Really Set On A Trailmanor

I have used two vehicles with 3500 lb. Max to tow my 2720 and have had no problems. I am sensitive to what I carry, although I still include a generator and other extras and have not had a problem.
As long as you are thoughtful in what you carry and aren't intent on being the fastest vehicle on the road you should - based on my actual experience - be fine. It is a great combo.
Welcome.

Phew...Thank you so much for the information. Yes, I will need a controler and that's not a problem.
David and Inis Touch
The Villages, Fl

[Bill]

Originally Posted by djtouchfla

Also, I understand with a Ford leveler, I can greatly reduce the tongue weight of the TM on my hitch.

I'm not sure what a "Ford Leveler" is. Can you provide a link? Sounds like airbags, but I've never heard of OEM air bags on a small vehicle. Or perhaps it is referring to a Weight Distributing Hitch, or WDH. You will definitely need one of these, and it will reduce the weight on the rear suspension somewhat - I wouldn't agree with "greatly". Theory says that 2/3 of the tongue weight can be moved somewhere else - I'm not sure I've ever seen more than about half that. Still, very worthwhile. Check out the tutorials in the TM Technical Reference Library (aka TM Info You Won't Find Anywhere Else) for some details.

As you see, I am doing my best to make this work since we have looked long and hard for a travel trailer we can love. By the way, thank you all for your wonderfuyl suggestions.

I'm real happy to see you do that, and I hope you can make the right choices and join us. But yes, we would prefer to see you join us safely, and there is a lot of concern about where the edge of "safely" lies.

Bill

[ThePair]

There are some of us who happily tow with a 3500# rated vehicle, so it's not an automatic "no". It's a literal YMMV. Do the homework, know what you're doing, know what you can do to maximize safety. Do what makes you comfortable. Have fun.

I can't speak to your particular vehicle, but for my sake, I did a TON of research on Sienna specific boards (SiennaChat and its predecessor) and found a whole slew of people who towed with the Sienna, TTs that were far more than a 2720 TM, and not one report of equipment failure or safety issues. So, I feel comfortable with what I am doing. BUT, I did the homework I also weighed my rig, and do my best to keep the weight as low as possible, etc. I also only tow in the flat midwest. Things would be different if I were at altitude...

Welcome to the family!

Bill, are you suggesting that those of us who tow with 3500lb TV's are not safe?

[Mr. Adventure]

The best source of information would be an actual owner of a Ford Edge who tows a TrailManor with it. Unfortunately, "edge" is a busy word in an RV forum, and searching for edges will bring up a bewildering list of posts about many other kinds of edges. I don't recall an edge owner posting here.

That leaves having to figure this out more carefully. Start with the owners' manual and the driver's side doorpost. Have you got room in your vehicle weight limits for your stuff plus a 500# tongue weight? The Gross Combined Weight Rating is for the total tow vehicle plus the trailer. Is there room for a 4000# Trailmanor?

Ratings are guidelines. Some vehicles have more generous allowances than others in the way they tell you to figure things. No vehicle is automatically safe because it is within limits or automatically unsafe because the Edge is near the edge. Durability, for example, is a big factor in tow ratings but not so big a factor in safety (except for extreme issues with hitching components, of course). We'd like this all to be black and white, but most of us have to live with some gray in there somewhere. Speed is the huge limiting factor in practical safety terms that dwarfs most of the more theoretical conversations about ratings.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by moaboy

Bill, are you suggesting that those of us who tow with 3500lb TV's are not safe?

The separation between SAFE and UNSAFE is not a bright, hard line. There is a whole continuum of risk between the two. It is up to each owner to study and assess the risk, and decide where he feels comfortable – his risk tolerance. And his risk tolerance may be different from yours or mine.

It is not the function of this board to tell anyone how much risk he should take. However, it is a function of this board to identify and discuss the elements of risk, so that an owner, particularly a new owner, can make an informed decision about his risk tolerance. Questions like -

------Where will you tow?
------How much stuff will you bring along?
------Do you know the difference between dry weight and loaded weight?
------Do you know what the manufacturer means when he puts an asterisk or a footnote beside his Tow Rating?
------Does the manufacturer demand a factory-installed tow package as part of the Tow Rating?

are important parts of this discussion. Judging by the questions we commonly get from new owners, most aren’t even aware of these issues, and certainly haven’t included them in their thinking. They are looking for that non-existent bright hard line.

This board will always challenge an unthinking, unsupported statement like “a 3500-pound vehicle is always safe”. At the same time, it will also challenge a statement like “a 7000-pound vehicle is always required”. If you have spent any time reading the many past discussions on the topic, you know that this has always been true. Everyone is entitled to express his own opinion, but that doesn’t mean your opinion is right for everyone else. And you shouldn’t expect it to be.

Bill

[Barb&Tim]

Bill, I agree 100%, twas a very nice post!

Tim

[scrubjaysnest]

Originally Posted by moaboy

Bill, are you suggesting that those of us who tow with 3500lb TV's are not safe?

Bill gave an excellent response to your question. Let use my personal example;
When we picked up out 2720SL in October 2010 we were 1100miles from home. Factory tow package, 5000# and the 2 inch ball is rated for 6000#. At the time the WDH was 1100 miles away. We hooked up the TM at the dealer and rear sag was with acceptable limits. We made it home safe but there was one limit exceeded and that was the 500# tongue limit of the receiver. Was I not safe? Lets just say I got away with it. Could I continue to get away with it; maybe. It's the UN-expected that gets us in trouble or what we call an accident. That doesn't mean it's unsafe per say it's just that Murphey rules, if something can go wrong it will.

Hi-

Last May I had my heart set on a Ford Edge color and all, before I found our 2720 TM. I went by the factory specifications (Approx.) 2,742 lbs. (Approx. tongue weight) 346 lbs. I said how COOL is that! Then I thought about it...

On our last trip out which I mentioned in another threat I got the TM weighted and it weighted 3,740 lbs. and the tongue weight was 450 lbs. I do have the 2010 (new) Ford Explorer. I feel safe, it has all the towing factory options and I am in the safe range. It tows in the mountains with no problem at all. I think these numbers here exceed the Ford Edge. 3,500, and 350 tongue weight.

I am a little sorry we didn’t get the Expedition then down the road as years go bye we could up-grade to the largest TM with no problem, but we are stuck now. We do have the WDH bars and they are so good.

“Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark”

Dave