The Tow Vehicle Question, Of Course

Good morning folks:

I've posted before looking for Trail Mini input and also towing questions regarding a 2720. Now, our attention is directed solely towards the Elkmont. I wish there was a shorter model than 24' + but it is a beautiful trailer and would serve our needs for the next 15 years.

My question is my tow vehicle and mountain towing from the SF Bay Area through the Sierras and the Rockies to eastern Colorado and back each year.

The weight of the Elkmont would be around 3000 lbs. before another 600-800 lbs. of "stuff" is added. Is a 2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac with a 130" wheelbase, 4.6 liter V8, and 7000 lbs. towing capacity OK for the frontal area of an upright trailer for the elevation changes we would encounter yearly on our SF/Colorado trips?

Thanks for any feedback!

PUPTENT and wife
SF Bay Area

So, the mini was too small eh? Thought maybe; glad you got to see the new models to help with your decision. Happy travels! Judy

Hi Judy:

Actually, I like the Mini - it is perfect for us in my estimation, as we are out-and-abouters and don't spend much time inside - we even do all our cooking on the Coleman two burner at the table outside. But - my wife is looking ahead 10 years or so, and not having to climb up, etc. - it isn't an issue now, but could be later. We aren't getting any younger. Also, even though all our attention was directed at folding trailers of all kinds and TM in particular, we are now leaning towards and upright with a "normal height" bed. The Elkmont is beautifully laid out, more than we need, light weight compared to others, a little bit too long for us perhaps - but first things first: tow vehicle concerns.

Thanks again for your input on the Mini, and happy trails to you and yours.

PUPTENT

PUPTENT, according to the stats that you quoted, you will probably be OK with that setup.

With the Elkmont weighing in at 4000 lbs., you are at 57% of the rated towing capacity of the Explorer. Looks like you got some leeway there.

According to a widely used chart used on RV sites concerning towing lengths of conventional trailers, you got a little wiggle room there....but not much. The chart shows the TV wheelbase, and the total trailer length.

110" 20' * 150" 30'
114" 21' * 154" 31'
118" 22' * 158" 32'
122" 23' * 162" 33'
126" 24' * 166" 34'
130" 25' * 170" 35'
134" 26' * 174" 36'
138" 27' * 178" 37'
142" 28' * 182" 38'
146" 29' * 186" 39'

I am pulling a 28.5 footer with a 145 wheelbase truck, which puts me near the limit.......but my combo pulls fine.

The frontal area is probably going to kick your Explorer in the butt with gas mileage. I went from ~15.5 mpg with my 2720 to ~10.5 mpg with a 5500 lb., 28' conventional trailer.

I would think that 7'6" width will help some with the frontal area problem......I have an 8 footer.

You will need a good sway control system. Get a good combination WDH with built in sway control, like the Equalizer (or generics) or the Reese Dual Cam (I got that 1, and it works great). Of course if you can afford it, the Hensley hitch is supposed to work the best of any.

I presume that your Explorer came with a towing package, that would include a class 4 hitch, auxilliary transmission cooler, and a 7 wire trailer harness ??

Since you will be pulling in the mountains, I would highly recommend a transmission temperature monitor. The Aeroforce or ScanGauge II should do the trick......I have the ScanGauge and it works great.

The Elkmont came out about a month after I bought my Surveyor. If I had only known.

I loved the look of the Elkmont too. It may be what we "graduate" to when/if we move up in the future. We'll be upgrading the TV between now and then. Will be looking for somehting that'll pull the bigger rigs and then decided if we want to get into an upright. For now, the mini is easy enough for me to hitch to, pull, and set-up by myself. It's even easier with my husband's help. But his knees are bad, so that'll add into the equation eventually. Totally understand the 10 year look ahead!

Did you get to see both the mini and Elkmont that was in Petaluma last weekend?

Wayne:

Yes - saw them both and talked a bit with the guys from Custom RV and others at the rally - came up late Saturday afternoon and went back to Novato for my wife at closing time. Was there when the Custom guys broke down the Mini to hit the road. I also was in Colorado Springs end of May and spent parts of four days at the Car Show, looking at all TM models. If we went the collapsable route it would be the 2720. I wanted to check out the Mini one more time - it would work, but for how long sizewise? - my wife made a few favorable comments about the walk-around queen bed, bathroom size, and normal bed height in the Elkmont to get my attention. I recently bought my tow vehicle so I have to fit the trailer to it - I know the collapsable trailers would work fine with my rig, but the Elkmont is a beautiful trailer and plenty light. But those mountains . . .

PUPTENT

Puptent, my #4 post figured the Elkmont at 57% of the tow capacity of your Explorer. My unit is 59% of the tow capacity of my F150 (5500 lb. trailer with a 9300 lb. tow capacity of the TV). Now mind you, I do have the 5.4L engine, with a 3.73 final drive ratio. My truck does a good job with the Blue Ridge Mountains in this area. Now they ain't the Sierras. But the mountains here still have windy, steep roads going up to the gaps, and of course back down again. I can maintain legal speed limit on the interstate over the mountains, but I take it easy over the twisty, steep stuff, and can still catch up with the big rigs. But instead of passing them, I just sit back there and enjoy the scenery........they are going to want to go faster than me down the other side, anyway.

Originally Posted by PUPTENT

Good morning folks:

I've posted before looking for Trail Mini input and also towing questions regarding a 2720. Now, our attention is directed solely towards the Elkmont. I wish there was a shorter model than 24' + but it is a beautiful trailer and would serve our needs for the next 15 years.

My question is my tow vehicle and mountain towing from the SF Bay Area through the Sierras and the Rockies to eastern Colorado and back each year.

The weight of the Elkmont would be around 3000 lbs. before another 600-800 lbs. of "stuff" is added. Is a 2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac with a 130" wheelbase, 4.6 liter V8, and 7000 lbs. towing capacity OK for the frontal area of an upright trailer for the elevation changes we would encounter yearly on our SF/Colorado trips?

Thanks for any feedback!

PUPTENT and wife
SF Bay Area

I used to tow my 2720SL with a V-6 Sport Trac. It was just fine until I hit the 5% and greater grades, when I was reduced to doing 30 mph or less, running near 4,000 RPM up those long grades. There was ONE spot I came across on a narrow, slow, very steep road that I almost didn't make it up -- had to back up a little and try again. Down wasn't much different than my current F-150, except that I had to be even more careful about hot brakes.

Since I estimate my 2720SL is about 4,000 lbs when towing, it boils down to wind resistance as the possible problem. In still air you'd probably not have a problem, but raise the wind to 15 knots or better on the nose, and you might have a bit of a struggle. On the tail, of course, it'd be a breeze (pun intended).

[wbmiller3]

The fellow in this video should have checked the forum first-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05ru1...layer_embedded