Chad Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 Hi, all! Still researching and learning about fifth wheel toy haulers. One thing I'm curious about are the patio options. Most TH have the REAR patio, but we are leaning towards the ones with BOTH rear and side (front porch). My question is: Are there lots of situations / locations where either are not deployable? From what I've read it seems that the driver side patio (front porch style) are deployable *most* of the time, while the rear patio might be more restricted on average (depending on spot). Thanks for the feedback! -chad EDIT: By Driver side.. I mean PASSENGER side... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al F Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 My concern would be the extra weight of the extendable patios and how much they will deduct from the cargo carrying capacity of the 5th wheel. As far as the drivers side patio, if you are staying in an RV Park, do you really want to be sitting on your patio in your neighbors yard? Also I doubt your neighbor would be happy to have you sitting in what is their yard. There there are the times the power and water posts are towards the rear of the drivers side of the RV, keeping you from extending the patio. Al & Sharon 2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 2020 Chevy Colorado Toad San Antonio, TX http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat & Pete Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 Patios ??? The best patio is just outside the entry door . In all the parks we've been in , I can't say anyone has ever extended a flip down patio , even if they had one . Goes around , comes around . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Heiser Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 Toy hauler patios in many parks are useless. Typical commercial parks put sites so close together that there is not enough room to use them. This is not always the case, but it will be the case a lot. The rear patio is more likely to have room for deployment than a side patio. Those patios on toy haulers are designed to be used out in the wide open desert and other boondocking areas that many toy hauler manufacturers assume you will be in to use the "Toys" that are intended to be hauled in the toy hauler. They are good in those situations because they help keep dirt/sand etc from being tracked into the toy hauler when all you want to do is sit outside. I have seen a few rear patios deployed in an RV park (but not many). I have never seen a side patio deployed in an actual RV park. 2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift 2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard 2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan 2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage) 2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)My First Solar Install ThreadMy Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the buildMy MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet! chadheiser.com West Coast HDT Rally Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Posted September 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 2 hours ago, Al F said: My concern would be the extra weight of the extendable patios and how much they will deduct from the cargo carrying capacity of the 5th wheel. As far as the drivers side patio, if you are staying in an RV Park, do you really want to be sitting on your patio in your neighbors yard? Also I doubt your neighbor would be happy to have you sitting in what is their yard. There there are the times the power and water posts are towards the rear of the drivers side of the RV, keeping you from extending the patio. Sorry... PASSENGER side... LOL. Yea.. driver side would be useless.. and as far as I know.. non-existent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Posted September 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 I know the front patios (passenger side) are more rare, and the rear (garage door) patios are pretty much ubiquitous (for TH). That front porch with gate (for the little doggy) seems like a nice addition to us. Can't imagine why anyone WITH the patio wouldn't deploy it when camped. BUT, I also get the idea that the ground is a very big porch all it's own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orca Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 We have the rear patio and we use it all the time, provided the site is long enough. We enjoy morning coffee there and love to toast the sunsets and watch the stars come up! The dogs also like the patio and there is no worries of their leashes getting tangled or having them lay on a fire ant hill! At first i could not see the benefit of the patio but now i am not sure we could give it up. 2004 Freightliner m2 106 2015 DRV lx450 Fullhouse 2019 Indian Springfield 2014 Yamaha 950 V-Star Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Greg Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 In all our years on the road I have seen 2 patios in use. One was a toy hauler that was backed into a site on the outside edge of a RV park. The second was a side patio at our snowbird roost park. It was in a row end site so he could open it. Before the winter was over he replaced it with a non patio fifth wheel. I think a patio really limits the sites available to use it. If you plan to travel a lot good luck reserving and getting sites that would work. There are many times we move where we sit outside to get into or out of the sun or weather, you aren't going to move an attached patio. Greg Greg & Judy Bahnmiller Class of 2007 2014 F350 2007 HitchHiker Champagne Both sold 2/19, settled in Foley, AL after 12 years on the road http://bahnmilleradventure.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefneon Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 Howdy! We have a rear patio on ours and use it when we can when space permits, which is quite often. We enjoy setting out and visiting with neighbors and the dogs really like it. "Happy Trails" Chiefneon "Class of 2007 Fulltimer's" Gary & karen Smoochie & Michaela (fur babies) 2018 Chevorlet 3500 HD/LTZ 2L Custom Hauler 2014 Heartland Cyclone 4000 2016 Smart Car Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remoandiris Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 If you boondock, you will probably have more opportunities to use the side patio. FInding sites long enough to use the rear patio is really not that hard, depending on where you camp. Many state parks have very good search tools that display site length. Many commercial parks state what length limits they can handle. Personally, I would be more worried about what you have to give up on the inside for that side patio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Posted September 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 Thanks for all of the feedback. About as mixed as I thought it might be. I guess I'm not understanding the thoughts on not being able to deploy the side patio. Are there that many sites that don't have 5-6 feet of room on the passenger side? Seems if there's room for an awning, there'd be room for the patio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al F Posted September 11, 2017 Report Share Posted September 11, 2017 47 minutes ago, Chad said: Thanks for all of the feedback. About as mixed as I thought it might be. I guess I'm not understanding the thoughts on not being able to deploy the side patio. Are there that many sites that don't have 5-6 feet of room on the passenger side? Seems if there's room for an awning, there'd be room for the patio? Yes, most of the time there is room to extend the patio on the passenger side, but a lot depends on the RV Park. Some are very tight between sites. Also at the rear of the RV there could be a tree, bush or post keeping you from extending the patio. A lot of the time you can get an excellent close up view of the RV sites, to help judge the space, by using Google Earth or Google Maps on your smart phone or computer. Al & Sharon 2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 2020 Chevy Colorado Toad San Antonio, TX http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remoandiris Posted September 12, 2017 Report Share Posted September 12, 2017 16 hours ago, Chad said: Are there that many sites that don't have 5-6 feet of room on the passenger side? Seems if there's room for an awning, there'd be room for the patio? I am going to assume you have some thoughts of where you'd like to visit. Do a little research of rv parks in those areas. RV Park Reviews http://www.rvparkreviews.com/ could be enlightening. I have seen some folks mention how very tight some sites are packed together. If your intent is to use the patio every place you stay, you definitely need to research your parks and sites. I have been in some places where the slides of my coach were within inches of the neighbors coach. I have been in other places with so much room between sites another coach could fit in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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