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UKDUDE · 03-06-2017, 08:05 PM

First time towing with the Interstate although I did tow a Bambi before....

Here's the situation: a friend from the UK wants to view the solar eclipse in August and suggested we take the RV to Wyoming. So I had to put him straight that our Interstate is just for my wife and me! So I suggested we might tow a teardrop trailer so he could sleep in that and use our facilities during the day. But he's 6'4" and didn't care for the idea, and neither did my wife take to the idea of him using our bathroom! So he found a rental company in Mesa with several options, and he decided he would prefer a Mighty Lite M12. Meant nothing to me so I researched it. As trailers go, it's pretty light, but it weighs quite a bit more than a teardrop. Unloaded weight is 1990 lbs, gross weight is 3700 lbs.
So here's my question:

Do I really need a brake controller for something like this, and what about sway control? I would have preferred the teardrop and not have to bother with anything else. Have I gone down a path I'm going to regret?

Peter

Pahaska · 03-06-2017, 08:29 PM

I believe the Sprinter is limited to tow 1000# max without trailer brakes. I towed a 19' Scamp, years ago, across Texas with a Chevy S-10 pickup without working trailer brakes and I wouldn't want to repeat that trip. I barely got stopped a couple of times.

toskeysam · 03-06-2017, 08:37 PM

Regardless of towing capacity....some states require any towed trailer (or vehicle) over 1000# have supplemental braking.

waninae39 · 03-06-2017, 08:39 PM

two hitch items to be mount on the trailer side:

sway control is a MUST

weight distribution if you can

Shiny16 · 03-06-2017, 09:00 PM

Get him a tent.

Piggy Bank · 03-06-2017, 09:14 PM

In my opinion the answer to your question is yes.

The rocky mountains are not the place to experiment with a lack of standard braking and sway control practices. In my opinion you would be super crazy to risk your safety and the unit you have (we all know how much they cost) to find out.

Not to mention that your spouse has already agreed to sharing a very long multi day road trip with a third person along for the drive. This in a unit that is ideally suited for only 2 people.

Can you possibly rent a cabin for your friend at your destination?

I am assuming that your friend is not up to driving his own rental RV because the US vs UK units drive on opposite sides. If this is not the case the perhaps that might also be an option.

Yes a tent, cot, pad, and sleeping bag are also an option. We did this last summer when our 2 adult daughters came to Yellowstone with us.

And your wife is very astute and a good planner. I am sure your friendship and your family both need to come out of this experience intact.

If your friend has not camped much, he might not be aware of what he is asking of you. If he has not traveled much by car in the US, he also might not be aware of the immense nature of this trip.

UKDUDE · 03-07-2017, 09:28 AM

Thank you guy for these responses, and for the philosophical and creative ones too! Yes, we had thought about a tent, and about cabins at our destination, etc. But we generally use the Interstate as it should be used: on the way to our destination we stop for the night almost anywhere - truck stops, Walmarts, etc, and I can't see our friend sleeping in a tent in a truck stop!
The smallest teardrop trailers are less than 1000lbs so I'll try to sell him that option again!
Thanks again, Peter

ColoradoLady · 03-07-2017, 10:22 AM

Peter, I see your problem, and have another suggestion. Little guy, company maker of teardrops, also makes a T@B, which has a wet bath. Might not be a bad idea to investigate if rentals are available, and if weight restrictions will work. Whatever you choose will require trailer brake control as well as at least sway control to drive safely on our Rocky Mountains. Good luck and enjoy the journey. Evelyn.

UKDUDE · 03-07-2017, 11:44 AM

Thank you Evelyn, that's a great idea. I was always confused between the T@B and T@G models, but having just researched them, I see that T@B is larger with a wet bath. If we can get one, that may be perfect!
Peter

wahoonc · 03-07-2017, 11:52 AM

Another option may be the hard sided popups like the A-liner or Chalet. They aren't excessively heavy and can be set up very quickly. More head room than you will have in a T@B or T@G.

Regardless you will need to have trailer brakes on anything over 1,000#. Some states will allow you to go to 2,500# before requiring trailer brakes. Sway control is probably a good idea too.

Aaron

tjdonahoe · 03-07-2017, 01:27 PM

Leave himwhere he is at..

UKDUDE · 03-07-2017, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

Leave himwhere he is at..

I'm sure you meant that in in the best of taste!

Beaubill · 03-07-2017, 05:29 PM

We pull a 21ft Sovereign behind our Sprinter 2500. Can't tell it's back there even in the mountains. Our condo has 2 bedrooms a bath and a half and a kitchen in each. The Sprinter is a 2500 with a 5 cylinder Mercedes engine it's rated to tow 5,000lbs but I'm sure it can tow much more.

Lily&Me · 03-07-2017, 05:31 PM

If he's wanting to travel in your Interstate, he seems determined that the three if you will somehow manage this, which is difficult for me to picture.

Setting up your Interstate to tow a trailer of his choosing, then towing it to Wyoming, seems outside the bounds of something a friend should ask of another friend, in my opinion. There are mountains to deal with, and the art of towing safely, above all else.

Many campgrounds have small, rental, sleeping cabins, and I would suggest planning a route that overnights at these places, so he has his own sleeping accommodations.

The other option might be him renting a motel room each night near your chosen spot.

Managing meals, coffee, etc, and daytime travel within the Interstate would be eminently doable....we once took 4 grandkids cross country for a week, and had a blast, but spent our overnights in sleeping cabins.

I would suggest offering him daytime traveling accommodations and helping him look at independent sleeping arrangements, but leaving the burden on him to decide what he wants that doesn't place an undue burden on you and your wife.

I think that setting up for, and then towing, an unfamilar rig, is too big of a bite to take, and way too much for a friend to ask.

Maggie

c21 · 03-07-2017, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

If he's wanting to travel in your Interstate, he seems determined that the three if you will somehow manage this, which is difficult for me to picture.

Many campgrounds have small, rental, sleeping cabins, and I would suggest planning a route that overnights at these places, so he has his own sleeping accommodations.

The other option might be him renting a motel room each night near your chosen spot.

I think that setting up for, and then towing, an unfamilar rig, is too big of a bite to take, and way too much for a friend to ask.

Maggie

Great suggestion Maggie.

UKDUDE · 03-07-2017, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

If he's wanting to travel in your Interstate, he seems determined that the three if you will somehow manage this, which is difficult for me to picture.

Setting up your Interstate to tow a trailer of his choosing, then towing it to Wyoming, seems outside the bounds of something a friend should ask of another friend, in my opinion. There are mountains to deal with, and the art of towing safely, above all else.

Many campgrounds have small, rental, sleeping cabins, and I would suggest planning a route that overnights at these places, so he has his own sleeping accommodations.

The other option might be him renting a motel room each night near your chosen spot.

Managing meals, coffee, etc, and daytime travel within the Interstate would be eminently doable....we once took 4 grandkids cross country for a week, and had a blast, but spent our overnights in sleeping cabins.

I would suggest offering him daytime traveling accommodations and helping him look at independent sleeping arrangements, but leaving the burden on him to decide what he wants that doesn't place an undue burden on you and your wife.

I think that setting up for, and then towing, an unfamilar rig, is too big of a bite to take, and way too much for a friend to ask.

Maggie

Well of course you're right Maggie, but this friend did keep an eye on my mother before she passed away last year, so I do have an obligation to him. A sensitive topic really!

Betty Farmer · 03-07-2017, 07:26 PM

You face the prospect of not being friends upon returning along with the possibility of losing a wife. Ask him to rent a separate unit. Don't know what they are specifically called but they have all the accommodations. The time together other than sleep time should be sufficient.

Unless you are a experienced driver of double hook ups, you don't want to go into the mountains with such a rig. And the rig above of the Sprinter pulling the Airstream is totally different - that is a single hook up. No different than me pulling our 28 foot Airstream with our 1 ton GMC - not the same as a double hookup. Sway control: How many single pull travel trailers being towed down a highway - merrily swaying along - have you seen?

Texas rule is a trailer 16 ft long, irregardless of weight, requires brakes. Good luck and hope you don't lose a friend nor a wife.

RandyNH · 03-07-2017, 07:44 PM

Is it just that you are determined to travel in the same vehicle? There was another post here, in the last few days, covering Enterprise renting trucks, F-series fully configured for towing.

Maybe you could just caravan, and then travel locally in the rental truck and leave the AI and trailer setup to camp.

Piggy Bank · 03-07-2017, 08:17 PM

I think that Maggie is right.

I empathize with you wanting to help your friend. But I still think that often times folks who are not really from here cannot truly appreciate how huge the West is, and how long it will take to arrive, and how long and far you will be traveling.

I googled and the distance from Sedona to Yellowstone is roughly the same as London to Budapest.

And I am very sorry for the loss of you mother.

UKDUDE · 03-07-2017, 08:23 PM

After a long Skype with my friend today, since he wants the additional space and flexibility of the Mighty Lite M12, he has agreed to pay for a brake controller and anti-sway device to be attached. I think my wife and I will be happy with that arrangement. In fact he may have more room in it than we will in the Interstate!
Before the Interstate we did have a 19' Flying Cloud which we towed with a Toyota FJ Cruiser, so I do have some experience of towing, and that wasn't an ideal combination!