TT for a car enthusiast

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by Larry,C

I searched for an Eriba Puck for almost 10 years and didn't find a reasonable priced one. I like the Meercat.

The Eriba Puck is a cult RV for the air-cooled VW crowd, it was designed to be pulled by a 40HP Beetle. If you look at the current prices of air-cooled Transporters you will understand why an Eriba Puck will never be "reasonable" again.

I passed on one about 3 years ago here in Riverside for $3600 in fair condition, silly me.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by The Minimalist

May I suggest that we have a sticky for the never ending discussion of tow ratings and whether or not to follow them.

True, we need to caution newbies about paying attention to their owners manual as regards tow ratings, and of course we should always recommend prudence in interpretation and use of such specs.

However, for the newbie, rehashing our unresolved differences on tow ratings just confuses the issue and does little to resolve the concerns of the OP.

Post of the year. Thank you.


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

RE: UHaul


That basically means that they are passing knowing the maximum trailer towing weight limit responsibility/liability off to the customer, who may well know a lot less about towing that the peeps at UHaul.


However, I was told by my local U-Haul dealer that there is a corporate policy to not install hitches on vehicles without advising the customer of the actual towing limit for the vehicle when it is less than that of the hitch. They too understand the concepts of risk and liability. But that responsibility rests with the individual making the original sale.


Which suggests that if you rolled in with a Class-1 hitch already installed on a Smart Car that they would be happy to connect a trailer with a 2000 gross limit, without question's ?

Around here ,U-Haul won't rent a trailer to anyone with a tow vehicle which doesn't comply with their charts for the trailer in question.
They don't even care about the manufacturers tow ratings.
For instance...every Ranger is the same to them without regard to how it is equipped.

[MC1]

I find it interesting that even though the earlier gen Ford Explorers had quite high tow ratings in many cases they were a very bad at it.

Even U-haul refuses to rent any kind of trailer if it is to be towed by these vehicles.

http://blog.upack.com/posts/why-u-ha...-ford-explorer

Bottom line... don't judge a book by it's cover and don't rely on a tow rating to tell you how that vehicle will perform towing a trailer.

Now lets get back to talking about car enthusiasts and towing trailers.

[Bob Miller]

There is absolutely nothing in the documentation on this issue that even suggests that there is anything wrong with the earlier Ford Explorers when used as a tow vehicle.


The issue "Apparently" stems from much earlier problems with Ford Explorers on Firestone Tires that had a higher rate of failures and roll-overs and U-Haul is rightly protecting their business by excluding those vehicles from towing their equipment. Note that U-Haul will install a trailer hitch on an early Explorer which, if U-Haul thought that the vehicle was unsafe to use as a TV, could lead to liability issues.


In their official; corporate statement U-Haul states that it is not a safety issue, (see U-Hauls statement below)


Soooo... Judging this vehicle based on U-Hauls company policy, without other supporting evidence is, in fact, judging a car by the (U-Haul) Books cover.


Google will yield untold links on this many years old issue, and safety or towing ability does not appear to be an issue.


Bottom line... If someone has a statement from U-Haul citing an exact reason as to why they have made this decision, (other than that shown below) please post a link.


Until then, be sure to read the entire book before judging it's cover...


Following is (allegedly) U-Hauls reply re: Ford Explorers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your request for information on our policy regarding Ford Explorers.

U-Haul has chosen not to rent behind this tow vehicle based on our history of excessive costs in defending lawsuits involving Ford Explorer towing combinations. This is an unusual circumstance and we do not like having to make this decision. We do not like saying “no” to our customers and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. This policy is not related to safety issues.

U-Haul can offer several ways to move. We suggest using a different tow vehicle or renting a truck and/or an alternate towing combination to facilitate your move. For rates or more information, please visit us on line at U-Haul: Your moving and storage resource, click on truck & trailer or contact our National Sales and Reservations Team at 1-800-468-4285.

We appreciate your time and understanding of our policies.

Sincerely,
Jackie Wengerd
U-Haul Customer Service

[floyd]

Originally Posted by MC1

I find it interesting that even though the earlier gen Ford Explorers had quite high tow ratings in many cases they were a very bad at it.

Even U-haul refuses to rent any kind of trailer if it is to be towed by these vehicles.

http://blog.upack.com/posts/why-u-ha...-ford-explorer

Bottom line... don't judge a book by it's cover and don't rely on a tow rating to tell you how that vehicle will perform towing a trailer.

Now lets get back to talking about car enthusiasts and towing trailers.

I won't rent from U-Haul because of their arbitrary (even silly) policies and mistreatment of customers, even those who rent larger trucks. Personally I would buy a trailer, use it once and resell it before I would enter a U-haul lot. That would likely result in a lower cost anyway.

But the obvious point here goes back to itching ears and the desire to find some "authority" to relieve responsibility which belongs to the person doing the towing.
I think this is a natural human tendency, but nothing in which to take pride.

. In your youth did you ever have a conversation with your parents which went something like this....
Parent:
Why did you do that?!
Child:
Well Bobby did it!
Parent:
If Bobby jumped off a cliff, would you jump off a cliff?

Listen to authorities or experts you trust, educate yourself, then take responsibility for your choices.

[Chitrailer]

Originally Posted by MC1

I have to disagree Larry. As one who tows with a high performance sport sedan towing a trailer is quite satisfying. As you can see in this vid even a VW Golf has amazing control and stability in a tight cornering event.
I'm not saying to drive irresponsibly but they are fun to drive and you don't need to keep the rig in a straight line as you would, like, say a big 5er on the back of a pickup.

Thanks for the link. I checked out the site, Practical Caravan. After pouring trough American RV forums for a week it's downright shocking to read sentences like this: "The Ford Focus is an established veteran in the towing stakes."

Here's the link:
http://www.practicalcaravan.com/reviews/tow-car/31377-ford-focus#AhiZgWrvhSfqFWlP.99

Before anyone jumps I'm not endorsing European towing standards or socialism for the USA.

[honda03842]

"Before anyone jumps I'm not endorsing European towing standards or socialism for the USA."

Getting the latter without the former.

[patrick crawford]

ok...let's get back to the op's desire to enjoy his bmw on the twisties while pulling a small trailer. i'm thinking that hooking up to a thousand pound (or so) trailer would seriously effect the fun factor afforded by his ultimate driving machine. back in the day i was very interested in performance/sports cars (some have described my "interest" as obsession). i've driven (and competed in scca events) in the likes of triumphs, mini coopers (real original minis) and a porsche speedster (again, the old one) so i truly understand the appeal. all of those cars were a delight to drive and it felt amazingly good to flog them around to an extent that i'm very fortunate not to have needed the services of those lawyers mentioned above for my behavior. it just seems to me that all those traits that make sports cars so much fun would be compromised negatively even to the point of perhaps making both the driving and the camping experience less than it could be. maybe for not a lot more than it would cost to properly outfit the beemer to safely tow a trailer you could find an older small pickup for those times when you go camping and save the fun car for other times? think of tossing a load of wood, or a fuel can, wet outdoor stuff (yeah, sometimes it happens) into your car or in the bed of that old truck.

p@

[MC1]

Originally Posted by patrick crawford

think of tossing a load of wood, or a fuel can, wet outdoor stuff (yeah, sometimes it happens) into your car or in the bed of that old truck.p@

Pat... there are times when what you say is true. Although you would never catch me taking a vacation in a pickup, especially a beater, however at times we miss the utility of our previous TV a Nissan Mini Van.
One of the big advantages of a performance car is safety. One gets premium handing, braking, etc which is just not there in an older pickup.

There is an online blob that talks about some folks who towed their trailer through the "Tail of the Dragon" with a VW TD Jetta and he said the drive was a blast. I think you really need to give something like that a try to really understand the towing experience.

[cmartin748]

I towed a 13 foot scamp for years with a Toyota Corolla with 123 hp four banger. It did a good job however, towing with front wheel drive is sometimes a challenge. I now have a scamp 16 and tow it with a Toyota 4runner with 195 hp and it does a super job. Control seems much better with rear wheel drive.

[Chitrailer]

Originally Posted by cmartin748

I towed a 13 foot scamp for years with a Toyota Corolla with 123 hp four banger. It did a good job however, towing with front wheel drive is sometimes a challenge. I now have a scamp 16 and tow it with a Toyota 4runner with 195 hp and it does a super job. Control seems much better with rear wheel drive.

thanks for the input. We're leaning pretty hard at the Scamp 13'. I think we are going to order soon.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by cmartin748

I towed a 13 foot scamp for years with a Toyota Corolla with 123 hp four banger. It did a good job however, towing with front wheel drive is sometimes a challenge. I now have a scamp 16 and tow it with a Toyota 4runner with 195 hp and it does a super job. Control seems much better with rear wheel drive.

Compare your 4runner to a front drive CUV instead of a Corolaskate for towing a Scamp13.
You'll see that its the chassis and not so much the drive train which determines the "challenge".