Re: Thirteen- or 14-inch tires?
Thanks all! You answered my questions perfectly.
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Re: New to winter camping
Just a note: It would be good if all of us add at least a portion of the posting to which we’re replying, to the bottom of our reply. That way, we all can understand the whole conversation. Review this posting as an example. Thanks, and Merry Christmas! Dave ……………………… Let me know if I am understanding your points correctly. 1. More weight on the tongue vs farther back in the trailer is better. I have 2 lead acid batteries and 2 - 20lb propane tanks on the tongue and I don’t think I will be using much less traveling with my rear water tank full. 2. I have my Bluetooth brake controller tuned low, maybe it should be tuned VERY low? Thank you for your detailed thoughts on this.
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Re: New to winter camping
Be careful with downshifting. I was riding with a friend going down a slippery road. He downshifted. The rear drive wheels locked up. The car spun a 180. We crossed through opposing traffic, and hit the far snowbank going backwards. Luckily we didn't hit another vehicle and no damage. But you should pump the brakes to test traction before you downshift, and be ready to shift into neutral if you skid.
On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 09:41 AM, dan smartt wrote:
I don't know what is different other than your normal winter driving is. I've towed my aliner through a few blizzards in mountain roads without issue. Small roads and paved highways. Never an issue
Just drive e slowly and don't make any sudden moves. I also downshift a lot instead of braking (but i do that in good weather too). But that's true for any winter driving. The only issue i had is man it makes the trailer dirty
Remember going up the mountain is ez it's going down that extra caution is needed.
Towed using a Tacoma & now a forerunner
On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 8:46 AM, JoeS via groups.io
<joesears74@...> wrote:
I’ve driven a lot on snow covered roads but never towed anything on snow covered roads. What would be the difference from a snowmobile trailer?
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Re: New to winter camping
Let me know if I am understanding your points correctly.
1. More weight on the tongue vs farther back in the trailer is better. I have 2 lead acid batteries and 2 - 20lb propane tanks on the tongue and I don’t think I will be using much less traveling with my rear water tank full.
2. I have my Bluetooth brake controller tuned low, maybe it should be tuned VERY low?
Thank you for your detailed thoughts on this.
JoeS
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Re: New to winter camping
As well as some of the other advice posted here about winter driving, there are a few other considerations: 1. Even in campers with batteries mounted inside the camper, and just propane or nothing at all on the tongue, there is considerable weight concentrated on a moment arm distant from the hitch, that can act as a horizontal pendulum if the tires aren’t gripping the road as designed, which happens when the road is icy, snowy and sometimes even in rain if the tires are hydroplaning due to excessive speed. SP (Special Trailer) Tires with their less flexible sidewalls will help mitigate pendulum action, but certainly not eliminate it. 2. The electric brakes on our campers depend on tire rolling friction to disengage. If the tires are rolling on a slick surface with low coefficient of friction, such as icy or snowy roads, the brakes can be slow to disengage after being actuated, resulting in sliding instead of rolling tires. Sliding sideways can be disastrous, even in a straightaway, if one brake disengages before the other. 3. If you have sway bars installed in your camper, my strong advice is to disengage them when towing in wintery weather. Sway bars tend to keep the camper aligned behind the tow vehicle, but on a wintery road they can do more than that: they can force the camper to slide sideways when the vehicle turns, and sliding is not your friend when that happens. 4. In any event, the best deterrent other than not towing is to drive slowly and smoothly, with no sudden braking or changes in direction. Don’t deny yourself the fun of winter camping, just be extra careful. Dave …………………….. I’ve driven a lot on snow covered roads but never towed anything on snow covered roads. What would be the difference from a snowmobile trailer?
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Re: New to winter camping
A snowmobile trailer has the weight concentrated in the middle, and has a longer tongue length relative to total trailer length.
Our trailers have the fresh water tank behind the axle, and the heavy batteries and propane tanks way up front on the trailer tongue. If one of our trailers starts fishtailing, its harder to get it to stop.
In Europe, they make most of their trailers with the batteries and propane stored further back. In the picture below, note the lack of batteries and propane on the front of this UK "caravan". Google "caravan for sale in UK", and you'll see most of their trailers are like this.
On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 08:46 AM, JoeS wrote:
I’ve driven a lot on snow covered roads but never towed anything on snow covered roads. What would be the difference from a snowmobile trailer?
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Re: New to winter camping
Hi Joe:
May I suggest
an old cooler with just a small incandescent light bulb inside?
When I lived in Missouri in a school bus I would keep my paint
in an old electric freezer, with just a 60watt light bulb
inside. Kept the paint over 60° F when it was hard with a
blazing wood stove to keep the bus warm. Since you are also
drying the boots you may need an exhaust fan to remove the
moisture. You don't want to dry too fast as this might harden
your leather boots.
Carl.
On 12/10/2024 7:12 PM, JoeS via
groups.io wrote:
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We took a leisurely trip from Ohio down to Atlanta to visit
grandkids for thanksgiving. Temperatures at night were in the
20s and our Classic was warm and toasty. This has us looking
into real winter camping, hiking, cross country skiing with our
dog. We have never camped in the snow but it sounds like fun!
My first concern is what to do with snow covered hiking/ski
boots. I don’t want to bring them into the camper but I don’t
want to put on frozen boots the next morning! I’m thinking of
trying to heat an old cooler outside to keep them in? Does
anyone have some solution for this winter issue?
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Re: New to winter camping
I don't know what is different other than your normal winter driving is. I've towed my aliner through a few blizzards in mountain roads without issue. Small roads and paved highways. Never an issue Just drive e slowly and don't make any sudden moves. I also downshift a lot instead of braking (but i do that in good weather too). But that's true for any winter driving. The only issue i had is man it makes the trailer dirty Remember going up the mountain is ez it's going down that extra caution is needed. Towed using a Tacoma & now a forerunner
On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 8:46 AM, JoeS via groups.io <joesears74@...> wrote: I’ve driven a lot on snow covered roads but never towed anything on snow covered roads. What would be the difference from a snowmobile trailer?
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Re: New to winter camping
I’ve driven a lot on snow covered roads but never towed anything on snow covered roads. What would be the difference from a snowmobile trailer?
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Re: New to winter camping
I think you're stuck with putting the boots in a tub and putting the tub under the bed or up high on a shelf.
Just FYI I would not recommend towing one of these trailers on a snow covered road. The tongue length is too short and there's too much weight in the ends, so the trailer won't handle well when it's slippery out. Keep a flexible schedule and avoid driving in snow.
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Re: Electric brake controller for A-Liner Classic/Subaru Outback
This site is fantastic, such a wealth of information and advice from personal experiences; thanks to all! And thank you Steve T for you valuable insights of "what not to do" as a newbie to towing a camping trailer. You obviously are speaking thru personal experience and your advice will spare me from learning the hard way.
Cheers,
-bruce
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Re: Electric brake controller for A-Liner Classic/Subaru Outback
I'm in the Prodigy 2 camp. I love it, and I actually use the easily accessible manual brake lever. FWIW, I have a 2009 Off Road Classic with one hard dormer, and two propane tanks. After a tranny overheat issue, I weighed it. It weighed in at 2150 pounds with minimal camping gear inside. We were towing with a 2000 pound capacity vehicle. We now have 3500 pound capacity and have had no issues.
--
Don DeRyke
Sunrise, Florida
2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.
Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 liter EcoBoost engine.
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We took a leisurely trip from Ohio down to Atlanta to visit grandkids for thanksgiving. Temperatures at night were in the 20s and our Classic was warm and toasty. This has us looking into real winter camping, hiking, cross country skiing with our dog. We have never camped in the snow but it sounds like fun! My first concern is what to do with snow covered hiking/ski boots. I don’t want to bring them into the camper but I don’t want to put on frozen boots the next morning! I’m thinking of trying to heat an old cooler outside to keep them in? Does anyone have some solution for this winter issue?
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Re: Electric brake controller for A-Liner Classic/Subaru Outback
Hi all, the Redarc Tow Pro Liberty actually comes with a switch that inserts into unused dashboard pop out switch area.
This is illustrated well via their You Tube videos-no extra space, knee or foot issues.
mark
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Re: Electric brake controller for A-Liner Classic/Subaru Outback
I didn't feel I had room to mount a traditional brake controller up front, thus the reason I went for bluetooth. I didn't want to gouge my knee on it under the dash.
To get around the issues mentioned such as, curt hanging out the back getting bumped/tight turns and the 4 way flasher brake pulsing, I got a work around. I mounted an extra trailer connector in the rear fuse box area in the equinox and in the spare tire area of the Pacifica. The curt sits inside, no weather and not hanging out the back. I only plug it into the trailer side of the curt and talked to curt about the wiring. I feed the center brake signal into both the left/right turn signal of the controller eliminating the 4 way flasher issue. Feed 12 V into it through a relay that only powers the curt when engine is on. Then wired the brake output signal to the tow connector on the bumper. Works great and need nothing up at the dash other than my phone which is already on the dash for HereWeGo GPS app (allows downloads of entire continent so you still have maps if no cell coverage). I can move the brake controller between the 2 cars easily or plug into any at the bumper. Never a need to buy a new brake controller when changing cars.
Curt did come up with a new version that is meant for mounting similar to the way I did in the last couple years.
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Re: Electric brake controller for A-Liner Classic/Subaru Outback
I have been using a very simple and inexpensive POD break controller from Reese for the last 10 years. It has no digital read out just simple controls. Plug and play for my Tacoma that took about 1/2 hr to install. Very dependable.
Hi,
I just purchased a Subaru Outback ONYX turbo for the purpose of towing an A-Liner Classic (dry weight of 1700 pds). Any suggestions on a good electric brake controller for this set up? Also, the Subaru service department suggested getting a wireless/bluetooth controller, but I have my doubts about that over a hardwired connection; what if your phone dies, is lost, bluetooth fails, etc. ?
Thanks for any advice.
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Re: Electric brake controller for A-Liner Classic/Subaru Outback
Bruce,
I too was new to towing, other than borrowed/rented small trailers. We got our Classic September of ‘22 and went on a few short more local trips. The following fall we went on a 9,000 mile 2 month trip from Ohio north through MN, ND, MT, ID to the Oregon coast to visit a new grandson. The return trip went through TX to visit friends and to GA to visit the other grandkids. We stayed mostly in state parks and national forest campgrounds. You’ll want to make it your own, with modifications before you take an extended trip. I highly recommend a rear view camera, we have a wireless Bluetooth one with its own monitor. The other thing to consider is that cell signals can be fleeting. We also used an old school Garmin gps along with google maps.
Enjoy,
JoeS
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Re: Electric brake controller for A-Liner Classic/Subaru Outback
I have the curt Bluetooth echo brake controller for over 4 years. After getting it set to proper brake voltage and sensitivity, I don't use the app. The brake controller remembers the last setting it had. Put over 13,000 miles on the brake controller plugged into 2 vehicles and it has worked. Most of the time without the phone connected. Only time I have it connected is if I'm testing or adjusting. I keep the the trailer breaking on the gentle side to prevent lockup even in wet conditions.
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Re: Electric brake controller for A-Liner Classic/Subaru Outback
Bruce, since you're new to trailers, here's the quick list of mistakes to avoid:
Never run a propane fridge when the trailer is not level. That can ruin it, requiring complete replacement, and those things aren't cheap.
Do not run trailer tires until the tread is worn out. Replace them before 5 years even if the tread is good. If you buy a used trailer, check the date stamps on the tires and replace if 5 years old. Old tires can blow out, and a chunk of broken tread whirling around the wheel can tear out a big chunk of the trailer floor, and if that happens in the spring when the rv repair shops are real busy, you can lose most of the camping season.
When connecting your trailer to a water faucet via a hose, always put a water pressure regulator on between the faucet and the hose. Some campgrounds have very high water pressure for fire fighting, and that can burst your plumbing or hose. I can say from experience a burst hose is quite spectacular :-).
Don't set up the trailer in a big wind from behind. That can blow over the front roof. Point the trailer into the wind for setup.
If you buy from a dealer, try and buy local. Especially with new trailers, there will be some initial defects the dealer will fix, and you don't want that to require a long drive.
Be sure to camp out locally before you go on your big trip. Hopefully camp out in a rainstorm too, so you can check for leaks. You don't want to find problems when you're in the middle of nowhere.
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Re: Electric brake controller for A-Liner Classic/Subaru Outback
Thanks to all who have commented on my inquiry, it is very helpful, but most importantly, has made me realize I know nothing about towing a trailer and need to educate myself on all the options for choosing a braking system and finding a dependable shop that can install it properly. My wife and I just retired and plan on traveling thru the western states this Spring from Mexico to Canada in our soon to be purchased A-Liner and I want to make sure we do so safely (we worked too hard and long not enjoy our retirement in one piece).
Happy trails to all!
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Mark S.
Carl
Don DeRyke