First time prospective RV buyers

[mkem]

Hi all,
We are a family of four from Burnaby, BC looking at purchasing our first RV.
We have a 2015 hybrid Toyota Highlander and would love to get some input from others towing with that vehicle.
We were considering the 19' Escape but are concerned that it's over what our vehicle could easily handle.
Also, would love any general advice on what to look for in a lightweight camper trailer.
Thanks so much!
Marta

[thrifty bill]

With a max towing capacity of 3500 pound its not going to handle a 19 Escape. Hitch weight is limited to 350 pounds as well, the 19 is going to be over that.

1. Ignore dry weights that are listed on websites and in pamphlets. Instead, look at weights in the real world. Trailer dry weights are a joke.

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

2. Hitch weight is commonly 10 to 14% of trailer weight, so you will run out of it first. Towing with too little tongue weight can be very dangerous.

http://www.gmc.com/gmc-life/trucks/w...fe-towing.html

3. Decide how much you want the Escape 19 versus how much you want the Highlander.

4. We love our 19 Escape, its a really nice trailer choice. In our case, we pull with a F150, 54.V8, 9,800 pound tow rating, 1000 pound tongue weight limit (with weight distributing hitch). But we run out of payload capacity long before reaching those figures.

5. Towing with a marginal/too small tow rig is no fun. There is surely someone out there doing it, that does not make it a good idea.

In addition, with the Toyota, you are going to run out of GCWR early if you carry many passengers, or much else in the car: "Toyota's specifications for the Highlander HV note. The GCWR is 8,780 lbs., and the curb weight is 4861 lbs. Assuming a 3,500 lb. trailer and a 50 lb. trailer hitch, that leaves 8,780 - 4,861 - 3,500 - 50 = 369 lbs. for the driver and a passenger and/or cargo. If you want to carry more passengers and/or cargo, then the trailer's weight must be correspondingly reduced."

Note, I haven't found verification on that GCWR limit above. (GCWR Gross Combined Weight Rating). Check with your local dealer.

V6 Highlander with the towing package has a much higher tow rating.

[EricAllyn]

There is a thread on here about towing with highlander -- don't remember exactly the thread title, but was a lot of discussion about the up and downside of that tow combination.

[Mitzi Agnew-Giles]

When I fell in love with my Snoozy I knew we would have to buy a new to us tow vehicle. I also knew we'de have at least 6 months to search, as there is about that length wait time for about any built to specification FG trailer.
Snoozy had never been my 1st choice. I lurked on RVTravel.com for 12 YEARs prior to that choice. Plans changed from a motorcycle popup to a stealth van to a Teardrop to an Rpod to a FG. Looking over the internet, I had really thought Rpod to be the answer. Thank God we saw one in reality prior to ordering! Did not like how we fit in the interior at ALL.

[vanwinkp]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

With a max towing capacity of 3500 pound its not going to handle a 19 Escape. Hitch weight is limited to 350 pounds as well, the 19 is going to be over that.

1. Ignore dry weights that are listed on websites and in pamphlets. Instead, look at weights in the real world. Trailer dry weights are a joke.

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

2. Hitch weight is commonly 10 to 14% of trailer weight, so you will run out of it first. Towing with too little tongue weight can be very dangerous.

Tongue Weight Is Key To Safe Towing - GMC Life

3. Decide how much you want the Escape 19 versus how much you want the Highlander.

4. We love our 19 Escape, its a really nice trailer choice. In our case, we pull with a F150, 54.V8, 9,800 pound tow rating, 1000 pound tongue weight limit (with weight distributing hitch). But we run out of payload capacity long before reaching those figures.

5. Towing with a marginal/too small tow rig is no fun. There is surely someone out there doing it, that does not make it a good idea.

In addition, with the Toyota, you are going to run out of GCWR early if you carry many passengers, or much else in the car: "Toyota's specifications for the Highlander HV note. The GCWR is 8,780 lbs., and the curb weight is 4861 lbs. Assuming a 3,500 lb. trailer and a 50 lb. trailer hitch, that leaves 8,780 - 4,861 - 3,500 - 50 = 369 lbs. for the driver and a passenger and/or cargo. If you want to carry more passengers and/or cargo, then the trailer's weight must be correspondingly reduced."

Note, I haven't found verification on that GCWR limit above. (GCWR Gross Combined Weight Rating). Check with your local dealer.

V6 Highlander with the towing package has a much higher tow rating.

Thrifty Bill-we have a 2013 Toyota 4Runner Limited v6 4x4 w/towing Package v6? We r going to order an Escape 21 in October.

What r your thoughts on using it to tow?
Thank you !! Bobby in Dfw area😎

[skyking]

Originally Posted by vanwinkp

Thrifty Bill-we have a 2013 Toyota 4Runner Limited v6 4x4 w/towing Package v6? We r going to order an Escape 21 in October.

What r your thoughts on using it to tow?
Thank you !! Bobby in Dfw area��

I towed a 17' Casita with a Tacoma V6, 6 speed and found it adequate, not great but it did pull fine on flat ground. Towing a 21' with a V6 is going to be tough but doable on flat ground. My Toyota would pull hard in the mountains and I was just towing 3200lbs. IMHO, I would not tow a 21' with a 4Runner, a lot more mass to start and stop.

[thrifty bill]

For a 21 foot Escape (great trailer by the way), you are really close.

The thing that really tested my first (undersized) tow vehicle was that we lived outside of Seattle at the time. A lot of the great camping was over the mountains in Central and Eastern WA state. So you had to pull some tough grades to get there. Objective was to escape the rain, as central WA is high desert, totally different climate than western WA. Pulling the Vantage grade on I-90 was a particularly tough climb, long and hot. By the time we got to the top heading west we were going 29MPH and the engine temperature was really hot (can only imagine tranny temperature, we didn't have a gauge back then).

Probably your biggest challenge will be with tongue weight. I don't see where Toyota recommends WDH with the 4 Runner. I would chase that down first and be careful with loading and packing. Figure a 19 foot Escape is about 10% lighter. I don't see any weights in the real world for a 21 Escape, so I would just bump the 19 weights up. Recognize there are some strange weights on that list, a couple of crazy light tongue weights that don't make any sense. Figure 14% tongue weight +/-.

To me, good trailer brakes will stop a trailer (within reason). But making it up a steep long climb, thats where you really test a vehicle's capacity. You don't want to have to adjust every route to avoid hills.

Also check the payload sticker on the driver's door. That will tell you the story: payload has to cover the weight of all passengers, driver, tongue weight from the trailer, trailer hitch weight and everything packed into the tow vehicle. It also has to cover the weight of any and all options added after the factory. On my truck, I have added two side steps, a bed liner, and a bed cap. All of those come out of my payload capacity.

[WaltP]

To sleep 4 you might look at the Escape 17B with bunk option.
Or a Parkliner, also with bunk option


Walt

[mkem]

Thanks everyone for the quick replies and the useful info. Will have to rethink this and research the Escape 17B with bunks....also looking at the Trillium Outback.
Thanks again.
Marta