Hi, I'm Adam!

[inkslinger]

My wife and I just purchased a 1973 Trillium 1300 last night. It's in amazing condition: the previous owners really took care of it and it shows.

We put the cart ahead of the horse a bit and bought the trailer despite not owning a vehicle that can tow it (my wife can be very persuasive and kept telling me "we'll figure it out"). I'm hoping we can solve the vehicle situation soon, since I'd like to get the trailer out for a camping trip at least once before the summer is over.

Right now, I have no plans for customization, since the previous owners took such good care of it and upgraded a few things over the years (new cooktop, replacing the icebox with a fridge, the shiniest chrome hubcaps I've ever seen).

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to watching my 3-yo freak out in delight when the trailer gets dropped off in our backyard this evening.

[Jon in AZ]

Congratulations, Adam!

Love those all-around jalousie windows on the old Trilliums. You will make some great family memories.

Tow vehicle... Since you have a family, I would suggest looking for an SUV or minivan with a tow rating of at least 3500 pounds. You can get away with less- I'd expect your trailer to weigh around half that loaded and provisioned- but tow ratings are reduced if you travel with more than two people and/or extra gear. There are lots of options in the 3500 pound class, and that will leave some growing room.

Best wishes!

[JBB]

Congratulations and Welcome Adam!

[inkslinger]

Thanks for the advice, Jon! I'm looking forward to years of fond family memories (and no more packing up a tent in the rain).

[David Tilston]

Welcome fellow Albertan! There are several members of this web site from Alberta.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by inkslinger

My wife and I just purchased a 1973 Trillium 1300 last night. It's in amazing condition: the previous owners really took care of it and it shows.

We put the cart ahead of the horse a bit and bought the trailer despite not owning a vehicle that can tow it (my wife can be very persuasive and kept telling me "we'll figure it out"). I'm hoping we can solve the vehicle situation soon, since I'd like to get the trailer out for a camping trip at least once before the summer is over.

Right now, I have no plans for customization, since the previous owners took such good care of it and upgraded a few things over the years (new cooktop, replacing the icebox with a fridge, the shiniest chrome hubcaps I've ever seen).

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to watching my 3-yo freak out in delight when the trailer gets dropped off in our backyard this evening.

Welcome Adam,

We did the same thing and had our first fiberglass trailer delivered some 400 miles, then bought a tow vehicle. That worked fine until we bought a bigger trailer and needed a larger tow vehicle...

Anyway, you are going to make a lot of folks very happy on this forum. I don't know if there's anything people enjoy here more than telling you what tow vehicle you should buy!

[inkslinger]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

Anyway, you are going to make a lot of folks very happy on this forum. I don't know if there's anything people enjoy here more than telling you what tow vehicle you should buy!

Ha! I'll take whatever advice I can get at this point. I've never owned a trailer before and we always camped in tents when I was growing up, so this whole thing is new to me.

We're thinking of renting a truck to haul it to the scales for an accurate weigh-in before getting away for a weekend sometime soon. That'll give us a better sense of what kind of towing capacity we need when the trailer is fully loaded.

[RogerDat]

A well maintained Trillium will be a joy to camp in I'm sure. Many of the V6 mini-van and small SUV's will be rated at 3,500# towing. I expect not all but many. The larger Kia Sorento suv is for sure. Older Ford Escapes before they started using a Fusion chassis under them. Whole host of vehicles to pick from that is for sure.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by inkslinger

Ha! I'll take whatever advice I can get at this point. I've never owned a trailer before and we always camped in tents when I was growing up, so this whole thing is new to me.

We're thinking of renting a truck to haul it to the scales for an accurate weigh-in before getting away for a weekend sometime soon. That'll give us a better sense of what kind of towing capacity we need when the trailer is fully loaded.

Trailer weights very form moment to moment. When you leave with it fully loaded is when it's probably it's heavyest. Lightest on the way home. Next time you pack it it will probably be heaver. And so it goes.

One of our members here weight a number trailers as they came into a campground at fairly large rally. http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...rld-43010.html
You can go to the above and get a idea of what you're looking at.

[jbrish]

Congratulations! Not sure what your budget is for a tow vehicle, but we love our 07 Honda Ridgeline. It has a lot of cleverness built in. Its tow capacity is 5000 lbs, which is low for a truck but perfect for our needs. My only advice would be to actually test drive several vehicles which seems obvious, but sometimes is forgotten.

[inkslinger]

Originally Posted by jbrish

Congratulations! Not sure what your budget is for a tow vehicle, but we love our 07 Honda Ridgeline. It has a lot of cleverness built in. Its tow capacity is 5000 lbs, which is low for a truck but perfect for our needs. My only advice would be to actually test drive several vehicles which seems obvious, but sometimes is forgotten.

We're looking at something around the $10K range, which seems to have plenty of options for used vehicles that have the capacity we'd need. We're hoping to go with something that's smaller and more fuel-efficient, while still being a capable tow vehicle. A smallish SUV is likely what we'll end up getting, but we're open to suggestions and still investigating. In the meantime, I can probably borrow my mom's minivan for a weekend just to get the trailer out into the wild.

[jbrish]

One thing to consider is does your trailer have external storage? Where are you going to put wet/dirty things like mats, canopies, chairs, bbq etc? My trailer has zero external storage save for the black water hose in the bumper, so having somewhere to put all our other junk without worrying about making a mess when the weather turns is definitely a perk of a truck. We have a tonneau cover that's lockable too, so it's secure as well. Just a thought. I'll shut up now

[inkslinger]

Originally Posted by jbrish

One thing to consider is does your trailer have external storage? Where are you going to put wet/dirty things like mats, canopies, chairs, bbq etc? My trailer has zero external storage save for the black water hose in the bumper, so having somewhere to put all our other junk without worrying about making a mess when the weather turns is definitely a perk of a truck. We have a tonneau cover that's lockable too, so it's secure as well. Just a thought. I'll shut up now

I figured we'd just toss it in the back of the car, same as we did when we were tent camping, but the bed of a truck would be convenient for mats and canopies, in particular. Definitely worth a second thought. I'd love to pick up an old Ford Ranger (or similar small pickup), but my daughter is still in a carseat so we'd need a proper back seat, something the old Rangers tended not to have.

[Jon in AZ]

All our outside stuff has a bag or case. When we set up, all the little cases go inside the big awning case, and the whole thing stores in a dry place (under the trailer or in the vehicle).

When we break camp, everything goes back into its clean, dry case and into the car or trailer.

Even our bicycles go in the trailer. If needed, I always have some old towels to wipe them down.

They make waterproof liners for the cargo compartment of many vehicles. I'm cheap, so I just keep an old blanket there to catch dirt and absorb water drips.

There are good reasons to buy a truck, but I see this one as a non-issue.

[inkslinger]

I agree, Jon. That's essentially what we've always done when tent camping. The only real difference with the new trailer is that we'll probably have an outdoor carpet to lay in front of it for shoes and chairs, to help keep the inside clean.

[jbrish]

Fair enough. I wouldn't go buy a truck if I had something else, but they have bonuses if you are picking a tow vehicle for the first time. Getting a truck vs a van or SUV gives you the option to get something bigger down the road as well. I had no intention of towing when I bought my Ridgeline, but I'm glad I chose it now.

[MurrayC]

Good on you.
I like people that just GO FOR IT.
Enjoy

[Carl Pa]

I just flip the carpet in the cargo area of my Rav, its something like rubber, if it is a little wet or dirty, no harm done. carl

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by jbrish

Fair enough. I wouldn't go buy a truck if I had something else, but they have bonuses if you are picking a tow vehicle for the first time....

Guess I'm the opposite. With a family I'd choose a passenger vehicle every time unless I had a compelling reason to buy a truck. There are many passenger vehicles with tow ratings suitable for all but the largest molded trailers, from crossovers and minivans all the way up to full-sized traditional SUV's and large vans.

I've looked at the Ridgeline, mainly to make carrying bicycles easier while towing the Scamp. We're a 2-Honda family, Pilot and CR-V, and I really wanted to like the Ridgeline, but the back seat is just too small for my teenagers with their "stuff" on a long trip, and the seat backs don't recline. When not towing we occasionally make use of all 8 seatbelts in the Pilot. In addition, when it's 115* in Phoenix I appreciate having a climate-controlled cargo area.

I can see the Ridgeline working well for a couple with an active outdoor lifestyle and a small-to-mid-sized molded trailer.

[jbrish]

There I can agree. We don't have kids, just a little ugly dog lol, so it suits us fine. I could see wanting something else if you had more passengers. The backseat are ok, but not for super long trips. Lots of options out there for sure, it really depends on your family's needs.