Mulishajoe
need more parts
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2012
- Location
- Salisbury nc
Looking at picking one up and would like to know what people that own them think. I know I saw one at the flats for the first wheeling of this year. Any input would be appreciated.
Gearbox toy hauler
- Thread starter Mulishajoe
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2005
- Location
- Raleigh, NC
I can't speak to the Gearbox brand ones specifically, but I can tell you anything you'd want to know about ours.
The one problem I've seen with a lot of the toyhaulers built by RV companies is that they're built to carry ATVs. They typically don't have the load carrying capacity that you'd need to carry a Jeep. They also sit up really high, basically like a deckover. I bought a factory-converted car trailer because it's sitting on a full-length box tube frame, torsion axles, and I can keep the dirt/exhaust/etc in the back, out of the "camper" portion of the trailer.
For reference, ours is a 36ft gooseneck with dual 7k axles. It is the absolute smallest trailer you can get that will still have room for a Jeep in a separate garage and have a fully outfitted camper. If I were doing it over again, a 40-44ft trailer would be nice, but I'd really like to have a third axle. I've got to believe the stopping ability would be a lot better, and two extra tires on the ground couldn't hurt. I'm really on the cusp for needing a 17.5" tire... so a third axle would keep you in cheap E rated truck tires for certain.
If it's running 4-6yo Goodyear G614 tires or something like that.... you should know that they're like $300+ each to replace.
If you're buying used, an onboard 4-7k Onan genset is worth $3-4k new, easy. You can't really hear our generator inside the camper, especially not over the noise of the A/C. And it's pushbutton start, so we can roll into the truck stop at oh-dark-thirty, fire up the generator and AC and go to sleep.
I can also say that I wouldn't want to tow anything like it with a lifted rig. When we first got our trailer, the Dodge was stock height with 35s. I had to swap to a 3750# rated tire to carry the load, and picked up a TON of power by going from a 35 to a 33. I know our trailer weighs 12k ish empty, and I'd guess we're in the mid 20ks loaded for the weekend. Pin weight empty is about 3500#. Probably somewhat less than that when loaded, but I've never weighed it loaded to find out.
Count on buying some air bags if it's a 3/4t tow rig. Count on needing every piece of sway control/load leveling/etc they make if it's a 25-35ft tag trailer.
Lastly, wind resistance is a bitch. I get 10mpg towing a regular, crappy, 4000# 26ft camper, and 10mpg towing our big trailer with the Jeep, fuel, water, groceries, etc. Might get close to 11 if you take it really easy, or 9mpg if you really get up in the hills (heading up I-77 toward Beckley, for example). But I've talked to a lot of guys running similar setups, and we're all more or less in the same boat.
The one problem I've seen with a lot of the toyhaulers built by RV companies is that they're built to carry ATVs. They typically don't have the load carrying capacity that you'd need to carry a Jeep. They also sit up really high, basically like a deckover. I bought a factory-converted car trailer because it's sitting on a full-length box tube frame, torsion axles, and I can keep the dirt/exhaust/etc in the back, out of the "camper" portion of the trailer.
For reference, ours is a 36ft gooseneck with dual 7k axles. It is the absolute smallest trailer you can get that will still have room for a Jeep in a separate garage and have a fully outfitted camper. If I were doing it over again, a 40-44ft trailer would be nice, but I'd really like to have a third axle. I've got to believe the stopping ability would be a lot better, and two extra tires on the ground couldn't hurt. I'm really on the cusp for needing a 17.5" tire... so a third axle would keep you in cheap E rated truck tires for certain.
If it's running 4-6yo Goodyear G614 tires or something like that.... you should know that they're like $300+ each to replace.
If you're buying used, an onboard 4-7k Onan genset is worth $3-4k new, easy. You can't really hear our generator inside the camper, especially not over the noise of the A/C. And it's pushbutton start, so we can roll into the truck stop at oh-dark-thirty, fire up the generator and AC and go to sleep.
I can also say that I wouldn't want to tow anything like it with a lifted rig. When we first got our trailer, the Dodge was stock height with 35s. I had to swap to a 3750# rated tire to carry the load, and picked up a TON of power by going from a 35 to a 33. I know our trailer weighs 12k ish empty, and I'd guess we're in the mid 20ks loaded for the weekend. Pin weight empty is about 3500#. Probably somewhat less than that when loaded, but I've never weighed it loaded to find out.
Count on buying some air bags if it's a 3/4t tow rig. Count on needing every piece of sway control/load leveling/etc they make if it's a 25-35ft tag trailer.
Lastly, wind resistance is a bitch. I get 10mpg towing a regular, crappy, 4000# 26ft camper, and 10mpg towing our big trailer with the Jeep, fuel, water, groceries, etc. Might get close to 11 if you take it really easy, or 9mpg if you really get up in the hills (heading up I-77 toward Beckley, for example). But I've talked to a lot of guys running similar setups, and we're all more or less in the same boat.
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