Asking for trouble?

[Thane K]

My tow vehicle is a Honda Element which states its tow limit at 1500 lbs. A 13' Scamp appears to be a good candidate. However, my wife would prefer a 16' Scamp which appears to be around 1800lbs. I can install a transmission cooler to assist in the matter, but would I be asking for trouble to go over the recomended weight by 300lbs.?

Thanks in advance for your replys!

Thane in Missouri

[Steve L.]

I don't think a Scamp will weigh anything like 1800 pounds. More like 2500 pounds plus.

Trailer Weight Thread(s)

[Roger H]

but would I be asking for trouble to go over the recomended weight by 300lbs.?

Thane in Missouri

Thane, there is more than just total towing weight to be considered, tongue weight being merely one of the issues. A Scamp 13 fully loaded will have a tongue weight of somewhere around 120 lbs. A Scamp 16 fully loaded will be pushing 300+ lbs.

Stick to the 13s. You'll be much better off.

Or, consider buying the trailer you want, and then finding a used something or other just to use as a tow vehicle. You'd be surprised what you can find used in both pickups and minivans with a 3,500 to 5,000 lb tow rating that are relatively inexpensive.

Roger

[Normand Choiniere]

Most of the 13 feet FGRV weight between 500-1,000 lbs MORE than their advertised empty weigh when fully loaded. Most of them, in the real world, have a tongue weight exceeding 200 lbs.

I had a Honda CR-V which is in the same range and very comparable to the Element and those are definitely not recommendable and safe towing vehicles.

[Thane K]

Thank you for your replys. I have given up on the 16', but now I am wondering if the 13' is advisable given Normand's response. I have seen other Elements on this site towing 13' eggs. Should I rethink the whole thing?

[Pete Dumbleton]

The Element owners seem to be happy towing their 13'. You just want to keep the options to a minimum, use a tarp instead of an awning, porta-potti, Group 24 battery, 10-pound LP tank, icebox or cooler not fridge, paper plates not dishes,no a/c, etc. My 91S13 was still 1,700 lbs.

[Paula Bindrich]

I tow with an Element. My "950 lb dry weight" Casita was 1280 without any gear, water, or food in it. I believe they didn't add in the icebox, the dinette, the closet, or anything else for it's original shipping weight.

I have been stripping "ugly fat" from where ever I can. Replacing doors, pulling out carpet where it's not needed, about to make a new table top, etc. If I could dehydrate water I would. I also dropped down to a 10 lb propane tank too.

I haven't had any problems so far but I'm a newbie to this game.

Paula

[Patrick M.]

We towed our 13' fully-loaded Scamp with our 2004 Element and it was a terrific combination. I especially liked blasting by the 30'+ trailers on mountain up-grades! We averaged 17.6MPG over 22,000 miles of towing, mostly in the bumpy West.

[Mark J]

We towed our 13' fully-loaded Scamp with our 2004 Element and it was a terrific combination. I especially liked blasting by the 30'+ trailers on mountain up-grades! We averaged 17.6MPG over 22,000 miles of towing, mostly in the bumpy West.

Do you have an automatic?, transmission cooler?

[Patrick M.]

It was a 2004 2WD automatic, and I never added a tranny cooler, and only noticed the water temperature increase three times, when over 100F outside driving slow. The transmission fluid is circulated through the bottom of the radiator, so the water temp is an approximate indicator of tranny fluid temp, I figured.

On my Odyssey Honda required a transmission and power steering cooler for towing, so I got them on it.

[Gina D.]

I tugged a 1450lb (Loaded) 13 foot Burro with an E, Tranny Cooler and brakes.

As I have mentioned before on many threads, I was comfortable with that, but would not have gone an ounce more.