Scamp 13 Towing with 2016 Prius

[lisantica]

I have since returned the hitch and wiring back to etrailer.com
I never even took the items out of the box.
I did have to eat the $30 shipping as it was my fault to buy a hitch for the Prius and think it would tow the Scamp.

I will continue to tow with the Sprinter, but there are times I just want to have a shorter rig for quick trips. My Sprinter/Scamp length is 35 feet combined.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by the_fixer

How is it that the rest of the world seems to manage towing with your average small car while everyone in the good ol US OF A needs a full size diesel pickup to to tow anything over the size of grande latte from Starbucks? Silly nanny state.

Dave, if you've ever been to Europe, you'd know that the "nanny state" is alive and well there, full of rules and regulations about towing that make ours look relatively simple. So the analogy breaks down immediately.

As for why or how they get away with towing with small vehicles, you have to look at the whole picture. Generally smaller and lighter trailers means smaller and lighter vehicles. As mentioned, the teardrop trailer in the video is under 1500 lbs.

Add a few other factors. They are at low altitude. That means more power generated by the tow vehicle. They are frequently on lower speed roads, mainly two lane roads, in places where the next stop or the next town is only a few kilometers away. It's hard to find wide open spaces or roads where the speed limit is more than 80 kph, and in many cases, 50 kph. It's just not the same conditions as here in North America.

Having said that - sure, there is a mentality here that leads toward bigger, faster, more powerful, but it's mainly driven by geography and infrastructure. The only way to get a true comparison is to make sure you're actually comparing apples to apples.

[floyd]

The experts have expounded for a couple of generations now on how to raise children. They have apparently succeeded. The effort to raise adults has diminished!
As a result, many now require a "Nanny State" to survive.
The problem now is to find enough adult "Nannies" to supervise our every decision.

[jvclarke]

I dont believe the Toyota pitch about the 0 towing capacity. I have towed a popup tent trailer thousands of miles even going over freeway passes at 5,00 feet at 65 mph. I had no trouble with anything nor with holding up traffic. I havent towed my 13' Scamp with it yet - but I can tell you I hated the milage I got on my '97 Nissan Pickup on a 2000 mile trip a few weeks ago - what I lost mileage was pretty bad.

[David B.]

Welcome to the FGRV forum family Joseph. This topic came up a few years back, and there was a woman in Florida that was towing a 13’ Scamp with her Prius. I was really interested since at the time we had a 13’ Scamp and a 2009 Prius, but since we have many mountain passes around Arizona, I was afraid to try it. We have since sold the Scamp and now have a 17’ Lil Snoozy. Hope you will be able to withstand all the negative feed back you are about to receive, if all goes like it did a few years back. Keep us informed how things go.
Happy Trails
Dave & Paula

[Glenn Baglo]

If I suggest it might be painful to hit yourself in the face with a maul, is that negative feed back?

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

If I suggest it might be painful to hit yourself in the face with a maul, is that negative feed back?

I see that as more cause & effect Glenn, the feedback comes later if it was applied .

[k0wtz]

i have tented 4x in Europe this means renting a car which no matter how much I fuss I always get a fiat 500. take my word for it this car is very underpowered put 1 more passenger in it and all our camping gear and stuff for 1 mo it is a car full!

it will get you where you want to go but it is ohhhh so slow and underpowered! we have been in all the tall mountains in all over Europe and they have some big ones Portugal was a big surprise. the whole trip I was worried if it was going to leave us on the side of the highway but we made it back to the airport every time.

while there I saw many campers pulled by luxury cars they must love camping to use an 80k car to pull a camper Mercedes, Audi and BMWs come to mind. they had the power and transmissions to handle the extra weight I think! i rarely saw a p/u truck either!

just my opinion but attempting to pull any camper of even the weight of a 13f scamper with a compact car is not to be considered at least by me and I have done a few things I wouldn't do now!

towing with our 2015 ford edge worries me but I am very careful when towing i am no where its towing limits by the way I have even installed a transmission temp. gauge to watch things especially climbing and I use paddle shifting to go out of 6 gear when approaching hills. I didn't know this but there is no way to easily check transmission levels or transmission fluid smell check in a ford edge by the way and no way to change the transmission filter either!

to me those manufacutures are using some very tricky things to get those Priuses and such to get those astounding mileage figures this includes the transmission and i wouldn't overload anything in them myself!

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by jvclarke

I dont believe the Toyota pitch about the 0 towing capacity. I have towed a popup tent trailer thousands of miles even going over freeway passes at 5,00 feet at 65 mph. I had no trouble with anything nor with holding up traffic. I havent towed my 13' Scamp with it yet - but I can tell you I hated the milage I got on my '97 Nissan Pickup on a 2000 mile trip a few weeks ago - what I lost mileage was pretty bad.

First, a Scamp will weigh more than 1200 pounds; 1500-1700 is more typical.

Second, a Scamp has a larger frontal area than a pop-up. That may be one reason mileage with the Nissan was so poor. The effect of frontal area will be greater with a Prius because it is so aerodynamic to start with. Add a headwind and things get worse.

A Prius is optimized for city and suburban commuting. A friend of mine blew the engine in his doing a lot of high speed, long distance travel. You could probably drive a 16P framing nail with a ball peen hammer if you're very patient and very careful. But it's not the right tool for the job, and I've broken a lot of tools that way. Towing a 13' Scamp with a Prius seems like a big gamble with a very expensive and very specialized tool.

[lisantica]

As the original poster to this thread, I have since abandoned the idea of hooking up my 2016 Prius to the 13' Scamp.
Much wisdom here brought me to this conclusion.

I still long for a solution with a small vehicle that gets great gas mileage just for quick overnighters or weekend trips.

[k0wtz]

lisa not bashing you i was just putting my tone on things and i know they don't amount for much.

if you want to try it go for it! i will back you all the way

bob

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by lisantica

...I still long for a solution with a small vehicle that gets great gas mileage just for quick overnighters or weekend trips.

Oddly, I doubt you will do better mileage-wise with any small gas-powered options than you now get with your very large diesel Sprinter. Maneuverability, of course, is another matter.

Were it not for the VW emissions scandal, a Golf or Sportwagen TDI would fit the bill perfectly... or not, as they only came with a 1000 pound tow rating in North America. Still, with abundant torque and manual transmission option, a VW TDI seemed a whole lot more viable than a Prius.

[lisantica]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Oddly, I doubt you will do better mileage-wise with any gas-powered options than you now get with your very large diesel Sprinter. Maneuverability, of course, is another matter.

It's true Jon, I do get some decent MPGs from my Sprinter. I use the fuelly app and seem to get 18-21 MPGs when towing depending on where I go. Flatland, I can easily get 21. It's just that a cargo van isn't as comfortable as a nice cushy automobile.

[lisantica]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

lisa not bashing you i was just putting my tone on things

No worries k0wtz, I like reading your opinions. I wish I could have seen some of Europe as you have.

[k0wtz]

the last time we went it was for 6 weeks using our tent we moteled it 2x. if i can get some cash together and get my back healed up i want to go one more time. most fantastic wx ever by the way!!!

bob

[David B.]

Lisa, you could try replacing your seats in the van with up-graded ones or RV seats to make it a comfortable ride. You could even change out the springs and shocks to give a softer ride.
Dave & Paula

[lisantica]

Originally Posted by David B.

Lisa, you could try replacing your seats in the van with up-graded ones or RV seats to make it a comfortable ride. You could even change out the springs and shocks to give a softer ride.
Dave & Paula

Those are great ideas and I believe the shocks are due for replacement anyway.

[redbarron55]

My VW Jetta TDI towed great and we're set up with the full Euro setup rated 15-1800 kilos.
25 mpg towing too
I let VW buy them back and replaced the towing with a 2016 Town & Country that gets 16-18 mpg towing the same 16' Scamp.

[k0wtz]

jd you come out about the same diesel much higher than unleaded here. I have a 98 beetle tdi and had a jetta tdi that vw bought back and both after repair costs I came out the same vs fuel cost and maintaince!


hard to find mechanics who will work on a tdi and if you do find a shop get all your cash out!!!


I wont buy any more deisals.




bob

[redbarron55]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

jd you come out about the same diesel much higher than unleaded here. I have a 98 beetle tdi and had a jetta tdi that vw bought back and both after repair costs I came out the same vs fuel cost and maintaince!


hard to find mechanics who will work on a tdi and if you do find a shop get all your cash out!!!


I wont buy any more deisals.




bob

I think you are right, Bob.
Back when there was a bigger split in gas vs Diesel I would have to get just 16 mpg to match the cost on fuel.
I was lucky on the repair cost except for the DPF on my 2009.
I had a great mechanic in Louisville only 350 miles away!
We loved driving the VW s on the highway and replaced one of the TDIs with a 2015 Passat 1.8 turbo that burns regular unleaded and gets close to 40 mpg and has great torque.
The T&C is a great TV had worlds of space, will carry that 4X8 sheet of plywood and the seats drop into the floor.
Rated towing 3600 lbs and will take a WD hitch.