Picked up Pearl, our 13' scamp w/ bath & electric brakes, last week in Backus - minus 22 at pick up time -- brrrrrr. Folks at Scamp & Evelands were wonderful, and really do not recommend at sway bar. I had a $40 friction one with me so thought to try to drive it home (about 500 miles) without.. drove great on a very cold and light wind day... only a few hills to climb. Kept my speed at 60 mph and all great. They recommend getting a new receiver hitch with 6" drop to have it ride more level, with my current one at 4" drop it was slightly not level at pick up.
Understand the swaybar concept and it makes sense to me for sudden stops and such. Been asking family friends who have travel trailers (TT) and they all have them... some simple friction for a Casita and one who recommends a WD/Sway combo who pulls a larger trailer w/ large truck. Etrailer rep recommended at top option, $520 WD/Sway w/ 10,000 lb limit & 600 lb TW to max safety while pulling in the Rockies and other mountian ranges while on our March trip out west to visit most of the national parks there in a two month loop. Think on the flatter lands around home may be overkill. He also recommend a transmission cooler add on as well for the mountain climbs. Plan on going slow on I70 over the Rockies, then start the fun explore...getting over those is my biggest concern. The other posts on e-trailer recommended only a simple friction on for 13' scampswithout WD, but there was not mention of climbing the Rockies in those either.
Pearl is below the 50% pull load of our 2011 Pilot with the standard build in tow pkg. Have the P2 electric braking device installed at Camping World. Traveling light over the mountains, not planning on adding water at all til camping in Arches NP. Will be traveling with two adults, and normal camping gear that will ride in Pilot. Have the rear receiver for adding a platform to carry the messy smelly hiking shoes & dirty laundry - is this a good idea or adding more weight to rear of trailer in mountains?
Honda specs in Owners Manual: for two occupants in 4WD max total weight is 4,500 lbs & max Tongue Load is 450. GCWR(Gross Combined Weight Rating for 4WD is 9,579... the GCWR must be reduced 2% for every 1,000 miles o elevation. Not sure on the math on this: 14,000 ft Rockies/1,000 * 2 = 28... then 9579 * .28 = 2,682. If this is the correct math, does that mean my trailer, humans & gear can not go over 2,600 lbs to safely travel over Rockies without damaging Pilot? So, empty Scamp @ 1,600 lb + 300 lb humans & dog + 400 lb gear = 2,300 lb. Would that mean we are in the ok zone for no transmission add on? We can center gear in Pilot too as only using front driver & co pilot seats, would this matter?
Have locks for hitch, ball receiver & one for tire. Think I need one for where the receiver comes into Pilot's frame, maybe an extra for second tire.. do i need to lock the spare tire on too? Any recommendations there too?
Goal is to be very safe on the road, drive only in decent weather, and enjoy the special travel time to enjoy the national parks... hope to get to all of them in Pearl in next five years. And then repeat :)
Sending in SOI membership form today, we will be Scamping for life now :)
With a 13 ft trailer you really do not need a sway or weight distribution system. I previously had a 2011 13ft Standard w/air, awning, propane, water, and did not need it for going to MOAB, Arches, Mesa Verde, and up to Ouray/Silverton. I towed with a 2013 - 2DR Jeep Wrangler. The camper towed like a dream.
Have a question for you...your name is Painting Scamp.....What Color are you painting it???
those are some of the places we are headed to, just going to get over those huge Rockies and then enjoy it all. I am a painter, thus the name ... planning on keeping Pearl (our sweet scamp) simple... but she will sport the state/US map filling in as we go and probably the national park bumper stickers too.
thank you for the reassurance we can do this simply... that is the goal of the trip -- keep it as simple as possible and enjoy the journey ahead
wandering for fun
First off, a 10,000 lb WD Hitch with Anti Sway is beyond OVER KILL !!!!!
WD hitches are rated for the trailer being pulled and should closely match the trailer weight, i.e., 12,000 lb wd hitch for a 10,000 lb trailer is ok.
Here are the things I would consider if I were evaluating your Rig:
First, I would definitely install the Transmission Cooler if you do not already have one.
Next, your traction, steering, and braking are all effected by any weight placed on the hitch and/or in the rear cargo area (any weight behind the rear axle).
The function of a WD hitch is to re-distribute the hitch weight (the downward pressure on the hitch) back to the trailer tires, consequently lifting up the rear of the Tow Vehicle (by keeping it level) thereby keeping more weight on the front tires. This results in better steering, traction, braking and overall handling. In dry weather you may not notice much of an issue, but in wet weather, the loss of traction and steering control could be dangerous.
Evaluate how much the rear of your Pilot drops when you hitch up Pearl and also, how much the front end lifts up with Pearl attached. If either measurement is close to, or greater than, 1 inch I would seriously consider the WD hitch ( a 3,000 lb +/- WD hitch should work well ).
I would also add sway control with the WD hitch. Sway control is not only helpful in sudden stops but is also helpful in traveling down the highway, because it doesn't take much sway to completely loose control at highway speeds Once you start to sway it is VERY Difficult to not loose control (due to the "Tail Wagging The Dog" effect ) it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
As far as Honda's 2% reduction in weight per 1,000 ft elevation, I would not worry too much about that number, as long as I wasn't too close to maxing out the weight limits overall, let's face it, you won't be going up the mountain at 70 mph anyway. By-the-way, going down the mountain safely is more important than going up the mountain, keep it in low gear all the way down.
I-70 Is a beautiful drive so enjoy it.
As Always,
Happy Scamping !!!
When Pearl is on there is no change at all in Pilot... the hitch ball is a bit too high , just over an inch so Dave at Scamp HQ recommended a 6" drop vs. the 4" one I have to level it out. Dave helped me adjust the electric brakes too as it is the first time driving with those.
It really driveslike there is nothing behind, the mpg does go down but not by very much. But not huge mountains yet to test its real weight. There is a big hill on I94 coming into Wisconsin and that went well. Kept it at 55 to be safe.
wandering for fun
I think your math is correct (Except 1000 miles should read 1000 feet), but there is one more step to finish the calculation, i.e. subtract the 2,682 from the 9,579 to get the new GCWR of 6,897. The reduction in GCWR is solely to make up for the loss of engine power as you gain altitude. You can offset some of this by accepting a slower speed as you climb, reducing the demand on the engine by turning off the Honda air conditioner and any other power robbing accessories, gearing down apropriatly, and try to plan your climbs in the cooler parts of the day (cooler air is more dense, allowing for more power to the engine). With these things in mind I wouldn't worry much about the reduction in GCWR, as altitude affects only engine power. The rest of the Honda and Scamp don't care what the altitude is.
WDH and Sway Bar Use the sway bar you have...I recommend it. The WDH you probably won't need, but if you do, get the lowest weight rating you can (I believe 3000/300 is available). You have a lot of flexibility for moving weight around in your Honda and Scamp to keep the fender height within 1" as described in Post 3 above.
Don
2015 Scamp 16'
Tow Vehicle...2013 Lincoln MKX 3.7L V-6
SW Ohio
Only a minor comment to add to the calculation. The Eisenhower Tunnel is only 11,158 feet elevation (west portal). Even driving over Loveland Pass takes you to 11,991, not 14,000. Loveland Pass is a good road, it is the Hazardous Cargo truck route around the tunnel. Occasionally they escort a convoy of big trucks through the tunnel. In any case, you have plenty of power margin there, as Mustang explained. I70 in Colorado is a beautiful drive, you will love it.
-Paul
2004 Scamp 19 Deluxe,
2021 Tacoma, Double Cab, 6 cyl. 4WD
Colorado
Is your Honda a 6 cylinder?
Yes it is, I stopped by our dealer's service area yesterday to ask about the transmission cooler addition and if they could install that. They looked it all over and the trip plans and says we will be good as is - It came equiped with a trans cooler with the trailing package. Will bring it by a few weeks before we head out for one last check over but it just had it big checkup last month. It has 135,000 miles on it, but mostly highway.
Have towed UHaul trailers a few times for getting college kids gear out to Ohio & Indiana, also have pulled extended family's cars with UHaul car trailer for 400 miles, as well as family boat. Sold boat to get Scamp :)
Having a hard time finding a WD/Sway bar unit at 3,000 lb & 300 TW, the 4,000/400 TW is the lowest rating I have found so far.
wandering for fun
here is a photo of Pearl on the Pilot getting the lights tested before doing the drive testing outside - very cold that day we did most everything in the finishing area of the Scamp HQ
wandering for fun
here is a full view of the Pilot and Pearl...it does look like there is some weight on the backend of the Pilot
This is taken with an empty Scamp & empty Pilot
wandering for fun
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