recommendations on light weight campers
Hi, I'm thinking about purchasing a tow behing trailer, but my wife and I's vehicles have a 3500lb towing capacity I dont know much about trailers, so decided to ask you folks. We need somet...
Forum Discussion
I have over the years twice towed close to my vehicle's rated capacities. I knew what I was getting into and what the limitations would be. So it's doable and I see no reason why a mini-van couldn't tow a small trailer. We towed a 17ft hybrid with a min-van and it worked fine. But the limitation is staying within a few hours of home and avoiding mountains. That's not necessarily bad as you can still have a lot of fun close to home. At the time it was also only my wife and I and a fairly limited amount of "stuff".
However, there is much to be said for having a capable and appropriate tow vehicle for the job. Our old Trailblazer towed our old 17 ft hybrid (3500# GVWR)like they were made for each other. Mountains were no trouble. It handled our current X20E hybrid (4750# GVWR) fine in WI, but I would never have used it to tow this trailer in mountains. Huge difference with our GMC Sierra with 5.3. It doesn't even sweat while towing the X20E and I get better than 11 mpg.
Here's the point, your kids are little now but growing. They get heavier and require more toys as they get bigger. A small TT might be too small in 3-5 years. Moreover, in only a year or two you will most likely need something bigger than a mini-van to tow even a small trailer. RVing is not cheap, but dollar for dollar its a far better vacation than being couped up in a motel room.
One thing's for certain, even with a hard sided trailer, you can't control the weather. I don't know what Western MMA is, but in WI, even in July it can be cold and wet. I've used the heat in mid-July at night in central WI, and we were near Eau Claire this past weekend and it poured buckets on Sat and got down in the low 50s on Sunday night. Unless you live down south or in southern CA, if weather is a concern, RVing may not be for you.
However, there is much to be said for having a capable and appropriate tow vehicle for the job. Our old Trailblazer towed our old 17 ft hybrid (3500# GVWR)like they were made for each other. Mountains were no trouble. It handled our current X20E hybrid (4750# GVWR) fine in WI, but I would never have used it to tow this trailer in mountains. Huge difference with our GMC Sierra with 5.3. It doesn't even sweat while towing the X20E and I get better than 11 mpg.
Here's the point, your kids are little now but growing. They get heavier and require more toys as they get bigger. A small TT might be too small in 3-5 years. Moreover, in only a year or two you will most likely need something bigger than a mini-van to tow even a small trailer. RVing is not cheap, but dollar for dollar its a far better vacation than being couped up in a motel room.
justaskin wrote:
We have no intention of siting it. I would only be durig nice weather vacation ( cant stand the cold.)
we have 2 kids under 7..
One thing's for certain, even with a hard sided trailer, you can't control the weather. I don't know what Western MMA is, but in WI, even in July it can be cold and wet. I've used the heat in mid-July at night in central WI, and we were near Eau Claire this past weekend and it poured buckets on Sat and got down in the low 50s on Sunday night. Unless you live down south or in southern CA, if weather is a concern, RVing may not be for you.
