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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / June 2005Tow vehicle?
I am planning to get a popup soon. I drive a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. A friend of mine says the wheel base is too short, that the popup will start to sway back and forth at certain speeds. I hope not. Anybody out there own a explorer sport that tows a popup? Bruce Bruce, it depends what type of pop-up your going to get. Obviously your tow vehicule is very short wheel base, but should be OK if you get a small pop-up (ie: 8 feet box- 16 feet open). The bigger the pop up... the more chances you have it may be unstable. You can definitely balance the tongue vs total weight to put all chances on your side, but if ever it starts to sway... you wont like the experience. If ever you go with a bigger model, you may want to look at product such as Reese Mini350 (weight distribution hitch with anti sway device) that will help stabilize the set-up... and keep speed at a respectable level... it's no race when you tow Mel Newt a écrit: > I am planning to get a popup soon. I drive a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. A > friend of mine says the wheel base is too short, that the popup will > start to sway back and forth at certain speeds. I hope not. Anybody out > there own a explorer sport that tows a popup? > > Bruce >I am planning to get a popup soon. I drive a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. A >friend of mine says the wheel base is too short, that the popup will >start to sway back and forth at certain speeds. I hope not. Anybody out >there own a explorer sport that tows a popup? > > Bruce You probably want to keep the pop-up weight between 1500 and 2000 pounds dry. After you add your camping gear, of say, a normal 5-800 pounds, you will have all you can do to pull it safely. Trailer brakes should be on it with that kind of weight. Interestingly, many of the older pop-up's are lighter than todays pop-ups. There are pop-up's that weigh as much as my fifth wheel. Why anyone would want one ththat heavy is beyond me, but they do. Tom > There are pop-up's > that weigh as much as my fifth wheel. Why anyone would want one ththat > heavy is beyond me, but they do. How much does you 5th wheel weigh? Are you talking about regular canvas covered pop-ups? >> There are pop-up's >> that weigh as much as my fifth wheel. Why anyone would want one ththat >> heavy is beyond me, but they do. >How much does you 5th wheel weigh? Are you talking about >regular canvas covered pop-ups? 3200 pounds dry from the factory (22ft). There are several of the pop-up(canvas) makers that now make them that heavy. I also have an old 1972 Starcraft that I refurbished, complete with new canvas. It only weighs 1390 pounds dry. I really am fond of the thing. Tom > >> There are pop-up's > >> that weigh as much as my fifth wheel. Why anyone would want one ththat [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > old 1972 Starcraft that I refurbished, complete with new canvas. It > only weighs 1390 pounds dry. I really am fond of the thing. My 2005 Fleetwood Niagara weighs about 3200 pounds dry. It has a 14 foot long box and opens to just under 27 feet. It also has a slide-out for the table. >>I am planning to get a popup soon. I drive a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. A >>friend of mine says the wheel base is too short, that the popup will [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Tom Im looking for a used Jayco Baja 10. The hitch weight is 225# and the UVW is1825, I think I can tow this if I am careful driving. Bruce >>>I am planning to get a popup soon. I drive a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. A >>>friend of mine says the wheel base is too short, that the popup will [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Bruce You shouldn't have any problem with that. Just use the gears to hold you back on extremely long grades instead of solid braking. Figure you will have 22-2500 pounds loaded. Your towing capacity should be between 2500 and 4000 pounds depending on how your Explorer is set up. Tom >>>>I am planning to get a popup soon. I drive a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. A >>>>friend of mine says the wheel base is too short, that the popup will [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Tom If I remember the 4WD is 4000#. 2WD is a little more. Newt >>>>>I am planning to get a popup soon. I drive a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. >>>>>A friend of mine says the wheel base is too short, that the popup will >>>>>start to sway back and forth at certain speeds. I hope not. Anybody out >>>>>there own a explorer sport that tows a popup? >>>>> >>>>> Bruce I have a 2000 Explorer Sport for my 2002 Coleman Santa Fe. Granted, I haven't towed it many times but haven't had any trouble so far. Be sure to turn your overdrive off if so equipped (or at least that's what my manual says). Jamie >I am planning to get a popup soon. I drive a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. A >friend of mine says the wheel base is too short, that the popup will start >to sway back and forth at certain speeds. I hope not. Anybody out there own >a explorer sport that tows a popup? > > Bruce Hey Bruce, we tow a 2000 Coleman Sun Valley with a 97 Sport.....ONLY with a Resse Mini 350 WD hitch..had the tail wag the dog once before we got the hitch, cool since then. This year we have a 2000 Ranger 6 cyl as our 'new' TV, should be no problems. A lighter trailer should be no problem, but take your time, and don't tow in OD, better a little less mpg than a burnt up tranny. > Hey Bruce, we tow a 2000 Coleman Sun Valley with a 97 Sport.....ONLY with a > Resse Mini 350 WD hitch..had the tail wag the dog once before we got the > hitch, cool since then. This year we have a 2000 Ranger 6 cyl as our 'new' > TV, should be no problems. A lighter trailer should be no problem, but take > your time, and don't tow in OD, better a little less mpg than a burnt up > tranny. I traded in my 2000 Ford Ranger 4.0L 4x4 on a 2004 F-150 5.4L 4x4 as soon as they were on the market. I didn't want to tow 3500+ pounds of trailer with a truck that couldn't handle it. I have absolutely no problems towing my 2005 Fleetwood Niagara with this truck and would not even want to think about how bad it would have been to try it with my Ranger. Here is the combo at Harry S. Truman state park near Warsaw, MO. http://home.mindspring.com/~mejones/HST_State_Park_sml.jpg >> Hey Bruce, we tow a 2000 Coleman Sun Valley with a 97 Sport.....ONLY with > a [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > http://home.mindspring.com/~mejones/HST_State_Park_sml.jpg Hey Mark, did you ever tow with your Ranger? Ours will be better than the Exploder, longer wheelbase, etc.....it's the 4X4 extended cab. Agree about the F150, probably have to keep looking back to know the p'up is there <G> > Hey Mark, did you ever tow with your Ranger? Ours will be better than the > Exploder, longer wheelbase, etc.....it's the 4X4 extended cab. Agree about > the F150, probably have to keep looking back to know the p'up is there <G> I definitely know it is back there even with a truck this size. I never towed with the Ranger, but there is a huge difference in how my F-150 responds with a load in the bed. This pop-up is probably the biggest and heaviest one on the market so you really need a full size truck when pulling it. That is why I wouldn't consider doing it with a Ranger. If something were to go wrong, this trailer could put a Ranger in the ditch. If I ever decide to move up to a travel trailer, I will trade this truck in on an F-250 or F-350. > [2005 Fleetwood Niagara] is probably the biggest and heaviest one > on the market so you really need a full size truck when pulling it. I respectfully disagree. It is extremely rare to find OVERKILL claims in this group, but yours qualifies. In a previous article, you mentioned 4.0L in a Ranger. Based on my special-ordered Chevrolet S10 with 4.3L V6 and a 5,000-lb rating, I expect the Ranger has a rating NEAR that. I towed a top-of-the-line Starcraft popup for several years with the S10 and it did GREAT. Not just "fine", but really well. My lashup was within even the 75% "rule of thumb" having taken the loaded camper across a scale. Then we traded-in the popup for a travel trailer. It was an eye-opening experience: I learned quickly that the difference wasn't WEIGHT, it was wind resistance. The loaded trailer was within the rating of the S10 (admittedly just barely) but 55mph was about it. We did that for two seasons before acquiring a truck that is capable of pulling just about anything out there. A properly equipped Ranger should be capable of "safely" towing virtually ANY conventional popup camper on the market today. > If something were to go wrong, this trailer could put > a Ranger in the ditch. True. Then again, this same trailer could ALMOST as easily put your F150 in the ditch. The issue is matching a trailer to the tow vehicle's tow RATING. If one wishes to observe the 75% "rule of thumb", much the better. > If I ever decide to move up to a travel trailer, I will trade > this truck in on an F-250 or F-350. Don't forget Kenworth or Freightliner. <big grin> Yours is a refreshing, if somewhat rare, approach to towing for a newsgroup frequented by newbies seeking absolution from the implications of towing a loaded, 12-to-14-ft camper with their 4-cylinder Honda Element or Dodge Neon. :) JR  Signature2000 Skamper Ultra 249 TT 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Vortec 8100 - Allison 1000 > > [2005 Fleetwood Niagara] is probably the biggest and heaviest one > > on the market so you really need a full size truck when pulling it. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > special-ordered Chevrolet S10 with 4.3L V6 and a 5,000-lb rating, I expect the > Ranger has a rating NEAR that. Let me put a qualifier on what I stated. Here are some of the things I take with me: 1. A 32 inch LCD HDTV tucked in behind the drivers seat and wrapped in a sleeping bag to protect it. I also have a progressive scan DVD player wrapped up with it. 2. A 5 gallon container of drinking water in the passenger floorboard to provide plenty of good tasting water for me and my Chihuahua. 3. A Honda EU2000i generator in the bed of the truck in a locked storage container. There are also two Optima AGM batteries and an inverter in the container. Sometime next year I want to add a 2nd generator so I can easily run everything in the trailer. 4. My Trek 27 speed bicycle is in the bed of the truck 5. A large cooler full of food and ice packs in the bed of the truck. When I get to the campground, the blue ice packs go in the refrigerator to help cool it down real quick. 6. There is a 3 inch thick, full size memory foam mattress pad in the trailer to go on one of the mattresses. 7. I have a small recliner positioned where the table would normally be. The back just lifts on and off so it is able to stay there when I travel. This all starts to get to be too much for a Ranger. It isn't just the weight of the trailer that you have to think about, but everything else you want to bring along. Unless you go with a very large TT, the F150 should handle a regular TT easily. My Ram1500 tows my 3600# dry (probably 4600# loaded.. never scaled it) TT without problem. Sway is unexistant compared to the previous Coleman Casa-Grande (14' box) I think this is mainly due to the double axle compared to 1 on the pop-up, and the location of the axle being pushed much backwards on the TT. A 250 or 350 would probably help better for a Fiver since much more weight resides in the box, on the truck back axle. Mel Mark Jones a écrit: >>Hey Mark, did you ever tow with your Ranger? Ours will be better than the >>Exploder, longer wheelbase, etc.....it's the 4X4 extended cab. Agree about [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > If I ever decide to move up to a travel trailer, I will trade > this truck in on an F-250 or F-350. > Unless you go with a very large TT, the F150 should handle a regular TT > easily. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > A 250 or 350 would probably help better for a Fiver since much more > weight resides in the box, on the truck back axle. The travel trailers that I like the most are the Arctic Fox trailers. These things are really heavy and have a GVWR that actually exceeds the maximum towing capacity of my F-150. I have a friction based anti-sway device on mine and I haven't noticed any sway at all, even in fairly high winds and when meeting large trucks. It is no more noticeable than it would be if it was just the truck by itself. That is what I like about having a truck that is nowhere near its limits. >>I am planning to get a popup soon. I drive a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport. A >>friend of mine says the wheel base is too short, that the popup will start [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > your time, and don't tow in OD, better a little less mpg than a burnt up > tranny. Ok sounds good to me thanks for the info. I will look for the Resse Mini 350 wd hitch. Newt |
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