What a Tow

[Matthew Pickwell]

Bought a 28' Trail-Lite by R-Vision.

Very nice camper and a lot less weight than most 19-21 footers we were looking at.

Only weighs 3740 dry and I did not have stuff in it.

Had to tow from Louisville area to Knoxville.

280 miles with about 240 miles being mountains.

Those mountains made it miserable.

I had the weight distribution hitch and sway attachment and brake assist, but still hated the drive.

Good thing I will be camping semi-close to here.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Those mountains made it miserable.

What were you expecting? We you thinking you were going to zip up the hills at 80 MPH? All tow vehicles feel the weight behind them. All tow vehicles towing at abover have the rated load get crappy gas mileage and 45 to 50 MPH large hill climbs.



Welcome to the wonderful world of RV'ing. Heck, Dad's 34' Class A motorhome with a big block in it hits the long hills at 55 MPH. Next week, we will be pulling a 4000 LB car too. Odds are, we will be hitting those hills at 50 MPH with the extra weight.



Once you get used to it, it won't be bad. You just need to get comfortable pulling a trailer.





Tom

 

[Christopher Comeaux]

weclome to owning a camper is this your first one



i have a 2000 trail lite by r vision 27ft i dont have and i dont have any mountains or hills around here in south louisiana just bad roads. i love the camper and towing it on the interstate but on the back roads it is horrable.

 

[Matthew Pickwell]

I was not expecting to do 80, but I really did expect less road jamming from putting up the hills.

I grew up camping in tents, popups, campers and motorhomes. It runs in our family, but this is my first and my first to tow. Heaviest thing I towed was a 2200 lb boat and trailer setup from Atlanta and it was a bit of a breeze.

From here we will be mainly doing 100 miles or under for the most part. We don't plan to take real long trips due to schedule and such.

 

[Gerald Pierce]

Heaviest thing I towed was a 2200 lb boat and trailer setup from Atlanta and it was a bit of a breeze.

While the boat is still heavy, it is a little more aerodynamic than the camper



Glad to hear you got a new toy, I love camping but had to sell my popup due to lack of storage space at the house. Someday, when I move out of this house to where I have no Home Owners Association, I will get another.

 

[Aaron Yarbough]

The head wind resistance you get from towing a camper trailer adds an exponential amount of resistance to the tow vehicle. You might need to consider stepping up to a Gen 2 V8....

 

[Brian McDonald]

I just traded up to a 2009 21 foot Palomino trailer from my 17 foot Trail-Lite. Will find out htis weekend how it tows. I have the 4.6 V-8 and the tow package so it should not be a problem. Might be slower on the hills that all.

 

[Brian McDonald]

Well I made it back from camping this weekend. The Sport Trac performed wonderfully with the new heavier trailer. 105 kph uphills etc no problems. That 4.6 has lots of power even compared to the 5.4 that the F150's have, 295 HP versus 300 for the 5.4.