Toyota Corolla - popup trailer
Shirley
tow up to 1500 lb GVWR. I would like to purchase a small popup (<
1000#) for camping. My car is an automatic and I understand I would
have to get a trans cooler installed. It would be used by my husband
and myself -- kids are grown. I have looked at Jayco and Coleman, but
they do not have a trailer under 1200#. I do not like Starcraft --
rented a new one years ago and had lots of trouble with it. Are there
any brands that weigh in at 1000# or less?
Thanks.
Shirley
Jonathan Race
I'm going to lay this out to you as simply as I can put it - even if you get
a pop-up camper that actually weighs in at 1000lbs or less you should not be
towing it with a Toyota Corolla. If that's your vehicle, I'm going to
suggest a big tent instead. I know you wanted camper reccomendations, but
I'm afraid I can't give you any.
Looking at your post, you state that your Corolla can handle up to a 1500lbs
GVWR. I think you'd better recheck those letters, because GVWR stands for
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. Translated, that is the maximum amount of
weight your vehicle can be when fully loaded, and 1500 lbs doesn't leave a
lot of room for a trailer. There are a lot of acronyms out there, but here
are a few you would want to pay attention to:
GCVWR - Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating. The total maximum weight of
your car plus cargo and any trailer plus cargo.
Tow Rating - The maximum trailer weight (trailer plus cargo) your car can
tow. A good rule of thumb is to stay below 75% of this figure.
GVW - Gross Vehicle Weight - The actual weight of your car as it sits on the
scale.
GCVW - Gross Combined Vehicle Weight - The actual total weight of your car
and trailer plus cargo as it sits on the scale.
The next thing to consider is the "actual" weight of the camper you will be
towing. Many dealers will quote a "dry weight", which is the weight of the
camper before any accessories are installed (frig, A/C, etc.) and any cargo
is loaded. Water is 8.35 lbs/gallon, which means if you carry along just 10
gallons of water, that adds 83.5lbs. Little things like that add up fast
and before you know it and you may be exceeding the towing capacity of your
car without even realizing it.
The reality of the situation is the Toyota Corolla is a lightweight, small,
front-wheel-drive, unibody car and it was not designed to tow anything for
any more than a very short distance. It's great for being economical and
maybe even "cute", but it's not a draft horse. Even if you were extremely
careful not to exceed the maximum tow rating and had only a very light load
in your car, you will be risking severe damage to your brakes and transaxle
(transmission).
Good luck - Jonathan
--
Acta Non Verba - Deeds Not Words
Lieutenant Jonathan Race, EMS Supervisor
Orange County (FL) Fire-Rescue Department
"Shirley" <sjj...@aol.com> wrote in message
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Miles
The Coleman Taos is 1180 lbs empty. Palomino makes one at 1200 lbs.
Your Corolla just is not a good choice to pull with but could if you
pack light, keep the water tank empty while towing and are not in a
mountainous area. However, I have pulled popups with vehicles similar
in size to the Corolla without problem.
Richard
good camping
"Miles" <unk...@unlistedspam.com> wrote in message
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Stephen Talmadge
>>I have a 2003 Toyota Corolla. According to the owners manual I can
>>tow up to 1500 lb GVWR. I would like to purchase a small popup (<
>>1000#) for camping.
For campers/trailers designed for small cars
and cruising motorcycles, see
www.trailmasterinc.com/campers.html
www.timeout-trailers.com/nc/pages/campers/index.html
www.t-one.net/~shurkamp/photos.htm
and
www.windwardcampers.com/camperframe.htm
Hope this helps.
Steve Talmadge
2000 Coleman Sedona
2000 Explorer XLT 4X4
the old anarchist
the old anarchist
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