You can tow it with a car

[RobertRyan]

Not all Australian Touring Caravans weigh 8000lb, there are lightweight single axle models, like this 4,200lb , 22ft version that can be easily towed by a car.

[2012Coleman]

PenMan wrote:

RobertRyan wrote:

A case of a very good set up. European caravans are very lightweight(well at least to us) and do well on paved roads(not so happy unpaved ones}

Photoshop?

Google bicycle towing an airstream and click on the images link

[PenMan]

RobertRyan wrote:

A case of a very good set up. European caravans are very lightweight(well at least to us) and do well on paved roads(not so happy unpaved ones}

Photoshop?

[Second_Chance]

Terryallan wrote:

"Thing is. Many on the forum are either too young, or too new at towing to remember how it was done BEFORE trucks were both popular, and as comfortable as today. My FIL towed 26' TTs with a 67 Chevelle. We didn't think we had to have a truck to tow a trailer. We just did it with what we had. We thought nothing of piling the family in the car hooking up and going anywhere we wanted. The big V8 under the hood would get us there. Also remember those cars were RWD...

...So folks used their cars, station wagons and such to tow their boats, and RVs. AND the brake controllers were manually operated. His had a big lever sticking out the front so that he could activate the TT brakes with his knee."

Some years prior to this scenario (1963, I believe), my father pulled my grandparents 23' 1960 Terry travel trailer (I don't think they made "Lite" models back then) from southern New Mexico to California and back with my grandparents 1963 Studebaker Lark station wagon with a tiny little 232 cubic inch V-8. Granted, the same engine in a Golden Hawk would top 120 MPH and the combo was the official pace car at Indianapolis for a number of years, but this was a small car and engine for those days. With a WD hitch (pretty high-tech back then), a manual brake controller, and six of us in the car, we made it to CA and back without any problems. The biggest issue was the tension between my mother and her MIL. (Oh - and my sisters and I were mortified that the station wagon was "Salmon" colored - popular at that time.)

This being said, I wouldn't dream of doing something like that nowadays (and my grandparents got a 3/4 pickup sometime after that to pull the trailer) - but it wasn't seen as all that unusual in those days.

[John___Angela]

Meh. This is how we roll. The little diesels pull like a champ. It's all weight relative.

This our downsized rig we use for local camping. Both our smart cars are set up for towing. Sometimes we take the Kayak and other times not. It has added a whole new dimension to our full time RV lifestyle. With the Kayak it comes in around 540 pounds plus or minus. Fridge/Freezer, porta potti, solar panel. Lotsa fun. Very solid on the road and the little diesel pulls it well. Around low 50s for mileage when towing.

[mileshuff]

Not sure I'd want to tow a 4500# single axle trailer especially with a light car no matter how strong of engine it may have. My prior trailer was a dual axle 4500# and towed far better than my single axle 2000# popup. Much more stable especially on dirt roads with wash board.

[gmw_photos]

gates59 wrote:
A mid sized truck would have a hard time with this. So no a car can not tow these.

I tow a trailer of similar size to the one that Robert from Australia posted the photo of. My trailer is a 4000 pound funfinder, that I tow with a Nissan Frontier. Set up with a BlueOx swaypro, this trailer pulls very nicely with this midsize truck. I am within all stated limits of both the truck and the trailer, and have pulled it from sea level to over 11,000 feet numerous times.

Here in the US in the Frontier we get the gas 4.0 V6, which does very well as I said. Those lucky folks down under, in this same truck ( Navarra there ) get the 3.0 V6 turbo diesel, with 400 ft-lbs of torque. Oh man....if Nissan had that here, with my excellent six speed manual gearbox, I would be all over it.

thanks for posting the pics Robert.... I always enjoy looking at your "caravans".

[rbtglove]

When I was a kid in the 50s my uncle had a TT he pulled with a Cadillac convertble even in the Sierras and nobody thought it was unsafe. I don't know how heavy it was but I think it was about 20 feet long and would sleep 4 didn't look light. This was not unusual there were a lot on the roads. Also lived in Europe and saw smaller cars pulling resaonable sized TT. On the ranch I grew up on we put all the bales on a half ton pickup we could and today it would be considered way overloaded. Times have changed.

[md2lgyk]

Sorry, but I do not believe there is any car sold in America (vans and SUVs excluded) that's rated to tow 4,000 pounds.

[dennisgt60]

Terryallen, thanks for the memories.

I've owned three pickups in my 50+ years driving; a1972, 1978, and 2012 (see sig). The 2012 is a real monster and technological marvel when compared to my earlier trucks. Started driving my dad's '59 F-100 back then on the farm and never had any hesitation to fill it with feed and grain. Didn't have power steering ( or any other of todays truck options)....didn't need it as the heavy loads lifted the front end and then you could steer it with your pinky finger!

That all said, todays RV's are monsters as well when compared to "back in the days" rigs.

I sometimes wonder, where/when will this demand for bigger, heavier, longer trucks/rv's begin to level off?

I love my truck though!

[flash82]

Dtaylor wrote:

2012Coleman wrote:
Open your minds.

people get locked into one mindset because "that's the way we have always done it". Let's not confuse them with facts. ( wonder if I will take a beating for saying so)

Yup, I see this is Germany all the time, cars towing. They are usually powerful diesels. Heck, just take a look at YouTube on European Caravans. Not everyone needs a F350 to pull.

[powderman426]

What!!! No toy haulers. :B

[RoyB]

I towed my Starcraft RT Series 4200LB OFF-ROAD POPUP camper once with my 99JEEP much like this photo from google. I made it ok to where i was going but I could tell I was not matched up good.

I had already replace my rear end once pulling boats with my same Jeep.

Back in the day we use JEEPS all the time pulling smaller utility type trailer all over the high country of ARIZ without problems much like this google photo


I think I will stick with my F150 size truck towing my off-road trailers. Then when I finish up my AUSSIE WARWAGON lookalike with my 12-foot box OFF-ROAD POPUP TRAILER with lots of batteries and solar panels then I won't have any worries.


Roy Ken

[colliehauler]

RobertRyan wrote:
Not all Australian Touring Caravans weigh 8000lb, there are lightweight single axle models, like this 4,200lb , 22ft version that can be easily towed by a car.

I like the interior of this trailer. I had a 69 Lincoln with a 429 CI motor that could tow a very large trailer with the proper hitch.

[Terryallan]

Thing is. Many on the forum are either too young, or too new at towing to remember how it was done BEFORE trucks were both popular, and as comfortable as today. My FIL towed 26' TTs with a 67 Chevelle. We didn't think we had to have a truck to tow a trailer. We just did it with what we had. We thought nothing of piling the family in the car hooking up and going anywhere we wanted. The big V8 under the hood would get us there. Also remember those cars were RWD.

Remember back in the day. Pickup trucks were just that, Trucks. They were reg cab, 3 passenger at the most, No AC, no radio, NONE of the accessories you see in them today. The best option they had was a sliding back window. you couldn't take your family along, unless you put a cover on the back, and had the kids ride back there. I doubt many of the folks on this forum would drive one as todays trucks are more like cars, and we are pretty spoiled to the options they have. How many of you would like to go cross country with no AC, and no radio. And have the family follow in a car? Not me.

So folks used their cars, station wagons and such to tow their boats, and RVs. AND the brake controllers were manually operated. His had a big lever sticking out the front so that he could activate the TT brakes with his knee.

So yeah, A max load, 4500lb TT can be easily towed with a RWD, V8. sedan.

[Dtaylor]

2012Coleman wrote:
Open your minds.

people get locked into one mindset because "that's the way we have always done it". Let's not confuse them with facts. ( wonder if I will take a beating for saying so)