Today going to work I noticed a Chrysler Town & Country minivan towing an Airstream. I think the trailer was a relatively new 27-foot 'Classic' model. I had to take a double take because it just looked so so "wrong". (So so wrong is more wrong than the simply so wrong). Upon getting home for the evening I did some googling. A 2011 Tow & Country has a towing capacity of 3,600 pounds. A 27-foot Airstream Classic of recent vintage (like 2011) has a dry weight of 6,592 pounds. You can bet the actual weight was more. I would.
Makes me shake my head. What are these people thinking? Clearly, being able to afford an Airstream doesn't mean you are smart.
Scary to think of that combo coming down the road toward me. An overloaded FWD minivan would have very little control of that trailer.
Quote from: PEIslander on July 06, 2015, 06:39:09 PM
Clearly, being able to afford an Airstream doesn't mean you are smart.
That is an amusing but cogent observation.
I have noticed that LL owners are more concerned about the towing characteristics of their trailers than any other group of RV trailer owners. Discussions about tongue weight, towing weight, WDHs, etc are the second largest group of topics after mods on our forums. The latter means we are hands on and want to make the LL fit us exactly right.
The Airstream owner is very different I think. People buy Airstreams for two reasons. One is they think they are buying the best RV made. They may be right. Others buy them for their cache. Owning an Airstream denotes status. It seems that both types often ignore the practicality and safety of their trailer- it has a gorgeous, aerodynamic, aluminum skin and a sleek interior, so it must be light and easy to tow.
LL owners usually know better.
David
Asking for trouble towing a camper above the TV rated capacity. A dealer told us about Toyota Prius owner wanting to buy & tow a camper. The dealer told them they needed a larger TV.
We were out west last year on a camping trip when someone pulled out in front of us. Even though our TV has a maximum capacity 3X the weight of our CampLite loaded, we just stopped in time to avoid an accident. Also had someone to stopped abruptly on a ramp entering an interstate, and we just stopped in time again while towing the CampLite.
I really like the looks of a polished Airstream and P-51 Mustang, but personally prefer the Bowlus Road Chief, if I could afford it. :)
Quote from: DavidM on July 06, 2015, 10:24:08 PMThe latter means we are hands on and want to make the LL fit us exactly right...
David
I think it may reflect that the "all aluminum" Livin'Lite products appeal to those with a technical bent. We were willing to pay relatively more for a Livin'Lite product (vs. the typical rv) because we can understand and appreciate the difference. Of course not all Livin'Lite buyers have that technical bent but from those we see on forums it seems most of us share that characteristic. I'd suggest that buyers of typical trailers don't see their trailers the same way we do. As Livin'Lite customers we have a bit more "engineer" in us than the other folks at the campground. That's good or bad depending on your perspective. (I think mostly good).
(http://s29.postimg.org/wdcd1cnnb/20120501.gif)
Quote from: rideandfly on July 07, 2015, 12:06:41 AM
I really like the looks of a polished Airstream and P-51 Mustang, but personally prefer the Bowlus Road Chief, if I could afford it. :)
Go ahead and reserve the Bowlus! You can do it online. :D
Quote from: djsamuel on July 07, 2015, 12:32:20 PM
Quote from: rideandfly on July 07, 2015, 12:06:41 AM
I really like the looks of a polished Airstream and P-51 Mustang, but personally prefer the Bowlus Road Chief, if I could afford it. :)
Go ahead and reserve the Bowlus! You can do it online. :D
Will buy a CampLite TT or Quicksilver VRV TH next! :)
Edit: Looking forward to a LivinLite plant tour this summer, too!
Quote from: rideandfly on July 07, 2015, 12:06:41 AM
A dealer told us about Toyota Prius owner wanting to buy & tow a camper.
Came across I guy this weekend. He was towing an Aliner Scout with Prius Hybrid. According to his "mechanical engineering background", his 1.8l engine can tow 1800 lbs.
I had to follow him out of the campground. 0 to 60 in about 2 days with a 3 km braking distance.
Checked Toyota's site about Prius capacities and it does not say anything about towing. Think they are great cars, but not going to tow with one:
http://www.toyota.com/prius/features.html#!/weights_capacities/1223/1225/1227/1229
Edit: Found this article about towing with a Prius:
http://www.hybridcars.com/2016-toyota-prius-offers-light-towing-and-awd-in-non-us-markets/
About a month ago I saw a Prius towing a Airstream Bambi (16 ft I think) driving down Mopac (loop 1) in Austin,TX. He was doing about 60 MPH. I was driving the other way or I would have loved to follow him and see how it handled.
Popup2012, Welcome to the forum!
Didn't think the Prius had enough HP to tow a travel trailer @ 60MPH. Guess that shows how aerodynamic the Airstream is!!!!! :)
I saw a honda civic towing a 10 foot tent trailer. From the back I couldn't see the car because it was lower than the tent trailer!
Quote from: rob on July 26, 2015, 05:54:47 PM
Quote from: rideandfly on July 07, 2015, 12:06:41 AM
A dealer told us about Toyota Prius owner wanting to buy & tow a camper.
Came across I guy this weekend. He was towing an Aliner Scout with Prius Hybrid. According to his "mechanical engineering background", his 1.8l engine can tow 1800 lbs.
I had to follow him out of the campground. 0 to 60 in about 2 days with a 3 km braking distance.
Titanic was built by engineers. So was Apollo 1.
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I saw a S-10 Blazer towing what had to be a 30 foot Airstream. I sold my Nash TT to a guy with a new jeep, I told him I didn't think it was a good idea, but he insisted. The jeep wasn't set up for towing, no hitch, no tranny cooler and it was a lease. Later that summer, my buddy saw my old Nash being towed with the jeep on the beach, I still don't think it was a good idea, it might be able to tow it, but theres got to be a safety issue there.
As I went to put up my 16TBS at the covered spot, the man in the spot next to me was parking his RETRO176FK (360/2799 Empty)with a weight distribution hitch. We were at a covered spot 30 deep and 16 wide for each TT. He was driving a small 4 cylinder SUV/station wagon with no tow mirrors. In other words, he could not see behind the TT. He said he had been there for 30 minutes trying. He did not under stand how to turn the wheel to get the TT to turn. He said he had never had this trouble before as he had always had a pull thru. I stood to the side and told which way to turn the wheel. I ask him if the dealer had sold him this TT with this vehicle. He said yes and they told him it was OK with the WDH. Next time I see him I will find out what kind of SUV/wagon it was. I doubt it was rated over 2000 lbs.
Oh, my.
I see this in his future:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrpI01yegm8
CanAm RV in London, Ontario specializes in this sort of thing:
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/631/31596644173_e66267a992_z.jpg)
Taken in Dec 2014 when we drove up to have them reinforce the receiver of our Flex to handle more tongue weight.
Quote from: FastEddieB on January 19, 2017, 02:53:17 PM
CanAm RV in London, Ontario specializes in this sort of thing:
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/631/31596644173_e66267a992_z.jpg)
Taken in Dec 2014 when we drove up to have them reinforce the receiver of our Flex to handle more tongue weight.
I was about to mention the same thing. You beat me to it. I hear good things about their work. Mini Van upgrades is something they specialize in. Apparently they can turn a mini van into a towing machine.
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The Flex has a max tongue weight of 450 lbs. My 21BHS loaded came in over 600 lbs. - a far cry from the 440 lbs that LivinLite advertised and led us to think the Flex was OK as a tow vehicle.
Andy, of CanAm, said he was surprised Ford could even allow 450 lbs. The stock receiver is just welded onto a portion of the unitized construction in the back - there's really no there there.
Before:
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8608/28685073472_442826aa09_z.jpg)
What they did was to add a large square bracket that runs forward from the hitch to the rear suspension, giving the weight distribution a more solid path to transfer the weight forward:
After:
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8609/28758387536_fef4fb5c62_z.jpg)
Over 12,000 miles towing to date with no issues.