Question:
Can a small car like a tercell pull a tent camper ? If not what is the
smallest that could pull a tent camper. I'm thinking of this due to the
gas prices
The smallest tent camper I've seen is maybe 1200 pounds with gear.
Do they go smaller and still have a built in furnace for heat ?
Can a car legally tow one of those motorcycle tent campers ?
Answer:
-The problem with trying to use a car to tow a small trailer is that
you need carrying and towing capacity not just for the trailer, but
also for all the people and stuff you take along. If a car has a tow
capacity of 1200 lbs, then you can tow a 1200 lb trailer if and ONLY
if you:
A) Weigh 150 lbs or less (the figure used for "driver weight" when
calculating the CGVW).
B) Have no other passengers
C) Have no items or supplies in the vehicle or trailer
D) The trailer actually weighs 1200 or less (don't rely on the
manufacturer's literature, most trailers weigh a lot more than the
figure stated on the literature due to "options").
The way to do this safely is to:
1) Pack for a camping trip and then weigh all the things you want to
take along.
2) Add the weight of the people going along in the car.
3) Add 100 lbs for other things you will have in the car (stuff in
the trunk, etc.)
4) Add 100 lbs for extra water that you forgot to include in #1
above.
Now you know how much carrying/towing capacity you need for your
"stuff". Add the actual weight of a trailer you are thinking of
towing.
Finally, you should aim to only utilize 75% of the towing capacity of
your tow vehicle. So, if your total weight of people, stuff, and
trailer comes to 1500 lbs (it's a lot more likely to be 3000 lbs,
BTW), your tow vehicle should be rated to tow a 2000 lb trailer (which
means you probably really need a vehicle rated to tow a 4000 lb
trailer).
What this means is that you need a lot more vehicle to safely and
legally tow a trailer than to just get around town. If you try to do
this with a vehicle that isn't rated high enough, you risk blowing
your transmission or engine, and that's if you don't get in a wreck
because the trailer outweighed the tow vehicle and you lost control
when a gust of wind or a passing truck started everything swaying.
Sorry for the bad news, but it's a LOT better to find out now, before
you go out and buy something that won't be safe.
-I've towed a small tent trailer and a few popup trailers with small
cars. As long as you don't load both up to above ratings, they are
okay. I wouldn't touch a popup weighing 1,200 lbs dry though with
Tercel. Since that 1,200 lbs would become more like 2,200 lbs from all
the stuff you gotta bring with a popup, any small car would be
overcome by the weight and be extremely unsafe.
Most all the smaller and mid sized cars today are front wheel drive
and they become unsafe when towing a trailer with a heavy tongue load.
The trailer tends to take weight off the front wheels of the car and,
even in a light rain, can result in hydroplaning.
Your idea about the motorcycle trailer is a good one. Just for grins
though, take a look at the offerings by various makers of tent
trailers and check out the ones weighing less than 1,000 lbs. They
will have a tongue load of around 150 lbs and can be towed by a
smaller vehicle. Just be aware though that it doesn't take much stuff
inside the trailer to overload it. Plus, the trailer won't have brakes
and that's not good.
