13' to 17'...how much harder to maneuver?

[GingerB]

I've had my 13' Scamp for two years and I love it but I'm tired of taking down the bed every time we want to sit at the table. I also think I've convinced the big guy that at least one of our dogs could travel comfortably with us in a 17 ft. (Kennel stays cost more than campgrounds!) how much more difficult is it to park a 17 ft? We pull with a Dodge Caravan now so I think I may need to upgrade my tow vehicle, too. Am I going to regret doing this?

[floyd]

Originally Posted by GingerB

I've had my 13' Scamp for two years and I love it but I'm tired of taking down the bed every time we want to sit at the table. I also think I've convinced the big guy that at least one of our dogs could travel comfortably with us in a 17 ft. (Kennel stays cost more than campgrounds!) how much more difficult is it to park a 17 ft? We pull with a Dodge Caravan now so I think I may need to upgrade my tow vehicle, too. Am I going to regret doing this?

No more drive-through pick-ups at fast food, no more parallel parking in just two spots.
While your Caravan may like a Scamp16 more than a 17 anything, you will quickly get used to handling a 17 by making the corners just a little wider and accelerating a little slower. Some will say the longer pivot point may even make backing-up just a little easier.
While it will prove just a little less convenient to haul around, it won't be a big challenge, especially after a couple of outings.
Remember that overhead obstructions are as much as a foot closer and when backing up... stuff is 3-4 ft closer!

[Ken C]

The longer the trailer the easier to back for me in that size you mention.

[Bob Miller]

17'ers can get a lot heavier than 13's, sometimes more than twice as heavy as your Scamp. See Real World Trailer Weights in the General Chat forum.

[Borrego Dave]

Bob's weight thought is valid to your TV. As far as turning when going forward the difference between a 13' and 17' is of couple inches in a wider turn of the TV. Watch the right mirror and look at the curb or road edge. The longer the trailer length from the axle to coupler is makes any trailer movement less abrupt to turning when backing up. Don't think anyone pulling any of these FB glass trailers would really have any problems forward or backwards.
Just have to add this for a chuckle for you. I worked 30 years at a water district and we had many trucks and trailers. I towed a trailer about the size of a Scamp/Casita 16 behind a bobtail dump truck. The trailer had dual wheels with seperate fenders. You couldn't see but about two inches of the outer fender going down the road, nothing of the trailer. When backing up if you saw ANY of the inner fender STOP...jack knife city. I always had to laugh when I had one of our backhoe operators, used to 30' trailers gave us a hand and had to back up those short coupled trailers. They would have them jack knifed in ten feet . We used to call it the "angle of the dangle".

[floyd]

On the "backing up" issue...
"The longer the trailer length from the axle to coupler is makes any trailer movement less abrupt to turning when backing up".
While this is generally true, the wheel base and turning circle of the TV has a great affect on backing up as well.
Many people like a longer wheelbase TV because it is less responsive when towing, unfortunately it is less responsive when backing up as well.
The ball to axle length on the trailer works best with a proportionally wheelbased TV .
If a 13ft trailer responds too quickly when backing up, the problem would generally be rectified with either a shorter wheelbased TV or a longer trailer.

[Ed Harris]

I have had both a 13"' and 17' Egg and the longer they are the easier to back up for me.
It is not too subtle a difference either when you consider that extra 4' is almost 33% more length!

In general of course aside from backing the longer trailer is less "Handy" to maneuver I think but for many the extra space is well worth that small trade-off.

I know for me it has been.
As long as you can still safely tow the difference of course.