Sep-01-2013 07:49 PM
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Nov-30-2013 12:43 AM
carringb wrote:
My $0.20:
1) The Escape has more payload than most CUVs.
2) Aftermarket hitches are available for up to 500 pounds tongue weight
3) Traveling solo should make staying under GVWR achievable, as long as the car is packed smart and the trailer is setup correctly.
4) Exceeding GCWR may make the car work harder, and fuel economy will be way worse, but if you stay under GVWR and the trailer has good brakes, GCWR is hardly a safety rating. Lower you expectations (i.e. travel at 55 instead of 75MPH) then traveling over GCWR isn't the end of the world.
5) Frontal area is a killer, but a good trailer profile can mitigate some of that.
6) One of my customers (when I was running a Napa AutoCare) towed a 18' full-size TT with her 2010 Escape hybrid. She had a proper hitch receiver and wiring. She was 5x her tow rating (maybe more), but she LOVED the way it towed, including pulling in the hills. After the first couple oil changes, we moved back to the regular Ford recommended oil change intervals every 10,000 miles because at 7500 miles the oil still looked brand new.
Nov-29-2013 10:37 PM
GaiaGoddess wrote:Sounds like a nice trailer for you.
I picked the Vibe because it is the only trailer I found with the floor plan that it has, it has a very unique bathroom design I LOVE and I haven't seen it in any other trailer, plus it has a step up full size bed and a side dinette, so it's all the features I want in one trailer. I also love the look of it from the outside.
GaiaGoddess wrote:If it's sitting in a park most of the time, maintenance and repairs to the chassis/engine/drivetrain are next to none. Keep the starting battery charged and start up the engine and run it for a few minutes each month is about all you need to do.
I didn't want a motorhome because that would be another vehicle to maintain, engine, transmission, brakes, etc. I don't want to have to do the upkeep on 2 vehicles, that's why I like trailers because you only have to fix problems as they arise, there isn't all those trips to the dealer for maintenance every few months.
Nov-29-2013 09:53 PM
SoCalDesertRider wrote:
I vaguely remember this Vibe. That was like 200,000 posts ago in this topic, LOL. Anyways, I seem to remember it as a very small trailer that your Escape could maybe possibly tow but probably shouldn't?
If that's the case, why not get a much bigger trailer, that you can really LIVE in, if you're not going to be towing it yourself anyways?
Plenty of nice, gently used trailers for sale that are much bigger and easier to live in, if you're putting in a park, and likely don't cost any more than a new Vibe.
Or, a used class C motorhome. You can still park it in the park and live in it, but you don't need to hire somebody else to tow it for you. And if you want to move with it, you can tow the Escape with the motorhome.
Just my opinion. Good luck.
Nov-28-2013 10:36 PM
GaiaGoddess wrote:I vaguely remember this Vibe. That was like 200,000 posts ago in this topic, LOL. Anyways, I seem to remember it as a very small trailer that your Escape could maybe possibly tow but probably shouldn't?SoCalDesertRider wrote:
I just suffered through reading the first 30 pages of this post, then skimmed the last 5 pages, hoping I would find the final post where she said what she ended up doing and reported how it worked. No such luck. I guess we will never know what happened.
And now I can never have back the first 4 hours of my Thanksgiving holiday that I spent reading this post! But it was very funny, some parts I was busting up laughing!
This is why I quit posting in here, I know everyone is sick of talking about it and I haven't even been on here in about 2 months I think, because I did come to a decision on what to do, but it's buried many pages back by now. I am going to buy the RV I wanted (a Vibe) and have someone tow it to a campground where I will live permanently, but in the meantime I will buy a teardrop trailer just to travel in to and from work.
This is still a year or two off though, since my car isn't paid off yet and it will take me at least a year to save up money again.
Nov-28-2013 09:58 PM
SoCalDesertRider wrote:
I just suffered through reading the first 30 pages of this post, then skimmed the last 5 pages, hoping I would find the final post where she said what she ended up doing and reported how it worked. No such luck. I guess we will never know what happened.
And now I can never have back the first 4 hours of my Thanksgiving holiday that I spent reading this post! But it was very funny, some parts I was busting up laughing!
Nov-28-2013 07:36 PM
hone eagle wrote:Yep!SoCalDesertRider wrote:
If Michelle (GG) ever does come back-
You have no reason to be afraid of driving a pickup, or a motorhome, or any kind of vehicle because of your small size. My ex is only 5' tall and about 100 lbs and she drives 18 wheeler semi trucks, dump trucks, water trucks, and even loads the dump truck herself with the skip loader! Small girls can drive anything they want, you just have to quit being afraid! 🙂
I always tell timid girls to look at the typical school bus driver (you know blue hair. etc etc )- if they can do it so can you.
Nov-28-2013 01:02 PM
SoCalDesertRider wrote:
If Michelle (GG) ever does come back-
You have no reason to be afraid of driving a pickup, or a motorhome, or any kind of vehicle because of your small size. My ex is only 5' tall and about 100 lbs and she drives 18 wheeler semi trucks, dump trucks, water trucks, and even loads the dump truck herself with the skip loader! Small girls can drive anything they want, you just have to quit being afraid! 🙂
Nov-28-2013 09:49 AM
Nov-28-2013 09:42 AM