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06-04-2012, 10:17 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 3
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Newbie
Hi, Uncle Roy here from south Florida. My wife and I have been toying with the idea of purchasing a small Toy Hauler, since I have (2) motorcycles.
Trying to weigh the pros & cons vs towing the bike with my Silverado P/U and staying at cheap motels or KOA Kamping Kabins. I already have a small Striker M/C trailer and towing trailer hitch package.
We have camped b-4 in both tents and the topper in my P/U (nice blow up air mattress.
Looking forward to some "words of wisdom".
Regards & God Bless...Hobbs
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06-04-2012, 10:48 AM
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#2
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Posts: 2,381
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Hello and to the forums. Glad to have you and see you made it over here, glad you did.
I'm towing an 18 foot Work and Play, with a Honda and Yamaha street bikes in it. Total weight around 7000 pounds, 10 mpg average towing with a 2001 F150 Supercrew 5.4L engine, tow package, 4x4. Usually tow in the mountains.
Went to Kitty Hawk two weeks ago, (coast), flatter ground got 10.5 mpg. Weighed the cost of fuel towing, vs running empty, no trailer, and staying motels. Camper won, since we used the bikes to sight see, and with the camper, we didn't eat out but once. Did buy some fresh fish and cook that. The campground was $50 a night, water sewer, electric, cable TV, and wi fi, so not bad.
I have not stayed enough nights in my camper to pay for it, but is cheaper than motel and eating out. We also get to ride the motorcycles and see the scenery around us.
__________________
LadyWindrider
2012 Ford F250 ext. Cab 4x4
2002 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
2008 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic
2008 Work and Play 18LT
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06-04-2012, 10:49 AM
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#3
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Missing Link
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Genesee, MI
Posts: 419
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Welcome to FRF. A few advantages would be you can pack the hauler at home and leave it vs in and out with clothes and gear with a hotel, there are plenty of campgrounds with great people that you would meet everynight, and your bikes and gear can be more secure.
__________________
2014 Puma 30-DBSS
2014 Ram 2500 Mega Cab 6.4L
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06-04-2012, 11:34 AM
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#4
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Southeast Wisconsin
Posts: 6,949
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Welcome Uncle Roy!!
Pros and cons vs a motel from my perspective are:
Camping pros: Building family memories. Camping is a lot more fun for us than hotels. Owning, modifying and maintaining a trailer is a hobby that I enjoy. Get to sleep in a bed I'm used to and I KNOW the sheets are clean. We like to cookout so better and healthier food than most restaurants IMO and meals are cheaper.
Camping cons: The big one is the initial cost of unit and time and cost to maintain yearly. Possibly lower MPG but in your case you would be towing a trailer anyway. Extra time to setup and take down.
I think the economics play into the decision to camp vs staying at motels but cost is secondary compared to the lifestyle differences.
If cost if primary, the simple math shows that you would have to spend many nights on the road with a camper before breaking even. Of course, buying used vs new and the more nights per year help to even things out.
__________________
Scott
DW, 3 Kids and our Goldens
2012 Shamrock 233S
2008 Toyota Sequoia 5.7L 4WD
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06-04-2012, 11:42 AM
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#5
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Camper Less Camping
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: NW
Posts: 3,642
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As stated above by others, once you get past the initial expense of purchasing an RV and the setup cost, you'll much more enjoy campgrounds vs hotels!
__________________
2013 Sabre 32RCTS-6 (sold)
Family of 4 whose always on the GEAUX!
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06-04-2012, 04:56 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 337
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Your situation seems quite similar to how we ended up with our TH.
The people who owned it before (for about 3 months) were Harley drivers. They found when they were riding their Harleys they did not always come back to the TH. They frequently rode so far away they were staying in hotels.
When they were camping they found the TH they had was just a little too austere to their liking.
This is called how to get $7,000 off a 3 month old TH. It was hardly unusual to find a low-time trailer either. Some people trade them in every few years. If they have been well kept it is excellent way to save 25% or more over the cost of a new unit.
However, I am sure your situation is probably different. One thing is you haven't specified how big to Silverado is. I am assuming it is a 1500 (1/2 ton) so some consideration needs to be given in how big a TH your 1500 might handle. There is equipment and gear ratios that ar much more critical in gasser style TV (Tow Vehicles) that on a 3/4 ton diesel are not.
I have a Puma 27SBU. I really like it though I think the 5ver version is a lot better for almost the same weight. It can be pulled with a gasser, but I think they are better suited to being pulled with a diesel (we bought our diesel used; saved us $30K).
My pards from the club have a Work & Play which is pretty nice too. W&Ps always strike me as being more the functional side of Toy Hauling, but it is still pretty nice.
For me, we don't use our TH to haul anything heavier than our gun cart. That is a lot of overkill. Still that makes it very easy to roll out the gun cart(s) and I don't have to take them apart to pack them in the TH.
For comparison sake, its pretty hard to beat a economy car/hotel combo. A 10 MPG TV/TH is going to cost $3.10-$4+ every 10 miles. If I were staying just at RV parks that would be too much to pay.
On the other hand, we camp dry a lot. Having a a/c cooled/heated trailer, with a full bath, full kitchen, master bedroom, satellite TV, etc. is really nice. When we stop at rest stops we care not one wit what the condition off the bathrooms are. We have cold stuff in the refer, a stove for lunch. We don't have to check for bed bugs, smelly hotel rooms, and our dogs are always welcomed.
What you have to value is that traveling in an RV is like staying in a luxury hotel room. The only difference is their is no maid service.
The other advantage of your TH is it is our lifeboat at home. If the power goes out, I start up the generators and we have a nice place to stay for a day or two. After about 36 hours I have to refill the generators, but I can keep people pretty comfortable for several days.
If you can go to the bigger THs, I really like the ones with garages. That keeps a lot of bulky things out of the living areas. But when we are playing cowboy, we have all our gear on the bunks and plenty of room on the couches.
Once you start travelling that way, its pretty hard to go back to going by car...
__________________
Foard County News & Sassy Schoolmarm
with Lady & Chloe, 2013 39 days, 2014 59 days
2017 GD Imagine 2800BH
'07 GMC Sierra 2500HD Diesel 4x4
Why I got into RVing & More Fun
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