotta watch microwave use with AC.
  11. Onboard fuel tank / pump was cool but I worried about stale fuel / tried to run it out often and treat periodically. I also added a water stopping filter like the gas stations use. Never had issues, but I can see it being a problem if not maintained.
All said, ymmv- but I liked using mine. We like to camp. Some people do not. Figure that out before buying one!
I dreaded the eventual maintenance I know goes along with ownership, reasealing, possible leaks, crap falling off on a trip like removable hatch covers. I only had mine for a few years and both dry camped as well as used with full hookups. Had some great trips, and we miss the ability to jump in the truck with all our desired junk and go.
Most of this is a gripe with the industry as a whole and some small personal preferences I had.
They are building these quick and cheap and expect a good bit of service work later after a couple years which is not cheap. Most can be done by the owner if some mechanical/ electrical knowledge is available. If not, plan it into your budget.
If you own one, store it inside, or at least under a roof, to help with degradation issues that will develop with most all.
Really plan to use it, or accept the expense if youre not. As was stated earlier, you can buy a lot of motel / hotel or rentals for what it costs to purchase and maintain / haul these. It is very nice to be able to load and go when and where you want though!
There are some great options now to rent personally owned haulers and RVs, RVSHARE, OUTDOORSY, which I have considered. I have not used them yet, and some can be pricey, with deposits and fees, and insurance; but if camping is the option you want to take, and you arent sure what you want, this seems like a no brainer to use some one elses gear to see what you like or just give back after using.
Good luck
 
I had a 2014 raptor I think it was a 27 fs model, (which is not that big- maybe 27-30' long)that was a few years old, it was in immaculate condition and the price was right. This was my 2nd travel trailer to own. Mine had the big garage in back, tall roof, had a generator bay, but no genny. I bought it as a compromise between rv camper for the family and a bike camper for trips that you always plan to use more than you actually do.
The garage had the queen bed that stows at the ceiling, with an option for a second underneath.
My lifted golf cart fit in the garage with a few inches to spare vertically, and plenty of storage around it for all the other gear needed, but no bikes. It would comfortably carry 3-4 dirt bikes or maybe 2 large street bikes.

...

Wow great detailed response. Certainly some things to think about.

I agree with the RVShare/Outdoorsy comment too... We did it earlier this year and enjoyed it a lot, and more importantly learned a little about what does and doesnt work for us (just 2 of us).
 
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