towing advice given to others, appreciated or MYOB?

[upflying]

Yesterday my neighbor pulled up towing a brand new Coleman Lantern 202RD. His TV is a 2005 Toyota 4Runner. I didn't say anything about my opinion that his TV is insufficient.
Looking at the specs, he is right at or over the limit with tow capacity and probably over in cargo capacity.
Should I tell him or keep my mouth shut?


What's the consensus of the forum?

[MNtraveler]

If he wants your advice, he can ask. Otherwise, I'd just ask him where he's headed and share trip ideas where you can go have some fun. No reason to rain on his parade on day one.

[upflying]

Thanks, I am inclined to let him learn on his own. He was pulling another Coleman Lantern 19BH but he told me he "totaled it" after he ripped off the awning. This new rig was the replacement paid by insurance.

[Ejs4029]

I typically don't say anything about a persons choice of TV's...Shoot just walking around any typical campground your going to find quite a few TV's that on paper aren't up to the towing task they are performing

On the other note is there any chance that the 2005 Toyota 4Runner he has have a V8 ? The reason I ask is I had a 2004 4Runner with a V8 and if I remember correctly it was rated at 7K or so of towing capacity. I don't remember what my payload was and I towed a 24ft Fleetwood Prowler with it.

[D W]

Unless your neighbor solicits an opinion I'd just let it be. Like the old saying goes, "when you make your bed, you have to sleep in it".

[The Evil Twin]

Only if asked, IMHO.
Maybe they have upgrade plans, maybe they are clueless. I just think it is in bad taste to start the convo on a negative. Maybe strike up some friendly camp related yacking and it could come up.

[upflying]

Originally Posted by Ejs4029

I typically don't say anything about a persons choice of TV's...Shoot just walking around any typical campground your going to find quite a few TV's that on paper aren't up to the towing task they are performing

On the other note is there any chance that the 2005 Toyota 4Runner he has have a V8 ? The reason I ask is I had a 2004 4Runner with a V8 and if I remember correctly it was rated at 7K or so of towing capacity. I don't remember what my payload was and I towed a 24ft Fleetwood Prowler with it.

No, he has the V6 model.
I figure I wont say anything, none of my business unless solicited. He is my neighbor and I don't want to ruin a casual friendship.

[DieselDrax]

I would say that depends on your relationship/friendship with them. The answer would depend on that, IMO.


However, if you're unsure how your unsolicited advice would be taken then I would frame the conversation in a way that you aren't giving them advice but are instead guiding them to educate themselves. Meaning, I'd play like I'm curious and ask them how much the trailer weighs, how they like towing it with the 4Runner, what the 4Runner's tow rating is, etc.


Based on their answers you can gauge how much they really know, how much they care, and how much they just did what the salespeople said they could do. Maybe they'll be curious enough to find the answers or maybe they won't care and are fine with random approximations.


I generally don't give out unsolicited advice outside of forums (Because forums are for sharing information even if not asked for, right? ), so I'll either try and provide guidance advice in a way that doesn't come across like I'm telling them they may be doing something wrong or I'll see if they're interested in hearing about my experiences in an effort to help them understand what things may be like, but I won't just go and start telling them they probably made a bad decision and are in for a tough lesson. That is likely to end up not going the way you want.


Just my $0.02.

[clarkbre]

Leave it be and just talk about all the fun places you've visited.

Turnabout is fair play on this one.

Your neighbor could just as easily push back and ask why you tow a smaller trailer with such an overkill vehicle.

[jd4010]

The only time I may say something is if the issue is safety oriented and even at that, I would ask questions that would make him/her noodle on it and do some research and come up with their own answers/actions.

[TheWolfPaq82]

Some times it's best to.......MYOB. That's all I have to say.

[frank4711]

Just suggest he join the forum and he can get some "Advice" here

[LanNes]

Originally Posted by upflying

Thanks, I am inclined to let him learn on his own. He was pulling another Coleman Lantern 19BH but he told me he "totaled it" after he ripped off the awning. This new rig was the replacement paid by insurance.

If this is his second camper and he hasn't looked at towing capacity, tongue weight, yada yada ..... just leave it be

[dodgemark]

Originally Posted by DieselDrax

I would say that depends on your relationship/friendship with them. The answer would depend on that, IMO.


However, if you're unsure how your unsolicited advice would be taken then I would frame the conversation in a way that you aren't giving them advice but are instead guiding them to educate themselves. Meaning, I'd play like I'm curious and ask them how much the trailer weighs, how they like towing it with the 4Runner, what the 4Runner's tow rating is, etc.


Based on their answers you can gauge how much they really know, how much they care, and how much they just did what the salespeople said they could do. Maybe they'll be curious enough to find the answers or maybe they won't care and are fine with random approximations.


I generally don't give out unsolicited advice outside of forums (Because forums are for sharing information even if not asked for, right? ), so I'll either try and provide guidance advice in a way that doesn't come across like I'm telling them they may be doing something wrong or I'll see if they're interested in hearing about my experiences in an effort to help them understand what things may be like, but I won't just go and start telling them they probably made a bad decision and are in for a tough lesson. That is likely to end up not going the way you want.


Just my $0.02.

I agree 100% with you, start with casual and see how he responds

[TitanMike]

Have the same situation with my neighbor. Mismatched trailer and tow vehicle.

Only thing I say to him is "nice trailer".

FWIW, just because "we" (collectively) think tow vehicles should be the right size for a trailer (in our opinion) there are a lot of people out there that are successfully towing far larger trailers than we think they should and have done so for years.

How many here remember the days when Travel Trailers were regularly towed behind ordinary sedans and I'm not talking about just small "Teardrop" or "Tent" trailers.

Anyone remember the ad for Weight Distribution Hitches that showed a Cadillac El Dorado hooked to a trailer with the car's rear wheels removed?

Seems we've evolved to the point we think that ONLY trucks can tow trailers. Obviously this is true for some trailers due to weight but not all. Still plenty that can be towed by SUV's (which seem to have replaced the sedans and station wagons of old.

[jimmoore13]

My 2 cents.

This rig, loaded, can weigh up to 7600 pounds, plus whatever's in the TV.
https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2019-...-202rd-tr41433

The V6 version of the 4-Runner is rated to tow 5000 pounds. https://www.carmax.com/research/toyo...features-specs
(many other sources confirm this.) Not to mention that this is a 15/16 year old vehicle, and any corrosion on the chassis and/or suspension might reduce that capacity. Hell, factory wheels will be 15 years old.

And then there's the matter of a potentially 7600 pound trailer with a 477 pound tongue weight. That's just 6% on the tongue. That's a recipe for the tail wagging the dog. A WDH on a light-weight TV isn't going to handle that sway very well.

Nobody leaves the driveway with an empty camper. If he travels very light, he gets to use about 750 pounds of cargo capacity out of the 3300+ the camper can hold. if he fills his fresh tank for boondocking, then he consumes 431 pounds of that.

I can't find a Coleman Lantern 19BH specs. Assuming the old rig is something like this, https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2016-...-192rd-tr28285, he had an additional 250 pounds of load capacity within his TV's tow capacity...in a 2 feet shorter trailer with essentially the same tongue weight.

So this guy could easily leave the driveway towing 50% above his TV's rated tow capacity. That could lead to a disaster.

It sounds as if the salesman quoted him dry weights when pairing the trailer to the TV.

If you're friends, a friend would say something about this...perhaps over a six-pack of beer and some burgers. This is not a lesson anyone should learn the hard way...on a windy bridge with semis passing and his whole family onboard. To hell with his transmission and running gear. This rig just might get him blown over.

His answer may be a newer TV with greater tow capacity. A nice half-ton would do it, and so would a bigger SUV.

[DouglasReid]

My first reaction would be to ohh and ahh about how good his new camper looks. Id probably ask him "just out of curiosity" how much it weighs compared to his previous camper.

When he gets back ask him how it pulled compared to his previous camper. All this as a friendly neighbor who is happy for his neighbor/friend with his new camper, you are happy for him.

I would not rain on his happy parade.

After that Id not say anything unless he asks.

[LanNes]

Based on what Jimmoore13 said (typed), I revise my previous comment. I thought how I would feel if my neighbor did something like that and had a really bad accident simply because I didn't speak up. I would go over when your neighbor is outside and oohhh ahhhh over the new camper. Then ease into the tow weight conversation.

[Lins]

Originally Posted by LanNes

Based on what Jimmoore13 said (typed), I revise my previous comment. I thought how I would feel if my neighbor did something like that and had a really bad accident simply because I didn't speak up. I would go over when your neighbor is outside and oohhh ahhhh over the new camper. Then ease into the tow weight conversation.

Agreed, just bring it up politely and don't push the issue.

[Palinduff]

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

My 2 cents.

This rig, loaded, can weigh up to 7600 pounds, plus whatever's in the TV.
https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2019-...-202rd-tr41433

The V6 version of the 4-Runner is rated to tow 5000 pounds. https://www.carmax.com/research/toyo...features-specs
(many other sources confirm this.) Not to mention that this is a 15/16 year old vehicle, and any corrosion on the chassis and/or suspension might reduce that capacity. Hell, factory wheels will be 15 years old.

And then there's the matter of a potentially 7600 pound trailer with a 477 pound tongue weight. That's just 6% on the tongue. That's a recipe for the tail wagging the dog. A WDH on a light-weight TV isn't going to handle that sway very well.

Nobody leaves the driveway with an empty camper. If he travels very light, he gets to use about 750 pounds of cargo capacity out of the 3300+ the camper can hold. if he fills his fresh tank for boondocking, then he consumes 431 pounds of that.

I can't find a Coleman Lantern 19BH specs. Assuming the old rig is something like this, https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2016-...-192rd-tr28285, he had an additional 250 pounds of load capacity within his TV's tow capacity...in a 2 feet shorter trailer with essentially the same tongue weight.

So this guy could easily leave the driveway towing 50% above his TV's rated tow capacity. That could lead to a disaster.

It sounds as if the salesman quoted him dry weights when pairing the trailer to the TV.

If you're friends, a friend would say something about this...perhaps over a six-pack of beer and some burgers. This is not a lesson anyone should learn the hard way...on a windy bridge with semis passing and his whole family onboard. To hell with his transmission and running gear. This rig just might get him blown over.

His answer may be a newer TV with greater tow capacity. A nice half-ton would do it, and so would a bigger SUV.

The GVWR of that unit is 7600 lbs with a ccc of about 3400 lbs. the brochure dry weight is 4225, so probably closer to 4400 lbs. I doubt whether he will use all of his ccc, unless he picks up some sidewalk blocks while he’s out. I’m thinking he will be max 6000 lbs, with water. That unit has lots of axle capacity.