Choosing a Trailer
There are plenty of different trailers out there. With such a wide variety to choose from you can be certain that there is a trailer that’s perfect for you. To help you find the trailer that fits your needs we’ve broken down three primary types of trailer RV to help explain some of the differences you’ll encounter.
Travel Trailer
Travel trailers like the Coachmen Freedom Express are RV’s that require a separate vehicle to pull them, attached by a ball hitch mount. Coming in a variety of shapes and sizes, travel trailers have a variety of pros and cons that are important to consider before you make your buying decision.
Pros
Because they rely on a tow vehicle, you will always have in town transportation when travelling with a trailer. Travel trailers can have open floor plans, that are often helped by slide outs to give an occupant more living space. To add to the increase in living space, travel trailers don’t sacrifice any room for an engine like a motorhome. The lower vertical profile gives you extra room on top for a storage compartment.
Cons
Perhaps the largest downside of a travel trailer is that it requires a tow vehicle rated for the size of the trailer. While small trailers don’t require much to pull around, larger, more luxurious trailers require trucks with significant power. Because of the tow hitch arrangement, travel trailers are also the least stable RVs on the road, and can be fairly difficult to back up, so an experience and confidant driver is important when travelling in this way. One last disadvantage of trailers is that you are unable to access the living compartment while you are driving, which can be a slight inconvenience for some.
Fifth Wheel
Fifth Wheel trailers like the Keystone Hideout are unique in that they hook up to a special tow hitch that sits above a truck’s rear axle. This places more of the load on the truck and requires a specific truck, but gives this type of trailer a variety of advantages.
Pros
The advantages of a fifth wheel come largely from their unique relationship with the truck that tows them. Because some of the trailer’s bulk is carried forward on suspension of the truck, fifth wheels are easier to maneuver than traditional ball hitch trailers. Fifth wheels also typically have more storage than comparable travel trailers as they have extra space over the bed of the towing truck.
Cons
Because of their unique towing setup, fifth wheels require a truck with the proper hitch. Like travel trailers, larger fifth wheels require larger trucks to move. You can’t typically tow an extra vehicle behind your fifth wheel, and like trailers, you aren’t able to access your living space while you are traveling. The final disadvantage for large fifth wheels is that when it’s time to put your RV away for the season you will need a sizable storage space.
Toy Hauler
Toy Haulers are a class of travel trailer or fifth wheel that specifically has room to carry a small vehicle inside. This makes the perfect for an RVer who enjoys off roading, or needs a way to carry a motorcycle along as they ride.
Pros
Toy haulers are especially suited to powersports exploration, as you are able to carry dirt bikes, quads, or in some cases, even a full sized UTV along on your trip. Because they come in the form of both fifth wheels and travel trailers you can find a wide variety of Toy Haulers to fit your needs and your tow vehicle. The dedicated ‘garage’ area of a Toy hauler has a large back gate that allows for easy ingress for your toys.
Cons
Toy haulers share the drawbacks of their specific format of trailer, so travel trailer toy haulers will be harder to maneuver, while fifth wheel toy haulers require specific trucks to tow. Beyond that, the main drawback of toy haulers is that they sacrifice living space for their garage area, though in many models the garage area also features fold down furniture that allows the garage to serve as a patio area.
Deciding which trailer is right for you is an important decision. Crabtree RV Center wants to make sure that we get you into the right RV. Come visit us, and we’d be happy to show you around some of our awesome models from brands like Keystone, Forest River, and Coachmen. We proudly serve the areas of serving the areas of Fayetteville, AR, Russellville, AR, Poteau, OK, Fort Smith, AR, and Van Buren, Arkansas from our lot in Alma, Arkansas. Come down and visit us and we’ll get you in the perfect trailer or fifth wheel today!
