Towing Trailers

[bdersham]

Looking for some feedback on towing trailers.
I have an Itasca Ellipse and am looking at getting an enclosed trailer to haul my Chevy Tahoe.
With my motorhome at 43' and the trailer I'm looking having an OAL of about 27' I'm seeing a sizable rig to get around with.
Any and all comments are welcome.
Thanks,

[ChasA]

You're right it'll be long.

[Cudntherd]

Be sure you look at the height of the trailer. I looked at one for towing our Suburban. I would have to have one a foot taller that a standard trailer to clear the luggage rack on the Suburban. I bought a 22 ft open car hauler and have towed it over 5000 miles.

[jeryan59]

Agree with the height, you will want the extra height for the luggage rack to fit through door opening. Also make sure the axle rating to accommodate the weight.

As far as length, I am 42' plus a 24' enclosed v nose trailer. Learn what lane to be in for left turns (outside to allow swinging) and don't be afraid to make an extra turn or 2 depending on circumstances. My biggest issue is usually in parking lots as I have torsion axles and I will not put one on a curb of an island and chance breaking an axle. I put a full size Escalade (ESV) and previously a GMC Denali XL with no issues in the 24'. I also put a Harley Road Glide in the nose with a vehicle, but I haven't done it with the Escalade yet.

I love the enclosed trailer and the extra height you will love, you will not notice it pulling behind your coach and you will like the extra room inside.

[bdersham]

Johnny - What can you tell me about the hitches? I've read some things about an Equalizer Hitch, any comments on that?
Also, any thoughts on other things I need to be aware of, such as braking, etc.?

[jeryan59]

Originally Posted by bdersham

Johnny - What can you tell me about the hitches? I've read some things about an Equalizer Hitch, any comments on that?
Also, any thoughts on other things I need to be aware of, such as braking, etc.?

I use the equalizer hitch, my hitch says I need it for the total weight. I wished I knew the correct thing to do, but it wasn't that much money, the only issue is carrying the bars out. I also use sway control, again, for the little cost it is an extra safety margin in my opinion. I am sure I will be criticized for it, but that is what I do. I can't pull it behind the Escalade more than about 40 mph without it getting squirrelly empty, so I need the equalizer and stabilizer anyway.

Brakes, I had heavy duty brakes put on axles when I ordered it, electric brake controller. The folks who wired my Denali and Escalade used a flat trailer connector next to drivers seat and I just plug or unplug the brake controller in the Escalade when I need to use it with the Escalade, when not in use I keep it in the console.

Only issue for me no longer towing 4 down is when I take coach in for service, I don't like loading the car and hooking up and repeating the sequence so I try and have someone drive and pick me up or I just wait for it. I usually have my coach serviced once per year, Cummins had offered to take me to pick my coach up from storage with my vehicle but I haven't done that yet. Truly the only time I miss having a 4 down vehicle option which I had up until 3 years ago.

I absolutely love the trailer and the ability to keep my vehicle safe, clean and to take my Harley with me.

Depending on how you will use your trailer, I had mine insulated after the fact, wish I would have done it on the front end. It is prewired for roof air but I haven't added it yet. The insulation makes a huge difference, not noisy inside from wind buffering, when I go to SD pheasant hunting the dogs have a place to roam in comfort as I keep a space heater inside and I can pull boots, chaps etc and keep mess out of the coach. I have actually slept in my trailer a few night on a very comfortable air mattress.

[jeryan59]

Bob, another thing to look at depending on your agility. Some of my cars sit too low that I can't open the door after I have loaded the car with the car door clearing the fender well inside the trailer. My Escalade door will hit the top of the escape door frame so using the drivers door has limited opening. I usually crawl over the seat out the back hatch. My escaped door on the side of the trailer would need to be taller to allow easier ingress or egress or I need to lose some weight!