New member looking for first trailer

[Excumbrian]

Hi folks,
About to go into semi-retirement in British Columbia and we will be looking to upgrade from tent camping to a new or used fiberglass camper, We drive a 2019 Subaru Outback (6 cylinder) with a towing capacity of 2700 lb, tongue weight capacity 200 lb.
We'd like the options of indoor cooking, a flush toilet, and possibly an indoor hand-held shower, but could make do with a portapotty and an outdoor shower. We'd probably be 3-season campers, doing long road trips in Canada and the US.
I'm interested in any advice and suggestions, especially from people who have towed trailers with a small SUV. We don't have any experience of RV camping other than having a look inside other people's trailers.

[Jon in AZ]

Welcome!

Your 200# tongue weight rating is going to be the limiting factor. You need a trailer with a fully loaded weight under 2000# to maintain at least 10% tongue weight for stable, sway-free towing. That limits you to a 13’er with a single LP tank on the tongue.

Scamp makes more 13’ers than anybody else, and that’s where I’d start looking. There’s a front wet bath model as well as a front sofa/bunk layout with a storage compartment for a porta-potty and the option of an outdoor shower. Both have a small but complete galley. There are deluxe versions with custom wood cabinetry if you prefer. A larger rear dinette bed (54”W vs. standard 44”W) is available, but it steals space from the galley and storage closet.

Happier Camper (Los Angeles) and Armadillo (British Columbia) also make 13’ models with bathrooms in some layouts. They’re both a step above Scamp in price and build quality.

13’ers are quite small- the cabin is only 10’ long and 6.5’ wide- so you’ll want to get a first-hand look before deciding if this will work for you. I was surprised at how roomy the front bunk layout feels and how efficiently the space is used. However, beds are small and storage is limited. We used ours with four people for over ten years, but we took shorter trips of up to a week at a time. We recently became empty nesters.

We tow our 13’ Scamp with a Pilot, and it does well in the mountains where we live. Since you will also presumably do a fair amount of mountain towing, I definitely wouldn’t go any larger. The H6 in your Subaru has the power, but the transmission is the weak link. Check the towing section of your owner’s manual for details and caveats. In many years of towing, my advice is not to push the limits of your vehicle. Choose a trailer that’s comfortably within your vehicle’s ratings, and don’t forget to factor in what you will carry in the vehicle besides the driver.

[Excumbrian]

Thank you for your reply. That's great advice -- much appreciated!

[Island Claire]

Welcome,


It seems that most used trailers are sold through online groups like Facebook market place. They go quickly so you need to be prepared for that.


Many of the trailer groups have Facebook groups, that like this one, provide excellent help. Most searches on google will pull up threads from this group and sometimes from Facebook groups.


Boler.ca has a good check list for buying a boler. It is good to familiarize yourself with this info as it is pretty typical of the fibreglass trailer issues.


There are some "local" groups of Fiberglass trailers in BC. Island Bolers and friends on Vancouver Island, BC Glass Eggs in the Vancouver area are two that I am familiar with. If you attend one of the Rallies, you will be able to talk with people about their trailers as well as have a look inside. check out the Rally map on this site for dates and locations.
Have fun, and maybe we will see you on the road.

[jerrybob]

Welcome!.....it's gonna be a tough fine for you....not sure what your price range is. Not having enough power can be an uncomfortable position to be in while towing. I personally like extra power but lots of folks tow with light rigs. Good luck in your search.....be safe out there.

[AP-Adventures]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Welcome!

Your 200# tongue weight rating is going to be the limiting factor. You need a trailer with a fully loaded weight under 2000# to maintain at least 10% tongue weight for stable, sway-free towing. That limits you to a 13’er with a single LP tank on the tongue.

Scamp makes more 13’ers than anybody else, and that’s where I’d start looking. There’s a front wet bath model as well as a front sofa/bunk layout with a storage compartment for a porta-potty and the option of an outdoor shower. Both have a small but complete galley. There are deluxe versions with custom wood cabinetry if you prefer. A larger rear dinette bed (54”W vs. standard 44”W) is available, but it steals space from the galley and storage closet.

Happier Camper (Los Angeles) and Armadillo (British Columbia) also make 13’ models with bathrooms in some layouts. They’re both a step above Scamp in price and build quality.

13’ers are quite small- the cabin is only 10’ long and 6.5’ wide- so you’ll want to get a first-hand look before deciding if this will work for you. I was surprised at how roomy the front bunk layout feels and how efficiently the space is used. However, beds are small and storage is limited. We used ours with four people for over ten years, but we took shorter trips of up to a week at a time. We recently became empty nesters.

We tow our 13’ Scamp with a Pilot, and it does well in the mountains where we live. Since you will also presumably do a fair amount of mountain towing, I definitely wouldn’t go any larger. The H6 in your Subaru has the power, but the transmission is the weak link. Check the towing section of your owner’s manual for details and caveats. In many years of towing, my advice is not to push the limits of your vehicle. Choose a trailer that’s comfortably within your vehicle’s ratings, and don’t forget to factor in what you will carry in the vehicle besides the driver.

Jon from Arizona, and Island Claire both have some wonderful advice!

Know that you are not alone in the BC Retiree segment! It’s not a bad place to be for sure.

My wife and I have pulled a 2016 13’ Armadillo since we bought it new in 2017 (from a dealer in Medicine Hat that had no idea what he was selling, as evidenced by the price we got it for!). Over that time, we’ve pulled our under 1,200lb beauty with a variety of TV’s …. a 2016 6cylinder Cherokee (adequate to the task, and similar in power to yours), a 2017 Grand Cherokee with 360 hp V8 (way over ‘adequate’ and lots of fun), and most recently with a 4 cylinder turbocharged Ranger (also fun!).

May I suggest to you … go and visit the places close to you in our lovely province (ie. go to Armstrong and visit Armadillo - meeting the brothers is a hoot!!! We bought our Armadillo - #3 off the assembly line - when they were still in lovely downtown Enderby, where we live). These guys are really easy to talk to and have LOADS of insight!).

Then there’s the folks at Escape … wow! That’s all I can say. … in Chilliwack. Well worth the visit! There’s more! Keep going.

Merry Christmas and we wish you all the best!

While our Armadillo doesn’t meet your requirements (no indoor potty - only a porta potty, and no shower), it comes close, and absolutely rates your attention to at least review. The Backpack totally meets the listed requirements.

Wish you well on your search!!!

[Mike Magee]

The 16' Scamp has a rather low tongue weight for its size. Judiciously loaded it might be possible to keep it right around 200 lb. It's a balance issue that could potentially lead to a sway condition, so IMO a friction anti-sway device would be an important addition for safety if anyone went that route.

[Jon in AZ]

Old post but worth reading...

Originally Posted by Carol H

...I towed a 16' Scamp side bath with an 07 Outback for 6 years. The Scamp was weighed many times and loaded for camping, with no AC, no water in the tanks, one propane tank & one battery and it weighed in with a total weight more often than not between 2500 to 2650lbs. Try as I might to keep weight down with *everything* needed for camping stored in the trailer (nothing in the rear of the car) the lightest I ever got the axle weight down to was 2150lbs & that was only one trip and I had left a number of items that I wished I had brought along at home. More common to have it weigh in at about 2300lbs on the axle. Any tongue weight below 220lb resulted in a not so stable tow when traveling on the highway at over 55 mph. It was most stable if the tongue weight was at 240lbs.

As others have indicated it was a good solid tow vehicle for the 16' Scamp but only if I exceeded the tongue weight limit of 200lbs (and put little in the rear of the car to compensate for that) but I did have to take it pretty easy over mountain passes etc. and often opted to take a longer less steep route if one was available.

Would I do it again if I didn't have to - nope. I have owned 4 Subaru's and the one in question had the least amount of miles on it after 6 years but it had the biggest repair bills. It was also the only Subaru I towed anything with. Mostly repair items that a number of mechanic's would/have suggested are all heat related and most likely directly related to the weight the car pulled over many miles...

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