Towing a travel trailer

[miatared]

Just wanted to let you know I picked up a travel trailer - a 19 foot Shamrock by Flagstaff (Forest River) a few weeks ago and have just come back from a long trip - hills and all.

The trailer's GVWR is 4500#, but I try to keep it around 4100# - with very little water - as I fill when I get to me destination. Tongue weight is around 400#.

I installed an Equal-i-zer 600/6000 weight distribution hitch and a Prodigy brake controller. Using the factory tow hitch. McKesh mirrors.

Bottom line: works and drives like a charm.

Using tip-tronic I shift manually and it work incredibly well. Mileage is approx 9-12 miles/per gallons. I let the engine rev in the 3500 to 4500 range often, it works better. Those Toyota V6 like to rev too.

Just wanted to share a positive experience towing a travel trailer.

Denis

[Dman1]

Originally Posted by miatared

Just wanted to let you know I picked up a travel trailer - a 19 foot Shamrock by Flagstaff (Forest River) a few weeks ago and have just come back from a long trip - hills and all.

The trailer's GVWR is 4500#, but I try to keep it around 4100# - with very little water - as I fill when I get to me destination. Tongue weight is around 400#.

I installed an Equal-i-zer 600/6000 weight distribution hitch and a Prodigy brake controller. Using the factory tow hitch. McKesh mirrors.

Bottom line: works and drives like a charm.

Using tip-tronic I shift manually and it work incredibly well. Mileage is approx 9-12 miles/per gallons. I let the engine rev in the 3500 to 4500 range often, it works better. Those Toyota V6 like to rev too.

Just wanted to share a positive experience towing a travel trailer.

Denis

Thanks Denis. I am considering the same model made by Rockwood...the Roo 19. I was looking at the Jayco 23B, just under 4300lbs dry, but that may just be a bit heavy...perhaps I am coming to my senses. Glad to see that you had a great experience towing this so far. I am also looking at the Equil-i-zer and the Prodigy Brake controller, and have a quote from all of this from RVWholesalers. Where did you mount your 7 pin plug? The same spot where the 4-pin goes? I have seen others do it this way, but I was just curious if you had it installed so that it wasn't as close to the ground (even though it doesn't look like it's that close).

[newsrv]

Dman1, it may be on the other side of Canada in Chilliwack , BC, but the Escape trailers are hard to beat. Very well built, light weight and easy to pull. Check them out at www.escapetrailer.com.

[miatared]

Originally Posted by Dman1

Thanks Denis. I am considering the same model made by Rockwood...the Roo 19. I was looking at the Jayco 23B, just under 4300lbs dry, but that may just be a bit heavy...perhaps I am coming to my senses. Glad to see that you had a great experience towing this so far. I am also looking at the Equil-i-zer and the Prodigy Brake controller, and have a quote from all of this from RVWholesalers. Where did you mount your 7 pin plug? The same spot where the 4-pin goes? I have seen others do it this way, but I was just curious if you had it installed so that it wasn't as close to the ground (even though it doesn't look like it's that close).

I do think the Jayco 23B would be too heavy - that so-called dryweight is not an honest number - mine's dry weight is said to be 3200# - well I had mine weighed and it comes out at 3627#... packed with all our stuff, it weighed 4100# with 5 gallons of fresh water and empty gray and black tanks. Anything bigger than 19 feet (Hybrid trailer) would be over the 5000 easy. You also have to look the tongue weight - no more than 500#, mine is at 12% of total weight - 10-15 is ideal for a good tow experience I am told.

The 19 foot twins Roo/Shamrock are ideal - as it feels like a 25 foot trailer with the beds open. We love it.

Mounted the 7-pin at the same spot as the 4-pin - I could not find a better spot - looks weird at first, but I am over it now.

I got to experience strong winds and lots of big rigs passing me and I passed a few - I am really pleased with the Equal-i-zer - worth the extra $$$ ad so easy to pin and un-pin. The brake controllers once adjusted properly brakes really well - no issues at all.

This is what my new baby looks like:


Denis

[miatared]

Originally Posted by newsrv

Dman1, it may be on the other side of Canada in Chilliwack , BC, but the Escape trailers are hard to beat. Very well built, light weight and easy to pull. Check them out at www.escapetrailer.com.

Right you are - the Escape is a fine trailer, not too many dealers in Ontario I must admit - but my wife and I wanted to capture the spirit of our popup (sleeping under a canvas) and have all the luxuries of a standard travel trailer, and space to boot - the expandable or hybrid fit that bill best.

The Escape would have been out of my price range too - 30% more.

Denis

[Dman1]

Originally Posted by newsrv

Dman1, it may be on the other side of Canada in Chilliwack , BC, but the Escape trailers are hard to beat. Very well built, light weight and easy to pull. Check them out at www.escapetrailer.com.

Thanks, but I am looking at hybrid trailers only. This trailer (the Escape 19) would not have much more room than my current 10 foot tent trailer when you factor in the two 5' wide beds on either end of the trailer.

[Dman1]

Originally Posted by miatared

I do think the Jayco 23B would be too heavy - that so-called dryweight is not an honest number - mine's dry weight is said to be 3200# - well I had mine weighed and it comes out at 3627#... packed with all our stuff, it weighed 4100# with 5 gallons of fresh water and empty gray and black tanks. Anything bigger than 19 feet (Hybrid trailer) would be over the 5000 easy. You also have to look the tongue weight - no more than 500#, mine is at 12% of total weight - 10-15 is ideal for a good tow experience I am told.

The 19 foot twins Roo/Shamrock are ideal - as it feels like a 25 foot trailer with the beds open. We love it.

Mounted the 7-pin at the same spot as the 4-pin - I could not find a better spot - looks weird at first, but I am over it now.

I got to experience strong winds and lots of big rigs passing me and I passed a few - I am really pleased with the Equal-i-zer - worth the extra $$$ ad so easy to pin and un-pin. The brake controllers once adjusted properly brakes really well - no issues at all.

This is what my new baby looks like:


Denis

Nice rig.

I hear what you are saying on the Jayco 23B, but the weight of 4267 lbs was the specific unit I was looking at with all options (published weight = 4165 lbs), plus it included the weight of the propane in the tanks when it left the factory (so not necessarily dry weight per se) and it was printed right on the sticker on the unit. In addition, I was looking at the aluminum wheels option, which should knock a few pounds off as well. The GVWR is 4950 lbs, which doesn't leave much for cargo. Forest River, on the other hand, is known to have very underestimated published weight data, which explains your weight difference.

Regarding tongue weight, the 23B published value is 370 lbs, based on a total weight of 4165 lbs. I realize that this is well below the 12-15% typical value, but it just has to do with the positioning of the heavier equipment on the trailer being closer to the back of the trailer than the front.

So, I am about 90% leaning towards the Roo 19, and 10% towards the 23B. I like the extra 4 feet in length and the floor plan is awesome, but I also don't want to show up at a campground with white knuckles and my heard beating 200 beats per minute.

[caperforlife]

We just got back from the long weekend camping. The Highlander pulled my 25ft ultralite just fine. I also like using the gear select mode. The campground was a 2 hour drive. Some very long hills here on the north side of Lake Superior. I did have to gear down to 3rd at times and had to rev over 3000. Fuel economy was about 23 L/100km or about 10 mpg - not great. I really like the power of the 3.5L. I'm really happy with the vehicle.