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Old 06-19-2014, 03:19 PM   #1
Timon
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Fuzion vrs Montana

We've been looking at getting a Montana or BigSky when we sell our house however a couple days ago we saw a Fuzion with the patio. My wife was thinking that with us and the two dogs a patio would be nice. I was think the garage would hold a GEM or a SmartCar so we would not always have to drive the TV around town.

If we leave for a while and cannot take the dogs they can stay in the garage and if they have an accident it's easy to clean up unlike the 5er. If we're taking the dogs then we take the TV and leave the GEM or SmartCar.

Down side is that there is not as much "Luxury" space as the Montana or BigSky but what there is quite nice and we would have plenty of space. I also do some electronic design on the side so the garage would make a nice work space.

The Fuzion that looks the best for our needs is the 404 which is a whopping 42' which is more that I though one could tow but maybe not. The one thing I don't like is that you have to fold up the patio and close the ramp when you leave as there is no other secure door/wall in the rear.

I'm also wondering if the back stays comfortable in cold weather when the ramp is closed?

So I'm thinking it might be a good fit.

Thoughts.
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Old 06-19-2014, 03:48 PM   #2
C130
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We have a small Fuzion, the 322 Touring Edition and love it. I'd love to have a larger toy hauler but don't see that happening anytime soon as I'd have to get a larger truck. I plan on giving my son the F250 in 3 years when he turns 16 and I'll get a new dually. We have the rear patio and really enjoy it but here in Texas it's too hot to really use it in the summer time. What I like about the toy haulers is your can just throw anything you want in the back and go. We haul 4 bicycles, grill, chairs, two coolers, etc. while camping and I've hauled 3 dirt bikes, grill ,coolers, gear while doing motocross. We just bought a 11 foot kayak on this trip and I didn't think it would fit in the back but diagonally it fit in fine. I know the extra luxury space would be nice but for our lifestyle a toy hauler is the only way we could go. We probably haul way too much stuff though.


I have two kids, 10 and 13, and they sleep back in the garage. The 322TE has 2 Ac's and the rear one is in the garage and keeps it cool. We just camped for 8 nights and it was in the 90's every day and never got hot and would get too cold in the night if left on high with the temp turned down to around 70. Does the 404 have 3 AC's? Back in the winter we camped for 7 nights and it got down in the low to mid 30's, cold for our area of Texas. It got cool in the back at night, kids did fine but it did not stay as warn as the front which was very nice and warm. The 322TE has extra ducting and a heat strip in the rear AC but the heat strip is pretty worthless in my opinion. I'd say a dually would be a necessity with the 404. I see people pulling the 40 foot trailers with F250's but I wouldn't eve think about it.
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Old 06-20-2014, 03:11 AM   #3
matandjen
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We have a Fuzion 390 and love it. The rear door is easy to close with the spring assist, so locking up is not a big deal. If you are just looking to stop people from peeking, the new sliding doors in the rear can be locked with a padlock. We also changed out the door lock between the garage and living room so it could be locked as well.

Wont stop someone who really wants in, but it is better than nothing. We didnt think we would use the patio much, but have found it to be a wonderful addition. It is open every day the weather allows it.
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Old 06-20-2014, 05:48 AM   #4
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Generally speaking it really comes down to luxury versus flexibility. The patio is great and used a lot and as far as closing simple job for a single person including senior citizens. You are not going to want to be in the garage area in colder weather without a secondary heater. Think Fuzion is like a Raptor with one heating duct in garage think it is 2" so do not expect it to blow your wig off, looks nice.

Think Fuzion pin weights lower than Raptor but for what you are looking at I would say dually 1 ton. Yes you will see people towing Raptors and Fuzions with 3/4 ton and in cases 1/2 ton or read about it on this forum but not for me. Also consider the fact that some CG's have limitations on length. To use patio area you are going to need a camp site equal to your length plus an extra 8' . Garage is excellent choice for the dogs especially in bad weather, think most have a separate door to garage. Patio railing extremely easy to put up and take down, four corner pins and two rear bolts another story . Some of the later models have steps to the patio from outside eliminating having to enter garage. Think there is a Montana with a smaller garage area available probably little more luxury area. My choice like you can see in Sig is a Raptor Toy Hauler and have never looked back, more space would be nice but then getting into tri-axle and lengths around 40+ feet. Did not want to go there.

A pull down screen is available between patio area and garage. You may want to do searches for "garage" "patio" to find more info

Good luck and enjoy
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Old 06-20-2014, 08:30 AM   #5
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"I was think the garage would hold a GEM or a SmartCar"

Depending on the model, most will handle 2500 lbs in the garage area, the door will fail pretty quickly I would think.

Smart cars weigh about 1600 dry, so figure 1800 to be more realistic.
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Old 06-20-2014, 12:05 PM   #6
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We have A fuzion 310 and love it. The rear a/c cools the garage well. But after reading some treads on here some are not plumbed for heat in the garage. Mine has a heat strip in a/c. I'm not a big fan of that. But over all it's a great unit and has tons of space for my two boys so I'm sure your dogs would love the space. Also the bunks and couch are removable on the happy jack. So head room is not a ?


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Old 06-21-2014, 05:16 AM   #7
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We have a Fuzion 342. It was our full time home for 14 months in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. On the really cold days I would use a $20 electric heater in the garage and stayed very warm. When I say cold days, I mean the temperature did not get above 35. There were some other things we did to stay "operational." Overall, I thought the trailer was well built and while not designed for artic conditions, it handled the cold well.

Most toy haulers come with carpet for the garage. It is a great addition for maintaining heat and "upgrading" the garage. Might be a conflict for your plans related to your dogs though. I set up a six foot folding table and was able to have a mini workbench/office for work and entertainment. I also had a Concept 2 rower in the garage for attempts at fitness.

Our 342 has all the bells/whistles except the extreme patio option. At first I was disappointed. I figured out how to utilize the ramp door for a patio (minus the railing and awning). We used it twice and discovered that we would rather use a concrete patio where we can cook and watch a much larger television and entertain friends/neighbors - or stay inside. I am now glad that we don't have the patio option.

As far as size goes, the bigger the trailer is not always better. You would be hard pressed to get a 40' trailer in most National Parks. While towing you will only be able to get fuel at truck stops or travel plazas.

If at all possible, try renting a unit that is the same or close to what you think you want so you can tow it and spend a little time inside.

Good luck! Shopping and deciding what to get is part of the fun for most folks. Ask if you have more questions. Everybody here has an opinion and is happy to share.
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Old 06-21-2014, 04:25 PM   #8
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The 42' length does not bother me for the towing but when parked. Still there are a lot of 45' motor homes that park all the time so maybe no real difference.

I have no desire to have the 5er in a National park especially since reserving a space is almost impossible. I'm quite happy to stay in an area outside them. So driving the TV or a SmartCar into the park is fine with me.

Speaking of the SmartCar I've been trying to figure out the best way to lock it down without taking a lot of time to do it. The only thing I've come up with is a channel frame that locks into the 5K mounts. Then you drive the car through the U channel, which kept the vehicle from moving side to side, then use the over the tire straps to tie it down. This would distribute the load over multiple tie downs and make it very quick to load and lock down. The main problem is that you would have to take the channels out if you want to use the space but that's normally when you're going to be stopped for a few days. The GEM is about the same although it is about 600 pounds lighter.

I want to have my electronics work area and my wife wants her work area my thinking was to remove the two sofas and use the mounting brackets to hold our work areas. That way they could be raised up high enough to still bring in a Smart Car or GEM in under them.

Stopped by the dealer to see any of the ToyHaulers and guess what? They had a Fuzion 404 so the following questions got answered.
  • How tall is the inside of the bed and bath rooms? It's 6'32"ish I'm 6'2.5" and can make my head touch if I stretch just a little.
  • How tall is the inside of the Garage? It's 8'7" so that's very nice.
  • Width of the Garage? 8'3".
  • Usable length of the Garage? 11'3". This allows for the patio railing and the trifold doors plus room for a vehicle to rock front to back. I'd personally keep any vehicle no longer than 11' just to be safe.
  • Max loading for the Garage is 2,500 lbs. I don't believe this includes the fuel just what goes in the Garage.
I was comparing the Rapor 412 and the Fuzion 404 floor plans and I think I like the 412 bedroom and bath better than the 404. The 30x48" shower is much better than the neo-angle shower and the dresser/HDTV is nicer than the 404. IMHO. It would be nice if they could somehow fit the 30x48" in the 404.

The Raptor 412


The Fuzion 404
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Old 06-23-2014, 10:59 AM   #9
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We have a 2014 Fuzion Chrome 404. Not sure I can answer a lot of questions right now, as we've only owned it 3 months. As for the patio, I thought it would be a neat option for our 3-year-old, but my husband disagreed, and chose to take it off and store it in the garage. We haul dirt bikes, though, so it would probably be a pain. One thing I do love about the garage is the new doors with thick plastic that seal it off. It seems to help with the amount of dust we get back there.

Good luck on your decision!
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Old 06-24-2014, 06:40 AM   #10
4-WheelerLady
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We just bought a Raptor 412 and love it. We have dogs, kids, and grandkids. We added on the steps on to the patio. Works great. The dogs love the garage area. I pull it with a Dodge Diesel Dully 3500 with a BW puck system hitch. Works like a charm.
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