Small trailer puller

ThorsonNM · August 21, 2015

Back in the 1970's, my wife and I were full time RVers. Now that our kids are gone, and we'd like to travel a bit, we've been thinking about what we want. A consideration is our ages, I'm in my 70's and have arthritis, and my wife is almost 70. One of our first thoughts was a motorhome. Now we're considering a trailer. Our first choice would probably be a gently used 24 foot Airstream.

A 24 foot Airstream weighs about 6,000 lbs. What my question to this forum is: What kind of puller would do the job? The selection criteria include, small (I absolutely refuse to buy a Suburban or Tahoe), able to travel over mountains without overheating or breaking down, and not a pickup. Looking at Kelly Blue Book for SUV recomndations, the VW Taurog (sp?), or Porche Cheyenne are well regarded. They both have enough muscle, and are considered quite reliable. Has anyone any thoughts on these two? Or, have another suggestion?

Thanks for any thought and consideration you may have.

Jesse Thorson

Jimalberta · August 22, 2015

No SUV in my opinion will do it. You need a 3/4 ton truck....sorry.

Kirk W · August 22, 2015

First, welcome to the Escapee forums! We are just a little bit older than you but we waited until early retirement to go fulltime, then after about 12 years health issues caused us to revert back to part time once more.

I consider a motorized RV to be the least work for setting up, but they can also be a bit on the expensive side, but then so are the Airstream trailers so perhaps you shouldn't be too quick to drop the motorhome thought? There are some very nice class C units around and probably would cost no more than what you are considering now.

I'm not familiar with either of the vehicles that you suggest so can't comment. I did find some specs on the Porche.

2016 Porsche Cayenne

Luxury vehicle

MSRP: From $58,300

MPG: Up to 20 city, 29 highway

Horsepower: 240 to 570 HP

Towing capacity: 7,716 lbs

Curb weight: 4,488 to 4,927 lbs

ThorsonNM · August 22, 2015

Thank Kirk.

That's what I'd thought also. We're considering a Thor 24' Sprinter. Unfortunately, since neither of us walk very good or very far. I'd like to trailer a side-by-side ATV so we could get around. Unfortuately, I don't know of an ATV that can be driven on the road (not a highway). Which is the main reason we're considering a trailer.

Jesse

Jimalberta · August 22, 2015

Why not get a truck and put the Siide by side in the truck and pull a travel trailer. Lots of my friends do that. We put our side by side in a pickup and pull the pickup behind our motorhome...works very well.

kathydavidb · August 22, 2015

How about a class c motorhome pulling a trailer that contains the side by side atv?

Vladimir · August 22, 2015

About ten years ago, I ran into a couple in their 80's at a Forest Service campground. They quit full-timing in their 5th wheel since it got to much to haul around.

They ended up buying a Casita trailer and towing it with a Ford Ranger. Their 5th wheel became their homebase in Arizona.

There are lots of small, light fiberglass trailers available. Be aware that most are built to order and require pickup at the factory.

Anyway, our Casita will be ready September 3rd and I will tow it with my 1-ton Dodge Diesel. My wife, who plans on using it by herself will tow it with our Honda Pilot.

Getting that ATV to work with a small, lightweight trailer combination is going to be very difficult unless you get a truck camper.....and that has its own issues.

ThorsonNM · August 22, 2015

First of all, thank each of you for your suggestions and help.

I think I need to clarify our requirements.

1. I do not want and will not use a truck. We had a truck camper for 10 years or so, and we never were really comfortable.

2. We were full-timers for about a year and half in a Class A. There were places we simply couldn't go.

3. We had 2 class C motorhomes. They worked the best for us, and with the kids.

4. Now we are both less able to move about.

An ATV (or maybe a Smart ForTwo) on a trailer with a Class C,

Or a small vehicle with a trailer,

Or a Sprinter Class B seem to be our new options.

This request was: Are there any car like vehicles that would work to pull a small (24 feet or so) trailer?

I gave an example of what I considered a reasonable size, i.e. the Porche Cayenne, based on Kelly Blue Book recommendation.

Thanks,

Jesse Thorson

P.S. Vladimr,

Could you give me some insight into who and where to get a small, lightweight fiberclass trailer? Thanks.

sushidog · August 22, 2015

I think the Oliver would be my choice for a lightweight molded fiberglass trailer for your application. They must be ordered and custom built and picked up at their Hohenwald, TN factory as they do not use a dealer base for distribution.

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/trailers/

I particularly like their Legacy Elite II model to pull behind your Cayenne. They are not cheap, but if you can afford a Cayenne you should have no problem affording one. They are definitely top of the line and would make fine small FTing camper.

Chip

Vladimir · August 22, 2015

Here are the links to a couple more fiberglass trailers. We ended up with the Casita since we could get it this fall. The Escape build schedule was for next spring. So far it has been a good experience talking to Casita on the phone. Good service.

Casita link: http://casitatraveltrailers.com/

Escape link: http://escapetrailer.com/

BigFoot link: http://www.bigfootrv.com/

The Canadian trailers are on sale due to the currency exchange rates. Casita did have a sale on when we purchased our trailer.

There are a few blogs out there with folks that are using a Casita trailer.

sandsys · August 22, 2015

I like the Escape trailer because I think the Canadians do a better job of building for weather. But, I have not actually owned any of the fiberglass trailers so I can't back up my preference. I have owned three motorhomes based on the Sprinter chassis--two Class Bs and one Class C--and loved them; my advice there is to buy the best suspension system to reduce sway plus biggest tanks you can because it is irritating to have to dump too often. If I was shopping for a Sprinter now I would be looking at http://www.advanced-rv.com because they seem to be doing some great stuff.

Linda Sand

GuyGene · August 28, 2015

Wow, thanks for that link to the Escape! I love that 5.0TA fifth wheeler looking one! And, the price is not so bad. Jesse, I'm a bit like you, arthritis, fibromyalgia, etc., daily pain, but I still love our travel trailer. I'm able to connect/disconnect with no problems is fast time. But, I do like trucks! They are so very comfortable and easy to drive and handle these days. Great improvements for 1/2 tons, and they can tow very safely up 11,000 pounds for properly equipped 1/2 tons.

I've researched the Olivers and Airstreams a lot, but now, I'm leaning to that Escape, made in Canada, eh? I've become a bit concerned about the build quality of recent Airstreams for some reason. Just a feeling... I still like them though.