Choosing a Rig

There is a lot to take into consideration when choosing a fifth wheel/toy hauler. Of course, there's the visual appeal of what you like, but you'll also need to consider functionality, towing capacity of your vehicle, and whether your province or state requires additional licensing for heavy trailers.

We spent quite a few weekends driving around checking out various RV lots and RVs, as well as doing some online research, and it was worth the time. We also joined some RV forums on Facebook, which were helpful. It seemed that many posts and complaints from RVers who were having issues were related to what are called the Covid models (RVs built during and right after the Covid pandemic), so we stayed away from purchasing anything built during that time. Since we are both motorcycle riders, a toy hauler is what we had our eye on. So we knew we needed a garage. We also knew we planned to spend at least 6 months a year going south every winter, so we had to have space for both of us to move around. I personally hate using public washers/dryers and the smell of others' dryer sheets on my clothes, so a washer dryer was a must...Yes, you can get RVs with washers and dryers! I was in awe of some of these rigs and the comfort level. I thought RV living meant sacrificing some comforts, which has not been my experience.

Another must-have was a large fridge. We previously had a smaller one in our travel trailer, which meant more frequent trips to the grocery store as well as a crammed fridge that we had to pull things out to access other items.

Now that we knew what must-haves we wanted, off we went to find our rig.

Our perfect fit was a 2024 Keystone Fuzion 373 Toy-Hauler. Our unit has an 11 ft garage that converts into a flex space with fold-down seating that can be used as a dining room or office. It has a queen bed that comes down from the ceiling. Once the bikes are unloaded, the ramp becomes a deck. Spacious kitchen with an island that has attached folding seating that tucks away under the island. Full-size residential fridge with a double freezer and ice maker. Microwave that is also a convection oven. Our oven is gas and large enough that we can cook a small turkey, which has been nice as our old trailer could barely fit a Hungry-Man dinner in it. Lots of cabinet and storage space. We have a fireplace that blows electric heat and can also use the furnace off propane. Built-in recliners that heat and massage. TVs in each room. Two bathrooms. Good-sized bedroom with a king bed, dresser, and closet as well under bed storage. We also wanted our rig to be able to go off-grid and has 400 watts of solar panels installed as well as a generator. We love our unit. It truly is like having a condo on wheels, just without the bad neighbours, lol. If you order new, you should be prepared to wait while it is built; ours took 5 months from the day we ordered it to when we picked it up. Just like a new condo or home, you should also be prepared to do a deficiency walkthrough as you're likely going to find a few things that may need repairs, and you can expect to have your rig back and forth to the dealership possibly a few times that first year to fix any issues while still under warranty.

Before ordering our rig, we also had to factor in what we were towing it with. It is very important that your truck or vehicle is rated to tow the rig you plan to buy. Our existing truck did not have the capacity to tow the rig we wanted, but it wasn't an issue as we had plans to buy a new truck for the rig. The truck we bought was a Ford F350 diesel.

The other hurdle we came across when buying our rig was that neither of us were legally licensed to tow it! Where we live in British Columbia, Canada, that province requires a driver towing a Travel Trailer over 10,000 pounds to have an additional license to tow. I know some other provinces and states also have requirements, so check your local laws around this... and if you're thinking of towing without it, just know that if you do and have an accident, your insurance is void. I'll post more about this topic in a later blog post on how Bill and I both got our towing endorsements and the hoops we had to jump through to get them.

Hopefully some of this info helps make your RV shopping experience a little easier.

Happy Rv'ing!

Bill & Cat