I know.....this topic probably has been on this forum many times but I need to hear it from experienced owners again. How many of you are pulling your 13 foot Scamps with
a 4 cyl. car like mine and how is it going? Do you avoid mountains? I've heard so much on every side of the 4 vs. 6 cylinder recommendations. If I change up to a stronger
4 cyl. what do you think of a Suburu Outback?
We have a 2022 13 footer and both a RAV4 and a 4Runner. 4 cylinder RAV4 and 6 cylinder 4Runner. We tow with the 4Runner. We live in the mountains, and I don't think that the RAV4 would work in our case. The 4Runner is a no-brainer, but I can still feel the camper behind us when we're towing in the mountains. It doesn't struggle at all, but I can feel the extra weight. Older 13's weigh a lot less than ours does and I've seen several being towed by RAV4's without any apparent trouble even in the Blueridge where I live.
I had an Outback for a long time with a 4 cylinder, and I towed a lightweight popup with it, but I'd put it about the same as the RAV4 as far as towing capacity is concerned. Both great cars by the way.
For a newer 13 footer in my part of the country, I'd stick to a 6.
Dave
We tow our 2007 13 with a 4-cylinder Hyundai Tucson and have not had issues in New England. By far the larger issue is keeping the correct weight distribution to avoid sway. With smaller vehicles and their shorter wheel bases, any sway can get dangerously out of control.
Jim
Our 13' is an older (1984) model, with no amenities:. The dry weight is 950# (and we don't carry much in it). Across the years, we have towed it with 4, 6 and 8 cylinder cars. Presently, we are towing it with our new (2023) KIA Sportage. A hybrid, the gas engine is a 1.4 liter(!) 4-cylinder. The car is rated to tow 2,000#, and tows the SCAMP with ease.
We have been towing our 13ft delux with a jeep cherokee with an after factory tow hitch and electrical. It has some power issues, but we go slow(60mph) and watch the transmission temperature. So far no issues, even in the mountains (we live in Idaho and travel to Montana frequently).
i pulled my 16 footer with my honda CRV (same towing cap). in europe our vehicles are magically rated for 2300 lbs. same exact vehicle. they drive slower over there, and there are less big highways and big trailers (i think their semi's are smaller), but my point stands. my scamp has brakes, i would highly recommend having/getting brakes on the scamp regardless of tow vehicle. just drive 65 maybe 70 tops, and take it easy on the heavy mountains. i've had no issues. i upgraded to a larger tow vehicle now, but the honda was fine.
1987 Scamp 16
Just ordered a new Scamp Lite that we will tow with our 2022 Lexus 350h hybrid 4cyl. Our Scamp Lite is supposed to be 1250 lbs and our vehicle which is based on a Toyota Rav4 hybrid is rated to tow 2000 lbs. We will not have electric brakes on our Scamp but did opt for the sway bar. Will let you guys know how it does. Our salesman said he also has a '13 foot standard scamp with no brakes nor sway bar and a Rav4 tow vehicle with 4 cyl. He said he has no issues.
I just ordered one as well, went with one in stock that had more options since it priced out as a better buy. I'm really looking forward to it, and will be pulling with a hybrid 4cl Maverick truck. Can't wait to get it in two days! Make sure to post pics!
So you got the light blue Lite? Pricing would've been the same when we ordered about a week ago. Were they offering you a discount to take the one in stock vs ordering?
Nope, it would've been cheaper to order because I wouldn't have gotten the extra add-ons. With the one in stock it already had more add-ons but at a discount for them so I went with it instead. The difference ended up being around 1k, but it was more than 1k worth of extras.