Towing

When I read through things online, I often see questions about towing. Here are my opinions.

Will my vehicle tow that trailer?

First, what does the manufacturer say about it? In my case, Toyota says our 4Runner will tow 5000 lbs. So, something less than that should be good. Forest River(FR) says our Rpods UVW is 2342 lbs and the hitch weight is 242 lbs. So, it should be good. But wait, what about all the stuff that isn't included in the UVW? Fresh water, waste water, LP gas tanks, a 2nd battery, and all the stuff that's brought with you. It's hard to completely account for it all.

The hitch weight(or tongue weight) counts toward the tow vehicles cargo capacity.

My 4Runner has a GVW of about 6300 lbs and 'curb' weight of 4805 lbs., the payload is almost 1500 lbs. So, how much do you, your passengers, your things, etc. weigh? And when you add the tongue weight? All of these things relate to whatever the manufacturer considered when they set the various specifications.

Never mind if you can get it going, but can you stop it? 

I told my dealer I wanted trailer brakes. They said, "Michigan doesn't require brakes on trailers under 3500 lbs." Aparently Michigan thinks a vehicle designed to stop 6000 lbs can stop 9000 lbs too. I'm the driver, and I think I need brakes on the trailer.

Do I need stabilizers?

OK, I think most people don't understand that the biggest factor keeping everything stabilized is tongue weight. It should be about 10% of the trailer weight. In the range of 8% to 15% is probably good. Why? Because if too much of the weight is behind the trailer axle(s), it begins to push the vehicle from side to side. Do stabilizers actually help? My opinion is they may help in gusting winds, especially gusts off of passing trucks. Maybe.

What about a weight distributing hitch(WDH)? 

I think a WDH can make a huge difference. Is it necessary? No.  My 4Runner, when you stop quickly, dives forward. Someone explained it as it being overly tall. But knowing that, I decided a WDH is required. What does the WDH do? It distributes the weight among the vehicle and trailer axles so that the front and trailer axles carry more weight, and the rear axle carries less. It does this using spring bars between the hitch and the trailer tongue. 

Mirrors

Each state has their own requirements for mirrors, often not even taking in account that a trailer may obstruct them. Personally, I'm uncomfortable if I can't see what's in each lane behind me. One of the reasons I like the Rpod is that it's narrow enough that I can see past it. Mostly. Actually what I do is make the trailer wiggle a little bit so I can see. If I see a big truck moving much faster than me, I stay in my lane. If I see an emergency vehicle, I pull over onto the shoulder. If I see someone tailgating, I slow down to avoid a sudden stop. Oh, it's possible to get extension mirrors for towing, but...

Vehicle speed

Ok, this is mostly driver preference. The manufacturer may say don't exceed a certain speed. I think FR says 60 or 65 mph. Can't really argue with it, but sometimes I think it's better to either speed up(or slow down) to match the speed other vehicles are going. Especially when passing or being passed. My philosophy is that if you're going to do it, don't dawdle. So, if I'm going 65 behind someone doing 64, I'll speed up to 70 so passing is 1 minute instead of 10. Or, if someone going 67 is passing, I'll slow down. 

On hills, it sometimes is necessary to downshift and have the engine run faster to maintain a reasonable speed. Personally, I don't like having the engine run too fast. So, I let it slow on the hills.