I towed my 2011 17B that weighed 3010 pounds and a tongue weight of 340 pounds all over the rockies, including to Leadville, CO a number of times with a 2010 RAV4 rated at 3500/350.
While I liked the size of the combination and used them together for 85,000 miles, I eventually replaced the RAV4 with a Tacoma when the RAV4 hit 140,000 miles. While the RAV4 did the job, the Tacoma did it better. Biggest complaint about the RAV4 was the small gas tank & low ground clearance.
I tow a 17B with a 2008 RAV4 V6 Sport with tow prep package. Problem is, your vehicle is different in many ways, so our experience will probably be different.
So, what trailer weight limit would you guys suggest for my Rav4 Adventure? i4 engine, added cooler for oil and transmission, with 4.0 torque and 6 speed automatic AWD.
Curb weight on the Rav4 is around 3600 and fully loaded auto wt could be 4600. GCWR is 8100. It looks like you think the Escape 19 is going to be too heavy once loaded, even if I'm within the weight guides.
I wouldn't happily tow the 19' with my RAV4 V6.
If I were you, I'd get the 19' and a capable tow vehicle. ;D
You could get a 17b, load it and the tug lightly, keep speed 60 mph or less, and plan to climb long grades at 30-40 mph. Or a 13' Scamp, which would have about the same wind resistance on the highway but would tow somewhat easier up the grades due to its lighter weight. See, you're faced with 2 different factors. At highway speed it's all about pulling a sail through the air. When climbing forces you to slow down, weight becomes the bigger factor and wind resistance lessens dramatically.LOL If money weren't at issue...
But what trailer weight limit should I consider? Dry weight of 2800 or less?
While the gross loaded trailer weight is certainly an issue, I think the tongue weight will be even more limiting. What if we work backward from there...But what trailer weight limit should I consider? Dry weight of 2800 or less?
I would agree with those two, and add a third:there's really two factors here. 1 is overloading the vehicles power train, transmission and so forth, causing premature expensive repairs, the other is too much weight on the suspension, and in particular behind the rear axle, which leads to stability problems and increased potential for losing control and crashing.
While the gross loaded trailer weight is certainly an issue, I think the tongue weight will be even more limiting. What if we work backward from there...
That's below the weight of even a 17' without a bathroom. You could do a 17' with a bathroom, by carrying less stuff. A 19' would require that you carry nothing in the trailer, which isn't reasonable.
- maximum tongue weight 350 pounds
- if the tongue weight is to be at least 12% of the trailer weight, that puts the gross (loaded) trailer weight at no more than 2916 pounds
- if options, water/waste, and your stuff is about 1000 pounds (Escape actually suggests planning for 1150 pounds with a 19' in their FAQ) that leaves 1916 pounds for the base dry trailer weight
If by "mitigate" you mean not count as much, as far as the tow vehicle's limits are concerned... not necessarily.Wouldn't the weight distribution system mitigate the tongue weight?
It also moves load to the trailer's axle(s), but I agree that it at least does not necessarily change the hitch weight limit. While the WDH reduces the load being carried by the tug's rear axle, that's not the only reason for a hitch weight limit. Some owner's manuals (including for my Sienna) provide different hitch weight limits for weight-carrying and weight-distributing hitches, but others do not.I think a WDH just moves some of the weight off the rear axle and onto the front axle, doesn't change the max hitch weight.
So based on a 385 pound hitch weight limit, a trailer with 12% tongue weight (you won't likely be under that with an Escape) could have a gross weight of 3208 pounds... still okay for a 17' if not carrying too much, and still not workable for a 19'.
We just came back from a couple days of camping and decided stop at the commercial scale. I weighed the TV and trailer axles all connected first and then disconnected and weighed the TV again to get the tongue weight and trailer weight.
Trailer(total including tongue wt): 3344 lbs
Tongue: 330 lbs
This is probably nearly as light as possible for a 2017 19.
Trailer was dry (including the HW tank). Also only had 1 propane bottle on the front. It did however have a fair amount of food and beverages in it as well as our normal (fairly minimal) camping gear.
Our trailer is very lightly optioned, no AC, no factory solar, single battery and no storage box. It does however, have the extra insulation and thermal windows. Dry weight of trailer as per ETI was 3110 lbs but I didn't get a chance to confirm that before adding our gear.