Trailer Choices
NOTE: This is completely DRAFT status at this point, but I wanted it available so I could look at it when not logged in myself. :0)
We have a big wish list for our potential future RV, but that deals with detailed features/options. We also have some core requirements that will greatly narrow our brand/manufacturer/model choices right off the bat.
#1: All-Aluminum
- PROs
- won’t rot or rust
- lighter weight
- lower maintenance
- sturdiness / longevity
- CONs
- not as “homey” fresh off the dealer lot
- aluminum is great conductor of heat and cold so hard to cool or heat
- industrial feel
The all-aluminum trailers that I’ve found so far are made by Airstream, InTech, or ATC. As we are also leaning toward a 5th wheel toy hauler that narrows it down to ATC. Happily, ATC has a great reputation, uses welds vs. screws, single-sheet roof construction, comes with a 3 year warranty, and has a low report of issues.
#2: High Enough GVWR that we don’t have to be concerned with how much overall weight we’re loading each time (still have to concern ourselves with weight distribution, of course).
On the other hand, something with sliders could be nice for extra room and might well be worth the trouble they seem to bring with them, and having a homey look and feel and all sorts of convenience features out the box could be nice too so let’s at least take a look at one of those as well even though it takes us out of the all-aluminum space. An extra patio would be saweeeeet!
The current front-runner on the all-aluminum end is an ATC 5th Wheel Toy Hauler 8’6″ x 40′, and on the non-all-aluminum end is a Grand Design Momentum 398M. and then one with an aluminum cage (floor, walls, roof) – the Luxe Toy Hauler 48FB. Let’s compare the three.
Item | ATC 5th Wheel | Grand Momentum 398M | Luxe Toy Hauler 48FB |
Certification | |||
RVIA Certification Seal | Yes | ? | ? |
Garage | |||
Length | 16' 9" | ||
Ramp Load Rating | 5,000 lb | ||
Ramp Convertible to Patio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Tie Down System / Load Rating | Airline Track / 5,000 lb | Flush-Mount / 2,500 lb | |
Rear Cargo Loading Lights | Yes, LED | ||
Backup Lights | Yes, LED | ||
Ram-Air Vents | No | Both Sides | |
Wall Covering | Protective Diamond Plate | ||
Flooring | Aluminum | Tuff-Ply Gas and Oil Resistant, Triple-Insulated | |
Happi-Jac Bunk | Optional | ||
Happi-Jac Folding Sofas | Optional | ||
TV | 32" LED, w/ Garage Package | ||
3-Season Wall | Optional | ||
Other Features | |||
Side Patio Option | No | No | Yes |
Windows | |||
Insulation R-Value Equivalents | |||
Roof | R-?? | R-40 | ? |
Floor, Garage | R-13 w/ Insulated Floor Option | R-40 | ? |
Walls | R-?? w/ Upgraded Wall Insulation | R-11 | ? |
Floor, Main | R-13 w/ Insulated Floor Option | R-45 | ? |
Garage Door | All-aluminum so great transfer of heat or cold (not a good thing) | ? | ? |
Might want to find a way to cover exterior of rear door with something like Prodex reflective insulation. | Maybe | ||
Dimensions | |||
External Length | 41' 3" | 48' 2" | |
External Width | 8' 6" | ? | |
External Height | w/ AC 13' | 13' 6" | |
Interior Height, Main | 8' 10", sloped up from garage area's 8' | ? | |
Interior Height, Bedroom | 6' 2" | ? | |
Deck Height | 27" | ? | |
Rear Opening Width | 96" | ? | |
Rear Opening Height | 90" | ? | |
Clearance to Bottom of Bunk | 64" | ? | |
Hitch | |||
Type | ? | ? | MORryde |
Rating | ? | ? | 24,000 lbs |
Pin Weight | ? (max 20% of GVWR = 4,200 lbs) | 3,000 lbs | 4,700 lbs |
Pin Weight % of GVWR | ? | 15% | 18% |
TOW Vehicle Can Handle this Payload? | Tow Vehicle TBD! | Tow Vehicle TBD! | Tow Vehicle TBD! |
Axles | |||
Type | Torsion | ? | Dexter TORFLEX Independent Suspension |
Number | 3 | 3 | 3 |
GAWR, per axle | 6,000 lbs | 7,000 lbs | 8,000 lbs |
Total GAWR | 18,000 lbs | 21,000 lbs | 24,000 lbs |
Total GAWR Meets or Exceeds GVWR? | No -- 3,000 lbs shy*** | Yes | No -- 1,999 lbs shy*** |
Can Axles be Upgraded at Build? | ? | ? | ? Do have 9,000 lbs axle as option for other trailers, so: maybe? That would get to 27,000 lbs Total GAWR and 1,000 lbs to spare |
Brakes | |||
Tires | |||
Main | ST235/80R16LRE (e.g. ENDURANCE (Trailer Tire) ) | ? | 17.5" Goodyear (+/- GOODYEAR G114 LHT – 215/75R17.5) |
Load Rating | E ==> 3,420 lbs | ? | H ==> 4,805 lbs |
Number of Tires (2 x # of axles) | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Total Tire Load Rating | 20,520 lbs | ? | 28,830 lbs |
Total Tire Load Rating Meets or Exceeds GVWR? | No -- 480 lbs shy*** | ? | Yes |
Speed Rating | N | ? | 75 mph |
Max PSI | 80 | ? | 125 |
Spare | ST235/80R16LRE / Hide a Spare / EZ Access | ? | ? |
Approx Cost per Tire | $150 | ? | $350 |
Approx Cost to Replace All SAME Type | $900 | ? | $2,100 |
Can Tires be Upgraded at Build? | ? Would definitely want to do so | ? | No Need |
Construction | |||
Frame | Full Perimeter Aluminum | ||
Frame Welded vs. Screwed | Yes | No | Yes |
Floors | Extruded Aluminum w/ 16" on Center Aluminum Studs | 3" Thick Floors - Welded 16" on Center - 5/8" Tongue & Groove Plywood Flooring | |
Walls | 16" on Center Aluminum Studs | 3" Vacuum Bonded Super Composite sidewalls | |
Ceiling | 16" on Center Aluminum Studs | ||
Roof | One Piece Aluminum | 16" on Center Aluminum Trusses, 1/2" (or 3/8"?) Plywood Roof Decking, and Seamless 1-Piece SuperFlex Membrane Roofing with 12-year warranty | |
Screwless Exterior | Yes | No | No |
Maintenance | |||
Roof Sealing (Yearly-ish) | NO (good thing!) | Yes | ? |
Inspect Routinely for Rusting | NO (good thing!) | Yes | Yes |
Inspect Routinely for Rotting | NO (good thing!) | Yes | Yes |
Inspect Routinely for Animals/Insects Getting Inside | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Inspect Routinely for Animals Chewing Through Floors / Walls | NO (good thing!) | Yes | Yes |
Inspect Routinely for Animals Chewing through Wires / Tubes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Inspect Routinely for Leaks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Inspect Routinely for Mold | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Inspect Routinely for Delamination | NO (good thing!) | Yes | ? |
Inspect Routinely All Seals and Vents | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Weights | |||
Base/Dry/Curb Weight, Approx | 10,000 lbs | 15,100 lbs | 21,500 lbs |
Fresh Water Tank* | 200 gallons / 1,670 lbs | 157 gallons / 1,310 lbs | 100 gallons / 835 lbs |
Fresh Water Tank*, Optional Add | --- | --- | 100 gallons / 835 lbs |
Gray Water Tank* | 45 gallons / | 104 gallons / | 80 gallons / |
Black Water Tank* | 45 gallons / | 52 gallons / | 80 gallons / |
Propane Tank(s)** | (2) 30# LP / 94 lbs | 60# / 116 lbs | (2) 40# / 138 lbs |
Generator | 5.5 kw Onan / 300 lbs | 5.5 kw Onan / 300 lbs | 7 kw Onan / 300 lbs |
Fuel Fill Station* | 36 gallons / 300 lbs | 60 gallons / 500 lbs | 40 gallons / 334 lbs |
Fuel Tank* Dedicated to Generator | --- | --- | 20 gallon / 167 lbs |
Water Heater Tank | 10 gallons / 84 lbs | 12 gallons / 100 lbs | 10 gallons / 84 lbs |
Our Toys: H-D Road Glide | 950 lbs | 950 lbs | 950 lbs |
Our Toys: H-D Trike | 1,300 lbs | 1,300 lbs | 1,300 lbs |
Sub-Total | 14,698 lbs | 19,676 lbs | 26,443 lbs |
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) | 21,000 lbs | 20,000 lbs | 25,999 lbs |
"Wiggle Room" | 6,302 lbs UNDER MAX | 324 lbs UNDER MAX | 444 lbs OVER WEIGHT! |
Estimating 10% of GVWR for Additional Load -- food, beverages, dishes, supplies, clothes, personal electronics, hobby stuff, business stuff, batteries, invertors, ups, tools, added options, etc., etc. | 2,100 lbs | 2,000 lbs | 2,150 lbs NO CAN DO, already OVER weight |
LEFT for added stuff we're not thinking of right now, though not ever loading to MAX would be ideal | 4,202 lbs | 1,676 lbs OVER WEIGHT! | NOTHING LEFT, already OVER weight |
TOW Vehicle Can Handle this GVWR? | Tow Vehicle TBD! | Doesn't Matter, Trailer Over Weight! | Doesn't Matter, Trailer Over Weight! |
TOW vehicle Can Handle the GCVWR? | Tow Vehicle TBD! | Doesn't Matter, Trailer Over Weight! | Doesn't Matter, Trailer Over Weight! |
* We used 8.35 lbs / gallon in calculations for all non-propane tanks (fresh, gray, black, and fuel). Reality check: if the gray and black tanks are full, the fresh water tank will not be full so I calculated with "best case" scenario where fresh tank(s) is/are full and gray/black are empty (thus the struck weights are not included in the sums). | |||
** Given internet estimates, each 30 lb LP tank is ~17 lbs empty, so 47 lbs full and each 40# tank is~29 lbs empty, 69 lbs full. Grand Design doesn’t specify if their setup is one 60 lb tank (at ~47 lbs empty) or two 30 lb tanks, so assuming two 30 lbs tanks as that gives the higher combined weight (116 lbs vs 107 lbs). | |||
*** "Extra" weight could be carried by the hitch/5th wheel when connected, but what about when not connected, what supports that extra weight then? |