mountainkowboy wrote:
babock wrote:
SoundGuy wrote:
Last Train wrote:
I’ll generally support what SoundGuy has said with one major exception. Our tow vehicle is a 2011 Honda Ridgeline - not a Pilot.
Memory lapse - Ridgeline, not Pilot. ;) My point though was I personally wouldn't feel comfortable towing this size of trailer with anything less than a V8 1/2 ton, which the Ridgeline isn't ... I'll correct my post though so as to not be imprecise. :R
I agree...wheel base is WAY to short. I have towed with short wheel base vehicles like that in the past and it was not fun going down mountains in California.
The wheelbase of the ridgeline is 125". Wheel base of my Silverado is 143".
The 192 was designed to be towed by SUV's and mid-size trucks. People that own them report camping weights around 4,600lbs or so, which is well within the abilities for these class vehicles. They do not require a 1/2 ton truck that's rated to tow twice that weight. It's no different than an F350 towing a 38' 16K trailer behind it. If your not comfortable towing close to your vehicles ratings that's fine...but quite making it sound like it isn't safe to use the trailer as it is designed.
I started reading this thread while on a short break/fuel stop from towing our 192 RBS back from almost a week in the Texas Hill Country (Garner State Park for other Texas folks). And the thoughts shared about this TT caused me to reflect a bit on how this rig works for us in real life. In no particular order . . .
Towability: It just tows easily with stability in all kinds of regimes. Just today, for instance we left the park southbound through a hilly area in good weather and soon turned eastbound toward San Antonio on US 90. Point being that after starting off in a leisurely way, fairly soon we were negotiating freeway traffic in our nation's 7th largest city on I-10 through town. Lots of attention had to be given to a number of lane changes while keeping our speed up with traffic flow (60-62 mph). And at one point had to punch our Ridgeline up to almost 70 mph to move away from a semi that needed to move into our lane. Never a hint of sway or instability or anything that gave me an uncertain feeling.
Another aspect to consider is how this trailer handles in fairly tight spaces. For example this afternoon we made a fuel/food stop at Buccee's in Luling on I-10. (For non-Texans, this is a franchise that features a massive retail store that hosts multiple fuel pump islands that many RV'rs use.) The huge parking lot was jammed and every lane on both sides of every pump island was filled. So yours truly had to keep circling around the multiple islands - while maneuvering around a horde of cars zipping through the parking lot - and being ready to zip in to the first available pump island. Aside from having to circle three times, when a lane opened up we were able to grab our fueling opportunity without having an awkward series of "towing gyrations."
About an hour further east on I-10 we ran into heavy rain that caused us to slow down, of course, but the rig was sure-footed on the wet highway, as well. No problems keeping up with moving traffic.
Flexibility/Utility: Our 192 RBS came with two tables: one Coachmen styled as a dining table that could be stored under the queen bed and another table suspended from the roof of the pass-through. We pretty quickly ditched the "dining table" (it now has become a sewing table for my wife) and now use TV trays for the two of us when we eat inside. On this trip to Garner, we co-camped with friends who were in their class C. It was our turn the other night to host our dinner, so we simply moved the table from the pass-through and set it inside in front of the sofa. Wife and I sat on our collapsible ottoman facing our friends. Tight quarters just a bit, but we were not cramped or hindered in any way from the four of us enjoying our meal inside our trailer. It's a couple's camper, for sure. But it is flexible enough to do some not so obvious things. (By the way, our friends readily noticed the large amount of storage inside, and we pointed out that we actually had not used all of it yet.)
These are just a couple of examples of how we have enjoyed our 192 RBS. It's well matched to our truck (we spent a year researching the best choice to tow behind our Ridgeline) and it creates a big smile on our face while we are traveling and while we are camping. It's not perfect, of course. But it is truly a great couple's camper.
