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Experiences with Towing Campers

27K views 42 replies 17 participants last post by  paulw 
I know the OB has a tow rating of 2700 lbs and I could pull a 2000 lb dry weight camper if I was staying on country roads or even a state hwy and staying in central Indiana. The problem is that we would like to go to Colorado or Tennessee. I have heard taking a 2000 lb camper up an incline of any degree and you end up multiplying your weight which I would rather not do.
You are wise to focus on the really lightweight trailers. Once you get to the Colorado Plateau you will be wishing for more power in a big way. I wouldn't attempt towing anything over 1000 pounds with any four cylinder gas engine at 8000 feet.

Are you dead set on a hard shell camper? How about either a rooftop tent or a RTT combined with a small utility trailer? There are other threads discussing this option, there are a lot of benefits.

One is that you and your wife can sleep in comfort in a small RTT and the kids can rough it on the ground in a small backpacking tent. They will love it!

Good luck finding what you want with a queen bed - I haven't seen many with that option. Maybe some of the widest teardrops......

The main thing in camping with family is to please the wife! Sorry if that sounds sexist, but if you can provide a safe, comfy sleeping environment that is very fast to access, she will be happy and more likely to want to go camping.

This is my recommendation - 60 seconds to set up if you don't turn and beam at the camera after every step:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZYN_wbeNkvw#!

John Davies
Spokane WA USA
 
you can hook any crazy weight you want to it but your not crossing Colorado in the summer and arriving in the the same car you started with.
LOL - brilliant!

The Colorado Plateau in hot weather humbles marginal tow vehicles and destroys the bad ones. It's stunning scenery, but really hard on heavily loaded vehicles.....

John Davies
Spokane WA USA
 
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