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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / July 2006Thor T@B trailer
Hello, My wife and I are looking into buying a small trailer that we can pull with our Toyota Avalon 1999. We have our eyes on this small trailer made by Thor. Any recommendations on this unit and are there any other make/models we should be looking at before buying. This would be our first trailer. Thank you in advance Robert Your 1999 Avalon is rated to tow a maximum of 2000 lbs...when new. With normal wear and tear on the engine, transmission, and drive train, 2000 lbs. might be pushing it a little. T@B trailers are pretty small, and pretty pricey. I have no personal experience with them. I do note they all have built-in self-contained (no controller needed) surge brakes. That is good. The T@B unloaded weight, depending upon the model, is listed at from 1520 to 1615 lbs. This is WITHOUT some common options, which all add more weight. In addition, you will be putting you own camping "stuff" in the T@B, such as pots & pans, utensils, plates, bedding, etc. It may be hard to keep it under 2000 lbs. When looking at the trailers, be sure to add all the options at the dealer onto the "unloaded weight." This may include the full propane tank. I would guess that normally people have 150 lbs. or more of their own 'stuff' loaded in the trailer. You should know that many experienced campers use the 75% rule: For safety's sake, never tow more than 75% of the maximum rating for your vehicle. That would leave you only 1,500 lbs.! IF you would be going on short trips without (even small) mountains, one might be relatively safe at towing close to 2000 lbs. Also understand that your Avalon will be carrying extra "stuff" including several people, food, ?water, clothing, etc. That puts more strain on the engine, transmission, and brakes. Also, it would help if the sticker on the door of your Avalon lists the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating), the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating), and the curb weight of the vehicle. From these numbers we can help you calculate the maximum you can ACTUALLY tow (which is not infrequently less than the 'advertised' tow rating!!). HTH > My wife and I are looking into buying a small trailer that we can pull > with > our Toyota Avalon 1999. We have our eyes on this small trailer made by > Thor. Any recommendations on this unit and are there any other make/models > we should be looking at before buying. This would be our first trailer. >Also, it would help if the sticker on the door of your Avalon lists the GCWR >(Gross Combined Weight Rating), the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating), and >the curb weight of the vehicle. From these numbers we can help you >calculate the maximum you can ACTUALLY tow (which is not infrequently less >than the 'advertised' tow rating!!). You very rarely see the GCWR on the plate inside the door. On vehicles that are really meant to tow anything, it is in the owner's manual. On vehicles that aren't meant to tow anything, it is probably better to contact the manufacturer for the GCWR. Mark 2004 Homestead Settler 255RS 1999 Chevrolet Suburban 2500 Thanks tobe, Now you have me worried!!!! Here is the only weight info on the sticker: GVWR 4550 lbs GAWR FR 2665 lbs RR 2665 lbs VEHICLE CAPACITY WEIGHT 1045 lbs My car only has 40000 miles on it and is in perfect condition. Any other small trailers I could look into. Thanks Robert > Your 1999 Avalon is rated to tow a maximum of 2000 lbs...when new. With > normal wear and tear on the engine, transmission, and drive train, 2000 [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] >> make/models >> we should be looking at before buying. This would be our first trailer. >Thanks tobe, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > >Robert That doesn't tell you the towing capacity of your vehicle, only how much passengers and luggage you can carry.  SignatureFrank Tabor Robert, My wife and I have a 1972 Cox Camper. This is small!! It sleeps 4, and few aminities... ours has lanomium and... a bed. There is a modern equavilant, but it is quite expensive (http://www.livinlite.com/). I bring this up because we moved from CT to TX (2000 mi) pulling the camper with a Toyota Camery, 4 cylinder. We only had ~940lbs of capacity. The camper was loaded with hunting gear, and the car had me and the dog, so I felt "safe." No transmission cooler and drove 55 to 60 the whole way. I wouldn't recomend not using a transmission cooler (esp. in the Rockies or great plains). But it worked. I hope this helps. Nathan & Cookie & Rags 1972 Cox Cadet Camper 1972 International TravelAll (to be fixed) 1975 Airstream 30' 1980 Chevy 1/2 ton 2001 Toyota Camery > Thanks tobe, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Robert > My wife and I are looking into buying a small trailer that we can pull with > our Toyota Avalon 1999. We have our eyes on this small trailer made by > Thor. Any recommendations on this unit and are there any other make/models > we should be looking at before buying. This would be our first trailer. I will not repeat Tobe's excellent advice regarding tow rating and loading. However, I will say that I think the T@B is interesting and even cute. I looked through one or two at a recent RV show. <http://www.tab-rv.com/> There is NO denying the T@B is a "niche" travel trailer. It will certainly turn heads at the campground and will probably attract queries from other campers. I am not aware of the price of the camper but I recall it being less-than-cheap. You might do better getting a small popup camper. The advantages to that would be more living space and less wear-and-tear on the Avalon (lighter weight, probably). Good luck! Signature:) JR Thanks Jim for your input also. We like the idea of just stopping anywhere and the camper being all setup and nothing to do. We also like the fact that you can have air-conditioning and heating in the trailer when needed. We like the living space it has for it's small size. My wife adores its look. They range from $14k to $16k here in Eastern Canada depending on options, which I find pricey! Wondering if it would be better to wait a while for the price to drop??? Wonder how much they sell in the U.S. ! Thanks, Robert >> My wife and I are looking into buying a small trailer that we can pull >> with [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Good luck! >I am not aware of the price of the camper but I recall it being >less-than-cheap. >Good luck! JR-- What exactly does "less-than-cheap" mean? Does that mean it is free? <vbg> The T@B trailers are kind of cute--for a price. 8-) Mark Filice 2004 Homestead Settler 255RS 1999 Chevrolet Suburban 2500 >> I am not aware of the price of the camper but >> I recall it being less-than-cheap. > What exactly does "less-than-cheap" mean? > Does that mean it is free? <vbg> HA! Make that GREATER-than-cheap! :) > The T@B trailers are kind of cute--for a price. 8-) Yeah, too little for too much. For that kind of $$, one could get a reasonably nice travel trailer. Of course, pulling THAT would be out of the question for a Toyota Avalon. Signature:) JR > Yeah, too little for too much. > > For that kind of $$, one could get a reasonably nice travel trailer. Of > course, pulling THAT would be out of the question for a Toyota Avalon. I don't know what they cost where you are but a base model can be had for about CDN$10 000 around here. That is about the same as an average 8' popup. That's only a few thousand more than a stripped popup. Pretty reasonable especially since the only real alternative is the uber pricey Aliner. Ouch! I'm in Ontario and I just picked up an 06 Viking model 1906 for $6300 CDN out the door... >> Yeah, too little for too much. >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > reasonable especially since the only real alternative is the uber pricey > Aliner. Andrew, Whereabouts do you live...In Quebec the T@Bs go from 14k to 16K. Maybe I could drive to where they are cheaper and pick one up! Robert >> Yeah, too little for too much. >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > reasonable especially since the only real alternative is the uber pricey > Aliner. Cnada One RV in Winnipeg had them for just over 10K a while back. I don't have any other details as it was a firend looking to purchase one. > Andrew, > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >>reasonable especially since the only real alternative is the uber pricey >>Aliner. Andrew, I am checking with them to get a current price. I checked with Woody's Trailer World Ltd, Thunder Bay Ont. and they go for 14k to 17k., so 10k would seem very low ( maybe used condition) Thanks, Robert > Cnada One RV in Winnipeg had them for just over 10K a while back. I don't > have any other details as it was a firend looking to purchase one. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >>>reasonable especially since the only real alternative is the uber pricey >>>Aliner. Robert, Canada One always seems to have some sort of "deal" going on. I remember going there to see a new trailer they had advertised for a great deal and was told they didn't have any in stock. They continued to advertise the same deal all summer but never had one available. Kinda shady. > Andrew, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Robert Thanks Andrew for this info, I will let you know when I hear from them! Many thanks, Robert > Robert, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> >> Robert Just so you know I had a lot of success searching for trailers in Alberta. It seems that everyone owns a few and the dealerships are massive. > Thanks Andrew for this info, > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >>> >>>Robert How would you go about in searching for T@B trailers in Alberta? Do you search on the net? Robert > Just so you know I had a lot of success searching for trailers in Alberta. > It seems that everyone owns a few and the dealerships are massive. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >>>> >>>>Robert > How would you go about in searching for T@B trailers in Alberta? Once again, Google is your friend. I originally found the T@B web site (and posted the link here) by going to Google and typing, within quotation marks, "T@B". > Do you search on the net? Yes. Once at the T@B web site, one can enter their postal code to locate a dealer: <http://www.tab-rv.com/dealer/index.php> Good luck! Signature:) JR Yep. Try www.canadatrader.ca, www.buysell.ca and the online yellow pages. > How would you go about in searching for T@B trailers in Alberta? Do you > search on the net? [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] >>>>> >>>>>Robert > going there to see a new trailer they had advertised for a great deal > and was told they didn't have any in stock. They continued to advertise > the same deal all summer but never had one available. Kinda shady. Ah, the old "bait-n-switch" scheme. :( I am surprised to learn that this practice exists in Canada, as progressive as they purport to be. The practice was "outlawed" in the states some years ago. I'm sure it still occurs, but it was obvious when it became illegal: Automobile dealers will advertise a loss-leader car - then conspicuously rattle-off its invoice number, presumably to prove they actually HAVE it in stock. As a result, I sleep so much better these days. Signature:) JR >Ah, the old "bait-n-switch" scheme. :( It is still alive and well in some places. When we first went shopping for our popup in 1999, there was a dealership that had a used popup on the lot for a very low price. It was dirty inside, and had a musty smell. When I inquired about it, the salesguy said "You don't want that old thing, it wasn't maintained very well" "Let me show you our new models that you will find a lot more appealing" Yeah, right. Mark "Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't" You might want to also look at Chalet and Aliner hardsided a-frame pop-ups. Both have AC and furnace options, set up (honestly) in 30 seconds or less, and start at under 1000 pounds. They are hardsided so are allowed in national parks and other campgrounds that do not allow tent campers due to bear concerns, for example. Also they can easily be set up quickly without unhitching from the tow vehicle. Aliners tend to be lighter than Chalets (and both work great year-round with heat and/or AC). Aliner's website is www.aliner.com. There's also a very good Yahoo group for both, alinerchaleta-frames.com (join by going to groups.yahoo.com). > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Robert |
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