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Review the 2023 Wildwood FSX 270RTK toy hauler

Tony Barthel

Today’s RV review is of the Forest River 2023 Wildwood FSX 270RTK toy hauler. This is an unusual package in many ways and the example we have here is showing off some new gadgets in the RV space. But there are also a few things that I would change about this - I wonder if you agree?

Toy hauler

I am intrigued by toy hauler floor plans for a lot of reasons. I have heard from some of you who have them that use them for what the brochures tell you to use them for. You put toys in the back. Things like motorcycles, side-by-sides and those kinds of things.

For that purpose know that the individual who is working at Wildwood designing these is a fan of these kinds of things so this trailer can swallow a side-by-side up to 168 inches long and 74 inches wide. That’s not bad considering this is not a wide-body model. Further, they have the capacity to haul this kind of load with a cargo carrying capacity of 3,974 pounds.

But I know more campers who use these as offices or hobby rooms and that sort of thing. In fact when I was selling RVs more people bought toy haulers for the flexibility of the floor plan than for hauling toys.

This one accommodates that very well and the first of the new RV industry gadgets on this are back here in the cargo area. MorRyde, who seems to be on a tear with new, cool stuff has a new bed design that’s an option here.

Typically toy haulers have what’s called a Happijack mechanism where the bed raises and lowers in the back on a pulley/chain type system. This is all well and good but, as long-time readers will know, I prefer simpler systems. The Happijack mechanism is power-operated so you have to go through a number of steps, plus have power. And wait for it to go up or down.

This new bunk system from MorRyde couldn’t be simpler - essentially the upper and lower bunks are on hinges mounted to the wall with supports. You simply flip them up when you want to load cargo or need floor space, flip them down when you want a bed.

The upper bunks are an option on this trailer so if you just want facing benches, don’t check anything on the option sheet in this area. But, compared to the happijack, I like that these are individual upper bunks rather than an upper single large bed.

Totes adorbs

One of the things Wildwood is known for is their storage totes. This particular trailer comes with quite a few of them and this is something I think should be more common.

If you happen to be traveling with others you could assign a storage tote to each traveler and that’s what they take responsibility for. If little Johnny didn’t bring his swim suit, he’ll learn for next time. Meanwhile, he’s either not going swimming or he’s going to embarrass his cousins with his Spider Man underwear.

But this is a great idea for any travelers. These totes are easy to take into the house and load and you could label them with traveler’s names or purposes. One could be a pantry that comes in and out, or specific to whatever hobby you enjoy.

Like a fishing tote. Or a beading tote. Whatever.

In addition to the six totes that can be stored under the fold-up bench seats/beds in the back, there are also four more under the bed up front. These four are soft-sided but, again, you could load them in the house and tote them (see what I did there?) Out to the camper.

In fact this would be a nifty use of the Lippert folding wagon we have.

I do really like toy haulers and I think the combination of the totes and flip-up bunks makes this a really nice package.

New stove and oven

The next new and fancy gadget in this trailer is in the kitchen. I have made no secret that I don’t like the smaller ovens found in most RVs but a company called Way has come up with a great solution here.

Basically this new appliance is a combination three-burner stove top and convection microwave that fits into the cabinetry otherwise designed to hold the smaller oven.

The reason I like this over the traditional smaller oven in most towable RVs is that the convection microwave doesn’t have the burner and heat shields that a traditional propane oven has to have, so the almost entire space is devoted to what you want to cook. This comes as no surprise to anybody who has used a microwave in the past few decades, of course.

But this being a convection microwave it essentially accomplishes all the nuking functionality of a traditional microwave but the convection factor also allows you to actually use this as an oven. So I like it and approve.

To test out convection cooking in a microwave I actually bought one to see how effective it is and I have been very pleasantly surprised. I even made my mom’s secret recipe cheesecake in it and it turned out perfectly.

You likely haven’t heard of Way but they’ve been in the RV space for a while now. One of the brands they produce products under is Greystone so you may have seen that name. But you almost certainly have heard of Lippert and that company just bought Way.

Lippert has already shown that they can take over these smaller companies and help them to become more successful. They bought Furrion a while back and did just that.

Furrion was an established brand in the RV space but one that had a reputation for spotty delivery and service. While they made nifty products, people in the RV industry shared that Furrion was tough to nail down on things. Lippert fixed that and you see a lot more Furrion product in RVs now.

Another nifty gadget in the kitchen of this trailer is a 12 volt refrigerator whose doors can open to the left or to the right. You’ll never guess who makes this! Oh, right. It’s Way again! This time under their Everchill brand. I have heard a few conflicting stories about the quality of these but I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that Lippert can get a handle on this. That’s something they are really good at.

More inside information

A few things worth knowing on the interior of this rig, which is very much a blank slate as you would expect in a toy hauler. But there are decent cabinets in the kitchen.

One of the other nice things about toy haulers is that they tend to have higher ceilings and this one comes in a seven feet tall. That means that the bathroom, too, has a seven foot ceiling so there is plenty of headroom in the shower.

Where room is really tight is over on the toilet which is so close to the wall that there is no way you’re not touching the wall if you’re seated there. I have heard that they may consider rotating the toilet to help with this, but it seems like it could have been done differently for sure.

While we’re in the bathroom know that there is no closed storage here except under the sink. No drawers, no cabinets. There is an open cabinet but I wish they had at least put a net across this, although that’s an easy fix for a clever RVer.

I had mentioned how much I like toy haulers for their flexibility and that continues to a little flip-up table under the very large camp-side window on this. That could be a small desk or a place to eat or whatever. I like it. You would use the camp chairs that you likely already have with you to take advantage of this.

There’s also a free-standing table that’s meant to fit between the two rear bunk/couch settings. That’s the dining space and I like the free-standing table because you can move it to accommodate various sizes of travelers or even bring it outside on the back patio.

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Sleeping space

The bedroom offers a surprise closet in it toward the back of the rig. Further, there are those nifty totes we had talked about earlier. Lastly there are hanging wardrobes on either side of the bed as is pretty common.

Two things about this space that you may not like. I know from a lot of you that short mattresses can be a deal breaker and you’ve got one here. It calls itself a queen but it’s a short RV queen.

Honestly, the mattress in this is so bad you’ll want to upgrade literally on your way home. We did just this and love the GhostBed that we got so there’s a tip if this is the rig for you.

Our story about our GhostBed RV replacement mattress

The other thing some may not like is the fact that the enclosure that is part of the outdoor storage intrudes on the road side of the bedroom. So you have to climb over this box to get into bed. While the outside storage compartment offers a lot of storage, that also means it really makes it more difficult to get into bed on the road side.

Outside insider

One of the other things I really, really like about toy haulers is the fact that many of them offer the ability to use the ramp in the back as a patio deck. That’s the case here. And the screen that can fit around the ramp door is an improved design where it extends just a wee bit into the trailer such that dogs or small children can’t get between the screen and the wall.

That means that you can have dogs or small children with you and they get the outdoor experience but not where they can run hog wild all over the campground, unless you choose to let them.

I had mentioned how the outdoor storage compartment intrudes on the ability to get into the road side of the bed. That means you have a pretty decent storage compartment in that space.

But not perfect as Wildwood has chosen to include a camp kitchen that features a flat-top griddle and a small bar-sized fridge over on the camp side. Honestly, I’d much rather see this used for storage as these bar-sized fridges have to have 120 volt household current to operate.

Instead I prefer storage over here and a rail to hang a griddle which is what we have in our own trailer.

If I want to bring a fridge with me I can do as I do now and pack a 12 volt fridge like the one we’ve reviewed here.

One more nifty thing are the windows in this trailer. Not that they’re unusual except for the fact that there are so many of them. I am seeing fewer and fewer camp-side windows in RVs lately so the very large camp-side windows here are delightfully refreshing.

Boondocking and travel access

One of the many things I really like about toy haulers is that many of them do not have slide rooms including this one. That means everything that you can use at the campground can also be used in transit, unless you have a huge side-by-side in there.

Wildwood now has a 190 watt solar panel standard along with a 30 amp charge controller. The idea with this is to compensate for the draw of the 12 volt refrigerator. Truthfully if you’re boondocking you’ll want more solar than this to compensate for the fridge, but it’s a start.

Check our article on 12 volt RV refrigerators

The one thing I don’t like is that the controller for the solar is in the bedroom. I wish this were with all the other controls in the hallway, quite frankly. This is especially true since the solar controller has a backlight. Do RV designers not sleep in their own rigs?

Oh, right. They absolutely do not.

Final thoughts

In some ways the build of this trailer is unusual only in that the base model is what is referred to as a “stick and tin” design. But Wildwood is unusual in that you can also get this with an optional fiberglass exterior. But that fiberglass exterior doesn’t mean it’s a laminated design. What does all this mean? We’ve got an article for that!

Check our article on RV construction types and what it means

I really like this floor plan for a number of reasons, principal among those being that this is a very flexible use case. You have those new bunks, that nifty new stove/microwave, all that space to do with as you wish and, most of all, those totes. I just think the totes are brilliant, quite frankly.

Do know that this comes with a pretty rudimentary suspension and you may consider an upgrade if you travel a lot of miles. It also comes with low-grade tires and no tire pressure monitoring system - bummer. But those are really easy upgrades.

I also like how there is one dump fitting for black and gray and they’ve put the gate valves at the very end of the line. Further, there’s a tube to hold your stinky slinky right adjacent to the dump connection so that’s a good thing.

Further, Wildwood has something they call Access-i-belly. The underbelly of this trailer is heated and enclosed, also good. The panels that enclose the underbelly are segmented so you can just remove one panel if there’s an issue - that’s good.

Also know that Forest River’s Wildwood and Salem brands are absolutely the same trailers with slightly different stickers outside. That’s it. So if you find a great, local dealership who sells the Salem brand instead of Wildwood, you’re getting the same product.

Overall a nice combination of size, function and some new features that result in a very flexible RV indeed.

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