New member

[Dawnannettew]

Looking for something I can tow with my 2016 Toyota RAV4, dry weight of 1500lbs or less
It's just me and my 6lb Shih Tzu
We had a class a for many years. I miss camping with my family.

[Jon in AZ]

Welcome!

I think you mean a loaded (gross) weight of 1500 pounds or less. "Dry weight" is before options, gear, provisions... totally empty. No one travels like that.

See the thread "Trailer Weights in the Real World" in the General Chat section for some actual loaded weights of various makes and models. (Note that the 880 pound Burro was an empty shell.). Post #297 links to a spreadsheet of the data you can sort and filter.

A few 13' egg-type trailers might fit the bill if they're pretty basic and packed lightly.

You'll need brakes on the trailer (not all small trailers have them) with 7-pin wiring and (probably) an auxiliary transmission cooler on the vehicle.

Alternatively, Toyota now makes an "Adventure" version of the RAV4 that is beefed up for towing up to 3500#. That would open up a few more options.

Best wishes!

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Dawnannettew

Looking for something I can tow with my 2016 Toyota RAV4, dry weight of 1500lbs or less
It's just me and my 6lb Shih Tzu
We had a class a for many years. I miss camping with my family.

Looks like the tow rating for your vehicle is probably 1,500 lbs and 150 tongue weight. You are going to have a hard time finding a camper that is at all comfortable and is under those limits (particularity the tongue weight). That is basically small (4x8) mesh floor utility trailer territory (1500 lbs, 150 tongue).

And if you find one near those limits then you will likely be unhappy with the performance at some point. I generally suggest going to more than 80% of your ratings.

Ditto on brakes. Also consider gross combined weight rating (total of veh and trailer with gear and people in both).

There are some very basic campers that might work, or a small pop-up tent camper is possible. Otherwise a new vehicle with 3500 - 5000 lbs tow rating will be reasonable for a good number of fiberglass RVs.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...rld-43010.html

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...tml#post476201 (Spreadsheet link that Jon mentioned)

[Dawnannettew]

Thank you
I'm new to this
My husband would have known all of that
Trying to figure it out