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Old 06-21-2013, 02:02 PM   #21
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Make sure you are looking at the interior height of the trailers you are considering since they are generally shorter than the stick trailers inside. Casita is listed as 5' 10". I know many of the old stickies were like tanks but those days have passed.
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Old 06-21-2013, 05:19 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by hillary View Post
We've had our Escape 17B for a couple of months now and have taken it out for two long weekends, two humans and two medium size dogs. I think it's the perfect size, and we're also towing with a Sienna. I wouldn't want to tow the 19' Escape with a Sienna,
...we don't feel like there's a lot of power left with the 17!
Our 2004 Sienna is the same (minus the AWD), and our wider Boler has more drag, but we found the Sienna performance fine - we don't hold up traffic in the mountains and we pass most other trailers up grades.

No one is right or wrong here; my point is just that people have different expectations of performance. I do agree that a 19' is pushing at least up to the vehicle's comfortable capacity.

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I wouldn't want to tow the 19' Escape with a Sienna, you'd definitely be exceeding the GVWR...
I'm not sure why the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating would be exceeded, unless the hitch weight is very high.
Did you mean Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR, total of loaded van and loaded trailer)? A 2004+ Sienna can tow a 3500 pound trailer while carrying hundreds of pounds of passengers and cargo and stay within the GCWR. It would be easy to load an Escape well past 3500 pounds, so attention is required in this respect, as with most rigs... especially if carrying a lot of people or cargo.

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The Sienna is definitely more limiting in clearance than the trailer, ours is AWD so the differential is possibly a little lower than the FWD version.
The AWD has slightly taller springs, and has no more of a clearance issue than the 2WD... good point, but Toyota thought of that.
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Old 06-21-2013, 05:36 PM   #23
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Name: Hillary
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Washington
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I meant the GVWR as recommended by Escape for the 19' on their website under specifications: 19 Foot Escape "Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 4000 lbs" It might be possible, I just trust their numbers.

The combined rating is something like 6600 iirc (I looked it up in our manual before we bought the trailer, and I'm not remembering the exact figure), and we knew we'd be ok with a typically packed van and towing the trailer with full tanks.

We haven't driven in the mountains yet, I've read others posts saying there's not much speed on the uphills towing with a Sienna and that they were at 35mph uphill with the semis, which scares me a little. When we feel a lack of power is merging onto freeways, unless it's a nice, long, downhill ramp! We can definitely feel the difference driving with empty tanks vs full tanks.

(And yes, before someone asks, we tow with a WDH.)
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Old 06-21-2013, 06:55 PM   #24
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Food for thought.....
There is an article on line somewhere that compares the Sienna with the big Toyota Sequoia SUV. In most respects the Sienna is a better tow vehicle.
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Old 06-22-2013, 01:03 PM   #25
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Bigfoot Front Beds Dangerous?

ok, so it is looking like we are more and more set on the 21' Bigfoot. My husband wanted an excuse to buy a truck anyway, it seems. ;-)

I have read a bit about the recalls on the 21' front beds. Is adding weight sufficient to solve the problem. Am I safer going with something else? I am driving with my two little kiddos so safety is my number one priority. If adding weight to the tongue makes is as safe as any other trailer, I am ok, but what is the consensus on that issue?

Thanks!!
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Old 06-22-2013, 05:55 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hillary View Post
I meant the GVWR as recommended by Escape for the 19' on their website under specifications: 19 Foot Escape "Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 4000 lbs" It might be possible, I just trust their numbers.
That's the maximum allowed gross weight of the trailer; it has nothing to do with the tow vehicle weight. It isn't a recommendation about the tow vehicle capacity; although Escape may make a recommendation, and it may even be the same value, this is a trailer spec. There's no need to load the trailer this heavy... especially since that's 1500 pounds over the dry weight.

The GVWR of a 21' Bigfoot (25B21) is 7500 pounds... you don't need to accommodate that much weight for that trailer, either. Due to axle capacity considerations, two-axle trailers often have a GVWR far higher than required, while in single-axle trailers the GVWR might in some cases be a reasonable operating weight.
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Old 06-22-2013, 06:39 PM   #27
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Karen T: With what do you tow your Bigfoot 21?
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Old 06-22-2013, 10:46 PM   #28
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A 2005 Toyota Sequoia with an Equalizer hitch. We have the rear bed floorplan. It's been a good combination for us.
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