What is the best tow vehicle for a Trillium 4500?

[SilverGhost]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Just curious, what TV has to have it's bumper removed to install a hitch??? And what's NAR

I know VW and Audi do it on some(all?) car models. Though the Touareg and Tiguan SUVs reengineer it somehow to allow towing. I don't know about other makes.

I'm talking about the bar behind the plastic bumper cover, that is mounts on "shocks" on some models and takes the brunt of an impact. On my car the mounting plate blocks access to the "frame" where the hitch bolts to the car.

NAR = North American Region. Just a short hand

Jason

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by BarbieB

My husband and I are looking for the best tow vehicle for a Trillium 4500 (that we haven't even purchased yet....we're on the hunt). Have scrolled through a bunch of postings but please excuse me if I missed a previous discussion on the topic. Why are North American towing capacities so different from those in Europe for the same model car? Doesn't make sense to us at all. A car that is listed as Towing Not Recommended in US/Canada might have a 3000 lb towing capacity in the UK. What gives?

Does the UK have any serious mountains to deal with towing (and braking?)

I've towed my 17LD with a 1600 pound John Deere tractor on flat ground and it does great!

Actually it's probably a lot fewer lawyers to deal with in the UK........

Charlie Y

[BarbieB]

Many thanks to all for their input to my question about tow vehicles. We bought a 1977 Trillium 4500 last weekend and the vender delivered to our home with his tow vehicle, a Honda CRV. He's been on several long trips with the CRV and says he thinks a bigger vehicle might have been a better idea. We're looking for a used vehicle, with as good fuel economy as we can find, and still have the power needed to feel safe. The trailer has electric brakes which I understand is a good thing. We've been considering several vehicles: Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Murano, Subaru Outback, Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe. Don't want a pick-up as this will be my hubbie's winter vehicle (he rides his bike to work April through October). Want to be able to travel through hilly terrain if it presents itself on a trip. I'll post a photo of both trailer and vehicle once we get there. This forum has already been invaluable to us for info. Look forward to years of conversations with other members!

[MC1]

Originally Posted by BarbieB

Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Murano, Subaru Outback, Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe.

Any of these will work for you. The CRV's are very capable too.. (ask Norm!)

The key is getting the set up right.

[David B.]

Barbara, if you did have a 4 x 4 pick-up, your husband could put his bike in the bed while you travel with the trailer.

[Bob Miller]

Next Question to answer is how much does it weigh when ready to go?????

We pulled a 13' Scamp w/bath and a 13' Lil' Bigfoot with our 2008 CRV without problems.

[Cathi]

BarbieB, I would not take the vendor's comments too seriously as he may be used to big trucks. You need to look at the numbers for the vehicles that interest you and figure out where you will be for towing. GVWR, GCWR, max allowed weight in the trailer, towing capacity of vehicle. See that you do not exceed any of them.

I would also look at Consumer Reports, especially the reliability charts.

You are in good shape as you have the trailer and now you can get the appropriate tow vehicle. (Instead of having a vehicle already as many do and wanting to tow a trailer that is too much for it.) Just make sure the numbers work before you buy.

[BarbieB]

Originally Posted by MC1

Yes Bob.... At the Toronto RV show a few years ago I had a chance to ask the towing specialist what (from his his experience of towing 1,000's of various types of TV/trailer combinations) his best performing TV. His answer was a Jaguar sport sedan.

Seeing this photo of a Jaguar sedan pulling an Airstream made us think about a BMW 325 xi Sportwagon that we saw advertised recently. Lovely car, great price - UK rated to haul 4400 lbs (!!!!) but only 1500 lbs in North American. As a German-manufactured vehicle, I'm sure this is the same car, same engine, same transmission, etc. Maybe we'll give it a try! At the worse, we'll end up with a beautiful family wagon!

[MC1]

Barbie... I too like those BMW sport wagons. The BMW SUV's X1, X3, and X5 have received rave reviews as TV's plus they are so much fun to drive.

If you like domestic wagons the Dodge Magnum is very capable too.

[Bob Miller]

Does anyone know about how much an empty Trillium 4500 actually weighs???? Real world please, not specifications.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Does anyone know about how much an empty Trillium 4500 actually weighs???? Real world please, not specifications.

Nope no dry weights (which as we all know dont mean much) but a loaded one on the Trailer Weights in the Real World thread has one weigh in at 1974lbs. That trailer *may* have been loaded pretty light as there is also a 13' Trillium on the list that weighed in only 135lbs less. Have a camping buddy that had a 4500 Trillium and they indicated theirs weight in at about 2200-2300lbs loaded for camping but with no water.

[honda03842]

It's obvious from the Trailer Weight List, for a specific model weight can range significantly, easily varing by 400lbs, tongues weights are in the same class, easily varying by 100 lbs or more.

Once beyond the manufacture's build weight, the owner's need for stuff and the type of stuff significntly defines trailer weight.

Since you have purchased an unpacked trailer it would be interesting to take it to a scales and weigh it. I know some Canadian provinces have road side scales where you can self weigh. Weighing an empty trailer would be a very good starting point.

Safe Travels

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Nope no dry weights (which as we all know dont mean much) but a loaded one on the Trailer Weights in the Real World thread has one weigh in at 1974lbs. That trailer *may* have been loaded pretty light as there is also a 13' Trillium on the list that weighed in only 135lbs less. Have a camping buddy that had a 4500 Trillium and they indicated theirs weight in at about 2200-2300lbs loaded for camping but with no water.

The factory says that the 1300 is 1500 lb, and the 4500 is 1700 lb. So, a 135 lb difference between the 1300 and 4500 is not too far out of line.

I would say 2500 lb would be a safe estimate for the loaded weight, but with the five kids, we travel kinda heavy.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

The factory says that the 1300 is 1500 lb, and the 4500 is 1700 lb. So, a 135 lb difference between the 1300 and 4500 is not too far out of line.

I would say 2500 lb would be a safe estimate for the loaded weight, but with the five kids, we travel kinda heavy.

I think David by mentioning the 5 kids you have hit on a point that many looking at what their tow specs are dont consider. They forget to add in the weight of what they are carrying in their vehicle to come up with what they may be over in regards to their total weight specs.

[frank_a]

We bought a 2013 Escape recently and while we have yet to find out mpg while towing, now that it has a few miles on it (4,000), it does get 30 mpg on a long trip. The one we bought is the ecoboost version, a 2L motor with a turbocharger. It has plenty of power. We got the factory tow package which allows us to tow 3500#s, and handle a 350# tongue weight, more than sufficient for our ParkLiner. My only complaint is that the factory tow package only comes with a 4 pole flat trailer connector, so a 7 pin RV plug has to be wired in. It can be done, but it's no piece of cake like my plug and play F-150 was!

Best of luck to you!

Frank

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by honda03842

It's obvious from the Trailer Weight List, for a specific model weight can range significantly, easily varing by 400lbs, tongues weights are in the same class, easily varying by 100 lbs or more.

Once beyond the manufacture's build weight, the owner's need for stuff and the type of stuff significntly defines trailer weight.

Since you have purchased an unpacked trailer it would be interesting to take it to a scales and weigh it. I know some Canadian provinces have road side scales where you can self weigh. Weighing an empty trailer would be a very good starting point.

Safe Travels

I don't think that he OP has any kind of a TV right now. But it sounds from here that a 2000-2400 limit TV should d be on the safe side, but more is always better

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by BarbieB

At the worse, we'll end up with a beautiful family wagon!

Or you could be footing the bill for a warranty repair after the service manager looks down and sees a Class II or higher hitch on a car that based on its tow cap shouldnt need anything more than a Class I hitch

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Or you could be footing the bill for a warranty repair after the service manager looks down and sees a Class II or higher hitch on a car that based on its tow cap shouldnt need anything more than a Class I hitch

But, if your Trillium 4500 has the factory 1-7/8 ball coupler, then you could use the class 1 hitch, and no one would be the wiser. If you have the factory axle, it is rated a 2000 lb. So if you load it up to what I do, then you would be over the capacity by about 25%. That is why I upgraded.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ium-49133.html

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

But, if your Trillium 4500 has the factory 1-7/8 ball coupler, then you could use the class 1 hitch, and no one would be the wiser. If you have the factory axle, it is rated a 2000 lb. So if you load it up to what I do, then you would be over the capacity by about 25%. That is why I upgraded.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ium-49133.html

Seriously??? - so what you are saying is that the Trillium 4500 on the Real World Weights list at 1974lbs is only 25lbs under its original axle rating?? and my friends at 22/2300lb is a couple of hundred over

I dont know about you but dont think I would feel real comfortable not just with the trailer being that close or over the axle weight itself but putting a class I hitch on the tug that itself is only good for 2000lbs...

As far as no one being the wiser on a class I vs Class II hitch just because it has a 1 7/8 ball - just call me a skeptic on that point - there some pretty visible differences between a class I and class II hitch or at least the ones I have seen

[David Tilston]

Seriously. When built, the Trillium 4500 had a 2000 lb axle, and coupler. I was so concerned about this that I had the trailer upgraded, since I was pretty sure I was going to go over that.

I suspect that this was a marketing decision. Any vehicle with a class 1 hitch could be used to tow it.

It is clear that every 4500 out there runs overloaded. It is worth noting that every 4500 I have bought, (3) has the original axle, and they seem OK.

My remark about the 1-7/8 ball was meant to say that a class 1 hitch, which max out at 1-7/8, could be used. My nephew, who has a class 1 hitch on his Intrepid, towed my 4500 back from Ontario this summer. It was empty.