[VonnVary]

Hey all,

So my wife and I've been looking for a small travel trailer for a while, mainly for weekend trips staying close to home. I think I finally found a brand that offers a few different options under the 2,000lb or 4,000lb limits. They seem to be out of Canada but have a dealership up north.

Roulottes neuves ultra légères fabriquées au Canada

Pour le plaisir de voyager et de profiter des activités en plein air, Roulottes Prolite vous offrent des modèles de véhicules récréatifs ultralégers

www.roulottesprolite.com

I like the look of the Profil (Link below). It comes in at around 1685lbs which is probably as heavy as I'd go with the 2,000lbs limit. What do you all think? Is there another brand of trailer or model that might work better?

Roulotte: Profil | Roulottes Prolite

www.roulottesprolite.com

 

[Wire4money]

Keep in mind the standard tow has a max frontal towing area of 20 square feet. The 4K is 40 square feet.

 

[DavidS]

Take a look at Gulf Stream's Ameri-lite Super Lite series. Frontal area would likely still be an issue, but I really like their layouts. I've got a wife and two kids, so my requirements are a bathroom and that it must sleep 4 comfortably.

Ameri-Lite | Light Weight Trailers

Ameri-Lite | Light Weight Trailers

www.gulfstreamcoach.com

 

[DavidS]

Unfortunately, with the frontal area limits, I might have to look into pop-up campers instead. I don't care for the extra work of them or the tent-style sides, but at least the modern ones have bathrooms.

 

[Newbernwolf]

Note that 1685 lbs doesn't include filled water tank or propane tanks. It may not even include interior fittings such as fridge, counter, cabinets, etc.

RV manufacturers love to minimize the real world weight of their lightweight trailers.

 

[VonnVary]

All great things to know. I'm realtively new to this so I value all of your thoughts and recommendations.

As for the propane tanks/water tanks, do you have to drive with them full? Or can you drive with them empty and fill up at the camp site? I really don't know the answer to that.

 

[elephantrider]

most of the weight call outs on travel trailers will be dry weight, trailer weight only.

 

[VonnVary]

So how in the heck would you know what the ACTUAL weight of any trailer is before you buy it? Is there like fine print saying actual weight?

 

[Newbernwolf]

All great things to know. I'm realtively new to this so I value all of your thoughts and recommendations.

As for the propane tanks/water tanks, do you have to drive with them full? Or can you drive with them empty and fill up at the camp site? I really don't know the answer to that.

You probably want to make sure you have propane. So far as water, we have tended to fill (or partially fill) the freshwater tank in case there's any issue with water at our campsite. We camp at state and national parks so we try to just be prepared. Also, since water tanks are under the trailer, that extra weight tends to make the tiny camper pull 'smoother.'

BUT, if you have a freshwater hookup at your campsite, you don't really need to use the freshwater tank at all.

Definitely, you'll want read a lot about how the tanks work before you take your first trip.

 

[elephantrider]

So how in the heck would you know what the ACTUAL weight of any trailer is before you buy it? Is there like fine print saying actual weight?

you have to estimate. usually a good guideline is 800lbs to 1k lbs of "wet" gear weight allowance.

 

[VonnVary]

Thanks Newbernwolf & Elephantrider. Lots to think about.

 

[DavidS]

So how in the heck would you know what the ACTUAL weight of any trailer is before you buy it? Is there like fine print saying actual weight?

It will be on the build sheet. Most trailers have optional features (cabinets or closets or appliances or a/c). All of these have different weights, so the build sheet for the specific trailer should include the true dry weight. Then you have to add in the weights of the water that the different tanks can hold plus anything extra that you'll have in it or on it (like propane). After all of that, you have the "wet weight" or your Gross Vehicle Weight.

The real trick is figuring out where that leaves you. Your Maverick (with a 4k towing package) can tow up to 4,000 pounds. Or it can haul 1,500 in payload (including passengers and cab cargo in excess of 150 lbs). But it can't do both at the same time. That's where the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) comes in. For the Maverick 2.0L w/ 4k and FWD, you have a GCWR of 7,900 pounds. With AWD, it's 8,145.

So start with that number. That's the MOST that your fully laden truck and fully laden trailer can weigh combined. The truck has a curb weight of 3,563 lbs FWD or 3,731 pounds for AWD. So subtract the curb weight from the GCWR and that tells you how much you can still haul. For FWD, it's 4,337. All of the people in my family combined weigh about 650 pounds. All of the stuff I would put in the bed of the truck weight about 150 pounds. That means my trailer, fully laden cannot weigh more than 3,537 pounds.

7,900 GCWR
minus 3,563 curb weight
minus 800 passengers and cargo
--------------------------------------
3,537 lbs available for towing.

https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/product/2022/maverick/pdf/2022-Ford-Maverick-Technical-Specifications.pdf

https://www.fleet.ford.com/content/dam/aem_fleet/en_us/fleet/towing-guides/2022_Ford_RVandTrailerTowingGuide.pdf

 

[elephantrider]

^ this guy gets it.

 

[Nojovo]

I've read your trailer's GVWR should not be more than 75% of your vehicle's tow rating. Not sure if this is to allow for all the stuff you load into the trailer or what, but probably so.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[DavidS]

I've read your trailer's GVWR should not be more than 75% of your vehicle's tow rating. Not sure if this is to allow for all the stuff you load into the trailer or what, but probably so.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

There are a few reasons for this. The first is that most people don't math correctly. They see that they can tow 4000 pounds and then buy a trailer that weighs 3,500 pounds. Then they put in 300 pounds of water, a propane tank, fill up the fridge and toss a couple of cases of water and linens in it. It's pretty easy to get up over your limit. The second reason is the GCWR, as I explained it above. Most people try to only consider if the trailer meets the trailer weight limit. They don't take into consideration that they've got passengers and gear in the truck that contributes toward the combined weight limit. The third reason is braking. If you're driving a 3,600 pound truck pulling a 3,500 pound trailer down an 8% grade, it won't take much to wear out your brakes, even if the trailer has it's own brakes. You can get in a bad spot really quickly when you're being pushed downhill.

 

[VonnVary]

So do we know what the GCWR is for the Maverick yet? How does that play into effect? Say for instance my wife, my child and myself weigh 500 lbs just to keep the math simple. Does this subtract from our towing amount? I.e. instead of 2,000 lbs we can now do 1,500 lbs?

 

[DavidS]

So do we know what the GCWR is for the Maverick yet? How does that play into effect? Say for instance my wife, my child and myself weigh 500 lbs just to keep the math simple. Does this subtract from our towing amount? I.e. instead of 2,000 lbs we can now do 1,500 lbs?

We do know the GCWR. They care published in Ford's towing guide, which is the second document I linked to. Here's where you'll find it.

As for your second question, it's not quite a simple as your family's weight being subtracted from towing capacity. Instead, it gets subtracted from the GCWR.

 

[klmcdaniel]

We have a Geo Pro. They have a travel trailer as small as 12 ft (which is what I have) and they increase in size from there. My little camper weighs 1407 lbs. It’s a perfect size!!

 

[flipfloptan]

GCWR and max tow weight are two different weights. Your trailer tongue weight would go into your GCWR

A good rule of thumb is to not tow more than 80% of your max tow capacity. Therefore look at total weight around 3200. If you have to go to 3500#

Teardrops, squaredrop and pop up trailers are ideal for the Maverick IMO.

if you can do without a bathroom in RV it is a real plus. Use the campground showers/toilets and carry an enclosed toilet with privacy tent

 

[DavidS]

So, it's a bit tricky without knowing exactly which Maverick you're wanting or how much cargo you anticipate hauling, but I'll give it a try. I'll assume 150 lbs of cargo and go with the 500 lbs of family.


For the Hybrid FWD, you have a GCWR of 6,010 lbs and a curb weight of 3,674. (Curb weights are found on the first link of technical specs on page 4)
6,010 - 3,674 - 2,336 - 500 - 150 = 1,686. You can pull up to 1,686 lbs with your family and 150 lbs of cargo in the truck.

For the Ecoboost FWD without the tow package, you have a GCWR of 5,900 lbs and a curb weight of 3,563 lbs.
5,900 - 3,563 - 500 - 150 = 1,687. You can pull up to 1,687 lbs with your family and 150 lbs of cargo in the truck.

For the Ecoboost AWD without the tow package, you have a GCWR of 6,145 and a curb weight of 3,731 lbs.
6,145 - 3,731 - 500 - 150 = 1,764. You can pull up to 1,764 lbs with your family and 150 lbs of cargo in the truck.

For the Ecoboost FWD with the tow package, you have a GCWR of 7,900 and a curb weight of 3,563 lbs.
7,900 - 3,563 - 500 - 150 = 1,764. You can pull up to 3,687 lbs with your family and 150 lbs of cargo in the truck.

For the Ecoboost AWD with the tow package, you have a GCWR of 8,145 and a curb weight of 3,731 lbs.
8,145 - 3,731 - 500 - 150 = 3,764. You can pull up to 3,764 lbs with your family and 150 lbs of cargo in the truck.


I hope this helps.