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Ideal Tow Vehicle

LeoJan said:
So far we have logged close to 3000 miles with our 6 cyl. Rav 4 and am pleased to report that we have encountered no issues. Our aftermarket Reese hitch rides a bit low so the ball was changed from stock to one with a 4 inch rise to accomodate the SUV heighth of our 550 Ultra. Gas mileage drops about 3-4 MPG, where we normally get 26-27MPG we now get 22-23. However we drive at altitude 5-7,000 feet on most of our trips, I am sure this would improve at sea level, and admittedly my foot is on the heavy side. The nice thing about towing the 550 is that you don't even realize you are towing anything. Without onboard electric brakes on the 550, braking distances increase somewhat but this has not appeared to be an issue since I do maintain at least one car space for every 10MPH.
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Do you have a transmission cooler? I have been getting a lot of conflicting advice: Cary says with a 3500 pound towing capacity and a 1300 to 1500 pound loaded Camp-Inn 550 a transmission cooler isn't needed; my friend who has done a lot of towing, recommends a transmission cooler because we're trying to get 150-200 thousand miles out of our 6 cylinder RAV4. I anticipate putting 10,000 miles a year towing the Camp-Inn and already have 70K on our RAV4. Thanks, Bob
 
aj & michelle,
you could also get the quiet ride hitch mentioned in the 'get the slack out' topic in the tow vehicle forum. We got that to tow with and everything is much quieter and seems much smoother when towing.
Charlie
 
Yes, I also recommend the quiet ride hitch. I heard alot about the transmission cooler when I was in the purchasing stage as well. I spoke to Honda and they recommended against it. The CR-V has a cooler of sorts already built in. Check your vehicle out - it may have this as well.
 
I spent some time this afternoon researching ways to "get the slack out" but never came across the "Quiet Ride Hitch" However I did find a vise type clamp that I thought might work as well called a "HitchRider" I don't know how to add a link so you just click on it and go there but I cut and pasted it below. If anyone has tried this I'd be interested in what you think .

http://www.hitchrider.com/nowobble.htm

I must say I do like the way the Quiet Ride looks and seems to work. Thanks for bringing it to my attention Charlie.

I'm headed back to read all the posts on "get the slack out" to see what else I can learn.

aj

ps, I guess all you need to do is cut and paste and the link works after you submit the post, go figure... it's amazing what you learn here.
 
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http://www.campinnforum.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1018&page=1
 
C-I's diagram for ride height shows the street model at 14" . Based on the top of my receiver opening being 16" which dropped about a 1/2" when I put 150lbs of tongue weight on it, I figured I would need a receiver with a 4" drop allowing about about 2-3/4" height for the ball to make it look close to level.

I'm thinking the bottom of the coupler is about 11-12" off the ground when level, so the 4" drop from the 15-1/2" should put me in the ball park.

Does any of this sound right? I think I'm over thinking the whole thing, but I don't want to end up with the wrong ball mount.
 
I'm glad you asked. I'm beginning to buy towing related equipment. I have to wait til next week when the hitch is installed to measure but I am interested on how to figure this out.
 
We do not have an aftermarket transmission cooler, however when we purchased the vehicle we did purchase the towing option which essentially means that the radiater and alternator are heavy duty, I could assume that the stock transmuission cooler is heavy duty also but am not certain of this.

Whenever we come down a mountain pass I will generally put the vehicle in 3rd or 2nd gear to keep the brakes from overheating but always do that anyway with or without a trailer in tow. Our 550 is the SUV model and I used the ball heighth recommended on the Camo-Inn we site. When we picked her up Cary approved. By the way our 2008 Rav4 also has about 70,000 miles on it. As light as these teardrops are I agree that a transmission cooler would not be required.
 
Lyle Scheer said:
Personally, Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen turbodiesel.

42mpg highway, 246nm torque, likely get north of 30mpg towing a camp-inn.
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I don't suppose anyone has actually towed a TD with one of these, have they? Do they have enough uumph?
 
Greg said:
Lyle Scheer said:
Personally, Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen turbodiesel.

42mpg highway, 246nm torque, likely get north of 30mpg towing a camp-inn.
Click to expand...
I don't suppose anyone has actually towed a TD with one of these, have they? Do they have enough uumph?
Click to expand...

it would be interesting to have a report of who tows with what, though you really only have to go to the car maker's website and check out towing capacity. Even if you and ten other TD owners tow with a Jetta and say "it's fine," I am likely only going to trust VW's tow rating.

Plus, someone towing in Florida has far less of an issue than someone towing in the west or in a mountainous area. I'm not sure I want to tow my TD over the Sierra with a VW Bug, but I know someone who is just fine with their bug towing a TD in Florida. (Florida is FLAT, for those unfamiliar with it.)
 
Al and Cathy If you go to user list at the top of the page that info is in the about me section if the member answered all the questions. Steve :)
 
Anna&Steve said:
Al and Cathy If you go to user list at the top of the page that info is in the about me section if the member answered all the questions. Steve :)
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got it

but the only way to see that info is to click on each user's name

not all that useful

but if a person wanted to see if anyone else was towing with a Jetta, for example, they could search "Jetta," I suppose

not a big deal for me, at lteasxt for a few years (I hope!!)
 
We have customers who tow with TDI Jettas & Beetles who live & travel all over the country.

Cary would know all the specifics.

:cool:
 
My ideal tow vehicle would be a 1932 Bugatti Type 50, black and crimson, thank you very much. Jim thinks it should be a 1936 Auburn Boat Tail Speedster, butter yellow with tan interior.

Yummy.

Any way you slice it, they both would have enough horse power to pull that little CI.

Vvvvaaaarrroooooooooommmmm!

Camp On,

Sue and Jim
 
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