Maiden Voyage

[J.J. Diegel]

I was very pleased with the way she handled. Up to 65 mph, no sway at all. Over that and it got a little unhappy. (Had to test her limits... cautiously, of course.) Sway kit will remedy that. Folks who tow with Windstars say they perform wonderfully -- better than SUVs. Less rigid suspension. Less sway. Had a little trouble climbing some of the long grades, but nothing over 3500 rpms. I just backed off on the accelerator and let her climb at comfortable speeds of 59 to 63 mph. On the flats and downgrades she wanted to go faster. Would have pulled the Scamp at 75 if she had her way. The sway factor over 65, as I said, limited that.

The brake controller was nice, but I think the brakes stopped working after awhile. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. Hard to be sure. Certainly had no trouble stopping, both fast and slow. Dad and I are gonna check it out to be sure. I didn't pay $120 on a controller just to have it sit pretty under my steering wheel.

Gas mileage was noticably reduced pulling a trailer. Don't have the figures yet, but it certainly sucked it down. More than I'd anticipated. Oh well. That's trailering.

So, North Central Vermont to Plainville, Mass and back in 10 hours (includes rest stops and 1-1/2 hour to finish wiring the tow vehicle to match the trailer) and 550 miles. Not bad. Pictures coming soon.

[Benny K]

You could check your tongue weight....sounds as if it is a bit light (sway)....if it sways over 65 all the time then the sway control becomes a crutch, trying to remedy the situation.....try running about 12-15% tongue weight of your gross weight of the trailer, see if it makes a difference, and hopefully it doesn`t overload the rear capacity of your tow vehicle......Benny

[Gina D.]

JJ, you are new to towing I take it?

sway control or not, you will need to guage your speed a bit. 65 is probably a little too fast, or at the very least, at the edge of safe. Consider things like blow outs, and control, stopping distance. You are stopping for two now, and your momentim is a bit more severe.

It just amazes me when I see big toy haulers in the fast lane doing 80. I don't want to be around for THAT flip. Scambled quads!

I keep it below 60, usually on the hiway, the cruise gets set between 55 and 60 and I just go along for the ride.

[Renee K.]

Well he can't say he wasn't warned Gina. Wonder if some people buy eggs to break? We have all the power we need with old 73 Chev PU and hardly notice any difference in mileage, but 55 worked when it was the law and it still does. Now that we have a place to stay nearly anywhere, we don't need to push it.

[Donna D.]

JJ every vehicle has a sweet spot for the best fuel mileage. You may find that sweet spot is 70mph when not towing and 60mph when towing. If speed is more important than fuel mileage then all that goes out the window. I always figure I'm on my way to have some fun when towing my trailer and therefore consider the journey part of that fun. I leave with plenty of time to spare and prefer to get the best fuel mileage possible.

Keep a journal of mileage to fuel to mph the next couple of times you're out with your new-to-you Scamp. You may find a couple of mph doesn't really effect the travel time, but really effects the $$ spent on fuel.

[J.J. Diegel]

Originally posted by Gina D.@Nov 13 2005, 06:06 AM
JJ, you are new to towing I take it?

I am new to towing. And, yeah, it was a bit fast. Mostly, though, we kept it under 60. 55 seemed to be, as Donna said, the sweet spot.

My Dad was a huge help. He went down with me. We shared the driving between us. He works in RI at Boat World, pulling big boat trailers quite often, sometimes great distances. Even so, a mini trailer is a different animal.