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Old 12-29-2012, 06:33 AM   #1
upontheridge
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Fuzion 260 Pre-purchase Questions

First time RV buyer, looking to purchase a Toy Hauler. Have looked at several different models but I keep coming back to the Fuzion 260. Will be hauling a Polaris 800 for the wife and two Honda CRF 250's for my son and I. Tow Vehicle is a 2012 Ford F-150 3.6 Ecoboost SCREW with max tow 11,300 towing capacity GCVW of 17,100.

My questions. Will my Ford be able handle the Fuzion 260 with any problems or should i look for a lighter Toyhauler.

How big of a pain is it to have the toys in the living space vs a separate garage area. My wife is worried about gas/exhaust smell and general dirt. My wife and son like the Fuzion 300 but I think it is 2 heavy and to big. I personally like the openness of the 260 floorplan. Will my son be able sleep in the rear electric lift bed with the RZR loaded in the garage area

Will use the toyhauler most of the time for trips from NC To WV for riding but do plan a couple trips to Utah and Colorado for some riding.

Have looked at Coachmen Freedom Express 301 BLDS and the Fun Rider XT276because they are lighter than the Fuzion and they have a separate garage but don't like the closed in feel. Also worried that we won't be able to fit the 3 vehicles in those units.

Thanks in advance for any input, suggestions and advice.
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Old 12-29-2012, 07:03 AM   #2
mpd2001
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toy hauler

The main problem I had with having the toys in the living area is when we would be camping and the weather turned bad had to either leave our bikes out in the weather or bring them in with us and loose our living space. I ended up getting rid of it and going with a raptor 300mp with a seperate garage which is awesome, but I had to get rid of my silverado 1500 and get a 3500 diesel dually. Wish I would have went bigger right from the start instead of upgrading.
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Old 12-29-2012, 07:36 AM   #3
T11ravis
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I'm the same as mpd. I should have just gone big a couple years ago and been done with it.

I've raced motorcycles for a long time and just upgraded to my 5th trailer (and am also on my 3rd truck) in 10 yrs. I outgrew several small, cargo trailers quickly but thought we were settled on a 24' bumper pull toy hauler with garage. We (like you guys) initially thought a seperate garage was needed but have since changed our stance on that.

We did realize two things with our old trailer:
1. You lose an incredible amout of LQ with bumper pull vs. 5th wheel in general. Pretty much a bedroom in most models.
2. We simply needed more LQ as my family (wife, 7 yo son, myself and dog) took up more space than we thought was possible!

My advice is to go one size larger than you think you need. You'll probably end up there anyway.

Also, get a 3/4 ton (at least) diesel. You won't believe the difference.
I'm definitely not saying that 1/2 tons can't do the job, just more what they're designed to do regularly. I always refer back to a great quote my G-Pa threw at me a long time ago, "There is huge difference between towing vs. towing well."

Good luck!
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Old 12-29-2012, 08:07 AM   #4
Festus2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by upontheridge View Post
First time RV buyer, looking to purchase a Toy Hauler. Have looked at several different models but I keep coming back to the Fuzion 260. Will be hauling a Polaris 800 for the wife and two Honda CRF 250's for my son and I. Tow Vehicle is a 2012 Ford F-150 3.6 Ecoboost SCREW with max tow 11,300 towing capacity GCVW of 17,100.

My questions. Will my Ford be able handle the Fuzion 260 with any problems or should i look for a lighter Toyhauler.

.
Will the Ford be able to pull it? Yes. Will it be able to handle it safely? Not likely. By the time you put your three toys in the back plus all of the usual camping supplies, the 3 of you in the Ford and more stuff in the truck box (hitch, eg.), you will most likely be beyond the safe towing capacity, payload and ability of that tow vehicle to do the job.

If it were me, I would be looking at an F250/F350, 2500/3500 Dodge or GM - even if I were to purchase a smaller toy hauler.
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Old 12-29-2012, 08:48 AM   #5
SteveC7010
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You are looking at a trailer with a GVWR of 11,290# and you are planning on hauling 3 ATV's in it so you can pretty much figure that you are going to use most of it's rated carrying capacity.

My general rule of thumb is that any trailer over approx. 9,000# GVWR needs at least a 3/4 ton truck, and properly equipped and set up for towing at that. A lot of folks will tell you can tow that with a properly equipped half ton, but they're pushing the payload rating nearly every time. Yeah, the new half tons have really large pull ratings, but the payload ratings have not gone up that much.

With a factory rated hitch weight of 1,130#, you're likely going to exceed the truck's capacity, especially since you'll be carrying 3 people plus additional gear in the truck. Well proven fact is that actual tongue weights exceed factory numbers most of the time. With a toy hauler and all that extra weight in the rear end, you'll probably want to balance the trailer with a 12 to 15% tongue weight. And that is critical to prevent sway issues.

And with the 3.6, you won't be happy with the overall towing experience, especially in the hills and mountains.
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Old 12-29-2012, 12:19 PM   #6
upontheridge
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Thanks for the replies and advice. Just bought the F-150 last month so won't be changing out trucks for a while. Looked at the 250's but the truck is my daily driver and I didn't want to drive a F-250 everyday. I guess I need to look for a smaller or lighter toyhauler that will work with the F-150.
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Old 12-29-2012, 12:49 PM   #7
Escs36
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My first toy hauler was a 40' cyclone. I thought my tricked out f350 diesel dually would be fine. The truck power was beyond enough but suspension and brakes were the problem. I ended up with a f550 after the first trip. The f350 was flat unsafe pulling a coach that big. If I saw a Fuzion 260 behind a half ton I would stay as far away as possible because a gust of wind will blow you all over the road. I personally will only have garage models, but they suit my needs with only having dirt bikes. With the toys you have an open floor plan is your best bet unless you load the back of your truck with bikes. Always have more truck than needed. I just bought a Fuzion 301 for the same f350 as described above and it is a perfect set up. Coach weighed 12,500 loaded which is a perfect match for my truck while considering gross axle ratings and gross vehicle weight ratings. Your family and the general population deserve to be safe. Side note: I once used a half ton truck to pull a 22' race car trailer and the transmission burned out in the first race season. This led me to buying my f350 which is a 1999 truck and has 290,000.
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