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any 2015 3.6 towing scamp/livinglite 11ft or weiscraft pondorosa?

4K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  lereneb 
#1 ·
After getting some great information on earlier post about towing with the 3.6r - I have revised the camper quest! Is anyone towing a living lite 11fk, scamp 13 with large bed or weiscraft ponderosa? There will be only 2 of us traveling. So no kids and all that goes with 4 or more people in the car and their various items :D, we will also look at the aliner. The camper quest is not urgent. We have plenty going on the rest of the year! But want to know what we are doing when we get down to business with this purchase early next year. The weiscraft ponderosa is intriguing. The living lite looks well made and seems very reputable and the scamp does as well. Aliner is not out of the question and would probably be easier to tow since it wouldn't have wind resistance?

living lite hitch 225, dry weight 1890. So I am thinking more like 2200 with A/C and awning? It seems you can adjust hitch weight based on distribution of some items behind axle. Wouldn't travel with a lot since it's just 2 of us.

Ponderosa 180 hitch, 1480 dry weight

Scamp rep is saying - 150 hitch an 1300 dry for 13 ft with shower / bath and AC and awning
 
#2 ·
Hey I saw your RV model choices. Like the living lite. But close campers are more massive to tow and wind resistance remove many percent on power available. And It's harder on gas too...

Close campers have a tendency to be way heavier than the constructor official weights. Many or all options are not included in the weight. Its go-up fast! And your gear are not in. More you have space more you put in...

Dry weight mean nothing. Many campers says that the GVWR of the camper must correspond your max tow capacity or less. I have notice oftenly when fully loaded campers reach their GVWR. Some experienced towers said that you have to choose your RV first and buy your car after.

Pay attention to dry tongue weight. Add 100 lb to be close to the real TW ready to go.

People here says that 1800 lb full is the best tow weight to go anywhere in all situation. I believe this with my OB.

With my big camper I can say that the wind resistance are also deadful than their weight. I highly recommend small Pop-Up camper or small tear drop ones. My 3.0R hold 3000 lb but I'm stock on flats roads ans short trips. Classic closes and hybrid campers are more towable with SUV.

Your overall towing satisfaction will be better with small size and weightless camper. And youll keept pleasure to drive your Outback.
 
#3 ·
We are going to go sit in a TAB and an Aliner possibly next week. Also going to do the Aliner set up and see what we think of it. I would love to see a 13 ft Scamp as well but I don't know anyone that has one or anywhere near me they can be seen.
 
#6 ·
I do think one of our regular posters had a 13ft scamp for some time and replaced it with a nice tent trailer. I think he mentioned getting a more modern trailer and interior along with some weight savings were key areas for why he made the move. The Scamps are pretty dated regarding design. As for weight regardless of the model its important to understand that typically the base weight is the stripped down basic trailer not the trailer with the fridge, full 20lb propane tank and large deep cycle battery on board etc. The T@B can be on the heavy side pending options, the hottest seller is the new T@G which is about 900lbs empty loaded its probably in the 1400lbs. But its just a bed with a exterior kitchen not a eat in RV with bath room etc. Windage does play a big role especially if your typical locations and trips may involve crossing wide flat windy states etc. That may be something to consider pending where you see your self going on a regular basis.

This is an interesting site given they list the weights of the add on items
http://www.safaricondo.com/pdf/caracteristiques_alto_en.pdf
http://www.safaricondo.com/pdf/caracteristiques_alto_en.pdf

The livin lite 11footer
They list the dry weight at 1990LBS Keep in mind that does not include the propane tank, battery or water. Which would mean its actually pushing it over that comfort range we all seem to agree is the max go anywhere weight for the OB of right around 1800lbs.

It seems like these Livinlites have gotten heavier over the years.
 
#4 ·
hunt_boston has a good point about wind resistance.

I've towed a couple of trailers (UHaul) on highways. The wind resistance does seem to have a bigger effect than the weight. I towed a low-profile trailer that was heavier (more heavily loaded) than a high-profile trailer. The low-profile trailer was barely noticeable on the highway, but the high-profile trailer made me feel like the car was really working hard to maintain speed (and it showed on the MPG display).

Something to think about: if the trailer is taller than the car, make sure to test drive it on the highway for a good while before you decide.
 
#5 ·
I've towed for the first time a 13 feet Boler last weekend with my 2003 Outback, H6. It felt completely fine, although the front wind could definitively be felt.

The 1300 pound sounds right, however that's empty. Calculate around 500 lbs of gear to have a realistic figure, which brings you to 1800, which is absolutely fine for a 2015 H6. Just make sure it has brakes.
 
#7 ·
Also it may be worth it to look at vehicles that are in the 3500lb towing capacity range to see if any of them are attractive to you given that would open up a wider range of small RV trailer options. All the typical SUV's today are just Wagons with beefed up suspension anyway. Toyota Highlander is just a Toyota Sienna Minivan with a more traditional Wagon body on it. It has a larger towing capacity. Mileage will be very similar by the way. Just a thought
 
#8 ·
We had SUVs for years and I just don't want another one. I did go test drive a Ford Escape I think...tow rate of 3500 versus 300 and the hitch weight may have been more as well. It was nice enough and had a lot of great technology stuff...BUT I really want a Subaru so we are going to limit the camper choices to have the vehicle. The Tab we are going to look at has the small kitchen area and wet bath inside. It looks very small but even loaded seems to fit the weight issue and the shape would hopefully make it easier to tow? I like the look of the Scamp as well but wonder if it would be harder to tow because of size/shape? We will travel to Florida, GA, SC and NC mountains with it I would imagine. Aliner probably tows easiest based on the trailer height difference?

Hope we are doing the right thing. I don't know why I want the Subaru. We have never had one before.
 
#9 ·
I have read stuff about Scamps being a lot heavier then the factory listings,...and if buying used, like any other trailer people loading heavier options in them over time . (like swapping flooring,...prettier vs. lighter).

@jogosub has a A-liner and loves it.


here is @mcbrew with a pic of his old Scamp 13 footer,
...along with a few good links in similar ideas I added in the previous posts on this thread:

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums...scamp-using-3-6-2013-outback.html#post1371481

here is mcbrew 's current fold out tent trailer.
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums...railers-does-anyone-tow-one-2.html#post873410
 
#10 ·
We went in a TAB last week and liked it. Also got super lucky and saw someone parking in a lot across from a restaurant we were eating in with a 15 Outback 2.5 and a 13 foot Scamp!! I couldn't believe it. I have never seen a Scamp in person. We left the restaurant and hung out in the parking lot like stalkers waiting for them to return haha! After they returned and I explained we were picking up our Outback in a few days and interested in Scamps, they let us look inside the trailer and talked to us about their towing experience. They were from Minnesota and had traveled to Kure Beach NC on the way to Florida. The Scamp was 20 years old and still looked great. Yes, the design is "dated" and frankly the pics of new ones look almost identical to the 20 year old one we saw, but I don't care about "looks". I care about safety towing and having a toilet haha! Liked what we saw. The folks had no issues towing they said...... so we will see. I have emailed Scamp multiple times about "truth" in the weight and hitch weight. They are sticking with hitch 160 and dry 1300 for the options I outlined in the email.

We picked up our 3.6 Saturday afternoon!!! And I am in love...... like seriously loving the car so far!
 
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