Hello Everyone,
I just joined the group and can use a little help and advice.
I want to buy a Scamp 13 standard model. I don't want a bathroom or air conditioner. I don't intend to travel with a full fresh water tank. I will use one propane tank and the heavier battery. I also intend to buy electric brakes with this trailer. My intention is to take a three month trip to Montana, Wyoming etc (Rocky Mountain region). The car I will be using is a 2011 CRV with a 1500 lb. pull weight limit. It will only be myself and my wife going. Do you see problems or do I have to have a stronger car with more pull weight? I need some advice before I put money down on the trailer. Thanks in advance for help you can give me.
You're probably going to be over 1500 empty. you are pushing that when you load up. I would consider a bigger TV Subaru outback has 2700
I have a 2014 scamp 13 with fewer options than you are considering and weighed at 1530 with almost nothing in it. When we camp I would expect another 150 to 200 lb (food, camp chairs, table, dishes, ceramic heater, tools, clothes etc,etc) We started with a 4 cyl Highlander and have gone to a 6 cyl with factory tow pkg with a 3500 lb limit. Part of the towing consideration is also wind resistance. You have to expect to run into 20 mph head-wind gusting to 35 at times and will need some power to get over 55.
Dean K
You'd also have to factor the inevitable "gear" that will go into the rear hatch area of the tow vehicle. Realism demands it as no one goes off on an extended camping or travel time with no gear. As time goes by, it seems the amount of "stuff" just grows. It's natural. In preparing your tow vehicle, you'd also be putting a 100 pounds of hitch and tow bar right back there as well. You see, it all adds up.
I agree generally with the posts above. Scamp 13's are typically 1550, even when not loaded with baths, AC, awning, etc. Both of our Scamp 13's did and this was CAT scale verified, something which 90% of people never seem to actually do. It's just the real world. Do folks tow 13' fiberglass campers with the CRV? Yes. Hundreds of folks do so. Is it all "hoyle"??? Probably not.
Thanks to all who responded to this query, on behalf of myself and everyone else who wants to get Out There in a Scamp, but are wondering what we have to have in a towing vehicle , to do it safely. I have been feeling a little profligate, in getting a 2013 Subaru Outback (towing capacity 2750) to pull a 2016 13' Scamp, when I have a 2002 Forester (towing capacity 1000, or 1500 with electric brakes). But it has always seemed to me that operating anything at the margins of capacity is asking for trouble. I would say that if there's any way you can afford it, you need to get something that can handle at least 30-40% more than you ever intend to haul, without electric brakes. I base this estimate on no particular expertise, but only on the basis of what I've read on this forum.
AND get electric brakes, if possible. Be safe out there, especially if you're going on the nation's highways. Because if you're not safe, you're not going to be having fun, and really, we're all doing this for recreation, right? It's *optional,* in our lives. Nobody *has* to have a Scamp. We just want them, and the outdoor, mobile experience that goes with them. So we've all got to count all the costs, including possibly upgrading the towing vehicle. Just my 2¢.