16 foot long kayaks on top of TV

[Bob Miller]

Just for future reference, there are some length limits for RV's and towed vehicles on the Going-to-the-Sun Highway in Glacier NP. Check those too before you buy anything larger than a 13'er.

BTW: Bears are usually only interested in real people if they are all covered with butter or bacon. But I don't make judgements on anyones lifestyle.....

Common sense will put you in the 99% safe category in any bear country

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by VicCT

Carol, yes, we do keep the roof weight in mind as well. I would definitely weigh any trailer I bought in advance. I am really not someone who takes these things lightly. No pun intended. I am considering a Scamp someone has listed on this forum, and I have asked him to get me the tongue weight before we talk further. He is doing that. We know his base weight and the weight of the options he added, which were few, and total weight seems to be ok, but I would certainly check.

Keep in mind the base weight does not include things such a battery, propane tank, fridge, stove, furnace, awning etc. So unless they are going to pull all those items off and weigh them of you it would be best if he weighed the whole trailer for you. If someone tries to tell you they have a Scamp 13 for sale that weighs less than 1500lbs lightly loaded then you should pay a premium for it as its a very rare trailer

[VicCT]

Bob, I am a little paranoid about bears. We all have our issues, that is one of mine. I know what to do around bears, as my slightly unreasonable fears have generated lots of research on my part. I have been charged by a mama bear when the group of people I was hiking with crossed paths, accidentally, with her cub. Cub was standing right next to the trail, so when we came hiking along and the cub saw us and ran away bawling, mama had to come hightailing to the rescue. It took about a full minute from the time we saw the cub until we crossed paths with mama, so she was unusually far away from her cub, without having treed it. Not a fun experience, although everyone did as they were supposed to (I knew exactly what to do, being paranoid and having researched and all) and it all worked out. But my point is, it may not be a totally rational fear, but it is not totally irrational either, and I am self aware enough to know that I am much more comfortable in a hard sided trailer with no kitchen smells. Bears have been known to drag people out of their tents at night. It's rare, but it has happened. It might have been the scent of food that caused it, but when they tell you you can't sleep with deodorant on or toothpaste smell in your mouth without attracting bears, that about does it for me. I can rough it in many other ways (portalet instead of full bath, shower at campgrounds or jump in the lake, cook simple food over a fire instead of in an indoor kitchen), but I need that peace of mind to enjoy myself, especially in grizz country. Now, would a hard sided trailer stop some hypothetical, maniacal, determined grizz? No, but it should slow them down long enough for me to grab the bear spray or make my escape. :-)

Carol, he actually did add the advertised weight of all of the extra items to the base weight for me, and he only has a few extras, and it came in at a little over 1200#, which still gives 200+# leeway. But I will actually weigh it, no worries there. It seems to be hard to convince people I take this weight thing seriously, and that I will travel with nothing more than a comforter and pillows in there. :-) But I really do mean it. I do research and analysis for a living, and I am not a rule breaker.

I really wish the Aliner didn't have such problems with leaking, because it would be ideal. But it does, as does the Chalet, it's main competition. Nothing is perfect, it seems.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by VicCT

Carol, he actually did add the advertised weight of all of the extra items to the base weight for me, and he only has a few extras, and it came in at a little over 1200#, which still gives 200+# leeway. But I will actually weigh it, no worries there. It seems to be hard to convince people I take this weight thing seriously, and that I will travel with nothing more than a comforter and pillows in there. :-) But I really do mean it. I do research and analysis for a living, and I am not a rule breaker.

.

Sorry if you think I don't take your concern for the weight seriously. My comments were made based on past history here where a lot of people new to trailers don't really understand what the base weight includes and doesn't include. More often than not they are little surprised when they find out something they though weighed 1200lbs actually weighs 600lbs or more over that. Its nice to see that someone such as yourself has taken the time to do some pre research on the topic - its not all that common

[mary and bob]

I wasn't aware of leakage problems with the Aliner. We camp occasionally with an older couple that has one. They love it and never mentioned any leak issue. I have 3 bad disks in my back, and still kayak and sleep fine in our 4' wide teardrop with Mary. With both the teardrop and Uhaul we use our screen room which has flaps to close it in, for sitting, and eating, but cook outside.Our Honda roof rack has a weight limit that I'm probably real close to with the two kayaks on it. Actually had both of them come off while driving on I90, but that was my fault because of the rack I was using. EDIT; our teardrop weighs 650lb. Over on the tnttt site it's not unusual to see a comment on a home built teardrop "it weighs more than I thought it would"

[Bob Miller]

Try watching the national news or the News web feed for KABC-7 Los Angeles tonight.

In Pasadena, a couple visiting from Scotland, walked out of their house, locked the door and didn't even see the bear sitting beside the door watching them, until it followed them out to the car. It was caught on security camera.

We get bears in residential areas almost every day. Because it's so dry this year, they wander down from the mountains looking for food.

Everything in life is a risk, I refuse to live in fear.... But I missed out on dying young about 40 years ago

[VicCT]

It's ok Carol, I know you are just trying to make sure people are informed. I appreciate that.

Yeah Bob, it's unfortunate, but if you google Aliner and leak you will see. And Aliner quality control and customer service gets a bad rap, too. There are some very happy owners out there, but it seems they either own older models, or brand new ones that they have taken 1-2 trips with. Those in the 3-10 year range seem more unhappy. Same goes for Chalet, and lots of roof delamination on 1-2 year old models with that one.


I have a Yakima rack, which takes more load than the Honda rack. I am close with the two kayaks up there. But I have never even had the slightest sign of trouble. And we are very careful about tiedown technique.

[VicCT]

Yeah, a badly behaved teenage bear squeezed out of the good territory and hungry, I bet. Poor tourists. Quite a story they'll have to tell.

[BarbinBC]

Some of the campgrounds in Canada near grizzly country do not allow soft-sided trailers, tents, etc. if there are issue with a local beast. I was in a tent (pop-up in US terms) trailer in the interior mountains of S. British Columbia where I first read about this policy 2 years ago. Out went the pop-up and I finally found a 10 year old 13 ft.Trillium Outback FG trailer. I still keep the bear spray handy, though.

As per the weight issues, as a former hiker and present kayaker/canoeist, I, too understand about packing light. After several trips in my 'egg' I've found I've added a few more 'comfort' items i.e. new, quality mattress, solar bedside table lamps, a few 'real' plates & bowls, etc. I do cook outside as well as much as possible. I have an aluminum table that rolls/folds up that I use outside under the awning if it's raining. I'd like to get a screen room with the roll down solid sides in case of bugs and wind. It has a port-a-potty (what you term a portalet?) but I've not had to use it to date.

Quite capable of being off-grid with solar. I don't like to use batteries for anything though outside of storage.

Also want to make an attachment to the outside of the trailer to fasten my 2 burner propane stove. I have 3 or 4 lightweight backpacking stoves but I find I'm getting used to the ease and flexibility of having 2, very stable burners!

As for water, I carry my own separately in the back of my small truck bed.

All of these changes in my camping lifestyle came about when I ended up being the last one in my group sleeping on the ground! I have a bomb-proof tent, good bag and a very comfortable sleeping mat, but the hard sided trailer and the opportunity to travel with these folks convinced me to go to the 'other side'. They go in a group down South, stopping in big box store parking lots overnight enroute. Not feasible with a tent!

I also am dealing with how to carry my kayak or canoe. Being a truck I need to use a rack for the bed rails and one on the cab. Still working on that one.

Reading about how you like to travel and bear issues, I can understand your concerns. Just a few of the things I've discovered since making the switch. Good luck in your search for solutions. Yes, getting old ain't fun - I'm 67.

[mary and bob]

Barb; I made a kayak rack that sets in the bed of my pickup, held in with ratchet straps. I have a full size pickup with an 8' bed.

[VicCT]

Barb, sounds like we have a lot in common. I guess we've earned the right to a cushier form of camping.

So excited. Going to see a Scamp in New York tomorrow, it's posted on the classifieds here. Had a serious discussion with my partner, turns out he wants to go even cushier than I was planning ("What do you mean we can't put stuff in it?"), so we will be upgrading the TV. Maybe a Highlander, will start looking. I will get something I can add a hitch extension to, if necessary, for the kayak length - - should I start a new post on this? The current owners of the Scamp will tow the car to me tomorrow if we make a deal. Can't wait to meet you all on the road, thanks for all the help!

[Glenn Baglo]

Vicki,

You've come to his senses. A Highlander will serve you well and I doubt your kayaks will require any hitch extension.
In my case, I wanted a Toyota Tacoma 4X4, but my wife pointed out that we are not getting younger, and that the climb up into the cab would only get more difficult as we age.
I heeded her advice and got a RAV4 ( which is no longer a contender as of 2013 ).
You'll be a lot happier, have much more pleasant travels, if you're not living on the edge.

[VicCT]

Glenn, sounds like you came to her sensess! What happened to the tow capacity for the RAV4? I remember reading something about a change in 2013, but can't find it now by googling. Is it retroactive? Or could I buy a pre-2013 RAV4 and have proper capacity?

[Glenn Baglo]

Pre 2013 RAV4 with the V6 and tow package is rated for 3,500 lb. and 350 lb. tongue weight. In 2013, only the 4 cylinder is available and the tow rating dropped to 1,500 lb.
I tow a 17B Escape and I use a WDHitch.
I've got less than 62,000 kilometers on my RAV ( 38,500 miles ) and I plan to keep it a long time since I don't want a large, expensive vehicle and I don't see anything that appeals to me ( not that the RAV makes me feel macho ).

[Glenn Baglo]

BarbinBC Quote: Also want to make an attachment to the outside of the trailer to fasten my 2 burner propane stove. UnQuote

I have to ask why you want to attach it to the trailer? If it's portable you can move it out of the wind. And, you can move it away from the trailer so bears aren't attracted to the grease splatter.

[VicCT]

Hmm. Liking the mpg I can get with the RAV4 on a daily driving basis. May have to go that route, used of course. Not liking that you can't open the back gate while towing. Hard to say if that inconvenience, alone, is worth the upgrade to the higher MPG of the Highlander. Does it bother you not getting into the back while hooked up?

[Glenn Baglo]

I just go in from the rear passenger door, if I can't get at what I want through the back door ( it opens about 6" ).
But, as aggravations go, it's not that bad.
What's worse is my habit of putting stuff I need in the storage compartment at the very back and then placing stuff like my generator and cooler on top of the lid.
A little bit of planning goes a long way.
As for mileage, the newer vehicles seem to get a lot out of a gallon of gas.
My last tank, driving mostly around town, and idling more than I should, not towing, I got 17 MPG ( 13.8 liters/100km ). I have done 10.5 liters/100km ( about 22 MPG ) when not towing. So, be prepared to be disappointed in gas economy.

[Ice-breaker]

Originally Posted by VicCT

..., so we will be upgrading the TV. Maybe a Highlander, will start looking. ...

Looks like a Highlander would be a great choice, and would open up a bunch of options for both hauling kayaks and trailer types/sizes. Here is my tug and trailer carrying 16.5 ft canoe.

[Glenn Baglo]

And mine with a 16' Prospector on top.

[BarbinBC]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Barb; I made a kayak rack that sets in the bed of my pickup, held in with ratchet straps. I have a full size pickup with an 8' bed.

Thanks for that. I do have one of those that I built as well, but without a rack for the roof of the extended cab, my boats stick out the stern end too far even with an 8 ft. bed.

What I've read about hitch extensions, I'm not willing to go that route. So I'm looking for a single bar roof rack for the cab, then I can move everything far enough forward for clearance.