Platinum Towing Experiences

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LG_123

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Thoughts on this? Am I worrying over nothing? Anyone else have relevant tow experiences to share?

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Speaking from experience towing a 34’ airstream all over the country, you’ll be just fine. Go for the trailer you want, the Expy can tow pretty near anything.
 

mwl001

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Airstreams have several characteristics (lighter weight per linear foot/lower profile/lower center of gravity) that allow them to tow "shorter than their weight". I've always been curious why Airstream doesn't advertise them scientifically this way, a la our 30 footer tows like a 25 footer. One shouldn't assume that a taller 34 foot typical box camper that may also weigh more than the Airstream will tow equally as easy.

Here's a video on backing off weight distribution in a setup that was "over-adjusted". He shows how they try to get the fender height as close to stock as possible; note that that's not stock weight, but rather stock height, so you'll end up with more weight on the front axle than you started with.
 

Rossue

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With most campgrounds packed and needing reservations 6-12 months out dispersed camping is becoming a way to sidestep this dilemma. A 20 foot trailer will get you in a LOT more places than a 30 foot will. We've had our Escape 21 for 6 years and although we can easily afford a new 30 foot Airstream we'd never buy one or a 26 foot EVO or anything similar. Less is more; YMMV.
 

Lou Hamilton

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With most campgrounds packed and needing reservations 6-12 months out dispersed camping is becoming a way to sidestep this dilemma. A 20 foot trailer will get you in a LOT more places than a 30 foot will. We've had our Escape 21 for 6 years and although we can easily afford a new 30 foot Airstream we'd never buy one or a 26 foot EVO or anything similar. Less is more; YMMV.

This is the exact reason we are looking at a shorter/smaller Airstream than we initially thought.

We currently have an R-Pod with a full length of 20'-0".

We initially were thinking of a 25' Airstream with a full length of 25'-11". Now, we are looking at the Caravel line, specifically, the 20FB. That one comes in at 20'-8". We already know what sites we can fit in. That makes it easy when reserving sites. It provides us the upgrades we want in a package that we are already familiar with. Win-Win. :)
 

Calidad

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With most campgrounds packed and needing reservations 6-12 months out dispersed camping is becoming a way to sidestep this dilemma. A 20 foot trailer will get you in a LOT more places than a 30 foot will. We've had our Escape 21 for 6 years and although we can easily afford a new 30 foot Airstream we'd never buy one or a 26 foot EVO or anything similar. Less is more; YMMV.
Yep!! Out west especially with the COViD RV boom 6+ months even a 12 months in some cases just to get a reserved spot. Not to mention RV storage has become a golden ticket!!! I know people paying more $ per month to store their 30ft box 75+ miles from the coast than what I pay for my 12x30ft slip on the SF Bay!
I actually have put my trailer upgrade plan on hold given we have had to scrap camping plans and go Airbnb booking due to lack of site availability. Even before COVID we had increasingly gone private camps vs State or GOV camping simply due to no ability to reserve anything within a reasonable period of time 3-5 months out. Now with the RV C-19 boom I’m thinking we rebuild our backpacking kit and hit my old haunts way off the radar. Or we start doing more over night trips on our sailboat. One thing is for sure going bigger camp trailer is out... At least for now with the RV craze having every resort/parking lot and campground packed full even in the off season. I’d rather rent a Airbnb a few weeks prior to my trip and have a place to crash without a crowd parked around me.
 

shane_th_ee

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With most campgrounds packed and needing reservations 6-12 months out dispersed camping is becoming a way to sidestep this dilemma. A 20 foot trailer will get you in a LOT more places than a 30 foot will. We've had our Escape 21 for 6 years and although we can easily afford a new 30 foot Airstream we'd never buy one or a 26 foot EVO or anything similar. Less is more; YMMV.
Yup. This is also why we bought an 18’ bunkhouse for the 6 of us.
 

Matthew Marlowe

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I tow a 7500 lb boat with my Limited and the first thing I bought after the first tow was a set of Sumo Springs. The following season I did the Helwig sway bar. With those in place it is a decent tow vehicle. Still would be better with air shocks, but at least it is stable at highway speeds now. I only do a couple thousand miles per year towing at speed with 5 people, so it meets my needs with the upgrades.
Limited standard or max? How long of a trailer?

Been unhappy with the towing of our 2020 platinum, but we have a 7250lb 33ft trailer... tempted to replace it with a max when the 2022 model year comes out, and then add summo springs, light truck tires, and a sway bar, maybe pro pride hitch.

Been tempted to move up to a F350 cclb srw, but honestly I'm very happy with a ranger/expedition combination generally and have little other need for a superduty. My only real worries is that the transmission can get a little hot/loud when engine fan turns on when suv is engine braking on a sustained downhill grade and the 930lb receiver rating seems easy to overwhelm with 12% On hitch, 100+lbs for a good hitch, and anything in the front of the trailer a-frame.

We generally travel with two near 100lb dogs and at least 2 passengers plus driver. Expedition highly preferred but were definitely touching payload limit. If Ford could just beef the expedition up a little more, it would be ideal.

Sent from my SM-T970 using Tapatalk
 

Calidad

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With most campgrounds packed and needing reservations 6-12 months out dispersed camping is becoming a way to sidestep this dilemma. A 20 foot trailer will get you in a LOT more places than a 30 foot will. We've had our Escape 21 for 6 years and although we can easily afford a new 30 foot Airstream we'd never buy one or a 26 foot EVO or anything similar. Less is more; YMMV.
^^^^This
If I get a trailer its not going to be more than 20-22ft. Plus these Box on wheels Travel trailers are horrible to tow and I would be buying a trailer to extend my weather and range not limit it further
 

Zig10

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Limited standard or max? How long of a trailer?

Been unhappy with the towing of our 2020 platinum, but we have a 7250lb 33ft trailer... tempted to replace it with a max when the 2022 model year comes out, and then add summo springs, light truck tires, and a sway bar, maybe pro pride hitch.

Been tempted to move up to a F350 cclb srw, but honestly I'm very happy with a ranger/expedition combination generally and have little other need for a superduty. My only real worries is that the transmission can get a little hot/loud when engine fan turns on when suv is engine braking on a sustained downhill grade and the 930lb receiver rating seems easy to overwhelm with 12% On hitch, 100+lbs for a good hitch, and anything in the front of the trailer a-frame.

We generally travel with two near 100lb dogs and at least 2 passengers plus driver. Expedition highly preferred but were definitely touching payload limit. If Ford could just beef the expedition up a little more, it would be ideal.

Sent from my SM-T970 using Tapatalk

Limited Max. Boat on the trailer is around 28'-29'.

I'll knock on wood and say that the engine and transmission have never bumped above normal temperature, and that includes being stuck in stop and go traffic in 90° heat. Fan does get a tad noisy, but the thermal dissipation on the engine seems pretty impressive so far.
 
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Fizzy

Fizzy

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Been unhappy with the towing of our 2020 platinum, but we have a 7250lb 33ft trailer... tempted to replace it with a max when the 2022 model year comes out, and then add summo springs, light truck tires, and a sway bar, maybe pro pride hitch.

Why? The Max has a lower cargo and towing capacity than the Standard...

Our trailer loaded is 7300lb, 32ft. Towing with a standard Platinum, with a Blue Ox Sway Pro weight distributing hitch, and it tows effortlessly.

SwayPro_Hero_1550x472.jpg
 

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