Any Caravan (European style) trailers in US?

chr$ wrote:
Europe can have their lightweight trailers with the axles pushed forward to reduce the tongue (towbar) weight. I travel to Europe a lot, and frankly, it just scares me that they tow these things with the cars they have, and then to make it worse, the weight is balanced in the center, so they bob and sway like all get out.

Give me a weight distribution hitch and a heavy tongue behind a pickup any day of the week. Safe, smooth, sway free towing.

I tow 6,000# wet with a V8 Sport Trac and an Equalizer hitch with rancho shocks. Steadiest tow setup I have ever driven, and I can make it up a 6% grade at 55-60mph.

I have also been to Europe a lot and did not get that impression. Cars tow all time time over there with few problems.They use cars and Vans as TV's, very rarely SUV's
I know Baily Caravans has been trying to break into the Australian market, with a Caravan that has been modified and eventually built here. European Caravans and to a slightly lesser extent US Travel Trailers, do not cope that well with rough road conditions

Europe can have their lightweight trailers with the axles pushed forward to reduce the tongue (towbar) weight. I travel to Europe a lot, and frankly, it just scares me that they tow these things with the cars they have, and then to make it worse, the weight is balanced in the center, so they bob and sway like all get out.

Give me a weight distribution hitch and a heavy tongue behind a pickup any day of the week. Safe, smooth, sway free towing.

I tow 6,000# wet with a V8 Sport Trac and an Equalizer hitch with rancho shocks. Steadiest tow setup I have ever driven, and I can make it up a 6% grade at 55-60mph.

I have to agree with Avoidcrowds, people buy that they like and can afford. The manufactures produce what will sell, not what they think the public should have.

For those who complain about the construction methods and material used, the answer is simple; there are a host of custom builders who will build one to your exact specs. You can see them every week on the Travel Channel.

All it takes is money.

Problemm with European Travel-trailers can be that the rules for towbarloads are different in America and Europe.
America 10% to 15% towbarload for law.
Europe only 1% minimum and 10% maximum allowed .
So the EUR TT's are build so this Towbarload is between that and diffence is that the axle is placed more to the front.
Adviced in European TT sites is 5% to 7% .
Can be by putting as much heavy things in front you can go over that 10% minimum to law in America, but will be hard to manage.
Also this Towbarload for TT has its maximum allowed written on it , so possible 10% is not allowed by the TT-maker.

Seen lots of 25 ft trailers in Britain being towed by small cars, They make them real light.

If it helps any, this is what our "Alaska rig" looked like on our trip from Colorado to Alaska:



Granite Creek Campground near Hoback Junction, Wyoming--just south of Jackson Hole--the second night of the trip. No electricity, no RV dump, no TV, no WiFi, no cell service, but a water hookup--very unusual for a Forest Service campground. And, boy, did that shower feel good the next morning after having no hookups our first night on the road!

fanrgs wrote:

WhO2 wrote:
I don't want a full-sized truck so want to tow with a mid-sized SUV (currently drive and love a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 6200 lb tow capacity). It looks like 24 ft (give or take 2 ft) offers some good options.

Does anyone know of any other trailers similar in style to the Jay Smart and Caravans?

It's not a "European-style" trailer, but we towed our 2012 Rockwood Mini Lite 2109s to Alaska and back in 2013 with a Nissan Frontier King Cab 4x4. The 22' trailer had a GVWR of 4,770 lbs. and the Frontier was a mid-size pickup with a 265 HP, 4.0L V-6 and a towing capacity of 6,300 lbs. We averaged 13 MPG over the 10,000-mile trip, which consisted of about 90% towing and 10% non-towing miles. But we also seldom traveled with anything in any of the tanks to save towing that excess weight.

A Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 3.0L turbodiesel pulling that same trailer should get really exceptional mileage and would pull the Lower 48 and Canadian mountain passes with much less effort (ie., RPM's) than the Frontier. And with diesel fuel prices in Canada and the western U.S. now less than gasoline prices, the cost savings might pay for the diesel engine premium fairly quickly. We just returned from south-central Canada a week ago and generally paid at least 10 cents a liter less for diesel than the posted prices for regular gasoline.

PS--We got the hickory, not the dark cherry, interior wood in the Mini Lite and were very happy with the brightness of the interior. We also changed to LED bulbs to save on battery use when dry camping (we carry no generator to save on the generator and fuel weight).

I do have this model as one of the 10 or so I want to see before making a decision. It was the first one I ever entered on the document I keep of notes and pictures. Thanks for your input.

WhO2 wrote:
I don't want a full-sized truck so want to tow with a mid-sized SUV (currently drive and love a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 6200 lb tow capacity). It looks like 24 ft (give or take 2 ft) offers some good options.

Does anyone know of any other trailers similar in style to the Jay Smart and Caravans?

It's not a "European-style" trailer, but we towed our 2012 Rockwood Mini Lite 2109s to Alaska and back in 2013 with a Nissan Frontier King Cab 4x4. The 22' trailer had a GVWR of 4,770 lbs. and the Frontier was a mid-size pickup with a 265 HP, 4.0L V-6 and a towing capacity of 6,300 lbs. We averaged 13 MPG over the 10,000-mile trip, which consisted of about 90% towing and 10% non-towing miles. But we also seldom traveled with anything in any of the tanks to save towing that excess weight.

A Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 3.0L turbodiesel pulling that same trailer should get really exceptional mileage and would pull the Lower 48 and Canadian mountain passes with much less effort (ie., RPM's) than the Frontier. And with diesel fuel prices in Canada and the western U.S. now less than gasoline prices, the cost savings might pay for the diesel engine premium fairly quickly. We just returned from south-central Canada a week ago and generally paid at least 10 cents a liter less for diesel than the posted prices for regular gasoline.

PS--We got the hickory, not the dark cherry, interior wood in the Mini Lite and were very happy with the brightness of the interior. We also changed to LED bulbs to save on battery use when dry camping (we carry no generator to save on the generator and fuel weight).

icanon wrote:
....snip....

The problem is not weights and floor layouts it's that continued interiors of dull dark outdated 70‘s look! If only manufacturers can give us some other choices on interiors. So you say "people buy what they like" is not neccessary true they have no choice either you buy or don't go camping, me I rather go camping.

When I bought my Funfinder in late 2011 ( 2012 model ) one of things I was looking for, and found, in this model was a bright, light colored interior. It makes this small ( 19' ) trailer seem more open and airy inside. But you are right, that sadly, even FF seems to be moving back in the direction of dark wood and overstuffed dark furnishings. Ugh. I'm glad I bought when I did.
I too think it would be good for the manufacturers to have some light colored interior options again. And get rid of the overstuffed look...a travel trailer has precious little interior space as it is....don't waste it with extra thick furniture.

icanon wrote:

2012Coleman wrote:
No - in the US, people blindly buy what the manufacturers produce, and thus there is no incentive for them to make things better. I Googled Jay Smart travel trailer and saw lots of hits.

Don't go gaga on your TT's towing capacity. What's more important is what it can carry - payload.

avoidcrowds wrote:
"people blindly buy what the manufacturers produce"

What a ridiculous statement! People have different wants and needs, so there are many different models with different features. What works great for me may not work at all for you. Just because you don't like something does not mean it is not perfect for someone else.

It's nice to have many choices. That's why RV manufactures come up with different models - people buy what they like, and if they aren't buying some model, it gets discontinued.

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The problem is not weights and floor layouts it's that continued interiors of dull dark outdated 70‘s look! If only manufacturers can give us some other choices on interiors. So you say "people buy what they like" is not neccessary true they have no choice either you buy or don't go camping, me I rather go camping.

Exactly - some people get it, others just drink the koolaid.