new light weight camper

I have a Skyline Nomad 173 that I have weighted at 2200 pounds bone empty. I tow it with a Nissan Quest and it's a nightmare.

However, the good news is that I have tested it with a Honda Ridgeline and it tows like a dream.

I think with the small trucks, you better just try it out first. With a Tacoma, you can plug in an brake controller and give it a shot.

Mine had to be wired for me, that was an even bigger disaster.

But, camping is fun! :)

bruce and tanya wrote:
Looking for a new camper. We have a Toyota Tacoma, able to pull 6500# max. We were looking at the Koala camper and the Freedom Express. We like the rear living room with the recliners in the back. RLS model. We want the slide also. Are there any other campers out there that will fit our needs.

I pull my Funfinder 189FDS with a 2006 Frontier, V6, 4WD, six speed manual. The Frontier is nearly identical in size and capacity as the Tacoma. My funfinder weighs right at 3900 pounds ready to roll. I consider this to be a good match of travel trailer to truck. Even though the Frontier also has a 6300 pound towing capacity, as others have pointed out, in order to get the correct tongue weight, you would run out of rear axle payload before any other limit. Probably the upper limit of good matchup for this class truck is more likely a travel trailer of about 4500 pounds.

Dadmomh- dry weight has appliances and furnace and ac but no propane or battery and none of the dealer installed options from what I understand. The yellow sticker on the trailer should include those items but it will still weigh even more after the owner adds their dishes, toiletries, clothes, chairs, tools, leveling blocks, food, hoses, extension cords, wood (if it isn't in tow vehicle), possible air compressor, maybe a generator, and the list goes on. People don't realize how quickly this stuff adds up, how it affects tongue weight and how that affects the tow vehicle. Many also think they can fix tongue weight by loading stuff to the rear of the tt but then fail to understand how off loading the tongue can cause a sway issue. It all boils down to education and research. I can fully admit as a newbie I didn't know what I didn't know or even what questions to ask or research. I was grateful for posts that helped open my mind up to more things to research for myself. I feel it has made me a better rver understanding these things and knowing that even with 2 1/2 yrs under my belt I am still a relative neophyte and have a lot to learn.

My understanding is that base weight and dry weight are the same and fictional since they do not include any of the items I mentioned. You are right that if the dealer adds anything such as a slide awning or other, then that is added to the weight shown on the yellow sticker as it left the factory. If that is not correct, I stand corrected. But many folks new to shopping for a camper see the lower weight and think that is what the one they're actually looking at weighs. Far be it for a salesman to point out that the rig actually weighs considerably more.

I towed a TT similar to this one with a Tacoma with a tow package a few years ago (it was a Tracer model that's not made anymore). I wouldn't tow anything more than this with it (length or weight). This is a pretty good match for the Tacoma, but I wouldn't take the combination to the Rockies. Remember, you're basically towing a wall into the wind... Passport 199ML.

Dadmom I think you better do a little more research your self trailers are not sold by base weight without appliances, the yellow sticker is weight as living factory and if anything is added by dealer and weigh is more than 50lbs I believe they have to instal a new yellow weight sticker.

As stated above you need you think about weights and usage of the tt. some rv resorts limit age of tt, some national parks dont fit longer tt, you have to realize the longer you go, you trade off some nice sites. If you boondock you want larger tanks if you will always have full hookup then tank size doesnt matter, Also I would not tow a 26 ft TT with a taco. It will not be a comfortable feeling.

now lets discuss what you can tow. Instead of telling you what you can tow, I'm gonna show you how to correctly figure this out. This way a salesman won't sell you something you really can't tow.

You need to know more about your trucks capabilities than just my truck can tow x lbs. (I learned this the hard way). Most TV are limited by their payload. To find out your TVs true towing capacities then you need to go weigh it. Load the tv up with all occupants, pets, and cargo that will be in it when towing plus a full tank of fuel and then go weigh it at a local scale (www.catscale.com). Weigh each axle on a separate scale pad so it will give you a breakdown of front and rear axle weights individually and a total weight. Take the total weight and subtract it from your Trucks gvwr to get your available payload. Take the scaled Truck weight and subtract it from your Truck gcwr to get your adjusted towng capacity.

Now understand you will never tow an unloaded or dry trailer. Those numbers are somewhat irrelevant. You can either add the amount of weight of cargo you will tow to the dry weight (this is heavier than you think as most add 1000-2000 lb of gear) or simply use the tt gvwr to do your calculations. Being that this is your first tt, using the tt gvwr is the safer route for you. Next understand that the tt loaded tongue weight needs to be subtracted from your available payload. The loaded tongue weight is typically 13-15% of the loaded tt weight. For your purposes go wiith 13-15% of the tt gvwr. Remember you will need a good wdh. Sway control can be determined by the size of the trailer. For less than 26' you can typically get a friction sway bar and be ok. For over 26' you want a wdh with integrated sway control like the Reese dual cam or equal-I-zer. You can use integrated sway control for a smaller trailer and many will argue about which is better to use at that size (they each have pros and cons). Hope this helps you understand why we say no way to 6500 lb towing capacity.

Am I understanding that an Apex that weighs 7000 GVWR is being suggested for a tow vehicle with a 6500# rating?? I'm not sensational at math, but something seems wrong here, regardless of the quality of the product. That means they're overweight before they get started.

OP, base weight means absolutely nothing because there's likely never been a trailer leave the factory as "base"....that means no appliances, no A/C, no furnace, no awning, no propane tanks even empty. If you could get that, you wouldn't want it. Suggest you ignore that figure completely. As hard as it is, you need to do more homework on weights, towing, capacities, etc. THEN start shopping. Right now, IMHO, you're doing it in reverse. Find out about the horse first, then shop for the cart. Sorry. You may find that compromise is in order unless you shop for a new horse.

Our new Rockwood Ultra Lite 2604 is essentially the same forest river linked to, but ours is 26'04" box and 29' bumper to ball. Out the factory door, the honest to goodness, true, ready to load weight was 6629#. Finding it tough to believe the CCC of the model linked could be over 2000# And it's a bit longer. We're towing with an '03 F150CC with 5.4 and factory tow package. Regardless of what the numbers say, especially since some are fictitious numbers to begin with, you will NOT be happy towing that trailer or similar size with your current tow vehicle. I can tell you this for sure, it's a dynamite floorplan with amazing utilization of space. And we love the rear living area and the swivel rockers. There is nothing bad we can say about it. But if it's truly considered in the 26' size, you need to be looking in more of the 23 - 24' size. Rockwood makes a series called the Mini Lites and there are several nice plans available, although don't recall a rear living area with the chairs. But the weight might be more appropriate for you. Suggest you do a search on the "80% rule" or the "1000# rule". In a nutshell, after you have everything loaded and ready to pull out of the driveway, you should not weigh over 80% of the GVWR or should have 1000# wiggle room. So, you should not be considering anything that's going to weigh over about 5500# including food, clothes, everything including the chips. I know it's a bummer, but I honestly don't think you're going to find everything you'd really like in a trailer that works with your tow vehicle.

star 2008 wrote:
APEX Ultra-Lite Travel Trailers

Hitch Weight 681 lbs. (309 kg)

:S

So you're advising someone that has a tow vehicle with a cargo capcity of around 1250lbs to get a trailer with a dry hitch weight of 681 lbs? Then to think you add cargo, water, batteries, and propane, you'd probably be looking at hitch weight over 850 lbs. I guess that would work if you only want to have two adults in the truck...:R

I like the Lance lineup myself and am looking into getting a 1575 shortly. I think you will be very impressed by the overall quality of their trailers.