Upgrading casita 17' to Escape 21' - some questions.

[padlin]

Any idea how much propane it uses?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Tolls will be triple that of a single axle.....you will plan your trips avoiding toll roads. My first trip out to Osoyoos cost me close to $70 in tolls, something I avoided on the return trip

Good point... where it applies. It looks like eastern U.S. toll road systems count axles as an indication of vehicle size, so the extra axle carries substantial cost.

The only toll road that I know of in Canada is 407 (around Toronto) and its rate does not depend on the number of trailer axles (or even the length). The toll bridges which I have crossed in Canada (in the Vancouver area) and BC coastal ferries depend on overall vehicle combination length, regardless of the number of axles. Even though the Confederation Bridge charges by axle, a tug with tandem-axle trailer would only be C$7.50 more than the C$53.00 cost of a tug with single-axle trailer. None of those are a cost problem for a tandem-axle trailer.

[Losangeles]

Originally Posted by padlin

Any idea how much propane it uses?

Nope. :-)

Somewhere on the casita forums someone once did post time estimates. But I completely forget.

Perhaps the people who sell the conversion kiits ?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by BCnomad

14- two sets of brakes for stopping power, there are two right?

Yes, there are brakes on both axles. That's required in British Columbia, and the only sane choice anywhere.

That would matter... if the two 10"x2-1.4" brakes were inadequate, which I suppose they might be if you drag them all the way down a mountain. For stopping, the performance limit is trailer tire traction - that isn't helped much by spreading the weight out over more tires, and imperfect (that is, real life) balance between tire loads mean that the tandem will skid one tire before the other one on the same side is braking with maximum effect. 18-wheel big trucks don't stop better than 4-wheel small trucks.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by padlin

Any idea how much propane it uses?

Roughly one-third more by volume than the amount of gasoline which would be required to run the same time at the same load... because that's the ratio of the amount of energy available (by volume) in these two fuels.

[padlin]

So if I can run 10 hours on a gallon of gas, which I can, it would take 1.3 gallons of propane for the same 10 hours. A 20 lb, 4.7 gallon, propane tank would last around 36 hrs. Interesting, if I had natural gas or a big propane tank at home I'd consider it, thanks.