Is my Ford Escape worthless for fullfilling my dream? :-(

[GaiaGoddess]

I've had this dream to live in an RV (travel trailer, specifically) for about 5 or 6 years now. I was drawn to the Ford Escape and was happy to learn they can tow up to 3500 pounds. I bought one last year. Step one complete!

Now i've run into a problem...people are telling me my Escape shouldn't tow that much, it's not safe. I heard horror stories about Escapes not being able to handle it. They recommend I stick to 2000 pounds or less, but what trailers weigh that little?! I want to live in this thing which means it needs to be self sustainable, with a full kitchen, bathroom, and at least a full size bed. All the trailers I found with that stuff are at least 3000 pounds. And then you have to figure the weight of the fluids and cargo, which would be a lot since i'd be living in it. I cannot live in a pop up camper or a teardrop camper.

Are there any decent trailers I can safely tow? Is my Escape worthless for what I wanted to do with it? I bought it specifically for this reason! By the way, it's a 2008 6-cylinder automatic transmission, front wheel drive. There is no towing package on it yet but I was planning on having one put on, IF I can even find a trailer I can tow! Any advice?

[GaiaGoddess]

challeno wrote:
You dismissed a TC when ya sold the little Ranger ?? ,,,,,,,,,,,, Nah , They were pretty much dissmissed with/while you was driving' the ranger , only camper that would haul would be a little "Shell " type with a mattress and a few things throwed in .

I've seen Rangers towing things, but my main concert was the stick shift, way too jerky for needing to be careful towing something.

The below link would pretty much cover all your needs concerning cleanliness >

http://www.cabelas.com/category/Showers-Toilets-Accessories/104569380.uts

Ooh those are interesting! Although that would be terribly uncomfortable from November until March though. But good idea for when I only go down south!

[WoodGlue]

A truck camper with MUCH MORE ROOM THAN A SCAMP !!!




Here is a video of this Truck Camper, a Lance 1172 (double slide with a dry bath) and a full sized permanent Queen Bed.

2013 Lance 1172 Truck Camper

And congrats on finding the .1% of the Truck Camper without a bathroom!

Almost every Truck Camper mfg today offers at least a wet bath.

WoodGlue

[challeno]

You dismissed a TC when ya sold the little Ranger ?? ,,,,,,,,,,,, Nah , They were pretty much dissmissed with/while you was driving' the ranger , only camper that would haul would be a little "Shell " type with a mattress and a few things throwed in .


They custom build those Dub boxes , they could put you a wet bath in one .

The below link would pretty much cover all your needs concerning cleanliness when you did have access to the CG facilities .

http://www.cabelas.com/category/Showers-Toilets-Accessories/104569380.uts

[GaiaGoddess]

So I think I have found my solution! While tossing and turning in bed this morning it dawned on me...I could buy the teardrop just for travelling, and I could buy the Vibe I wanted to keep permanently in a campground! I live 2 miles from a campground that is really cheap and they only accept permanent trailers there, its kind of like a community not open to weekend campers. I could buy the Vibe I originally wanted, pay someone to tow it there, and I would live in that when i'm home, then have the teardrop for going back and forth to work in and for travelling when I go on vacations! Sure it would be expensive but then I wouldn't have to settle on just one. And I eliminate my problem of not being able to tow the one I want to live in! And I wouldn't have to worry about anyone breaking in while i'm gone since i'd be in the campground community, not a trailer park with little kids and teenagers wandering around freely! The campground is gated so nobody can get in there except for the residents and most of those are retired people.

I think this may just work!! 🙂

[GaiaGoddess]

carringb wrote:
Found you trailer that would easily fit within your Escape's specs:
http://dub-box-usa.com/home

No bathrooms though, at least not in the ones I saw. That is cool how the roof lifts up though!

[GaiaGoddess]

challeno wrote:
G_Goddess , they got TC's with "" Dry Baths "" too , but you better learn to drive and handle a full grown truck before you even think about any TC .

Link below is a TC with a Dry Bath , ( seperate toilet,shower and sink ) , I remember in one of your replies that you said you didn't think that you would care for having to sit on the toilet while showering that was in a small TT you looked at , I wouldn't care to much for that myself , kinda messy .

http://www.princesscraft.com/inventory/315120/Used-2010-Northwood-Arctic-Fox-Camper-992-Dry-Bath.asp... ,,, "Gently used 2010"

That is pretty damn nice! That is also the first TC i've seen with a bathroom in it. But I dismissed them 2 years ago when I sold my Ranger to get the Escape because it was a manual and I was told manuals would be harder to tow with, so I got an automatic. I also wanted the Escape to be able to store some of my extra stuff in the back, that wouldn't fit in the trailer. My Ranger had no storage space.

[GaiaGoddess]

bikendan wrote:
after reading this thread and the roller coaster it's become, i give up.:S

i wish the OP the best of luck if she continues to be adamant about using an Escape to tow something she'll be living in.
bottom line is that she'll be severly limited to something like a Scamp or Escape, at best. and i couldn't live in that for any length of time.
i'd rather have a nice truck camper with a slideout. the DW's cousin has an Arctic Fox and it is sweet! and of course, like others have said, it has a really nice wet bath(with toilet).

I've never seen a truck camper with more space than a Scamp. Even the page I just posted doesn't have very big ones. Besides, I wouldn't be spending all my time in this trailer, I would be outside most of the time, only going in to sleep and cook and stay dry in the rain.

[GaiaGoddess]

challeno wrote:

In your situation being able to unhook and have something to drive around would be best , I would think .

Yeah that is one of the main reasons I want a travel trailer.

BTW : These forums and video's are a means of giving' you an idea of how things are or might be BUT until you actually get out and do it , You will never really how or that it is your cup of tea. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, You can read books and watch video's on "" How To Swim "" til your blue in the face , but until you jump in the pool it's really all moot .

I understand that, as I've said before, I don't have a towing package yet so there is no way I can try this until I do that.

[GaiaGoddess]

WoodGlue wrote:
99.9% of truck campers have bathrooms!

With the exception being much older circa 1950's and maybe some 1960's TC's.

I just typed in "truck campers" and this is the first site that popped up, the first model i came across, and it has no bathroom. If 99.9% of them have bathrooms and i just found the ONE that doesnt within 10 seconds, that's pretty crazy!

http://www.livinlite.com/5_7-overview.php

It also seems as if you're bound and determined to tap this forum for all the information you can get, yet push that advice aside as you're still planning on getting a towing package installed on your CUV (and no, it's not an SUV no matter how much you wish it were so)

Wow, I am speechless!

WoodGlue

Not all of the advice in here is telling me to give up, that is why.

[GaiaGoddess]

wnjj wrote:

GaiaGoddess wrote:
I dont think I would like a truck camper (if I had a truck that could use one, that is), they don't have bathrooms.

Where do you keep getting such bad information?

Just in all my research, maybe they exist but i've never seen them.

[GaiaGoddess]

PAThwacker wrote:

GaiaGoddess wrote:
I just watched this video and I think i'm convinced a teardrop would be good enough for me! Although I have one major question...where do they go to the bathroom!? lol Especially for females, sometimes we NEED bathrooms every few hours!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74Lm7dAx15M

10ft box mac pup with cassette pottie.
next problem
Can not use a wdh on a flagstaff mac popup!
Give up or get a new tow vehicle.

Sorry I have no idea what you mean by 10ft box mac pup, or a wdh.

I'm not getting a new tow vehicle, I am pretty sure my Escape can handle a teardrop, some of these get towed by MOTORCYCLES even!

[GaiaGoddess]

Slownsy wrote:
GaiaGoddes go back to page 19 and look at the drawing it don't get any simpler than that unless you get to se in real life.

Yeah I did see that drawing, it makes sense to me, although I have never seen the term MTWR before except in that drawing. Also, how can you even tell how much your vehicle weighs, how much your trailer weighs fully loaded, and how much it all weighs together? The only numbers you can know for sure is what the dry weight of the trailer is and the weight of your vehicle with nobody or no cargo in it. Is there some giant scale somewhere that weighs these things? Can you just drive up to one of those truck weigh stations on the interstates?

[carringb]

Found you trailer that would easily fit within your Escape's specs:
http://dub-box-usa.com/home

[challeno]

G_Goddess , they got TC's with "" Dry Baths "" too , but you better learn to drive and handle a full grown truck before you even think about any TC .

Link below is a TC with a Dry Bath , ( seperate toilet,shower and sink ) , I remember in one of your replies that you said you didn't think that you would care for having to sit on the toilet while showering that was in a small TT you looked at , I wouldn't care to much for that myself , kinda messy .

http://www.princesscraft.com/inventory/315120/Used-2010-Northwood-Arctic-Fox-Camper-992-Dry-Bath.asp... ,,, "Gently used 2010"

[challeno]

bikendan wrote:
after reading this thread and the roller coaster it's become, i give up.:S

i wish the OP the best of luck if she continues to be adamant about using an Escape to tow something she'll be living in.
bottom line is that she'll be severly limited to something like a Scamp or Escape, at best. and i couldn't live in that for any length of time.
i'd rather have a nice truck camper with a slideout. the DW's cousin has an Arctic Fox and it is sweet! and of course, like others have said, it has a really nice wet bath(with toilet).

And / but she'd have to unhook everything just run to the store and get a loaf of bread , not to mention her drive to work and back to the CG .