When selling...

[BCDave]

I have my Boler 1700 up for sale and one of the people expressing an interest is proposing to tow it with a CRV. I told her I will NOT sell it to her if she intends to tow with that. I have to live with myself and knowingly putting her into that position is not something I want on my conscience.

I have no idea of what if any legal liability such a sale may or may not incurr, but lawyers can be hired - my conscience is not for sale.

[cpaharley2008]

Good for you....

[Robin G]

I respect your decision not to place someone in a position that could get them or others hurt! And honestly, the buyer should respect your knowledge as well. Good for you!

[Sue and Henry]

Two thumbs up. You are a good guy!

[honda03842]

I hesitate to post. If I knew the potential purchaser I would have sent her a private email to avoid the hassle of this forum. Here goes...

To the person wanting to buy the Boler 17 and planning to tow it with a Honda CRV.

I know nothing about Boler 17s as to their weight and frontal area though it appears that a loaded Boler 17 can weigh about the same as a my Scamp 16. I believe a Honda CRV can easily and safely tow 2500 to 2600 pounds.

We all seem to worry about weight but to me a big concern is the frontal area. As the frontal area, height times width, gets larger it puts a bigger strain on the tow vehicle, particularly at high speeds.

A way to consider frontal area is imagine towing as sail perpendicular to the direction of travel that is 10 x 10 feet, not dissimilar from the parachutes used to stop the space shuttle. Wind resistance is a big deal. (Please remember I know nothing about a Boler 17's frontal area; I have never even seen one.)

As a reference point, my 2004 Honda CRV has functioned beautifully towing a 1991 Scamp 16 and even a heavier 1995 Casita 16. My experience is that you will not find a more reliable small vehicle.

Wishing you well in your search for a trailer,

[Camilla]

Originally Posted by BCDave

I have my Boler 1700 up for sale and one of the people expressing an interest is proposing to tow it with a CRV. I told her I will NOT sell it to her if she intends to tow with that. I have to live with myself and knowingly putting her into that position is not something I want on my conscience.

I have no idea of what if any legal liability such a sale may or may not incurr, but lawyers can be hired - my conscience is not for sale.

I guess I don't get it. What is the gvwr of a CRV?

[BCDave]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Wishing you well in your search for a trailer,

Not me looking for a trailer - I am selling my '78 Boler - but only to someone who will tow with a vehicle capable of safely handling and controlling it.

She checked her owners manual. It says 1,000 lb. maximum.

NOTE: It does not "recommend" 1,000, it has a warning, in RED INK that the maximum trailer weight permissible is 1,000 lb. The Boler weighs a lot closer to 2,000 when empty and has a GVW of 2950.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by honda03842

I believe a Honda CRV can easily and safely tow 2500 to 2600 pounds.

We all seem to worry about weight but to me a big concern is the frontal area. As the frontal area, height times width, gets larger it puts a bigger strain on the tow vehicle, particularly at high speeds.

I believe the owners manual.
Mine has over 60 listings for towing weights based on the vehicle configuration.
Yet it clearly states a single maximum frontal area for a trailer all configurations.

[Doug Mager]

...have Maple Ridge Egger friends who HAD a CRV and bought a 15ft Escape. REAL quick like the CRV was dumped in favor of a Pilot. The couple are now on their 2nd cross Canada (and Northern U.S.) tour and LOVING it.
I too condone your actions Dave.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by honda03842

I hesitate to post. If I knew the potential purchaser I would have sent her a private email to avoid the hassle of this forum. Here goes...

To the person wanting to buy the Boler 17 and planning to tow it with a Honda CRV.

I know nothing about Boler 17s as to their weight and frontal area though it appears that a loaded Boler 17 can weigh about the same as a my Scamp 16. I believe a Honda CRV can easily and safely tow 2500 to 2600 pounds.

We all seem to worry about weight but to me a big concern is the frontal area. As the frontal area, height times width, gets larger it puts a bigger strain on the tow vehicle, particularly at high speeds.

A way to consider frontal area is imagine towing as sail perpendicular to the direction of travel that is 10 x 10 feet, not dissimilar from the parachutes used to stop the space shuttle. Wind resistance is a big deal. (Please remember I know nothing about a Boler 17's frontal area; I have never even seen one.)

As a reference point, my 2004 Honda CRV has functioned beautifully towing a 1991 Scamp 16 and even a heavier 1995 Casita 16. My experience is that you will not find a more reliable small vehicle.

Wishing you well in your search for a trailer,

I personally don't think it to be in the best interest of this forum or for anyone's safety for anyone to suggest that someone tow over the weight limit specifications set out in their vehicles owners manuals regardless of the trailers frontal area or what they personally tow with.

[Rene]

Yeah the CRV is way too small for the 1700. Even the 1300 would be a stretch according to the Honda specs. A Scamp 16 is a lot lighter than the 1700 according to the trailer weight thread.

[Robin G]

Originally Posted by honda03842

I believe a Honda CRV can easily and safely tow 2500 to 2600 pounds.

I would agree with you, but then we would both be wrong!!!!

[Cat]

Hello, the year of the CRV seems important when looking for information about tow capacity. The 2001 has a listed 1000/lbs while the 2002 is listed as having a towing capacity of 1,500-lbs, as listed on the Honda web site. So the CRV year has an influence on the tow capacity.
It is great to know there are people looking out for each other and sharing information. Thanks

[Raz]

I started to respond to Norm's comments when I realized I have nothing to add to the numerous threads already covering the idea of towing beyond what the manufacturer recommends. So I will direct my thoughts to BCDaves situation as that's really the topic at hand. Dave, if after you have honestly informed the buyer of your concerns about towing with a CRV and they still want to buy it, I think you can sell it with a clear conscience. You have done far more than many would do. You have no control as to what tow vehicle the new owner decides to use. Someone could show up in a pick up, buy the trailer, and the next day trade for a Honda Fit (another fine tow vehicle ). We all dig our own holes. Raz

[Carol H]

Cat in this situation the year of the CRV is irrelevant. 17' Boler's weigh in well over a CRV towing cap regardless of year. A loaded Boler 17' (we have lots of them attend our meets) is going to weigh in closer to 3000lbs than to 2500lbs - for some years of CRV thats almost 3 times its towing cap and others its almost double the towing capacity.

As I have said before the situation we have here with 2 or 3 people continually promoting the towing of trailers well over the tow vehicles towing specs is really disturbing one and I really wish the forum would come up with a firm policy on it.

What scares me even more is that some people, as in this instance even go so far as to indirectly acknowledge that as they are fully aware that their recommendations don't fit the standard safe towing practices that the majority of people here follow. Yet they would send a private message to someone recommending they tow a trailer well over their tow vehicles specs rather than post it for all to see. Seriously! If they dont even have the courage to post a recommendation publicly here so that others can respond to it that IMHO is just down right wrong and scary!

[honda03842]

Carol,

I assume you are writing about me in the previous post.

I have been very public about my towing with a Honda CRV. My postings about our experience state what I do. Individuals can choose to make their own decisions. The sharing of information is the life blood of knowledge growth.

My private emails came about because I was trying to remove the Honda CRV issue from the forum since their are some who find my position "wrong and scary". It definitely was not a lack of courage. I try not to make a reccomendation, in public posts or private emails but rather to state what we do and how we do it.

As to towing a 3,000 lb Boler 17, I have never suggested that someone tow a 3,000 lb trailer of any make with a Honda CRV.

It's not necessary for the forum to create the restrictive policy you suggest. I no longer intend to post on the site as a traditional member and will not privately post unless someone asks me for information on a subject.

[Roy in TO]

Wondering what your thoughts are on this one Carol.

Our 14 year old V6 station wagon has no tow rating here in Canada but twice that of our trailers weight in Europe. Our mechanic is European trained and specializes in this brand in his 14 bay shop. Shakes his head in wonderment saying that he will install a hitch if we want because the vehicle was designed to take it. Going on to say that we would not believe what he has seen this car tow in the mountains of Europe.

[Rene]

I agree with Norm that no restrictive policies on speech are required or desirable. It is caveat emptor or consider the source, take it with a grain of salt. Censorship is a slippery slope.

[RogerDat]

Originally Posted by Carol H

....
As I have said before the situation we have here with 2 or 3 people continually promoting the towing of trailers well over the tow vehicles towing specs is really disturbing one and I really wish the forum would come up with a firm policy on it.

What scares me even more is that some people, as in this instance even go so far as to indirectly acknowledge that as they are fully aware that their recommendations don't fit the standard safe towing practices that the majority of people here follow. Yet they would send a private message to someone recommending they tow a trailer well over their tow vehicles specs rather than post it for all to see. Seriously! If they dont even have the courage to post a recommendation publicly here so that others can respond to it that IMHO is just down right wrong and scary!

Frankly I don't think anyone disagreed with the OP telling someone with an owners manual stating 1000 lbs max that a 16 ft. trailer they know can be close to 3000 lbs was too much. It was the right and honest thing to do.

It's not a good policy in my opinion to have a policy on what ideas and information can be expressed, as long as it is expressed in a polite manner. And has something to do with FG trailers and not politics

When I read the post from Norm I got the feeling he was saying he would start a conversation with the buyer via PM rather than get people all worked up and set off a flame war on the forum. Considering the response he might have a point.

Norm put a max weight he would consider for his model of CRV at 2600 lbs.
I don't think I would even consider going to that weight with a CRV on a regular basis but....

I have learned a lot of useful information from posts by Norm on how he does it. Have learned a lot of information from the posts by people that strongly disagree with him.

Not having those discussions because of a policy would be a loss. I do hope that Norm will continue to post his ideas and experiences here, he like many of us, have been there done that, and have something to contribute from the experience.

A post is not official "news and information" it's knowledge, opinion, experience and sometimes just best guess. Everyone has different versions of that to bring to the party.

Recalling a closed post on "recommended products" I think if we have to reach consensus we won't post anything. The few who questioned the Red Max use, despite being outnumbered by the "majority" raised good points.

Sail area would be an example of that here from Norm. My 13ft is within weight (at least empty) but would probably be a poor choice for a TV with 1000 lb max towing capacity. They should be looking at a pop-up or tear drop with reduced wind resistance.

[cpaharley2008]

I think this thread has run it's course and is being closed