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Old 11-05-2017, 06:29 PM   #21
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Name: bob
Trailer: 1996 Casita 17 Spirit Deluxe; 1946 Modernistic teardrop
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Correct Mike, retired mechanic on big trucks here. And an excellent post by you as always with good points. Even though our CRV worked for us, it was close to it's limit. I was looking for a larger vehicle when friends offered to sell us their Casita SD 17 at a price too good to pass up. After a frustrating search a very low mileage Dodge Ram appeared with the Hemi engine, so it now is used for both the Casita and Uhaul, and the CRV tows our 700 lb teardrop.
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Old 11-05-2017, 07:39 PM   #22
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Any time our 2010 Honda Element, which has a CRV drivetrain, sees a big hill, it barely can keep up with traffic, and thats with no trailer. We love our Element, but as a tow rig, not so much.

We were considering pulling a bunkhouse motorcycle popup (~350 pounds) behind our Element, which would have worked fine. But we then got a larger molded trailer, so we ended that plan.

I like having adequate margin to spare, the ability to go up even big hills at normal speeds. We towed a trailer years ago with a marginal tow vehicle. Never again. If you want to get an RV trailer, plan on getting an adequate tow vehicle to pull it.

Sure, if I was just camping near my home, and if I lived in a flat area, I might try to tow a really small trailer with the Element. But since we live in the mountains, its not practical.
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Old 11-05-2017, 08:32 PM   #23
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Reread Post 14, by Chris from Comax

Welcome, I'm less familiar with the Canadian Court system, but Chris nailed it:
"And one other fact to consider.. Should the GVWR of your trailer exceed the weight that your tug(tow vehicle) is certified to tow your insurance will be void, even if you install transmission cooler on the tug and brakes on the trailer.. My suggestion is to determine which trailer you would like to have, buy the tug then the trailers..
Wishing you luck and success in the process - like some folks say, the journey can be as exciting as the destination.."


Good luck finding an insurance carrier who will cover you while exceeding your vehicle's limits. You will want to carry insurance, because if your overweight, possibly no trailer brakes, rig hits someone's family, God help you. You will not just lose your toys. Many judges, juries, and your own lawyer will see to it that you lose everything. If you lose control, there's also your own family to consider.

Kinda hard to believe some here will just tell you, "Don't worry, be happy." Tell that to the judge.
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Old 11-06-2017, 12:03 PM   #24
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When I first thought about trailers, I wanted to use my wonderful little Corolla 5 speed to tow. Found that I was limited to the Aspen opoup motorcycle camper (450 lbs total) or later on, a teardrop. A small one.
Started to investigate larger campers that would necessitate buying a heftier tug. RvTravel.com newsletter scared me off buying new with all their reporting of lemons, and when I googled "what to look for when you buy a used rv" scared me off buying used. I had checked on a couple parked along the roads with For Sale signs, and when you stepped inside the floor waved up and down like...waves. Rotten flooring. Then I remembered having seen a Scamp or 2 over the years and googled Scamp and found this site. Who woulda thunk we would have so many different brands of fiberglass RV to choose from?
I knew when I ordered my LilSnoozy we would need a new tug and about 5 months after ordering the camper started looking seriously at ne(wer) vehicles. With paid off 2006 Saturn 5 speed, or 2009 Kia Rio 5 speed, knew we'de have to probably look at 3-7 year old cars. The Carship Enterprise, as we call it, is rated to pull 7,500 lbs, and our little Snoozy, weighed at the local truck stop, was only 2430 lbs. So the tug is good even if we choose to get a larger trailer down the road.


Don't get too enamored of staying with your current car to pull your camper. Your current car was probably bought for work commutes and running errands and it does an excellent job of that.Might be time for a car or van dedicated to being the tug now.
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Old 11-06-2017, 12:06 PM   #25
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My understanding, likely imperfect, is that insurance doesn't pay you for intentional acts that directly result in damage to your own property.

While I don't claim any expertise in the subject, I think a key word is intentional. I would also anticipate that the magnitude of the overload and other circumstances would factor in. Overweight? By six pounds or six-thousand? Hauling your trailer across town or taking a cross country journey over the Rocky Mountains? Towing with intent? Hauling in the second degree? It seems that there's very little that is black and white in law.

This thread from a boating forum is similar to several I have read on this subject over the years. I am linking this one because I think it includes several responses that sound both thoughtful and well-informed. Is it the hull truth? Well, yes and no!

https://www.thehulltruth.com/trucks-...verweight.html
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Old 11-06-2017, 12:36 PM   #26
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Two retired guys in Florida get to talking.

One says “I was the owner of a successful business. I put my heart and my soul into it for almost my entire life. Then, one day, a devastating fire wiped me out; it burned everything completely to the ground! Well, I took the insurance settlement and retired to Florida because I figured I was just too old to start all over again.”

The second guy says “Wow, that’s my story too! The only difference was that my business was wiped out by a flood!”

The first guy looks at the second one and says “How do you set a flood?”
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Old 11-06-2017, 01:05 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rbryan View Post
No need to search. I linked it in post #3 above.
How the heck did I miss that?!
Glad you did post the link--it's a great site!


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Old 11-06-2017, 02:54 PM   #28
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You may have missed it because this started as two duplicate threads that were merged.
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Old 11-06-2017, 03:42 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris from Comox View Post
My suggestion is to determine which trailer you would like to have, buy the tug then the trailers..
I respectfully disagree in this order of buying.

Used all-molded-towables, at a price point a buyer is willing to pay, with the desired layout, in acceptable condition, within reasonably close driving distance to buy are very hard to find. You can buy a tow vehicle on any street corner

I'd shop for the trailer first. It would be a disaster if the absolutely perfect trailer came along and THEN you found out it exceeded the tow weight of your brand new tow vehicle. Or the opposite happens and that perfect trailer doesn't need such a large, powerful tow vehicle. You could have saved some money...

Good luck on your egg hunt!
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Old 11-06-2017, 07:46 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Donna D. View Post
I'd shop for the trailer first. It would be a disaster if the absolutely perfect trailer came along and THEN you found out it exceeded the tow weight of your brand new tow vehicle.
Absolutely. A small fiberglass trailer in good shape is always in high demand and hard to find. Knock out the hard part first, then the easy.
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Old 11-06-2017, 09:18 PM   #31
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I too am a HUGE advocate of first determining what trailer will suit you needs, and then figure out what a tow vehicle that suits your needs, and meets or exceeds the weight capacities of the trailer.
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Old 11-06-2017, 10:47 PM   #32
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I think a few people might have misunderstood this person's post and that he really agrees with you.

S(he) said to look at weights first. I think maybe he means that you see which trailer you want and what tow vehicle works for it. And then you buy the tow vehicle and go get the trailer. I think he is saying not to tow with the present vehicle if it does not meet the weights. Go get a suitable tow vehicle for the trailer decided upon.

That is what we had to do. Can't pick up the trailer without a tow vehicle! But we knew the trailer and model we wanted before we bought the tug, which was bought specifically to tow that particular trailer.

Of course, if a person is considering some very rare trailer that almost never comes up, that is another consideration.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Donna D. View Post
I respectfully disagree in this order of buying.

Used all-molded-towables, at a price point a buyer is willing to pay, with the desired layout, in acceptable condition, within reasonably close driving distance to buy are very hard to find. You can buy a tow vehicle on any street corner

I'd shop for the trailer first. It would be a disaster if the absolutely perfect trailer came along and THEN you found out it exceeded the tow weight of your brand new tow vehicle. Or the opposite happens and that perfect trailer doesn't need such a large, powerful tow vehicle. You could have saved some money...

Good luck on your egg hunt!
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Old 11-07-2017, 11:31 AM   #33
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Good advice here. I would not tow with your vehicle. Not safe. We ordered a Fiberglass camper named Lil Snoozy. We owned a 2013 Prius. It could tow a butterfly if it had skates on. So we ended up buying a used 2015 Pickup with a tow package. Best wishes to you.
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Old 11-07-2017, 11:33 AM   #34
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Cathi..
Thanks for providing the additional clarity that some folks may have needed in reading my reply.. Bottom line is don't tow anything with a vehicle not designed to pull the weight you want to tow..
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Old 11-07-2017, 12:15 PM   #35
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A quick search of the registry turned up 8 people towing with CR-Vs and 6 more with Elements (same drivetrain). All were basic 13'ers. In addition, Bob posted his experiences earlier in this thread, and the late Bob Miller (who was about as hawkish as anyone I know on the subject of overweight towing) towed a 13' Lil Bigfoot with a 2007 CR-V. (And of course, there is Norm, who pulled a 16' Scamp all over North America.)

A CR-V is limited in what it is rated to tow, and I do not recommend exceeding the rating, but I am confident it can safely and reliably tow what Honda says it will. Do heed all the fine print in the owner's manual regarding towing.
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Old 01-29-2018, 06:14 PM   #36
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Name: James
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Thumbs up Thanks everyone

Thank you everyone for replying and our apologies for being slow to join back in. ( Lost my log in details! )

We originally strayed into the FG scene because we were seeing trailers listed under 1500b and thought ah ha we could tow that!

We are now reluctantly accepting a new vehicle is in order...sigh ( our CRV is an amazingly reliable vehicle that still goes great but sadly worth nothing to sell as it's 2003 and has almost 300K km on the clock..sniff)

So can I request some further advice?

We are a family of three (two adults, one 2 year old and there will be a baby in the mix by the end of the year.) Are the small eggs a viable option for us? ( Boler/ trillium/ Lil Big foot) i.e. Has anyone else used them with this family configuration?

What are cheaper end decent tow vehicles? We are thinking about the Ford Escape with tow package as that's rated to 2500b I think. That would give us enough for a little egg, plus cargo on a hill wouldn't it?

We're a one vehicle family with vehicle used for work commuting 3-4 days a work so can't go for something with awful fuel consumption.

Future plans do involve driving across Canada with said trailer so hills will be encountered.
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Old 01-29-2018, 07:09 PM   #37
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We are four and happily (but snugly) camp in our 13' Scamp. So yes, absolutely it can be done. Ours are now 12 and 15, but petite, so we can still use the upper bunk. Now that they're older they sometimes prefer to sleep in a tent or in the back of our tow vehicle.

Regarding the vehicle, with soon-to-be four people (considering how fast kids grow!), as well as the fact that you seem to keep vehicles a long time, you might consider stepping up to a mid-sized crossover. We use a Pilot to pull ours, and with four people, bicycles, and cargo in the vehicle, I appreciate the extra space and margin on weight ratings. We travel to visit relatives, and we use the extra seat belts to include family members on outings. Highlander, Pilot, Santa Fe, Sorento, Pathfinder, Explorer, Traverse, Acadia- all great family vehicles with room to grow. Fuel economy... pretty decent on the highway, but if your commute involves stop-and-go traffic, not so good. The larger vehicle would also leave open the option of a bigger trailer in the future. Buying gently used means it doesn't have to be a budget-breaker; just make sure it has necessary towing upgrades.

But if you prefer to stay in the compact crossover class, the Escape is a good choice for a small egg. I believe you have to spring for the Titanium model with the 2.0L Ecoboost engine to get the maximum (3500#?) tow rating. Another compact alternative is the new-for-2018 Toyota RAV4 Adventure model also rated to tow 3500#.

BTW, our second vehicle is a 2006 CR-V with 157K miles, solid and reliable. No plans to get rid of it!
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Old 01-29-2018, 07:16 PM   #38
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We have slept 7. A Trillium 4500 with four kids in it, and a travel van with my wife, our youngest and I in that.
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Old 01-29-2018, 07:30 PM   #39
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Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
We are four and happily (but snugly) camp in our 13' Scamp. So yes, absolutely it can be done. Ours are now 12 and 15, but thankfully petite, so we can still use the upper bunk. Now that they're older they sometimes prefer to sleep in a tent or in the back of our tow vehicle.

Regarding the vehicle, with soon-to-be four people (considering how fast kids grow!), as well as the fact that you seem to keep vehicles a long time, you might consider stepping up to a mid-sized crossover. We use a Pilot to pull ours, and with four people, bicycles, and cargo in the vehicle, I appreciate the extra space and margin on weight ratings. We travel to visit relatives, and we use the extra seat belts to include family members on outings. Highlander, Pilot, Santa Fe, Sorento, Pathfinder, Explorer, Traverse, Acadia- all great family vehicles with room to grow. The larger vehicle would also leave open the option of a bigger trailer in the future. Buying gently used means it doesn't have to be a budget-breaker; just make sure it has necessary towing upgrades.

But if you prefer to stay in the compact crossover class, the Escape is a good choice for a small egg. I believe you have to spring for the Titanium model with the 2.0L Ecoboost engine to get the maximum (3500#?) tow rating. Another compact alternative is the new-for-2018 Toyota RAV4 Adventure model also rated to tow 3500#.

BTW, our second vehicle is a 2006 CR-V with 157K miles, solid and reliable. No plans to get rid of it!
Ha ha yes! The objective was to keep the CRV forever! However, we may not be in Canada for very much longer so the next vehicle needs to do 2-3 years.
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Old 01-29-2018, 07:54 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Salchicha View Post
T...
We are now reluctantly accepting a new vehicle is in order...sigh ( our CRV is an amazingly reliable vehicle that still goes great but sadly worth nothing to sell as it's 2003 and has almost 300K km on the clock..sniff)

...
... Are the small eggs a viable option for us? ( Boler/ trillium/ Lil Big foot) i.e. ...
What are cheaper end decent tow vehicles? We are thinking about the Ford Escape with tow package as that's rated to 2500b I think. That would give us enough for a little egg, plus cargo on a hill wouldn't it?...
2,500 is pretty limiting. Decide on, and if you can buy, the trailer first.
See THIS POST for trailer weight info.
Keep a good safety margin (maybe no more than 75-80% of weight ratings).

I too loved my CRV. Never towed with it, but took great care of it. Nice car.
Then I was stopped at a red light with another car behind me, and some guy in a van came up behind us and was texting, or whatever, and didn't see the red light. Then he panic-braked, but instead of hitting the brakes he slammed the accelerator with his foot. And he did not let up until he hit us not once, but twice. All three vehicles were totaled out.

I replaced the CRV with a Highlander, and did tow with it some. If you get one with a tow rating of 3500 or 5000 (depending on the package), it would be a fine choice for many of the campers you might be considering.
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