Do you need modern toy hauler ideas that will make your next camping adventure blissful?
Trust me, you’re not the only one who needs the perfect toy hauler and better accessories.
IN A HURRY? HERE ARE OUR TOP PICKS OF TOY HAULER ACCESSORIES…
Here’s a list of the top 11 homemade toy hauler ideas:
1. Toy Hauler with living area and garage
2. Slide-out folding camper
3. Hauler with double slide-out folding camper
4. Enclosed cargo trailer with porch and ramp
5. Toy Hauler with Slide-out folding camper and porch
6. Hauler with pop-up folding camper
7. Hauler with pop-up and slide-out folding camper
8. Toy Hauler with stage
9. Hauler with tailgate room
10. Hauler with outdoor kitchen
11. Toy Hauler with living area and garage
Camping is one of the most popular recreational activities in the United States, with recreational vehicles an important part of camping.
According to a survey by Nielsen, 45.6 million people reported camping at least once in the past 12 months.
Wholesale shipments of recreational vehicles (RV) were forecasted to reach 381 thousand in 2016. It is estimated that RV dealers generate between 16 and 17 billion U.S. dollars each year.
One popular type of recreational vehicle is the toy hauler. When we talk about a toy hauler, we’re not talking about toys for the kids but toys for adults. The adults seem to fancy their toys too and take joy in playing with them.
These toys include motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), a golf cart, personal watercraft, race cars, etc.
On many occasions, there may be a need to move your ‘toy’ from one place to another.
This is where your toy hauler makes your life easy as you move it around.
But this is not its only function. It usually has two areas: the living area and the garage where you keep the toys.
Even for people who have no toys, a toy hauler still has an important application: the space that serves as its garage can be used to keep other things.
If you have to move a lot of loads, for instance, from one town to another, you can utilize this trailer.
There are many regulations that guide the use of a toy hauler depending on the location. This generally gives the maximum width and length of the machine.
You must take care to know the maximum size of the RV allowed in the location you’re going to.
The toy hauler is usually a large and heavy machine due to the amount of space and fittings in it.
This means you need a powerful pickup or a towing vehicle to move it around.
Apart from that, purchasing this big machine will cost a lot of money that you don’t have. But it’s not all bad news is you can make yours with the right tools and know-how.
Ways to Build your hauler
There are many ways you can build a toy hauler depending on how good you are with the needed equipment.
You can build it from the ground up with only your base and the wheels. You can also buy a stripped machine.
In this case, you have the built-up machine but with no fitting inside it. All you have is a large space which you can attach any fitting you like according to your tastes.
The beauty of a handmade machine is that you can fit in anything you like, according to your needs. You can decide how big your living space will be compared to the garage area.
If you have many automobiles to move around, you can have your garage space larger than the living area.
If you’ll entertain guests in your hauler regularly, you put more features in the living area.
In fact, you can reduce the overall size of your RV if you prefer a small size to the traditional large size.
Warning:
One note of warning before you begin the building process: you must calculate the cost of making it yourself. This is to determine whether handmade will be the best choice.
If the cost of your handmade version is almost the price of the manufactured version, then you can save yourself a lot of stress and buy the manufactured version.
One way of saving cost during your building process is to have some parts like cabinets from a used trailer or caravan that will fit into your hauler.
There are some basic features that must be fitted like the insulator.
Without the insulator, your hauler may get too hot during hot weather and too cold during cold weather.
A cabinet is also a basic feature in most RVs as it helps you to keep some things easily.
There are many choices for you to pick the best design for your work.
In this post, I’ll discuss 15 ideas that can work well for whatever you’re trying to design or what needs the toy hauler will meet for you.
Essential Toy Hauler Accessories (Must-Have)
Toy Hauler with living area and garage
This is your machine with the normal layout. Nothing out of the ordinary here.
This is a simple design of your living area and the garage. The size of each area may depend on the person doing the construction.
The features in the living area are where there may be differences. For some, they install cushion chairs and beds while some have no space for a bed.
A set of cabinets is usually present in most installations you see. Some have sinks and a water supply.
There is a source of power supply which can be a generator or solar panel installation.
A storage box or two is also included. You can even include an air conditioner. It all depends on how big your hauler will be.
If you’re building a small machine, then you may have to sacrifice some features to avoid a shortage of space for your garage.
Teardrop toy hauler
If you have a single motorcycle or ATV and you have no issues with claustrophobia, then the teardrop may be the best choice for you if you’re going to build your toy hauler.
There are many advantages to building the teardrop.
Since you’re building in a small space, you’ll undergo less stress during the construction compared to other types. Another advantage is that there is less cost.
The teardrop is also convenient. You don’t need a towing vehicle before you can move it. With your average car, you can move the teardrop easily.
When Chris and Carrie Himes wanted to enjoy a cross-country road trip during the summer, they decided teardrop will be suitable for their journey.
After spending less than 5,000 U.S. dollars, they got a hauler that held up well. Better still, it could be towed by their Pontiac.
The potential downside is that there will be many missing features due to the shortage of space and it may prove difficult to sleep in it with another person.
If you have a family and you want them to use the machine too, then this may be the wrong choice for you. It is usually suitable for a single user, or at most two.
Slide-out folding camper
Due to regulations concerning the maximum width of haulers, you may be unable to put a bed in your living area.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a bed in your hauler. You just have to install it on the wall.
When you get to your destination, you can slide the wall out to form a bed and you can enjoy your night rest on an extension of your hauler. It is advisable to use this design if you’re trying to minimize space.
The fact is that a bed will take a lot of space in your living area. Having it on your wall saves space for other fittings.
Hauler with double slide-out folding camper
You can even take the slide-out folding camper up a notch by having it on both sides of the wall.
This is useful if you’re going to have a family of about four in the hauler. A single slide-out may be insufficient in this case.
The double slide-out camper is used when the hauler is not in motion. Everybody can have a good night’s rest without sacrificing space in the living area.
Enclosed cargo trailer with porch and ramp
In this construction, you have your normal installations plus the addition of a porch.
This can be used for relaxation especially during hot weather or if there is no air conditioner in your hauler.
This construction requires more space and should be avoided if you’re trying to save space.
It also requires that you extend the roof to create a shadow over where people can sit.
Toy Hauler with Slide-out folding camper and porch
Another dimension is to have both a porch after the storage area and also a slide-out camper.
You can enjoy your relaxation in the afternoon and sleep in the protruded bed in the evening.
Hauler with double slide-out folding camper and porch
With this design, You have the porch and beds protruding from the walls. Although this design is beautiful, it is also more challenging than your common design where you have no need for the extensions.
Hauler with pop-up folding camper
Your usual experience of pop-ups is on your smartphone or personal computer. But that can also be recreated with your hauler. The folding camper protrudes up and gives a beautiful view of your machine.
You can also include an option of a protruding dinette. This is suitable if you’ll often use your hauler for sports activities as it is light.
Hauler with pop-up and slide-out folding camper
This is a design where you have both the pop-up and the slide-out camper for the bed.
If you want a lightweight design, you should go for this option as it’s easier to move around. But it may not be as strong as using the normal materials.
Hauler with pop-up, slide-out folding camper, and porch
This combines a pop-up and sliding-out camper for the bed and porch. The porch can serve as a place for relaxation for the people on board.
Toy Hauler with stage
This is usually applicable if your toy is a race car. You have a ramp on a side through which the race car enters into the garage area of the hauler. The stage is part of the wall and comes down when you need to set it.
This can be necessary if you’re having a tour to showcase a product. It could even be a music tour where you can easily set your stage.
Hauler with tailgate room
This design incorporates a tailgate room at the back of the garage area of your hauler. It can protrude out of the main body when your machine is not in motion. It is retracted while the machine is in motion.
It is also called ‘extend a room.’ This is useful, especially when you have guests on board or more bodies.
If you have intentions of calling your friends over once in a while, you can build this into your design. It will only be used when it is needed.
Fifth Wheel toy hauler
You can build a fifth-wheel hauler with most of the difference going into its base and wheels.
It’s usually bigger than the normal size haulers. It’s more suitable if you’re trying to construct your machine with a big space.
Hauler with outdoor kitchen
Well, food is an important part of living and if you have to spend a few days in the hauler, you’ll have to take care of your feeding needs.
You can achieve this by having a retracted part that protrudes when you stop at a location.
This can serve as your outdoor kitchen. You have your cooker (probably gas) and cooking utensils on board so that cooking will be easier.
You can add a bath and closet
If you need to have more convenience on your hauler, you can include a bath and closet in your design.
Although if you’re going to include these features in your machine, you must also make a provision for water or at least storage facilities for adequate storage of water.
You will have to incorporate waste disposal into your design.
Takeaway
Constructing a toy hauler yourself is a big commitment. It takes a lot of your time and can be stressful.
It’s important to plan properly before you take on the work.
While going through the work, you must be aware that safety is the biggest rule. Your hauler must be safe first of all before you think of other things.
You must have all the necessary tools and skills to make your building process a success.
Listing the crucial features you want before beginning the project will make your work easier.
Although building this machine can be stressful, it can also be fun. This is your project and you’re the boss. You can include whatever you want and remove whatever feature you deem fit.
There are many ideas that can even make your hauler more interesting and this post has given you fifteen of them.