First I would like to say I am thrilled at having found this wonderful site. This will be the first camper i have ever owned. I cant believe all the helpfull replys im getting.Im 57 and have tent campped alot my whole life.This will be my first trailer.I was looking for a older very light weight 12 foot trailer for around $1500 to $2000. I live in a very rural area of the ozarks and the pickings are few. After 2 months looking I came across this 14 Ft. camper( Just the trailer itself is 14 Ft. Thats not including the tongue.) The unladen( I guess that is dry weight. I don't even know if that includes the stove, refrigerator, cushions etc.)is 3000 pounds. Is that not on the very heavy side for that length of trailer. I was seeing a lot of trailers way too far away from me to go look at that weighed 1800 to 2200 pounds.I am thinking of passing it by because of the weight. I have a compact ford ranger truck. And also it seems like my gas mileage would be A LOT better with a lighter camper

you fuel economy will suck no matter what you tow.It may suck a bit less with a lighter trailer but still sucks.it sounds like it is an older steel made trailer. Without some models and a year it would be hard to tell.BTW, where did you get the 3000lb figure from?

Your best bet is to get permission to take the trailer for a test run and while doing that go to a scale and weigh it. I would guess you will find the weight at about 1400.

The 3000 pounds is on the trailer title. Yes I plan on having it weighed. I know my local mfa farm supply feed store has weigh scales .I bye hay bales by the ton. I have googled truck weigh scales. I'm going to call and see if I could have it weighed there. I am SO hoping it weighs less. I just found this trailer add last night.

Mileage will likely suffer from wind resistance just as much, if not more than from the weight.I used a Pontiac Vibe to pull a 14 foot boat. The boat weighed 210 pounds. Add in the trailer and a 10 hp motor and you only come up with something around 450 pounds. My highway miles dropped a good 10 miles per gallon hen towing this little boat. When a skinny vehicle tows something wider than itself, it's like throwing out an anchor. And Ford rangers generally do not get that great of mileage in the first place.

If the body of the trailer is 14' long, then the overall length is in the range of 17' or 18'. The 3000# weight rating on a title is probably it's gross weight, which isn't bad for that length trailer.

Weight of 14 foot trailer | Good Sam Community

colliehauler
Explorer III
Aug 01, 2013
What motor and transmission do you have in the Ranger?
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Aug 01, 2013
That weight sticker thing is pretty recent, and since the O.P. is looking in the under-$2,000.00 price range I doubt he's going to be looking at any trailer with such a sticker on it.
beemerphile1
Explorer
Jul 31, 2013
rivertrails wrote:
Ive decided to not go over 1900 dry pound weight.

Forget the dry weight, it is a meaningless and usually incorrect number used by the marketing department to sell trailers to unsuspecting newbies.

Every trailer built has a federally mandated id tag outside near the left front corner. That tag will list the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) which is the maximum weight the trailer and contents can safely weigh. Use that number for comparison and assume that when loaded and traveling, you will be at or near that weight.
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Jul 31, 2013
rivertrails wrote:
Ive decided to not go over 1900 dry pound weight.

Well, that narrows it down quite a bit, especially for trailers one can stand up in without popping up.

Some molded fiberglass trailers will come in at or under that dry- especially the older ones. The 14 ft. '78 Trillium 4500 I tow behind my 2,000 pound-limit Kia weighs around 1500 pounds dry.

Don't expect big holding tanks, though...or ANY holding tanks other than freshwater and a porta-potty. One way to keep the weight down...
rivertrails
Explorer
Jul 31, 2013
Ive decided to not go over 1900 dry pound weight.
PAThwacker
Explorer
Jul 30, 2013
Sounds like the OP is talking about a popup. Those 2800 to 3000lb numbers sound right for the 12ft to 14ft pup. Our pup 12ft w/slideout and front storage was 18.3 feet long and barely fit in the garage. It weighed 3100lbs wet, and overall quality was junk.
69_Avion
Explorer
Jul 30, 2013
beemerphile1 wrote:
Ford Ranger? You better stick to looking at pop up (tent) trailers and forget about travel trailers.

I think that is good advice to be on the safe side.
beemerphile1
Explorer
Jul 29, 2013
Ford Ranger? You better stick to looking at pop up (tent) trailers and forget about travel trailers.
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Jul 28, 2013
Dunno what year your Ranger is, but a buddy of mine has a 2005 manual tranny Ranger xtra cab and he says its tow limit is only 1500 pounds. Which I find hard to believe since my KIA's limit is 2,000!

Anyway...you might want to look up the numbers on your particular truck before shopping much more.
rfryer
Explorer
Jul 28, 2013
I agree that’s probably a 17 or 18’ TT and the weight sounds like it’s in the ballpark. I have a 1989 16” TT that has a GVW of 3000#. But I don’t think I’d be happy pulling it with a Ranger, I’d be more inclined to think PU with that TV. Or a teardrop or lighter TT. Weight is a factor, especially if you’re climbing hills, but wind resistance of a higher TT is a biggie and your gas mileage will not be very good in any case.

You’d likely do better in that respect with a bigger TV because the engine wouldn’t work so hard. I pull mine with an F150 5.4 and it gets the same mileage towing as it does solo town driving.