Input on Travel Trailers

Same, we had some 60+ mph cross winds on the way home that day Dallas had some tornados. We saw may trucks/trailers on their side. We slowed to 60 mph and went right through. That was the only time I ever felt any sway but that was totally understandable and the antisway hitch worked great. I do think our tailers are much less susceptible to wind as they are much more aero dynamic, I don't use cruise and found myself accidently hitting 75+ at times.

 

We bought our Airstream in TN and when driving it back home I hit 80 at one point. But it was empty and really light. When we go somewhere for any length of time there's enough weight to remind me it's back there, especially with a head wind. 65-70 is my normal speed, 60-65 if there's a head wind. Cross winds don't seem to affect gas mileage too much. I totally agree on the WDH antisway properties. It makes a big difference.

 

You saw trucks tipped over from wind, and decided to keep driving, while towing a travel trailer?

Wow!

 

Scamp 13, 1550 lbs dry. Full water tank, propane, battery, gear and it is still well under 2000 lbs.

 

Most trailer tires are rated 55mph max.

 

I wouldn’t want to tow anything too heavy. My side by side on the trailer weighs about 2200, that is as heavy as I would want to go. These vehicles just don’t have the brakes needed for towing heavy stuff.

 

Most vehicles don't. That's why heavier trailers use electrically actuated brakes.

 

Just for my piece of mind, I've installed electric brakes on all my towable rigs. That includes a tow dolly, a 14' car carrier w/brakes on both axles, a 6x10 enclosed cargo trailer and my trail/trash trailer that has an old Toyota bed on it.

Besides those safety features, I just want to stay out of the courtroom and not have to explain to a Judge why I neglected those issues.


On edit, I'm not worried if your towable has brakes or not, it's just what I do for my piece of mind.

 

I think most travel trailers, and other heavier trailers, have trailer brakes. But, this is a good point to bring up, as the OP will probably need a trailer brake controller.

This is a smart idea! I believe most of the heavier things I've towed have had brakes. But, I've never thought of adding them to a trailer.

What kind of brake controller are you using?

 

James, I use a Tekonsha (sp) Prodigy 2 in the 4R and an older model in my Jeep TJ.
This was a damn heavy load dragging it through the rock garden on Holcomb Creek Trail in the San Bernardino National Forest, in SoCal. Even in low range with a 5:1 Atlas, I was glad that I had e-brakes on it.

 

Sure did, so did almost everyone else. I continued because it never felt the slightest bit unsafe and I'm not very smart. The only ones we saw pull over were a pair of class A mega busses and that was a good call.

 

Very true and super important! We use Goodyear Endurance trailer tires they are rated up to 87 but I try never to go over 70.

 

The RedArc Elite is an excellent controller, is plug and play on the 4R, albeit somewhat expensive. But man, you can really dial it in perfectly.

 

And it's such a slick install with the 4Runner specific cable and dash blank for the control knob. Barely know it's there. I'm really happy with mine.

 

Why would you drag a load of rocks to a place full of rocks already?

 

Holcomb Cr. Trail has 2 gatekeepers. This is the West end side of it. It's maintained by myjeeprocks.com.
The reason why we pick up the smaller rocks is because they are used as stackers to aid the lesser capable vehicles from continuing down the trail. If a vehicle can make it past the gatekeepers, chances are good that they will complete the whole trail unaided.
Those rocks in my trailer were used to fill gabion baskets at a place further down the trail where the edge was sloughing off into the creek.
Iirc, we filled 6-7 baskets and I made 4 trips back to the gatekeeper area.
Several groups of wheelers past by us and a few even stopped to help load the baskets or my trailer. Huge thanks to them to help keep the trail open.

And besides, I'm old too and it gives me something to do on a nice summer day in a topless Jeep.

Also that pic is at the end of the gatekeeper. What's not shown is the 3-4" boulders that we crawl over to clear the gatekeeper. My bashed in trailer shows the size of the rocks that we crawl over.
If I can make it unaided, that section gets more work done to it to make it more interesting and fun.

 

Huge thanks to you and the other clubs that help maintain the trails up there.

 

Thank You Sir.

 

The Endurance tires are not only rated for 87 MPH, Goodyear brought back manufacturing from China because of so many tire failures with the Marathon tires, which were speed rating L, 75 MPH. The tires exploded, little or no warning. Besides the speed rating, the recommendation is to replace trailer tires after 6 years. Trailers sit for long periods of time and are rarely taken care of, like getting them off concrete / asphalt. Sitting for long periods of time will cause a host of problems with tires.

 

Anyone have experience with an Escape 19? Those look pretty good and are all fiberglass - same as the Casita. They have dual axles and I like that in a trailer pushing 4K lbs.

 

I tow a tiny Intect Flyer Chase, I think the max gross is 2200 pounds. Empty is around 1100.

 

I think it's 2900 or 3000lbs in Wisconsin where brakes are required on a trl.. Basically a good idea to have trl. brakes with a 4Runner though.

 

Towed a 21’, 4K lb. TT through the mountains in the NE last October with my ‘07 V6. No issues other than horrible mileage. We filled up upon picking up the trailer and with just a 130 mile drive to the campground, I didn’t pay enough attention to the fuel burn. The light came on while we were still chugging up the New York Thruway, a limited access highway with few gas stations along the way. Finally got to one, and just in time; that was the most fuel I ever put in my truck, over 22 gallons.

I added airbags to the rear springs before the trip and that helped level it. I’m going to swap out my hitch for the frame-mounted V8 type eventually.

The combo is obviously not peppy but if you know what to expect, it’s good imo. I even parallel parked it in Lake Placid then forgot to take a pic.



I’m considering a Lance 1685 or 1985 at some point. These articles are enlightening about that brand and towing with a 4th Gen:

Pros

Cons

Some say to avoid Lances built after the company was sold around 2018. They had a solid reputation for quality but it has supposedly declined.

 

Nice looking TT. Pricey? I looked it up online. Unfortunately no dealers close to me in Southern California

 

Not sure if they make them anymore mines a 2007 it's for sale

 

You are located back east?

 

Florida

 

I remember my Dad towing our 2,800lb all in aluminum boat motor and trailer with a 1998 Ford Taurus with a trans cooler installed. It was on a flat surface (except for ramp) and got the job done for many fishing trips. Not ideal by any means but just take your time. I was expecting the FWD to be a problem coming up the ramp but no issues. Those were the days

 

My daughter and her crew just moved to Key Biscayne. She's working for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
Too bad she and her husband are to "prissy" to go TT camping or I'd sent them your way.