Being able to camp and bring along some toys sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, most travel trailers are for camping and not hauling toys. If you want to camp and bring toys, a toy hauler is the solution.
What is a toy hauler?
A toy hauler is a camping trailer that has a living area in the front half. And the back half is a garage for your toys with a loading ramp door.
How much weight will an average toy hauler carry?
The amount of cargo weight varies, but on average they will handle up to 2,500 pounds.
In researching this article we found specifications for the trailer weight limits. But we couldn’t find any information on the amount of weight the ramps would handle. So we checked the forums. Most people said their ramp would handle around 2,000 pounds.
What can you carry in the average toy hauler?
For this article, we used a 35-foot-long 5th-wheel trailer with a 15-foot-long garage.
Dirt Bikes / Motorcycles
We love motorcycle riding, so being able to carry a motorcycle or two is a must-have for us. With a 15’ garage you can load two full-size motorcycles or dirt bikes. We checked with Harley Davidson to get some specs.
A Harley Davidson Sporter weighs about 580 pounds and is 7’ long. And depending upon its accessories, a full-dress Harley is a hefty 900 pounds or more and longer than 8’.
Dirt bikes on average weigh in the 250 to the 300-pound range for adult bikes and they're about 7’ long. A kid's dirt bike is about 150 pounds and about 5’ long.
ATVs
An average full-size ATV weighs about 500 pounds while a utility model can weigh 700 pounds or more. Most ATVs are 4’ wide by 7 to 8 feet long.
Kids ATVs weigh about 250 pounds and they are 5’ long by 3’ wide. Getting 2 full-size ATVs in a toy hauler’s garage will be tight. But an adult’s ATV and a child’s ATV will fit.
UTV / Side-By-Side
Because a side-by-side can carry 2 or 4 people, these are big machines. They're about 10’ long by 5.5 feet wide and weigh 1300 to 1500 pounds. Unless you get a 5th wheel with a long garage, side-by-sides are one machine per toy hauler.
Snowmobiles
Snowmobiles are up to 10’ long and weigh 500 pounds or more. Because they’re about 4’ wide you might be able to get two of them inside the garage, but it would be a tight fit.
TIP: Most toy hauler floors are water and oil-resistant, But they won’t hold up to track studs. You should put down extra plywood to protect the flooring.
Everything Else
A toy hauler is a great way to carry kayaks, canoes, bicycles, and a ton of gear.
Conclusion
If you can comprise on a smaller living area so you can bring your toys camping, a toy hauler is perfect. Even if you don't bring any toys, being able to drop the garage door to enjoy the out-of-doors is great. And you can use the garage door as a makeshift patio.