I believe Floyd tows with a Ford
Escape. A fine tow vehicle for a FGRV, even if it is not the supreme TV that a Scion xD is... (just kiddin' with ya, Floyd)
I have no problem with people using a truck or SUV to tow a
Scamp. I have a problem with people who claim that you NEED a truck or SUV to tow a
Scamp. Small FGRVs were designed to be towed with small cars from the 1970s. Today's small cars are MUCH more capable as tow vehicles as those from 40 years ago. Cars are safer and more powerful these days. They also have better
brakes and more accident preventing electronics. I have towed with cars from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Every decade brings improvements. Towing with my xD is a breeze. I have towed my cargo trailer for about 5,000 miles. I have only towed the Scamp for about 600 miles. Considering that my car only has 45,000 miles on it, that is a lot of towing. I have had a trailer in tow for more than one mile out of every ten. It has performed admirably. I would not tow a 3,000 pound trailer with it... that's what we have a diesel van for.
My boat weighs about 6,000 pounds on the trailer, and our 160 horsepower Chevy van tows it well, as does out 156 horsepower Mercedes van. The interesting thing to note is that the Chevy produces 160 horsepower out of 6.5 liters and the Mercedes produces 156 horsepower out of just 2.7 liters. Gotta love that modern technology! Oddly enough, the Mercedes is rated for just 6,000 pounds (in the US), but tows better than the Chevy. In Europe, I believe the Mercedes van is rated for 9,000 or 10,000 pounds. It's been a while since I researched it, so I could be a bit off. We tow the boat with the Chevy most of the time because it also carries 8 passengers... the Benz only has two seats.
My Scion xD is NOT a good TV for heavy trailers. I cannot tow a 2,500 pound pop-up camper with it. I cannot tow a 5,000 pound travel trailer with it. I cannot tow my 6,000 pound boat with it. We have a truck for that (okay, two trucks). However, the xD is GREAT for towing a lightweight camper like the Scamp. It is great for towing my 400 pound cargo trailer with a few hundred pounds of cargo. It gets great fuel economy, is more comfortable than the vans, and is rated to tow such loads. Yes, I could use one of the vans for towing a mattress on my cargo trailer, but why would I? When I tow the cargo trailer, I always get better than 30 MPG. I often get mid-30s. Then engine does not run hot. The oil analysis does not show excessive wear, even over extended intervals. It does the job well. Even an emergency stop when a deer jumped out in front of me was not even butt-puckering. The car and trailer stopped quickly and predictably.
Cars are good at towing small trailers, and trucks are good at towing big trailers.
Casita
Prairie Schooner
NO YOKE
Congratulations! We're coming up on our fourth season with our EggCamper and we love it.
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