Toyhauler Boondocking

[ktnissen]

New to the toyhauler club and have some boondocking questions. We have 2019 f450 flatbed towing a GD Momentum that is 43'8'. Towed our 30' ORV and had very few problems with boondocking, now this big one scares the hell out of me.

I am concerned about the articulation while boondocking, our primary type of camping. Hopefully the ability to remove the bed rails of the truck will help, but how do you guage when trying to get off road? Do any of you travel with chainsaws or pole saws for height clearance issues? Any issues with grabbing the tail or hydraulic jacks?

I switched out the 5th wheel hitch for a Reese goosebox, worked agriculture growing up and have seen the benefits of a goose neck, but will this be enough?

[jjbbrewer]

I'm with you about boondocking and I too am concerned about sketchy routes getting into remote areas.

Like you, I just updated my equipment. My old stuff was a 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 pulling a KZ 33P (35') toy hauler. More than once I drug the rear frame on the ground due to crappy angle of departure clearance of the rig. I even wiped off my rear steps - bent them so badly that I just took them off and used a stepstool instead.

So, one modification I'm doing is to put these rollers on the back. I'm too stupid not to go into bad places, so I figure these will at least help keep from ripping the rear end up so much.

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Skid-Whe...48-979023.html


I'm still using the 5th wheel hitch which might limit my truck/trailer articulation (like you mention) so I'll be interested in how the goosebox works for you.

The other thing I might consider is a lift kit - longer U bolts and axle/spring spacers. I'm curious if anyone has done that.

[ktnissen]

Thanks for pointing those out, I have been told about the rollers but have only seen the smaller size ones at Harbor Freight.

I have been considering moving the hydraulic jacks up a couple of holes and using the the Andersen Jack Blocks to make up for stroke distance.

Currently on our way to Quartzsite, so we will try figure it out down there.

I worry about messing with the suspension. Our friends have a Momentum 350 that had suspension modification done, did not work out well for them. Long story short, they bought a house and stopped full timing after to many issues.

[el Rojo]

You shouldn't have a problem in Quartzsite. Yes there are some deep washes but you can find a way around them. When I'm going off road I camp in town a day or two a find the route I want to take with just the truck.

YMMV

Red

[ktnissen]

Thanks, we are old hands at quartzsite, being our 5th year. I do worry about some of the washes so probably won't push out to far this year.

Our issue is getting in to places like Nevada Telephone Cove outside of Laughlin. Beautiful spot but a heck of a drive in and out with this big beast. Our last trailer had no problem but some of the angles and turns make me question driving down to the water.

Going from a 28 ft bumper pull to a 44 foot toyhauler is becoming a steep learning curve. I don't mind staying at a sardine rv park overnight but when I stop for awhile I don't want to be right next to people.

[BackCountry]

My wife and I upgraded from out 2000 28' 5th Wheel to a 2020 Momentum 328G - The "small" Momentum 5th Wheel. My wife really wanted a garage for our toys, more water and waste storage along with a built in generator instead of hauling our portable one along and more solar panels. Out of all the toy haulers on the market the 328G was the perfect fit for us - not too big (although as big as I would ever want to go) or too many slide outs - this way we can still utilize and access everything when stopping overnight in a rest stop without having to slide anything out. Most of our time is spent Boondocking and I am still getting used to the larger machine - 10' longer is not that big a deal but the couple of feet taller takes some getting used to in the trees. While the size does limit us a little more in some camps we just choose more wide open spots. I find the 5th Wheel hitch and size of the 328G actually helps with articulation over the old RV2 gooseneck adapter I had on my old camper and the new B&W slider hitch provides plenty of slow speed maneuverability along with the fact that my truck is a short wheel base short box extra cab. We have worked our way into some very tight spots out east in the forests of Arkansas. Out west things are more open so not as much difficulty in maneuvering. If we are going to a new area we do not know very well, some satellite imaging pre-planning research work is essential - picking which roads look the best maintained with large enough turnarounds, arriving during day light hours and sometimes getting out the toys to scout out the area before deciding on a camp is important. After the first trip to an area we get plenty of reconnaissance in for our next trip to find which spots fit our rig the best - sometimes we relocate after the first night. For traveling over the dirt roads we encounter I raised our stabilizer jacks as high as I could and have sets of 3 1/2" x 11 1/4" LVL pads with rope handles like the ones I use on my crane along with more stackable LVL blocks to provide elevated landing pads for the stabilizers. One nice thing about our 2020 328 rig is that the stabilizers are closer to the wheels over previous years 320 models I have seen which makes a huge difference in not hitting them while going over water bars and rough terrain - I always remove the bases while traveling. Our truck and trailer together measures 50' over all so I try and stay away from dirt roads with steep tight switchbacks. Logging roads are fine - if a logging truck can make the turn so can I. I see some of you guys with the massive 3 axle rigs and have to give you credit as great drivers getting them into tight campgrounds and spots in the back country. I guess the bigger the rig the more limited you are on where you can get to...

[TheLexx]

Part of the problem would be the long overhang of the rear. If you hit a big dip, your tail could end up dragging. Also I'd think about upgrading the suspension to an independent suspension with shocks if you don't already have one.

[Aridon]

We kind of stopped boondocking with our Momentum because it was a bit large to be off roading. We would scout and stay from time to time but I was always so damn nervous about it we finally just stopped. The one time I get stuck, can't turn around, or have to back up for a long distance on a narrow dirt road because XYZ and its a total s show. The worry of it got to me. If all you want to do is hit quartzite, no worries. Its mostly flat and there are plenty of methods to get in and out. So many rigs go there, NBD. If you're looking at more impromptu boon docking its a little harder and you either have to scout it out first which is what it is, take others word on it and or YOLO it.

We are converting a Transit right now for just that purpose. Going up North for a few months? Take the big rig. Going out west and driving around a ton? Take the B. Best of both worlds. I'm getting tired of towing / driving big rigs on stop and go vacations. Been doing it since 08 and I'm just out of... well lets just say the fields are barren. We can usually stay in the areas we want but everything has to be so scripted. I just want to drive in and if I can't find anything NBD park it and sleep, move on. Hard to do that when you're 65ft long and in an area you aren't familiar with. The need to have every stop of every day planned and dictated because CG's are more full now than they used to be and being so damn big means you better have reservations or enjoy sleeping with the slides closed at the truck stop because those big sites fill up fast.

Anyway, good luck. You can boondock in anything. Over the years we've found the challenge of doing it in a supersized fifth wheel has advantages and disadvantages. Eventually we stopped doing it because we tend to move to new places when out like that and the time / effort just got to the point where we ended up more often than not just staying in the CG.

[TheLexx]

Truck campers are great if you're going off-road. Either that or get one of these:
https://www.blackseriescamper.com/tr...lers/hq17.html

[Jims94vmx]

Speaking of truck campers, check out Morton on the Move "Go North". 20 episode adventure in some amazing spots.