The manual says I can tow 2700 pounds and the unit is 2200. I will be traveling alone and don't anti cipate getting over the weight limit but it seems there are a lot of other variables to factor in. I can't get another vehicle at this point in time and I am avidly reading the articles to get some knowledge. It seems consensus is, go with a 13' for towing ease. ( I had been looking for a used 13' but this came up and I am currently on the east coast, traveling and I'd like to be camping). Decision time is here. Help! Thanks, Anne
Thu, 06/23/2016 - 06:30
#1
Looking at a used 16'. I have a 2007 Subaru Outback.
Anne,
See previous post in Towing
http://www.scampowners.com/forums/towing-16-scamp-2015-outback-premium-i...
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
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I'd vote no don't do it.
Anne Marie, funny that you should ask, as my sister Ann Marie is also looking for a Scamp to pull with their 2016 Outback. We have an 08 Outback and although we have towed our 16' camp with it in areas where we don't have any huge hills/mountains, we use our Dakota most of the time.
In order to tow with our Outback, we are forced to travel light, which means removing one of the propane tanks (we have two) and reducing our load. In order to get the tongue weight down (200 lbs max) we have to add water to the fresh water tank behind the axle. Our Scamp weighs about 2550 lbs when we do this, which means we are forced to have less than the normal 10% tongue weight, which concerns me since having lower tongue weights on a heavy camper can cause sway issues.
I would much rather have a 13' Scamp if I was towing with our Outback full time. It is lighter and that allows for a better matched tongue weight.
I never had any issues towing the Scamp with our 2.5 Outback, but it's really difficult to not exceed the 200/2700 weight limits specified by Subaru.
John/Dave and Marilyn Haggerty
2005 Scamp 16 standard side dinette
04 Dodge Dakota Quad cab 4.7
17 Dodge Durango 3.6
19 Ford Ranger Supercrew Ecoboost
There is a company named RalliTek and they make rear overload springs for $220 a pair. These will keep the rear of your outback from dropping.
http://www.rallitek.com/raised-springs-kits/9815-rallitek-rear-raised-overload-springs-outback-2014-2017-1.html
I keep a spreadsheet of trailer weights that is sortable by make, size, etc that shows average weights (the spreadsheet is a continuation of Frederick Simpson's posting at Fiberglass RV done with his permission). I ran a sort for a Scamp 16 & the average weight is 2549 lbs & a tongue weight of 254 lbs.
I'd consider a 13 or a different tow vehicle...
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Hello, I'm new to this forum, having recently fallen in love with the 16' Scamp Deluxe (in birch, with side dinette, around 2500 to 2830 lbs.)
. I'm looking hard for a used one, but meanwhile, I have to come up with an appropriate tow vehicle. I really like the idea of a hybrid SUV because I'd like to save gas, but I wonder if anyone has been successful with this? I understand the Toyota Highlander hybrid MIGHT work, as it is listed as having a tow capacity of 3500 lbs. Barring a hybrid, what would be the best option for a high mpg tow vehicle for the 16'? It would be great to have a spreadsheet of tow capacity and mpg for potential tow vehicles - both new and older models! Thanks for any advice you can provide.
Oregon Jenn
My two cents
We purchased a 16 Deluxe similar to what you are considering down to the birch trim from the factory. Our tow vehicle is Nissan Frontier. My first consideration was safety and this vehicle has a 5,000 pound tow capacity and up to 500 tongue weight rating and all because we had the larger v6 engine. This vehicle already had a tow package and all I had to do was add the brake controller which was an extra plug-in cable under the dash. I then had to decide upon the proper tow height as I wanted the trailer to be close to level or slightly down when being towed. When we towed ours back from the factory it worked great, I felt safe and never had any issues. Between gas stops I checked the mileage for fun and found I was down about 4 MPG from what I normally had gotten with this truck.
Although MPG is a consideration (I also have another high MPG car we drive on a regular basis for non RV trips) I would suggest safety first above all else for you. Pick something you would enjoy driving but worry about towing specs and tow setup and MPG will be an interesting math calculation between gas stops but nothing more.
Thanks very much for your comment. My concern for MPG is related more to the gas mileage on the tow vehicle when we AREN'T pulling the trailer, which is most of the time. What I'm looking for is a multi-purpose vehicle that can safely tow the 16' but which doesn't guzzle too much gas when we use it driving around town (without the trailer). I've slowly been working my way through the Kelley Blue Book, looking at compact to mid-size SUVs and trucks for years 2010-2018, noting the engine sizes and tow capacity and mpg for each. I haven't been able to find this information compiled into a spreadsheet anywhere, but it seems like it ought to exist.
Oregon Jenn