Towing Tandem. Want to tow a light 16 foot boat

[MNfarmer]

I contacted the dealer and he referred me to this website. I'm selling my old camper and upgrading to a 5th wheel. I Orginal looked at scamp but because the way there 5th couples I can not use there setup... I so I started looking for something similar and ran across these 5.0 . I live in MN and can tow tandem but need to talk to someone that has towed tandem with there 5.0 and what mods did they need to do to it. I was hoping the factor or dealership could set on up.

Any help would be great,

Thanks,

Shane

[cpaharley2008]

Welcome Shane,
First off, there are no dealers, only one factory in Canada. Double towing is not allowed in several states also. You may have to get an inflatable boat or leave the other boat home while camping. I used to ride Harleys and traded mine in on my tow vehicle, life is full of choices.

[MNfarmer]

I understand that but MN does allow it. I'm looking for information on someone who has done it with these campers... If it's not something anyone has done then I'll go look at other 5th wheels I have seen pulling tandem around MN.

[cpaharley2008]

The rear hitch has a 150 lb weight carrying capacity, towing is unknown. How heavy is the boat and trailer?

[C&G in FL]

The rear hitch on the Escape has a 150 lbs. limit because adding too much weight to the rear bumper increases the risk of sway. I’m not making that up; it is what Reace told me back in 2015. A good welder could easily reinforce the receiver, and the forces exerted by towing something in a horizontal plane differ from the forces exerted by weight in a vertical plane, for example, heavy bicycles and a bike rack supported only by the receiver. Therefore, what is probably critical here is the weight of the boat and boat trailer, and the tongue weight it will apply to the Escape’s receiver. Most jurisdictions do not allow this setup, and I personally would not do it, but each to their own and if Minnesota allows it, so be it. I would, however, ask the question of Escape Trailer Industries.

[StarvingHyena]

My big question is: How do you back up? I have seen double tows in Washington State and always I worry about the safety of the rig. Can you see around it, can you properly handle such a rig? Are you a professional commercial driver? Please don't do it. Gotta tow your boat behind ... then get a van and tow your boat behind it.

My opinion,
Tom

[Centex]

Folks often are 'afraid' (for lack of a better term) of what's foreign to them. First-time RV-ers are often a bit intimidated by the prospect of any trailer-towing.

It's a legal and not-uncommon combination in Texas, we have many great RV camping areas with nearby lakes. I've seen a fair number of bass-boats so-rigged, even a few family sport-craft. Obviously there's some care and skills particular to the rig, but then that's true of any RV rig, isn't it?

More than once I've observed such a rig approach a campsite, nonchalantly drop the boat trailer in a convenient location, position and set up their RV in the campsite, then hitch the boat to the tow vehicle and head to the boat-ramp for fun on the lake. They simply reverse the sequence upon departure, with no apparent drama.

Casual campground conversation with those rig-owners invariably reveals they greatly enjoy relaxing fun with their rigs, get great benefit from having the boat along, and have no more tales of 'drama' than the 'typical' RV-er.

While I've no idea about what's involved in proper preparation of such a rig, no idea if the 5.0 TA is amenable to such adaptation, if there's no useful info to be had here the OP might have better luck on a website / forum that's fishing oriented.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that most if not all RV manufacturers won't endorse, recommend, or even advise affirmatively about such a rig (lawyers playing the inevitable role they play limiting manufacturer liability exposure these days); I wouldn't let that alone deter being educated / guided by those who have experience with such rigs.

Good luck and have fun, Shane!

[Mike G]

There's a contact number and hours of operation on the Escape website.
https://escapetrailer.com/contact-us/
We love to talk about Escapes on this forum, but if no one chimes in soon to say they've done this, your best bet is to call the company with your question.

[MNfarmer]

I looked up the weight of boat and trailer combined and they used a 60hp which I do not have on mine but I'll use its max weight as a guide line of a total 1200lbs and when you do the tung weight calculations it comes out to about 160lbs.. Seems a little ivy to me sense I can man handle it with one arm but for the sake of discussion we will say 160lbs so 10lbs over the preinstalled reciever. Has anyone installed a higher rated receiver on there camper?
Thanks for the dealer info but they are the ones that referred me to this web sight for this question.

[cpaharley2008]

It seems you can be the first attempting such a combo, good luck.
Now, If you have any questions about the Escape feel free to ask.....not sure what the completion dates are now, their website says 3-4 months.

[padlin]

This subject comes up from time to time, here's a couple past threads on it. There are more if you search for them.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...0ta-12946.html

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...0-a-11702.html

[HABBERDABBER]

So get one of these.....14 foot long, and it folds up. I've seen one, they are clever, durable, assemble quickly and compact. If you use your boat for fishing, this is one way to go.


https://www.porta-bote.com/new-14-4-28m-porta-bote/

[MNfarmer]

Thanks for the reference links... It sounds like how the rear receiver is mounted it just needs some cross beams welded up to handle the weight and towing required. In regards to backing up with 3 trailers, you generally don't back up with them. You drop your 3rd trailer and push it out of your way. That's one reason to have a lighter trailers a 3rd ....
In regards to the fold a boat ECT. Great options when your just starting out with a cheaper camper. For many years threw 2 canoes or one 12 foot boat on top of my Colman tent trailer and uses a set of portage wheels to haul them to the lake.... I'm personally not sure why the lot of you bought a 5th wheel style trailer but the reason I was looking at a 5th wheel was to haul Tandem. Being from Minnesota I was sold on the scamp until I found out it wasn't a true 5th wheel and wouldn't be legal for me to haul a 2nd trailer even though the DNR beefed one up to do just that. Funny how law enforcement can get away with it lol... So a friend of mine said go check out escape the make something similar to a scamp but have an actual 5th wheel. So here I am... The wife liked the layout on these a little more to.... I had hope the factory would have been more helpful with this question than they where but I'm guessing it has to do with liability law suites in Canada.... Which is sad because I'm not looking to sue them I'm just looking to find if there camper can handle what we want to do with it.... These smaller 5th wheel are Ideal sizes to haul a 16 foot boat or small sled trailer with a can am 4wheeler... The toy haulers are a great option if all you want to haul is a ATV or dirt bikes.
But if your looking for multi use you need a trailer that can haul Tandem... All the state's we travel trough have loose tandem trailer rules compared to MN....
Any Hows thanks for the information. If you find out more please post them...

[PM15283]

MNfarmer - We own a 2018 5.0ta and have double towed a small utility trailer without any issues. We winter in AZ and summer in MN. Every state along the route allows double towing. It's easy to check where double towing with a 5th wheel is legal. Your 5.0 towing setup must be a 5th wheel and not a gooseneck. I understood that the maximum tongue weight was 100#, but may be mistaken or it may have changed.

Naysayers seem to have jumped on this, but we limit our speed to 65 mph and have had no issues.

[Ron in BC]

Well that's the answer the OP was looking for. Also informative for others like myself. That's one N-S corridor that I haven't traveled. But I have been through the majority of US states and my impression that tandem towing wasn't viable because it would be easy to have a state blocking your path that you couldn't legally tandem tow in.

Since your corridor is in a fairly high population area that makes it viable for quite a number of folks.

Personally, having built a few trailers, I wouldn't worry about a tongue load being a few pounds over the recommended amount. As long as the hitch weight at the front stays where it should be.

Ron

[MNfarmer]

Originally Posted by PM15283

MNfarmer - We own a 2018 5.0ta and have double towed a small utility trailer without any issues. We winter in AZ and summer in MN. Every state along the route allows double towing. It's easy to check where double towing with a 5th wheel is legal. Your 5.0 towing setup must be a 5th wheel and not a gooseneck. I understood that the maximum tongue weight was 100#, but may be mistaken or it may have changed.

Naysayers seem to have jumped on this, but we limit our speed to 65 mph and have had no issues.

Thank you for that information. I was looking for that info on the trailer.... I did my own resurch on pulling tandem before looking for a rig. All the routes we will be taking allow it... I biggest thing is fishing and camping in mn as you know.
Here's a list of states that allow it.
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah

[MNfarmer]

Originally Posted by PM15283

MNfarmer - We own a 2018 5.0ta and have double towed a small utility trailer without any issues. We winter in AZ and summer in MN. Every state along the route allows double towing. It's easy to check where double towing with a 5th wheel is legal. Your 5.0 towing setup must be a 5th wheel and not a gooseneck. I understood that the maximum tongue weight was 100#, but may be mistaken or it may have changed.

Naysayers seem to have jumped on this, but we limit our speed to 65 mph and have had no issues.

Forgot to tell you to we want to visit family in AZ and go 4 wheeling...
From this post board I get the impression that there are a lot of people fearful of doing this.
Anyways thanks again for the info

[MNfarmer]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Well that's the answer the OP was looking for. Also informative for others like myself. That's one N-S corridor that I haven't traveled. But I have been through the majority of US states and my impression that tandem towing wasn't viable because it would be easy to have a state blocking your path that you couldn't legally tandem tow in.

Since your corridor is in a fairly high population area that makes it viable for quite a number of folks.

Personally, having built a few trailers, I wouldn't worry about a tongue load being a few pounds over the recommended amount. As long as the hitch weight at the front stays where it should be.

Ron

Thanks for the trailer hitch info... My wife really loves the lay out in these and realy like the scamp like build. Our winters can really mess up the more conventional trailers out there.

[keith76]

How did you make out pulling doubles? I pull doubles with a 5.0 TA if you still need information.

[emers382]

Originally Posted by keith76

How did you make out pulling doubles? I pull doubles with a 5.0 TA if you still need information.

The OP hasn't been on the forum since July 15th so doubt you'll get a reply.