My wife and I are aiming to break all of our belongings down as minimally as we can in order to be able to live on the road for a while (for a multitude of reasons.)
Within our budget and needs, we’ve decided on a NuCamp 320 teardrop trailer, which clocks in at ~2k lbs unloaded, 3,000 lbs max load. Her, myself and two pups all weigh 300 lbs together. Optimally, we’d like to start with just the vehicle first, and trailer later on as an upgrade.
We were initially looking at a toyota 4runner to pair with this given the advertised 1550 lbs of potential cargo capacity and tongue weight of the hitch. However in practicality, we saw no more than a max capacity of 880 lbs period in the door jams at the dealerships. Even in the off-road models, which just seemed… asinine? Using some calculators, that would seemingly give us very little-to-no wiggle room for any proper amount of livable necessities before we cross that threshold and run into myriad issues.
Now we’re wondering how people actually do it? Are we overthinking it? We did love the vehicle, but these numbers are waaay too close for comfort, seeing as most advice we find online generally recommends not crossing ~80% of the big number. We’ve begun looking at land cruisers as an alternative, but the way the market is right now, and the difference in cost for both new and used, it’s looking more and more infeasible. Don’t even get me started on the GX550.
Have you been through a similar situation? Any advice would be appreciated! 🤍
Edit for future visitors:
We ended up settling on a ‘22 Toyota Highlander XLE, and honestly we’re pretty excited about it! Even with an electric tow hitch, it clocks in at a healthy 1,390 lbs of cargo capacity, with even more room in the back to camp out of. That number will go down a decent bit with some rooftop storage, and maybe back up a little bit if we can (viably) take out the third row seating. But it more than suits our current needs as it stands 🥳
Thanks to the general good advice in the comments, we’ve put the idea of an RV at all on ice, transitioning to a more all-inclusive portable action plan. There were too many ways things could go wrong lugging one at such long distances for the timeframe of our trips. However, we’re really happy to be able to upgrade to that setup at any time we’d like to!
Thanks for the comprehensive response!! 🙌
Lots of good thoughts to chew on here, I’ll take some time to consider these points! And thanks for not just saying to get a truck instead. I do have some previous experience driving with a truck & trailer combo, though that was only a simple flatbed, so not a very apt comparison.
e: Oh also we’re not locking ourselves into only new vehicles. Just what’s available in the market in our price range, ~30-45k. Lots of carfax diving lately
yeah trucks are honestly overblown as “the only tow vehicles”. Yes they’re typically designed for towing with heavier duty rear ends, but they suck at being a normal vehicle when not towing. And they come with a very hefty purchase and gas-cost premium. For the small trailer and load you want? a truck, even like a ranger, is probably overkill.
Prior to the late 80s/ 1990s, most people towed camp trailers with passenger cars. American cars were built heavy and could easily pull 4000lb camp trailers slowly, but surely. Trucks were actually very uncommon. Modern vehicles prioritize fuel economy and lower manufacturing cost over versatility, but they can still pull off a lot more than people think.
I guess the main point I’m making above is that capacity ratings are guidelines and not hard limits like many people overemphasize them as. IF you know what you’re doing, and make sure to prep correctly ala. electric brakes and tongue weight balance, you can push those limits and still travel safely.
And your vehicle is in good/excellent condition. I just about cooked off the transmission in an MDX pulling a trailer from San Francisco to Kansas City. Pulled like a champ through the mountains but by the time we hit Nebraska it fell down into emergency mode. it was entirely flat where it gave up so we were able to limp to a hotel, and the next day it was behaving fine, but we still had someone meet us with a bigger vehicle before we got out of the flatlands around Omaha. We chose not to replace the transmission on that car since it would cost half it’s sale value to have done and it drove fine without weight on it. gave it to my mom who uses it to transport dogs with strict instructions not to tow anything with it.
The point being, the points made above only apply to a vehicle in good condition, not one that’s been rode hard and put up wet.
As well as vehicles without inherent design flaws. I did a 30 second google to discover the MDX for a while is well known for having massive transmission problems when not being driven hard at all. And any vehicle using a CVT (Subaru, Nissan primarily) should never be bought period, let alone do any towing.
No matter the condition, tow ratings in the USA are actually tested and determined independently and it’s completely stupid to go over them on public roads. A 5k lbs trailer would have brakes on any vehicle and OP can’t have the appropriate wiring for that on their Forester. They shouldn’t be praised or encouraged in any way.