Toad on a Trailer

[WyCamper]

I've got cars that can be towed with a dolly but not flat, and a CR-V that can be flat towed but not dollied. I also plan on buying a Rzr or similar SxS 4 wheeler that would need to be trailered.

So I'm looking at aluminum car trailers that would be a single solution for all three.

Does anyone else tow with a trailer? And what are the pluses and minuses you've encountered. I know stowing it at a campground would be an issue, but not too worried about that. Advantages would be not worrying about brakes, battery, transmission, etc. Drive it on, tie it down and go.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by WyCamper

I've got cars that can be towed with a dolly but not flat, and a CR-V that can be flat towed but not dollied. I also plan on buying a Rzr or similar SxS 4 wheeler that would need to be trailered.

So I'm looking at aluminum car trailers that would be a single solution for all three.

Does anyone else tow with a trailer? And what are the pluses and minuses you've encountered. I know stowing it at a campground would be an issue, but not too worried about that. Advantages would be not worrying about brakes, battery, transmission, etc. Drive it on, tie it down and go.

There's quite a bit of folks that use a trailer. But, the concern about where to store it at each and every campsite/RV parking spot IS more of a concern than you may think. Not all campgrounds and RV parks have the extra space needed for storage of the trailer. Some do. And, even a trailer will have brakes that you need to be aware of and, with that kind of weight, a Razor and maybe the CRV or any other car, yes, you're gonna wear the trailer brakes and, you'll also need a brake controller in the coach for those brakes.

Most of us don't worry too much about brakes and or transmissions or anything else when we hook up our toads. We just do it. There's wear and tear on toad components, just as there's wear and tear on trailer components too. It's a preference thing.
Scott

[Mich F]

With your 3 slide out MH on an 18,000 GVWR, 23,000# GCWR, a 5,000# hitch, I would think the weight of a trailer, towed vehicle and a 4 wheeler will be an issue.

[BirchyBoy]

Originally Posted by Mich F

With your 3 slide out MH on an 18,000 GVWR, 23,000# GCWR, a 5,000# hitch, I would think the weight of a trailer, towed vehicle and a 4 wheeler will be an issue.

+1

I’ve got the 31BE, same chassis. You’re going to have a pretty heavy tongue weight. The max is 500lb I think.

[radar]

We do. We prefer it but have done it all three ways. The car is electric. Works well for us.

[WyCamper]

Originally Posted by Mich F

With your 3 slide out MH on an 18,000 GVWR, 23,000# GCWR, a 5,000# hitch, I would think the weight of a trailer, towed vehicle and a 4 wheeler will be an issue.

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear enough. It would be a 2600# car, a 3300# CR-V, or a 1000# 4-wheeler.

Don't really imagine a case where more than one at a time would be towed. If that happens I'll need a longer trailer (looking at 14') and a bigger MH.

With the CR-V and 1100# trailer I'll still be under the 5,000# max. And the 14' trailer OAL is about 20', bringing me to around 48' total, so not all that long. But more importantly, we're not really camp ground campers anyway. Boonies and the occasional Walmart.

[Mich F]

So I'm looking at aluminum car trailers that would be a single solution for all three.

OK, I assumed you meant a trailer to handle all three at the same time.

[Montana170]

I recently bought the midsize Trailex https://www.trailex.com/products/pc/...?idCategory=17 mid sized bolted aluminum trailer. Not cheap but very high quality and lite. It will carry a Subaru Crosstrek to be purchase when I can make a deal with the local jerks. Since we are only 44' long we rent a large drive through.

[WyCamper]

Originally Posted by Montana170

I recently bought the midsize Trailex https://www.trailex.com/products/pc/...?idCategory=17 mid sized bolted aluminum trailer. Not cheap but very high quality and lite. It will carry a Subaru Crosstrek to be purchase when I can make a deal with the local jerks. Since we are only 44' long we rent a large drive through.


Attachment 218459

Thanks Montana, that's about the same as what I'm looking at, except the local dealer carries Aluma. And they weld on options themselves and seem to do nice work from what I saw.

https://www.alumaklm.com/7800ta-esa-...dard-equipment

The 14' bed model I want will leave me just under 47' OAL, which isn't bad.

[gbstewart]

And you get to back up with trailer

[powerboatr]

we do it,
as far as campgrounds having space to park it, if it wont fit at site.

Only a few places we have been stated we had to park in a lot, that was secured and we had to put our name on it with a number. even state parks do this for us
we can be loaded and ready for the road in about the same time as a towed with a tow bar and brake buddy setup.


the trailer weighs 1800 empty, and has a total gvwr of 12K,

axles are 5500lbs each. had it since 2009, have replaced all wheels once, tires 5 times and axles once (upgraded)
brakes on all four wheels

i carry a 6800 lb suv, with between 750 to 900 tongue weight depending on what we bring with us. the expedition is pretty evenly balanced on its front and rear axles so it rides much better than the crew cab pickup we had before

[Crasher]

We've done it all three ways. With a 22' open trailer, we could carry the RZR crossways up front and our offroad Jeep or a car behind. Now, I use a 20' trailer for the Jeep, spare parts and fuel. Towing the Avalanche 4 down is nice, but in some ways, I prefer the trailer. Easy to backup, can carry other things, less wear on the drive train, etc. If you get the Aluma trailer with 3500# axles, option up to the 215 tires. The 205's I had on an 18' Aluma car hauler, were marginal at best. They come with a pretty cheap tire.

[WyCamper]

Thanks all, this is the feedback I was hoping for. I might need to look at longer than 14' just to have some extra room.

I bought a car on Craigslist last spring, and rented a U-Haul dolly to go pick it up. When I got home I tried to back it up in my driveway and found that it was pretty much impossible. After 10 minutes of frustration I just unloaded the car, dropped the dolly, moved my truck, re-hitched the dolly and took it back to U-Haul. So I'm aware of that limitation and it's one reason to look at trailers.

[WyCamper]

I'm bumping this to ask another question of those who tow a trailer:


What electric brake controller do you use? Is there a favorite? Mine is baked into my Ram pickup, so I've never really shopped for one before now.