Towing difference 17 vs 19

[tao]

I am trying to decide between a 17B or 19 foot trailer. The deciding factor will be if towing/backing a 19 is markedly different than the 17, and therefore making trips less spontaneous or shorter distance. Has anyone owned a 17 and then moved up to a 19 using the same tow vehicle? If so, did the 19 consume noticably more power to maintain highway speed or climb hills? Did you notice that backing into tight Forest Service sites was more difficult? Any seat of the pants comparison information is greatly appreciated.

 

[PGDriver]

Hi Tao

The difference between the two trailers is only about 500 - 600 lbs, so
it would all depend on your tow vehicle. I tow with a Toyota Tacoma
truck and don't even notice the 19 behind me. As for maneuvering around
forestry sites, no problem. I doubt anyone would notice any
difference between backing up a 17 or 19.

 

[Hokie Escape]

I remember years ago, upgrading from a single axle to a double axle with a new pop-up. The difference in tracking and less "bumping", "pulling", or whatever you call that constant "feel" of a trailer behind you, decreased dramaticly! For you who have moved up to the dual axle 19, is that your experience too?

 

[Jim Bennett]

I Hi Tao, and welcome.

I would think the main difference would be in the weight like Doug said, and might affect what tow vehicle to use due to the weight difference of the two trailers.

I pull with an 09 Honda Pilot and there is no issue at all. I have NEVER had a combination that was easier to reverse with. Granted, I have backed up everything from a tent trailer to a big tractor/trailer rig. The Pilot has a very tight turning radius though, which adds nicely to the ease of reversing.

And, like Dan said, there is always less of a bouncing effect when pulling a tandem axle. Not that it is better or safer, it is just that you do notice the effect of a trailer less. Though, if this is an issue a WD hitch would help lots too.

Basically, I believe it is the tow vehicle you use that would make all the difference in towing characteristics.

 

[Eddys]

Hi Tao-
I agree pretty much with Jim and Doug. We recently completed a 9700 mile trip, with about 6600 miles of it over five weeks towing the 19. We tow with a 2000 Toyota 4 Runner and use a WDH. This trip had pretty much all you would encounter in roadway variety except for off road/back country towing. The 19 was superb following along, with nary a twitch as the big rigs went by and even in quite windy conditions it followed with out a tremor. We tried to tow at about 60-65 mph for economic/mechanical reasons so as not to stress tow or driver and it worked seamlessly. Once or twice I did find us in excess of 75 mph and Houdini was just following meekly along. The 19 appears to me to tow more calmly/ smoothly with less bounce. ( We used a WDH with the Casitas too, so a sort of apples to apples in that aspect...)
Long hills and mountain passes slowed us down considerably and in some cases on the really steep passes we were down to about 40 - 45 mph. (Hey, we owned a VW camper van at one time - )you just stay to the right and let the rest go by. I did not really notice much of a difference between our 19 and our previous 17' Casitas in climbing hills. As for maneuvering, I found the tandem axle easier (or so it seemed to me) - a much more forgiving trailer to back and turn. We were able to get into some pretty interesting places without a problem.
To sum up, I don't think there is a dramatic difference but I feel that the 19 is calmer in towing and more forgiving in maneuvering. The biggest difference is the larger interior space and bed, and to us it is most emphatically worth every penny! Hope this helps in your decision. Ian

 

[tao]

Thank you very much for all of the responses. It is these these types of perceptions that are helping me to make a decision. I can stare at factual numbers all day (and I have), but it is opinions that help give a feel to the decision making process.

 

[Edgar]

Tao

Just got back home with a new 19'. Easy to pull with the Tacoma. But we did go over a few mountain passes and had to go to 4th gear to get up. The most difficult was Teton Pass (a scenic route suggested by the GPS) It had a 10% grade. Holy crap! The truck pulled it up in 2nd gear. Going down the other side I kept the truck in second gear, had to ride the truck brakes because the engine was winding up to 5K RPMs. I had to use that fancy manual lever in the prodigy electric brake controller to help slow both vehicles. Quite the adventure. But the truck trailer combo worked great with the 19'.

Your Liberty has a diesel engine that should give you plenty of torque to pull either trailer. Isn't the towing rated at 5-6K pounds? We're really happy with the 19'.

Edgar

 

[tao]

The tow rating of my Liberty CRD is 5000 lbs. 10% down hill! I bet you had some hot brakes.

 

[escape artist]

Hi: Tao et all... I realize that a 5.0 5th. wh. isn't part of the original equation but one thing I discovered on our 6000km. slosh thru the Maritimes was the toll roads and bridges and Nat.Pk. fees etc. all charge for the tug + each additional axle!!! ie: Confederation Bridge from P.E.I. $42.50 + $7. A minor annoyance but it will add up over time.
Our overall mpg's in good olde imperial gals.(4.54 ltrs.)= 18.5 Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie p.s. As for towing attitude...I didn't notice any!!!