Newbie to travel trailers- need advice on selection

[Chandne]

Hi everyone, I have been looking to buy a light travel trailer. I have a V6 Wrangler 4-door (3,500 lb towing capacity) and a V8 Toyota 4Runner (7,000 lb towing capacity). Anyway, I was looking at the following:

Lance 1575
Retro 176s
Winnie Drop
R-Pod

One thing I noticed is that the Lance is MUCH more expensive than the others. I need to go look at them this weekend. I'm sure the Lance has a lot of features etc. Any thoughts on if I should focus on one over the others?

This will mainly be for two of us going on exploring trips to different states but primarily to Colorado and Utah areas for hiking, mountain biking, road biking. Any thoughts would be appreciated since we hardly know much about travel trailers. Thanks!

[Chandne]

Taking the advice of those here. I'll not be towing with the Wrangler. It will be the 4Runner only. Thank you!

[krobbe]

Caution! The lifted Wrangler with 35's may not be able to tow over 35mph without some serious handling issues. I would just use the 4Runner. With the 7000# towing, it's capable of much more.

[Chandne]

That would work but the tongue weight would be a problem on the Jeep. What these guys are recommending initially is a lighter duty friction type for the Jeep that can also be used on the 4Runner but I wold have to careful with how much I load the trailer storage area in front. So, I have to make a decision on this. They say if they use the 600lb one, they have seen it do damage on Jeep frames and lighter vehicles due to the lighter tongue weight capacity of the vehicle.

[afidel]

Chandne wrote:
Oh, I have two vehicles- a V8 4Runner with 7000 lb towing capacity and a (lifted with 35s) 4-door Wrangler with a 3500lb towing capacity. I am not sure what sway control to use and if I need load distribution for either vehicle. Very confused about that. The dealer says the Equalizer E2 is around $550. They may prefer to use that for the Jeep but it may be hard to adjust it to meet the height diff of both vehicles.

Any advice would be appreciated. I need to decide pretty quickly.

E2 with 600 or 800lb bars is ~$280 on Amazon and assembly and installation/calibration took me a couple hours. I spent another $110 on a blue ox shank that gives up to 13" of rise or 7" of drop, the one downside besides cost is that it's 33lbs which pushes the e2 to near 100lb total. The good thing is you can swap the bars and the whole setup will work up to 1,200lb tongue weight if you ever decide to trade up.

[afidel]

Try your local fairgrounds, most here offer 6 month covered storage for a few hundred dollars which is 1-2 months at most other places with covered stage from what I've seen.

[Chandne]

Oh, I have two vehicles- a V8 4Runner with 7000 lb towing capacity and a (lifted with 35s) 4-door Wrangler with a 3500lb towing capacity. I am not sure what sway control to use and if I need load distribution for either vehicle. Very confused about that. The dealer says the Equalizer E2 is around $550. They may prefer to use that for the Jeep but it may be hard to adjust it to meet the height diff of both vehicles.

Any advice would be appreciated. I need to decide pretty quickly.

[Chandne]

Well, I am soon going to be the owner of a 2016 (but new) Lance 1575. I'll be picking it up on Sat and am desperately trying to find a storage spot here in Littleton CO. It is pretty much fully loaded except for the solar panel stuff. The dealer dropped the price significantly on that unit, and I could not resist. Where would be a good place to find out about Lance mods/tip etc.?

No serious forest service camping but if I can go in a bit on some smoother roads, that would be great. Not going to chance it though, unless I'm pretty sure.

[SusanDallas]

Have you looked at the KZ Sportsmen Classic floorplans and weight? I have a 3500 lb. limit as well. They are lighter and the price is a lot cheaper.

[profdant139]

You must be a lot younger than I am. I can't put anything easily on the roof -- it always involves a lot of bad language, and then later a lot of ibuprofen. 😉

[Chandne]

I do have a rack on the Toyota but it is a hitch rock. I'd have to buy a roof rack, which is fine. I'd never have more than two bikes, so it isn't a big issue since I can easily put two on the roof.

[westend]

If you envision hauling bikes on the trailer exterior, be sure there is enough space on the tongue to install a bike rack. It's not an issue with most but some have an integrated LP storage or a short tongue. Maybe you have a rack for the Toyota?

With quality bikes and a light trailer, don't even consider a rear bumper rack on the trailer.

A good used trailer is a great goal. Fabrics and coverings can be changed so don't let that limit your choices. The Missus may have her own tastes in interior deco, too.

[Chandne]

The Lance is still the best option so far. I briefly also considered buying a truck that could handle a decent (not especially heavy) slide-in camper. The investment there is really high though it is very convenient due to the compact footprint.

I can get totally loaded new Lance 1575s for around $27,000, new Retro 177SEs for around $18,000, and R-Pods for around $18,000. The Lance is still the most appealing to us. I am constantly looking at the pros and cons and considering the different options. The used Lances are really hard to find and go super fast when they pop up at decent prices.

I tend to be impulsive so am taking my time and thinking of all options, including the scenarios where we would go camping. I do mountain bike and road bike a lot, so I'd d that plus hiking trips and general traveling to see the country. It is rare that we would simply hang out at a campground all day.

[profdant139]

You can lift most trailers -- there are various kits available. So ground clearance is not always a make or break issue, if it can be handled with a lift.

If you already know that you like camping, and you live in Denver, you may want to spring for a really good trailer -- the chances are that you will love it and will use it a lot. To put it mildly, Denver is well located for world class camping.

[TenOC]

Buy used and save $$$$$