Tom Trostel
Arlington, TX
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Joined: 10/11/2005
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Another choice would be 13' molded fiberglass trailers like Casita and Scamp make. Dealers will not tell you about them because they do not sell any. They're sold direct from the factory only. Approximate weight is 2000 lbs. loaded and ready to camp. They are more aerodynamic than a boxy trailer like the Fun Finder. Also they have less frontal area because they are shorter and narrower. Read more at fiberglassrv.com. There are many being towed with Escapes, Elements, RAV 4's, etc. Nice option for one or two campers who spend most of their time outdoors.
Tom
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Road Ruler
Canada
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Joined: 09/11/2003
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Caneman8434 wrote:
On the other hand, I've read posts on other sites that discussed smaller, more economic TTs and TVs where owners wrote that they used 4-cylinder Corollas and similar small engine cars to pull trailers way over their maximum towing capacity.
Comments?
I hear ya Caneman and in many cases they can work well if set up by professionals. This 4 cyl PT Cruiser seems to handle the aerodynamic TT very well in this case.
4 cyl PT Cruiser in towing test
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havedreamwilltravel
Southern California
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Road Ruler wrote:Caneman8434 wrote:
On the other hand, I've read posts on other sites that discussed smaller, more economic TTs and TVs where owners wrote that they used 4-cylinder Corollas and similar small engine cars to pull trailers way over their maximum towing capacity.
Comments?
I hear ya Caneman and in many cases they can work well if set up by professionals. This 4 cyl PT Cruiser seems to handle the aerodynamic TT very well in this case.
4 cyl PT Cruiser in towing test
MIGHT, just MIGHT be do-able....IF he was talking about an aerodynamically designed TT. But he's not. He's talking a full front, pulling a piece of plywood in the wind type of TT.
Airstreams are know to be tow-able by many cars/SUV's because of it's aerodynamics - which is why they are used extensively in these cases - it's just a different towing trailer.
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Road Ruler
Canada
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This 4 cyl Totota Corolla easily tow this small TT...
If anyone thinks they need something bigger than the Corolla no problem...
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Caneman8434
Tampa Bay, FL
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Joined: 08/06/2008
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Hmmmm, or should I say arghhhhh! Well, I did say that it was a weighty question. I need to digest all of this information. I'm overwhelmed with the amount of replies that I've received. Thank you so much. As a newbie to the towing world, I wanted to make sure that I didn't screw things up. I want a safe setup for my wife and I. I am afraid that I might have to give up on towing with my present vehicle, because I can't afford to replace it AND purchase a TT with a significant down payment (to keep the monthly payment low). If not, then I'm faced with going with a TT that may break the 80% rule, but not exceed the towing capacity of my TV of 3,500 lbs. and risk damaging my TV's engine/tranni, even with a load-sharing class III hitch with a tranni cooler and electronic brake assist.
Being that the wife wants a hard side TT with a "real" bathroom, and the hard-sided PUs/Hybrids are more expensive than an equally sized hard-sided TT, I'll probably go with the 13'9" Fun Finder X-139, or the 16' X-189FBR. I'll either live to regret it, or make our retirement dreams come true by traveling the country (carefully and slowly).
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Ron Gratz
full time RVer
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Joined: 12/27/2003
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Caneman8434 wrote:---I've found a deeply discounted 2008 left-over TT that meets my financial constraints and is 2107 pounds dry, has a GVWR of 3330 pounds, and a cargo capacity of 1223 pounds; more than any actual cargo I'll ever load into it and less than my 3500 pound towing limit. I now know that "dry" doesn't include the options that I might add to the TT and that fact means my true loaded weight may be closer to my towing limit than any of you would advise and is well beyond any 75 or 80 rule.
Please remember there is no "80% rule". There are only "80% opinions".
The "80% opinion" is often advocated as a tool to be used when you don't have a good idea of what the loaded TV will weigh. Unfortunately, some people apply the "80% opinion" and then load so much stuff into the TV that they end up exceeding the TV's rated towing capacity.
You could load your TV as you would expect it to be loaded for towing. Then find a scales and weigh it. This then gives you a very good basis for determining how much the loaded TT could weight without exceeding the TV manufacturer's ratings.
Ron
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