Trailer tow advice

I've seen people towing single-seater gliders through the Cascades (Ephrata to Seattle) with compact sedans (e.g. Mazda3). The secret is the manual transmission; hydraulic coupling in small automatic cars can cook quickly if operated under heavy load for an extended period of time (e.g. 30 minutes uphill). Engine displacement is less of a concern.

I have towed a DG200 with Minden Fab tube style trailer from California to Utah. Over the Sierra Nevada's in my 2005 Toyota Rav 4 V6

Towed fantastic. Plenty of power going over the mountains and very stable. Really no issues. Cruising around 70 to 75 mph.

I really like the Rav 4. Might be worth considering...

On Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 3:33:47 PM UTC-8, wrote:
Any opinions on Ford Escape SUV 2liter as a tow vehicle? I live on the east coast but may want to tow to sailplane destinations out west. Near certain my trailer and glider is under a ton.

It should be fine IF you order it with the Class II Trailer Tow Package. This includes a transmission aux oil cooler and sway control:
https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content...cape_Oct25.pdf

Tom

Correct.

Oops. Forgot to mention that I have the factory hitch, which in my opinion, is required. As noted in the previous post, the factory hitch includes more than just the hitch. So do not buy a used Escape, and just install a hitch.

P9

I had a 2013 Ford Edge with a V6 engine and factory tow package.. It towed very well, even on cruise control at 75 mph. Also, the package included "trailer sway" control, which came in very handy at one point, if I recall.

On Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 6:33:47 PM UTC-5, wrote:
Any opinions on Ford Escape SUV 2liter as a tow vehicle? I live on the east coast but may want to tow to sailplane destinations out west. Near certain my trailer and glider is under a ton.

I guessed at my trailer's loaded weight and I was WAY wrong. To find out, I drove to a truck stop along the interstate that had truck scales and weighed the loaded trailer there. "Swan" trailer with fiberglass top and LS1-c plus a few sundry items in the trailer (tow-out equipment, a few wrenches/screwdrivers, etc). The trailer weighed 2,040 lbs with a 180 lb tongue weight..

My friend pulled his Libelle 201 in a Schreder trailer with his Escape. It was probably a mid 2000's year model with a four cylinder engine and five speed manual transmission. It worked well for him. I drove it once while pulling the trailer, following him on a flight, so the trailer was empty. Pulling empty was no problem.

This trailer does not have brakes.

Last car I bought was a Subaru Outback. It has a 2.5 liter four cylinder engine and a Continuously Variable Transmission. Rated tow capacity is 2,700 lbs.

I also looked at the Ford Escape, but settled on the Subaru. The only Escape rated to tow my trailer was the version with a turbo engine, and I really didn't want that added complexity on the car.

On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 9:06:00 AM UTC-8, Ray Lovinggood wrote:
On Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 6:33:47 PM UTC-5, wrote:

I guessed at my trailer's loaded weight and I was WAY wrong. To find out, I drove to a truck stop along the interstate that had truck scales and weighed the loaded trailer there. "Swan" trailer with fiberglass top and LS1-c plus a few sundry items in the trailer (tow-out equipment, a few wrenches/screwdrivers, etc). The trailer weighed 2,040 lbs with a 180 lb tongue weight...

[OT screed on trailer design follows. Ya beens warneded]

This is kind of endemic to glider trailer design. The length gives them a lot of floor area for the volume, and it takes a lot of structural mass to make the floor support someone walking around on it without distress. You either need thick plywood, or a lot of cross-bracing, and either adds a bunch of mass.

And if you really want to protect your glider from rollovers and minor collisions, that takes more mass besides. So it's no surprise that the total mass kind of gets out of hand.

Built to plans, the Schreder semi-monocoque trailer comes in at around 600lbs. But the 0.032" sides, .060" aluminum floor sparsely supported by aluminum angles and whatever guide rails the builder installs, does not offer much protection and does not exactly inspire confidence when you walk around in it. Similar trailers such as Minden Fab with their longitudinal skinning, more closely-spaced frames, and plywood floors tend to come in at around 900 lbs.

Years ago I bought a trailer for my HP-11 that was built by aero engineer Steve Smith. It had a welded steel space frame lower half and a fiberglass monocoque upper half, with 0.040" prefab fiberglass sheeting for the floor and sides of the space frame portion. It clocked in at 350 lbs and towed with a 1.5 liter car, but you had to step only on the frame members when inside it.

--Bob K.

I was helping with an old trailer. The original plywood floor had not aged well and gave way in places under the wing dolly - and my foot when I went inside.

On Friday, February 14, 2020 at 9:06:00 AM UTC-8, Ray Lovinggood wrote:
On Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 6:33:47 PM UTC-5, wrote:
Any opinions on Ford Escape SUV 2liter as a tow vehicle? I live on the east coast but may want to tow to sailplane destinations out west. Near certain my trailer and glider is under a ton.

I guessed at my trailer's loaded weight and I was WAY wrong. To find out, I drove to a truck stop along the interstate that had truck scales and weighed the loaded trailer there. "Swan" trailer with fiberglass top and LS1-c plus a few sundry items in the trailer (tow-out equipment, a few wrenches/screwdrivers, etc). The trailer weighed 2,040 lbs with a 180 lb tongue weight.

My friend pulled his Libelle 201 in a Schreder trailer with his Escape. It was probably a mid 2000's year model with a four cylinder engine and five speed manual transmission. It worked well for him. I drove it once while pulling the trailer, following him on a flight, so the trailer was empty. Pulling empty was no problem.

This trailer does not have brakes.

Last car I bought was a Subaru Outback. It has a 2.5 liter four cylinder engine and a Continuously Variable Transmission. Rated tow capacity is 2,700 lbs.

I also looked at the Ford Escape, but settled on the Subaru. The only Escape rated to tow my trailer was the version with a turbo engine, and I really didn't want that added complexity on the car.

I think you should read your Outback manual about trailers w/o brakes. I don't think you can tow a 2,000 lb trailer that does not have trailer brakes. I have read that the limit is 1,000 lb. I found this in the 2019 Outback User Manual:

Trailer brakes are required when
the towing load exceeds 1,000 lbs
(453 kg). B

I presume that a similar requirement exists for all other vehicles - the car's brakes are just not designed to handle an additional ton of weight. Also, all of the cargo and passenger weight in the car must be added to the trailer weight in determining these limits.

Tom

some of you guys are Nuts
one person said
My tow speed has been as high as 98 mph
Plain Crazy (no pun intended )
An other
overtake logging wagons on a winding road thru the "Cascades "

Europe we don't have "Big Trucks " like you guys
but our laws say 75% of GVW for towing
and max of 55/60 mph
have towed a Huge T21 on an open Trailer with a 1.8 Td four door Car
I have Towed with Mitsubishi Shogun/ Pajero with only a 2.5 litre engine
again large open trailer right across the country
any difference between the 2
No
other than not as quick from the traffic lights
BUT
i'm not pushing it hard nor am I doing the Indy 500

SLOW And SAFE and within the laws ( weight and speed)

But I certainly would not do as high as 98 mph nor would I overtake
logging wagons on a winding road thru the "Cascades "
look at weight of tow outfit total!! including all the stuff you chuck in
the trailer
find car that can do that weight

stay safe !!