3023 and 03 Ford Escape wih Class II hitch WDH or not?

I would definitely get a class III receiver installed and a good weight distributing hitch.

We recently bought a 2518, the smallest, and presumably the lightest, trail manor model. We have a Pontiac Aztek, a small SUV, with the factory towing package, rated at 3500 pounds and 350 tongue weight.

We have been using a small hardwalled folding camper (its an Esterel, made it Europe that was imported for a short time in the 1980’s) It is maybe 1000 pounds fully loaded, only 6’ wide and you hardly notice it while towing.

Well, our new (to us!) Trail Manor, needing some work, we towed it a short distance, 5-6 miles. The whole trip we were both very nervous of the beast behind us! In fact, the tongue weight damaged the rear air suspension on the Aztek.

We are working on some minor things to get the trailer ready for camping, but before it leaves our driveway, we will have a WD hitch. Hopefully it will make as big a difference as everyone says it will – otherwise we may stick with our small folder!

I can’t decide if I should order the Equal-I-Zer hitch on line for less money, or have the trailer shop fit and adjust it correctly. Even though it’ll cost me, I am leaning to having the trailer shop do it.

I short, I wouldn’t dream of towing anything more than a 2720 with a small SUV, and then only moderate towing on mostly flat ground!

The issue on tow vehicles is not normal towing or even mountain towing. The issue is safety margins when some idiot pulls out in front of you or suddenly brakes and turns on his signal as he starts making the turn. I had the later happen to, but even worse. The guy was turning into a driveway which is right after a curve on a 55 MPH state highway. In the middle of the curve, he suddenly started braking hard and turned on his right turn signal as he started the turn into the driveway. It would not have been as big a deal except traffic was coming the other way, so I could not going into the left lane to pass him. I had no problems as I have plenty of safety margins, because I tow my 3124KS with a full size Ford E-150 van. With one of these marginal tow vehicles, I would have most likely been in a wreck of some kind.

[fcatwo]

Given that you already own the Escape and 3023 and have towed the trailer for three hours without a WDH and without mishap, I assume you are only asking for advice on how best to do it. I'll only say get a 2" receiver, a WDH and some form of sway control. Extreme caution is in order and given your mission I assume you know how to pray. If you have room you might consider removing things like the heavy table and anything else you can strip from the TM and carry them in the TV or ship them ahead. TVs that are lighter than the trailers they are towing are not unusual in the RV world but the opposite is better. You should know that there are reports of people who were towing a grossly overloaded hookup having been charged with criminal offenses when they caused an accident involving serious injury or death. Try to get the 3023 as close to your 3500lb limit as possible. I would also recommend traveling in the coolest part of the day to make the trip easier on the Escape's power train. Good luck.

To all,
You have really made me think. Since I plan on living on the road for at least a year, I may sell my fancy 2003 Escape and get a pickup with a cab. That way I can get much more storage and plenty more towing capacity. Now i have to decide whether I try to take a trade-in value or sell privately.

What do you guys reccomend in a pickup? I was thinking about something at the end of its factory warranty so that I could pick up an extended warranty, or maybe just go for a late 90s vehicle I'm not sure. I'm definetely going to take a hit on my on my Escape.

Any advice on pickups?

Almost any pickup will serve, and I'll bet you get as many opinions as people who reply. I would go at least for a heavy half as a minimum however. I think you'll be more satisfied with the performance. As for trading in your Escape, that is where you'll take the biggest bath. My advise would be to buy the truck and sell your Escape yourself. Even going through a consignment lot would get you more money than a trade in. I'm sure you've heard the old saying, "When you trade it in you give them yours and buy theirs."

[fcatwo]

You might also look for an individual who is interested in trading their pickup or large SUV for something that gets better mileage. Your Escape should look pretty good to someone who is using a big rig as a daily driver and regretting it. I'll bet there are ten people like that for every one like you.

Selling you NY TM and buying one of those periodically for sale in California might work as well.

Man, my heart caught in my throat when I heard what you were towing with, and I breathed a huge of sigh of relief when I heard you might replace the TV with any kind of pick-up: 150 or better, I hope. YIKES! My hair stands on end when I think of the great drivers we were and the horrific accident we were in with a TV that was simply too short wheelbased for our TT. We did not know. We had taken every safety precaution we knew of and slill caused alot of inconvenience to other drivers and a big accident that almost put our car and TT over the edge of the Snake RIver bridge thousands of miles from home. THe wheelbase length is at least as important as the tow capacity. We have just gotten rid of our Mercury Mountaineer (Ford Explorer) and will wait to be able to afford a truck because we were tired of living too close to the edge after such a life changing (and almost life ending ) experience. We will never forget to always plan for emergency driving, not what you may be comfortable doing on a straight, flat road without other idiots on it. Be safe! Queeniereads aka Judi

Judi,
I feel better too. There is only two of us and a dog and a pickup with a cap will give us much more storage. No worries on uphill towing and plenty more piece of mind. There are so many choices in pickups, now it is time to do that research.

For anyone else who is considering towing a TM with a Ford Escape here is my two cents. I recently bought a 1995 2720 (weight 2555) and have a 2006 Ford Escape V6 to pull it with. I was concerned after reading these threads and other information (don't exceed 80% of tow cap.) and I knew I would be at the limit (3500 lbs) with it loaded. I installed a Class III hitch, 400/4000 WDH, and the Prodigy brakes (Trans cooler is std. 06 Escape). It did tow fine on our first 90 minute trip last week but I'd feel safer in something bigger and I did not have to do any emergency braking or big hills. It did stop easy when I tested it.

One more bit of info from this newby I learned the hard way. When you turn you interior lights off before closing up your trailer, make sure the switch clicks into the locked off position. The light over our rear bed was off but when we closed it up the switch was easily pushed into the on position when it came in contact with the rear mattress which it rests on when closed. Luckily I opened it up the next day and found the light on and a smoldering burnt hole in the mattress. An easy fix but it could have burned to the ground. I intend to install a battery cut off switch but I can not find the battery anywhere in, on, under or around the TM. Let me know if you know.

Andy
------------
95 2720
06 Escape V6

When I fold down the bathroom walls it kills the power to the lights in the rear shell and also to the two detectors (propane and CO I think) that are in the bathroom wall near the floor by the kitchen.

Apparently this feature is not in the older TMs.