Opinions on Alto Safari Condo and Vehicle
I decided to put our summer tenting to the side, buy a small modified tear drop and tour the US for several months as a retirement present. It'll just be 2 of us and because we live in NYC this will ...
Forum Discussion
I first saw the Alto on the web about 5 years ago and wanted one. Too much money for my budget, however... and back then they would not sell in USA anyhow, but it sounds like that has changed. They are attractive, innovative, useful trailers. If that's what you want and you can afford it, follow your dream.
Any vehicle that comes with a 3500 lb tow rating (and 350 lb hitch weight rating) should handle this trailer just fine. Realistically the Alto will probably weigh 2500 lb or more when loaded, and likely the tongue will weigh 300 or even 350 depending on where the water tanks are and whether they are full or empty. For a long trip there is just no use skimping on tow vehicle. You want a little extra safety margin.
I don't know if there are many cars with that tow rating. The Toyota Camry, perhaps? But there are plenty of small SUVs and crossovers and minivans that will do the job. And really the fuel economy while towing will probably be very similar among most of them... I would suspect around 15 to 18 mpg for a low profile trailer like that. One exception would be a small diesel such as in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which might net you low 20s. Another type of vehicle that might save you gas would be something with a 4 cylinder and a manual transmission (Toyota Tacoma comes to mind, 3500 lb rating) but you certainly will be moving slowly up any long grades in mountain areas with something like that.
You might look at Ford Escape with the 2L Ecoboost, Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota Highlander, Jeep Cherokee V6 or the Grand Cherokee, Mercedes ML series, or similar.
Any vehicle that comes with a 3500 lb tow rating (and 350 lb hitch weight rating) should handle this trailer just fine. Realistically the Alto will probably weigh 2500 lb or more when loaded, and likely the tongue will weigh 300 or even 350 depending on where the water tanks are and whether they are full or empty. For a long trip there is just no use skimping on tow vehicle. You want a little extra safety margin.
I don't know if there are many cars with that tow rating. The Toyota Camry, perhaps? But there are plenty of small SUVs and crossovers and minivans that will do the job. And really the fuel economy while towing will probably be very similar among most of them... I would suspect around 15 to 18 mpg for a low profile trailer like that. One exception would be a small diesel such as in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which might net you low 20s. Another type of vehicle that might save you gas would be something with a 4 cylinder and a manual transmission (Toyota Tacoma comes to mind, 3500 lb rating) but you certainly will be moving slowly up any long grades in mountain areas with something like that.
You might look at Ford Escape with the 2L Ecoboost, Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota Highlander, Jeep Cherokee V6 or the Grand Cherokee, Mercedes ML series, or similar.
