Brainstorming my next rig. How to fit 4 mountain bikes inside a 4x4.

[sixstringsteve]

I heard back from Ken Garff Nissan. The 4x4 upgrade on the NV costs an extra $12k. That means a high top 4x4 van would be $46-49k. That's a lotta coin, but a lot less than $61k for the 4x4 transit, and $68k for a 4x4 sprinter (not to mention the 9 month wait). At the moment, the NV sounds like the van to go with.

 

[Pile of parts]

I guess this isn't in the budget either. Also, doesn't look like the doors are big enough to get the bikes in.

https://www.curbed.com/platform/amp/2018/5/31/17409924/camper-rv-for-sale-earthroamer

 

[RockChucker]

It baffles me that a 4x4 completely bare bones transit van with zero interior and zero features costs $10k more than a 4x4 f150 with far more features and build quality.

Probably has a lot to do with scale of manufacturing. I did a little searching and found that Ford sold almost 900,000 F150s in 2017. By comparison, they only sold just under 130,000 Transits.

 

[Caleb]

I love my stock 2008 Tundra BUT it does have drawbacks.

• The fuel tank is ridiculously small at 26 gallons. Couple that with the mileage and you'll be refueling every couple of hours on a road trip. A larger tank is $$$.
• The stock rotors suck. Period. They'll warp. Since I upgraded they've been fine. BUT I rarely tow.
• They're finicky (transmission electronics) when it comes to running larger tires.

I've never had any issues nor heard of any issues with either the rotors or the transmissions and I used mine for towing almost entirely and had 35" tires on my '07 Tundra and 37" tires on my '16. Interesting.

 

[johngottfredson]

I've never had any issues nor heard of any issues with either the rotors or the transmissions and I used mine for towing almost entirely and had 35" tires on my '07 Tundra and 37" tires on my '16. Interesting.

I have a friend who tows regularly (contractor) and has complained bitterly about the brake rotors on his tundra. He bought the truck new, but puts a lot of hard miles on his company trucks. Just bought a new f150...
Too be fair though, he is a hardscape/paver contractor and probably tows heavier than the truck is rated for. My other neighbor is quite wealthy and typically buys a new truck every 60k miles. When his 2011 tundra hit 60k, he said it still drove like new, zero problems, so he decided to drive it to 100k. At 100k, same story. Now at 150k, not a single issue, he says he'll just keep it until the wheels fall off.

 

[kmboren]

I was going to mention the NV but looks like you already thought of that. To keep your similar lifestyle I would think that would be one of the better options out there. I don't see how you could keep the bikes inside and camp in any pickup truck when you left your airstream at home.

 

[Kevin B.]

Lots of guys spotted this up in Park City yesterday. I think Steve found his new ride.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Yes!

 

[sixstringsteve]

Since this is a brainstorming thread, I'm going to slay a sacred cow and consider a different trailer option. Our bikes are more important to us than our airstream.

The airstream is the best trailer weve found, but I'm starting to wonder if a bumper pull toy hauler would be a better fit. Since we never need all 4 bikes with us at the sametime, we could leave 2 behind in the trailer. I'm thinking a 19-20 foot toy hauler.

Downsides:
- Buying and selling another trailer
- most toy haulers are junk
- swapping solar and batteries from airstream to new rig
- most toy haulers are heavier
- a toy hauler will be less energy efficient and more expensive to heat
- may ride extra rough when not loaded with heavy toys. Since they're meant for motos and quads and side by sides, I wonder if an empty toy hauler will tow poorly and ride rough. We have about 120 lbs of bikes.
-it's going to be bigger, which means its tougher to park on the side of a friends house, and a little more effort to tow.
-Fewer windows, feel a little cave-like
-no centralized heating, just one heater vent.
- every time i open the rear g as rage door, all heat or ac escapes
-our bikes will be in our living area 24/7

Upsides
- a new toy hauler is cheaper than my used airstream. Extra money left over
- tons of room inside
- bed drops down over the garage area. That bed is huge and could be used to store baby gear and to put a toddler in
- toy haulers have HUGE tanks. We could boondock longer before having to dump tanks
-room for 4 bikes plus all kinds of gear
- more room for a kid to crawl around in
- blank canvas, with plenty of room and weight capacity to build custom shelving and a desk

Anyway, its worth analyzing a bit. I couldstill look at a NV, or a pickup and not have to haul the bikes inside the tow vehicle all the time, which would free up a lot of space.

I know some of you have had toy haulers in the past. What did i miss? I'd love to hear your experiences with toy haulers.

 

[Hickey]

Newer toyhauler have centralized heating and ac vents. I personally wouldn't bother with a toyhauler under 28', because I would require the garage and living quarters be totally separate. If the bikes are gonna be inside your living space, then they might as well be inside your Airstream.

I don't think you would be happy with toyhauler quality unless you buy a huge one, which requires a huge truck with a diesel motor.

 

[sixstringsteve]

For reference, my airstream is a 23 footer. That's 23 feet from the ball to the rear bumpe. Its turned out to be a good size for us. We dont miss downsizing from our 30 footer at all.

Most other companies measure the box size (roughly). So a 19 footer jayco will usually be about 24-25 feet long from bumper to ball. I'd rather stay under 26 feet total.

The big advantage the you haulers have over the airstream is their roof height, which allows the bed to be over the bikes. Can't do that in the airstream right now. If we hung a curtain from the bottom of the bed to cover the bikes, it might feel a little more like home.

There is no easy solution, but the good news is that my wife is totally hooked on mountain biking and it's become our top priority and favorite activity. It's the main reason we travel full time now.

 

[Hickey]

I think a good quality toyhauler in that size could be built, but I've yet to see one. Your Airstream is top quality, but toyhaulers of a similar length are the absolute cheapest RV's ( in terms of build quality) on the market. Maybe a race trailer or horse trailer w/ living quarters could work?

 

[Jesser04]

imho the airstream is top of the line in every aspect. Anything less will end up being a disappointment that you’ll end up getting rid of to get back into another airstream. If a toy hauler is the way you want to go I’d buy an older one and redo the interior to make it more comfortable. We own a 98 32’ 5th wheel that we redid the flooring and put residential furniture in it made it so much more livable. Slide outs also are a huge bonus we went from a 26’ bumper pull with one slide to the current trailer with three so much room for activities.

 

[Jesser04]

Do they make a 19’ with opposing slides? If they do it would be pretty sweet are biggest reason for getting a different trailer was our son the bumper pull just didn’t have enough room for him to play.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Most small toy haulers dont have slides.

 

[Hickey]

How would you feel about modifying your Airstream frame?

If you stretch the tongue out 4-6' you could add a secure custom cargo box for the bikes. You won't be adding a ton of tongue weight with just bikes in that cargo box, and it would actually tow a little better with a longer tongue.

That would be a simple fab job for a place like Agility Customs.

 

[boogie_4wheel]

I'd love to hear your experiences with toy haulers.

2010 Forest River Shockwave 21' toyhauler here (MX-T21FS). Bought brand new. It was the last one on the lot, great price so we took it.

Specs:
3500lb axles, so 7600 or something GVWR.
53g fresh, 40g gray, 40 black.
35g fuel tank, no gen.
Non-ducted heat and A/C.

Full fresh, 2 propane tanks, 1 battery, mini grill and leveling wood in the front pass-through. All our bedding, pots/pans, misc, no toy gas, weight is 5180 on the axles and 1000 on the tongue, so 6180 trailer weight.

Has a front bed that lies East/West. Two fold up 6' couches (one each side) that make into single beds for my two kids. Cabinets line each side of the trailer all the way to the ramp so no drop down beds, but more storage.

You can get a similar sized trailer with 5k axles instead of the 3.5k, but they also weigh more because of the larger frame.

If I had to do it again I'd get a 24-27' and a North/South bed in the front. Other than that our layout is near perfect for the 4 of us with the kids at 7 and 5yrs. For full timing there isn't enough closet space (in my trailer).

I lived in mine during the week for 2yrs in Crescent Valley NV while I was working over there. Insulation sucks... But mine is also an exposed belly. I did add stick on tank heaters (UltraHeat), traced and wrapped the one exposed water line, then skirted the trailer with osb backed with 1" foam insulation. $100mo power bill in the summer or winter. The 13.5k can easily keep up in 100+, and the propane heater was able to make a comfortable trailer in -20 by itself without the skirting.

For everyone knocking Forest River quality, it has been a great trailer. 8yrs later with a fair amount of constant usage, we've broken a plastic piece on the drawer slide and had a piece of interior molding come loose.

My trailer rides great loaded or empty. I had a tv remote on top of a mini pantry (about 8"wide) right above the axles. It rode there for 300mi without my bikes in the trailer. The only time anything has shifted around in the cabinets is after emergency braking.

This will be critical for you.
Think about bike storage vs kid sleeping space vs kitchen table location. In my trailer they are all the same spot; kids' beds need to be turned into couches and the tables set in the floor for meals. 'Toys' have to be out of the way for any of this you happen. Ceiling bunks would be a benefit since you could just raise them still covered in bedding for the day.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Yeah, the ceiling bunk on the electric lowering slide is a big factor for me.

I prefer the north/south bed orientation with a corner bath. That's great feedback on your trailer, thanks!

 

[I Lean]

Steve, I sent you a text about a toy hauler... assuming your number is the same.

Let me know if you didn't get it.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Thanks carl!