We need advice, please about HC1 Studio and Lil Snoozy 2

[Rosie in Rockford]

Hello. I am Rosie from Rockford and I have been reading your Fiberglass RV forum posts for about 4-5 years. At long last it looks like we will buy our own little "egg". We are considering buying a Happier Camper Studio travel trailer. We actually got to see and touch a Studio recently and we just love those Adaptiv modules. They hold quite abit of storage.
1) We are hoping to tow with our '21 Subaru Ascent. We have learned about the Ascent's unibody frame and the owner's manual clearly states says "Use only the ball mount supplied with this hitch. Use the hitch only as a weight carryng hitch. Do not use with any type of weight distributing hitch." I have learned weight distribution hitches help prevent the travel trailer from swaying on the road. If our travel trailer is lightweight, such as the Happier Camper Studio is lightweight, will we probably need to be concerned with it swaying?
2)The owners manual also clearly says "Electric brakes or surge brakes are reccommended. Your Subaru's brake system is not designed to be tapped into the trailer's hydraulic brake system." Over the years I have spoken with Shaun at Lil Snoozy 2 and we like that trailer, too. I believe the Lil Snoozy 2 does not have electric brakes. I did not understand what Shaun described when I called Lil Snoozy 2 few years ago. Does anyone have thoughts about the Snoozy brakes with what our owners manual said?
3) We have seen Escape and Oliver travel trailers up close over the years. They are both tremendous rvs. Are all fiberglass coats equal? The Happier Camper salesman kept talking about the "HC1 Studio's gelcoat". Does anyone know if the Happier Camper fiberglass is good quality? The Oliver construction and quality cannot be compared - but it is too heavy for our Ascent as is the Escape trailer. The Ascent cannot tow more than 5,000 lbs and my husband does not want to buy a truck PLUS a camper. I am retired and my husband will turn 65 next year. He is not sure when he will retire.

We met many of you wonderful "egg" owners at a Hungry Mother rally a few years ago plus we went to an Escape rally in IL just before covid hit. I have also read and learned about Rvs from your forum over the years. Wish we could get a new tow vehicle but can't swing $$$ it right now....thus the Lil Snoozy 2 and the Happier Camper look promising to us right now for their weights and their prices. As former tent campers we are not looking for anything big, or with slide outs or with the fanciest bells and whistles. We just want a bathroom and a place to stay dry when it rains. A wet bath would be fine...it need not be a dry bath. I welcome and sure would appreciate anybody's thoughts and advice about my questions. All of a sudden we are looking at retirement finances but we don't want to stop camping! Please help!! Thank you all in advance and for the kindnesses you all showed a couple of rookies at these rallies....We hope to return the favors! God Bless.

[Raspy]

Weight distribution and sway control are two different things. If you want sway control, get a sway control system such as an electronic unit, or a friction sway control. Don't buy a WDH just to get sway control.

Not sure what you mean by tapping the car's brake system into the trailer's hydraulic brake system. Surge brakes do not tap into the brake system of the tow vehicle. The mass of the trailer pushes forward during braking and applies the trailer brakes, just as you do when you apply pressure to the brake pedal. The brakes are applied by a hydraulic system entirely separate from the car's system. Electric brakes can be actuated by the same deceleration, but by using a brake control that applies the trailer brakes electrically.

Surge brakes are very simple, but electric brakes are arguably safer because the brakes can be applied independent of the tow vehicle brakes, at the electronic controller. The only time surge brakes apply is when the tow vehicle is slowing down, or backing up a hill.

[Rosie in Rockford]

Thank you for your reply, Raspy. I have learned the Lil Snoozy 2 now comes with electric brakes so I don't have to worry about surge brakes. That is good.
I appreciate your help. I will look into learning about a sway control system. Take care!

[hrewer]

We tow an Escape 17B with a Toyota Highlander that has a maximum tow of 5,000 lbs. I believe the 19’ trailer could also be pulled with this car. You may have more options than you think.

[Air Doug]

We have a Lil Snoozy and in my opinion you don't need any kind of sway control. We have towed it for over 35,000 miles with almost never a sway issue. It tows extremely stably in all conditions. The one time it exhibited a slight tendency to sway was a short transport with a very light tongue (I can't remember what we were hauling now). In contrast, another time at freeway speed we came into stopped traffic in our lane and had very hard braking, a swerve into the next lane, and a swerve back, still braking. There was absolutely no loss of control during the maneuver. I was impressed then and remain so.

By the way, Lil Snoozy morphed to Snoozy II under new ownership, and is now changing to Snoozy Camper.

[ehoepner]

Sway issues are governed by three things.

1. Weight and balance. The majoring of the trailer weight must be on the hitch. 10 to 12 percent of the total trailer weight must be on the hitch. What is the hitch capacity of your Subaru? What is the hitch weight of your trailer when loaded?

2. Trailer leveling. The hitch of the trailer must be level with the back of the trailer or just a little below level. If the hitch is above level the trailer will begin to sway at higher speeds.

3. Driver steering. Hold the steering wheel tight and straight ahead.

Brakes, the best are the electric brakes. Electric brakes can be adjusted to activate at different levels depending on how hard you push the car brake pedal. The surge brakes only activate when you push the vehicle brakes, and the trailer pushes up against the trailer hitch. I have seen occasions when the vehicle was too light to activate the surge brakes. Not a pretty situation.

Towing capacity, when you are looking at towing capacity most often the weights you are looking at are empty weight. The question that needs to be included is the loaded weight of both the tow vehicle and the loaded weight of the camper. It is very easy to overload the tow vehicle with the stuff you take camping.

[Rosie in Rockford]

Thank you everyone for helping me learn about towing, sway control, surge
and electric brakes and weight and balance. Our Subarua Ascent is rated for 5000 pounds in towing capability. I don't happen to know the entire weight the Ascent can carry...I think that is called the gross vehicle weight. Does anyone tow with a Subaru Ascent? Also, do you know if there is a difference in the quality of the fiberglass and/or the gel coat between Happier Camper and The Snoozy II?
There are so many things to consider. It is abit mind boggling! Thanks!

[Mike Magee]

Check your Ascent owner's manual for the maximum allowed hitch weight. I don't know what it is. But as long as it's at least 350 lb I think you'll be fine. You do want to have between 10%-14% of your trailer's weight on the hitch, so if when loaded for camping it weighs 3000 lb you then want at least 300 lb of hitch weight (which probably can be checked with a bathroom scale). The reason for this is, the primary cause of sway is too little weight up front and too much in back of the axle. I once, loooong ago when I was a neophyte, towed a 4x8 utility trailer with a steel part hanging off the back which produced negative hitch weight, and I was almost all the way through a 3 hour drive when the trailer suddenly started to whip violently side to side. I almost changed the color of my undershorts that day!


Pick whichever one you like; I don't think there are serious differences in the 'quality' of the FG or the gelcoat. (Unless HC is putting some sort of magical, highly UV-resistant stuff in their gelcoat, perhaps?) Although, the Snoozy FG is a sort of honeycomb core and I think is therefore thicker than the HC1 FG, FWIW; it's just a different way of doing it, not necessarily better or worse.

[Mikmay]

The HC1 is a true double hulled fg trailer with the entire inside finished to the same degree as the outside fg with insulation between the shells , I believe the snoozy is single shell with some type of insulated interior ,at least the earlier models were but that may of changed with the new incarnation. Almost all fiberglass are produced in the same manner and while fg is an excellent product it still needs to be maintained and cared for over the years so I think fg quality is in the hands of both the manufacturers and the owner caring for it . I’ve seen 6 year HC1 s come in for servicing who’s owners have taken well care of their trailers and they still look brand new and I have seen 2 year old trailers with the fg already badly oxidized after being left in the elements and neglected.Not sure on the towing weights of the Snoozy and your Subaru but I do know there are a lot of HC owners towing with Subarus and seem content towing with them . The Studio will be around 400 lbs heavier than a standard HC1 so check your weight capabilities carefully .