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Old 05-10-2009, 09:47 PM   #1
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Tongue Weight

What is the tongue weight for the 19'? I couldn't find it on the Escape site. I have a 6 cylindr, Ford Explorer (rated at 3500 lbs) and unsure if it will safely pull the 19'.
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Old 05-10-2009, 10:38 PM   #2
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Re: Tongue Weight

That's going to depend on how you load the trailer. As I understand it, you want 10-15% of the total trailer weight on the tongue. Putting stuff close to the front of the trailer increases tongue weight. Putting stuff behind the axle decreases tongue weight.

Lessee - the 19' has a dry weight of 2600 pounds.
The combined volume of the grey and black water tanks is 40 gallons - 350 pounds. (I don't know how far forward the tanks are mounted.)
Assume your fresh tank is empty.
You might have 40 pounds of propane.

We have just hit 3000 pounds. You need to keep the rest - pots, clothes, luggage, food - under 500 pounds.

A weight-distributing hitch adds weight too - and totally messes up the tongue weight concept. Also, I don't know if the battery is included in the dry weight.

Also, you need to understand all the allowed weights. When your trailer is fully loaded, you probably cannot carry as much stuff in the Explorer as you can when not towing. An excellent resource is the Trailer Life Towing Guide - http://www.trailerlife.com/SharedCod...cfm?id=2085931

A discussion that won't answer your question but which should give you some insight is at http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/in...howtopic=33912

A Toyota document that explains all of this is at http://mediap04.toyota.ca/media/pdf/...ng_guide_e.pdf on the second page.
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Old 05-10-2009, 11:01 PM   #3
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Re: Tongue Weight

Not sure if this applies to you, but I had a 94 Explorer that was probably rated at 3,500 lbs. It had a bumper hitch rated at 350 lbs. Reace advised that I would need to install a proper Class 3 hich.
Instead, I bought a RAV 4 to tow my 17B. A great combo.

baglo

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Old 05-11-2009, 07:19 PM   #4
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Re: Tongue Weight

The dry weight lists at 2510, but that does not include propane bottles, battery(ies), water and the such. Not sure about the awning either. And of course any of your own gear. And as Ron alluded to, it is often more a factor of the total weight of your vehicle and trailer together. You obviously can't get away with putting light stuff in the trailer and heavy stuff in the tow. You are unlikely to have the water and grey & black tanks full at the same time, but you could easily add the volume of the water heater. I am guessing that not counting the two of us, I will be adding about 700 lbs to the trailer and up to 400 in the tow.

The tongue weight really is up to how you pack things. I will be playing with mine over the next while to see what works best. I never used and equalizing hitch and did not have too much trouble, and when I did have a bit of bounce it was caused by bad bumps in the road.

My Pilot has a tow rating of 4500 lbs and handles the trailer well. However, I would not recommend anything less. On the steep mountain passes I was dropped a gear and it was working hard to keep it anywhere near 100 km/hr (60 mi/hr). 95% of the hills were no problem at all, and it was only about 6 climbs through every set of mountains from the ocean to the Prairies.
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Old 05-12-2009, 09:28 PM   #5
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Re: Tongue Weight

Thank you for the responses. A lot of helpful information. I may look to getting a truck and the 5.0.
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Old 05-13-2009, 07:00 AM   #6
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Re: Tongue Weight

Quote:
Originally Posted by GlennO
Thank you for the responses. A lot of helpful information. I may look to getting a truck and the 5.0.
Hi: GlennO...That's one decission you would never regret. Hooking up the 5.0 is soooo easy and the tow is so stable the rig actually acts as one piece rather than two. I understand that Escape is so busy they have had to schedule building them in the fall only...but " Good things come to those who wait". Alf
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Old 05-13-2009, 06:36 PM   #7
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Re: Tongue Weight

Escape artist,

Glad to hear you say that. I travel a lot in my business. I've been thinking for some time about getting a truck and moving to a 5th wheel; one that is light, travels down the road well and can be on the road in moment's notice. Sometimes I'm only in a location a few days, the next time may be 30 to 40 days. After having being in a 17', I knew that the Escape would be the camper that I would eventually end up with. But I just felt that I needed something a tad (that's Ky lingo) larger.

It was recommended to me by a friend that I consider the 5th wheel because of the ease of pulling. Fall might be a great time to order.
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Old 05-13-2009, 08:28 PM   #8
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Re: Tongue Weight

Hi: GlennO... Yesterday on my way home from having the brakes checked and bearings repacked I stopped in to see another Escape owner in my city. They have a 17'er, one of the first or second years production. His wife came home before I left so she had an opportunity to see inside our 5.0. Her exact word on entering was "WOW"!!! She is a tall lady and had heels on and said "I couldn't wear these shoes in our trailer". She also said as she looked into the bathroom " I could actually change my clothes in there" Things have certainly changed since their trailer was built!!!
I knew when we first saw a 5.0 it would be our next and final trailer and as luck would have it we were able to purchase that very same trailer. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie p.s. To get back on topic...the tongue weight of the 5.0 is aprox. 480lbs. but that's nothing for a half ton truck!!!
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Old 05-13-2009, 11:34 PM   #9
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Re: Tongue Weight

Quote:
Originally Posted by GlennO
Fall might be a great time to order.
Watch lead times, though. Fall may or may not be too late to order.
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Old 05-14-2009, 12:23 AM   #10
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Re: Tongue Weight

Ron is right, I would plan soon for a fall order. Only Reace or Tammy could say for sure, but I know they are quite busy right now.
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Old 05-14-2009, 09:59 PM   #11
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Re: Tongue Weight

I'm assuming that a fall order would be picked up in the Spring. Is that right?
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Old 05-14-2009, 10:24 PM   #12
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Re: Tongue Weight

Hi: GlennO... I think due to production restraints and not wanting to compromise on quality they are only building the 5.0 during the fall. If you ordered one now it would be ready during their build time this coming fall. After that it would probably be another year to get one. This may all change when and if demand ebbs... but if they take 4 days per unit, that puts a limit on how many of each size trailer can be made.
All of this is only speculation on my part as I am no spokesperson for Escape. I do know that someone who viewd our trailer last summer and wanted to order one for this summer were taken back with the waiting period. They found a used one instead but they are very rare!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
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Old 05-15-2009, 05:15 AM   #13
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Re: Tongue Weight

Quote:
Originally Posted by GlennO
Escape artist,

Glad to hear you say that. I travel a lot in my business. I've been thinking for some time about getting a truck and moving to a 5th wheel; one that is light, travels down the road well and can be on the road in moment's notice. Sometimes I'm only in a location a few days, the next time may be 30 to 40 days. After having being in a 17', I knew that the Escape would be the camper that I would eventually end up with. But I just felt that I needed something a tad (that's Ky lingo) larger.

It was recommended to me by a friend that I consider the 5th wheel because of the ease of pulling. Fall might be a great time to order.
Hi GlennO,
That's exactly what I did. Sold our car, flew to Seattle, bought the truck, drove to Chilliwack and picked up our 5.0. We had a 17' Casita (which we loved) before, and it feels like we have 2X the space now. The ceiling height is much greater which leads to a lot of that. KY lingo, is that Kentucky?? We are in Blacksburg, VA, southwestern VA, so it you'd like to take a nice drive down 64, then 77, come on down, we'd love to show you what a 5.0 looks like. You can check out our blog too to see some pictures: www.hokieescape.blogspot.com (March 26 and after). And, to be careful to stay on subject, you don't have to worry about tongue weight on the 5.0, but you do have to have a truck!
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