Tow Vehicle
 

I am new here and hope to learn about HiLO's.
Has anyone towed with a Chev Colorado, I have a 2004 Colorado crew cab with a 4000 lb towing capability. I also have a 1992 HiLo 19.5 Funlite any information would be appreciated. I am still setting up with brake control and hitch and etc.

It sounds like the truck and trailer is a good combo. I would not tow a larger trailer with this truck. What is the wieght of the trailer?

With the GVWR rating on this truck of 4000lbs, the trailer wieght plus all your camping gear should not exceed this.

It also depends what type of terrian or mountain passes you will be traveling.

I tow fully loaded with no more than 70% of my 6500lb GVWR rated Toyota, this leaves me enough power to climb hills in northern california.

Make sure you use an equializer hitch and an anti-sway brake bar on the trailer, it makes towing more enjoyable.

LES 97 21ft. towlite

Tow Vehicle
 

According to the information I have the 1992 HiLo's dry weight is 2790 and the gross is at 3880. At present I do not have a easy lift type of hitch, but before any long trips I will have one. Thanks for your information.

I just purchased a 2000 17 ft. I will be pulling it with a Toyota Tundra. How important is it to hook up electric brakes?

Donna,

The electric brakes are required for any trailer over 1000-1500 lbs.

Les 2006 Tacoma 1997 22ft Tow-Lite

What do I need to do to get it hooked up?

Brakes
 

I sugest you take the tow vech to your RV dealer and have them install a brake controler for you will cost about $250.00 parts and labor to install.
Sam

Not sure how this works. Looking to purchase a 17 ft. Will a Nissan Pathfinder v6 be good enough?What do I need to add? It is fitted for a hitch.

You need to get some information on your Pathfinder before get too far. There should be some information with the vehicle that gives that info, like the manual or a sticker on the door. What is the towing capacity for that year and model? Does it have a tow package and what class of hitch does it have? Go to HI-LO Trailer Company Inc. and look at the tow ratings page, you may have 5000 pounds or up to 6000 pounds capacity. Take 75-80% of that and it gives you a good trailer weight that you can tow with a good safety margin. The 1810H Hi-Lo has a 3900 pound gross weight and about a 3000 empty weight depending upon options, this is essentially the same as the 17 foot models with the most popular options. The weight you carry in the tow vehicle deducts off the tow capacity.

Towing vehicle for 17ft
 

Am about to purchase both a used vehicle and a 17 ft towlite. The trailer GVWR is 3840 and the UVW (empty) is 3,113 lbs. I'm looking at a 2006 Honda Pilot that is rated to pull 3,500 lbs. It's a 3.5L V6 engine and I'm wondering if that will be good enough to tow the 17 ft. trailer. Any ideas out there?

When loaded with water and personal stuff you are looking at about another 200 lbs this brings the total to 3313lbs. This mean you are at 94% of the rated load, which is way to close in my opinion, I would not go over 85% and lower would be better.

Tow capacity
 

Thanks, maybe the 4WD Honda Pilot at 4,500 towing capacity would be a better choice. Have gotten mixed answers on this question from people outside this forum and really appreciate hearing from someone "in the know" or "in the Hi-Lo"!

If you only plan on short trips, 50 to 100 miles it would probably be alright but more than that would be pushing it. The 4X4 at 4500 lbs would be better, and safer. For the 4500 lbs it must have the tow package.

I towed a 1705T with a 2002 Explorer without the tow package that was rated at 3500# and used a WD hitch. It towed really well, but I knew I was overweight and changed to the 2007 Toyota Tacoma with a 6300# tow rating. It did a great job. The rule of thumb is limit the trailer weight to 75 to 80% of the tow vehicle's tow rating. That allows for the tow vehicle's loading of people and cargo and gives a margin of safety for towing in all kinds of terrain. Anything you add besides the driver and a full gas tank to the tow vehicle deducts from the allowable to tow rating.

A lot depends on where you live and where you expect to pull the Hi-Lo. If you live in Kansas and never leave the state you are probably not risking much with the Pilot/Hi-Lo combination but if you live in Colorado, it wouldn't be advisable!

We're in Colorado. I pull our '94 Funlite 21' with a full size Chevrolet 4X4 ex. cab truck with a 350 V8/5-speed. The first time I pulled it over the mountain passes from the front range to the western slope the truck was working, but did just fine. I have the brake controller as well.

Honestly, though, I'd have been uncomfortable with much less in term of tow vehicle. I have a 350 with a manual transmission, and she was working getting over the passes. Was in 3rd gear at 40 mph for the 3 major passes we climbed on the way home. I had originally considered going to pick up the camper in our Ford Explorer, which has the V8 and an automatic (with tow package) - but I'm sure glad I didn't.

I guess I'm insane then. We took our '89 FunLite 19' to Grand Lake over Berthoud Pass with our Explorer with a 4.0 V6. I might need a bigger truck to pull this thing then.

2011 Sequoia and 2807C
 

I just purchased both for retirement and on the first pull was able to get 14mpg at 55mph. Will be trying higher tire pressures in the car on the next pull to see if there is any difference. The Sequoia pulls this thing easily in 6th gear, the manual says to use 5th for engine braking, but I don't think I need to unless in the hills. This transmission is so smooth on downshifts that you don't even know it is happening sometimes. I will be trying long runs in 5th just to see the difference in overall mileage.

Minimal sway at 50
 

I have a 2007 Chevy Tahoe with a tow package. I just purchased a 1987 Hi Lo FunChaser. I brought it home today. I noticed some minimal swaying at 50 mph (luckily, I didn't have to go faster than that). What else do I need to make that not happen? Yes, I'm green....can you tell?:cool:

Towing set ups
 

Just wanted to say thanks to all who give guidance/advice on towing.

A Weight Distribution Hitch with Sway control will take almost all away.
Also be sure the trailer tires are inflated to the max rating on the tires and that all tires are the same steel belted or bias ply.

Help with Hi Lo swaying
 

You will need a weight distributing hitch,brake controller and sway bars with your hitch set up. Any Rv dealership sahould be able to get you set up properly. Others chime in with some web sites that will explain this. We love to answer questions and can always learn something new no matter how many years we have had our Hi Lo or other trailers.

You Tube and etrailer.com have great towing tips.

Weldonp, check the reference Library --
Towing - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

We tow our 25ft. 2006 Classic with our 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis. The only changes I made we're to replace the standard shocks with Grabrial Air shocks and Air Lift air bags in the rear coils and a transmission cooler. The Hi-Lo dealer installed the Reese Weight Distribution Hitch with Anti-Sway Control when we bought the Hi-Lo:):). We live in Florida where the temps can get pretty high and have traveled north thru the Smokey Mountains and I 95 many times, this set-up has worked beautifully for us.

22 foot 2004 featherlight
 

K I looked through the web. I want to buy a 22 hi-lo featherlight. whats GVW?? I've seen 3600 and 5200. WTF? I have an 05 taco and don't want to upgrade my truck but it does 6400

I have a 2209 TowLite, which is 22ft., the dry weight is 3860. People get UVW (unloaded vehicle weight)which is the weight before excessiores, mixed up with GVW (gross vehicle weight,which is the weight that it can carry safely. Featherlight trailers are made by Jaco.

Trailer Weight
 

I had the opportunity today to weigh my 2207T at the Fruit Growers scale. Hitched to my Frontier with the WD hitch still enabled, it weighed 3,900#, when I removed it from the TV hitch ball it weighed 4,620#, thus the hitch was carrying 720# or 15.7 per cent.

I might have another 500# of water, clothing, food and beverages on board when I am heading out thus 800# on my 1,000# rated equalizer hitch. My Frontier rides great with the Firestone Ride Rite Air Springs with 20# in them. They work like the Timeren units but are adjustable with the addition/deletion of air.

In use I add or remove air so the TV and RV are level then I connect the WD with just enough tension to tie the suspensions together. This takes the stress off the WD bars so they do the their function of eliminating the undulation of the TV and RV when on rough roads, instead of becoming overload springs for the TV.

The Frontier and Hi-Lo ride great together without any jounce, bounce or sway.

you need to check your math,water weighs aprox,7.2lbs per gal/fresh,not counting waste,or gray,now add your gear,ALL of it every item.it adds up fast,do you want to have to worry about toasted brakes,burnt trany fluid or clutch pads,how about overall control and safety in a hard steep downhill braking situation on a steep mountain road with only a few inches between you and eternity,many people push the boundries of safety because they have never been in a bad situation,read the manuals front to back and leave as much comfort room as possible,your life may depend on it.remember your not only protecting your family,

Add in the weight of beer and steaks and it adds up fast.

Isn't alcohol lighter than water? :D

- Jack

Slightly... but all those cans.

We just pulled our 97 21' towlite with water xtra propane food and drinks for a week of deer hunting with our H3, witch is just a dressed up colorado. It did just fine. The little 5 cylinder had to work on some of the hills, and gas mileage was poor at best. I do have a w/d hitch and sway control. It was nice and steady to about 70 or 75.

I continue to be amazed by the tow vehicle/trailer combinations people are willing to gamble their lives with ... just last month a RV magazine tested a Cayenne with a RV trailer. Yes the Cayenne has 300 or so horse power but the wheel base is real short and it is sprung for handling not towing ... really just because you CAN do something does not mean it SHOULD be done!

Pulling nearly 4,000 lbs load with a 4,500 lbs rated "tow" vehicle is pushing your luck ... and at 70 to 75 mph with tires meant to be driven at 65 mph or slower, insanity! Of course this is just my humble opinion and not meant as anything else ... but, please let me know your next vacation route so I can stay off those roads.

PhyreJim, Where were you hunting? The hunt starts this weekend in Utah. I haven't gone for years it is too crowded. It was always a nice trip camping with friends though.

We Hunted the west side of the Ruby mountains, near Elko Nevada. The deer were smarter than us this year, but the country was beautiful, and the trip was great. It took me two days to clean all of the mud off of the truck and trailer

Long drive to Elko. That's the Lonliest road in America isn't it? When I was young my dad was a desert dog and now my wife from South Jersey loves it too. Seems like I have heard something about how nice the Ruby Valley is on the East side.

This is the ruby marshes on the east side from the top. we dont go all the way to elko. we go to Ely out the 50 west for about 60 miles, then it is a mere 40 miles of dirt/ mud road. Good fishing in the marshes, and ruby lake.

ndgent I debated a long time on weather I should reply to you. This is probably a mistake, but here goes. First what does a porche Have to do with a Hummer? they are not even the same species. How is towing well below my vehicles tow rating pushing my luck? Let alone INSANE? I did not say I was towing at 75, just that it felt stable to 75. I have to know how fast I can safely go so when I come up on you going 50 on the two lane road I can safely pass. I have been driving and towing commercial weight vehicles most of my adult life, and I am well aware of when the weight is unsafe. If the Hummer were my primary tow vehicle then I would probably go heavier. As you can see by my sig it is not. I was just offering up this "insane" towing combo to someone who asked. If you want to avoid me on the road please feel free. Just remember in your travels that any 5th wheel over 32' behind a pre 2010 3/4 ton truck is probably 3 to 5000# over weight, so you may want to avoid them too. I apologize for going on a rant and hijacking this thread. It is just being told I am gambling with my life, and being insane gets to me. If you want to gamble try towing a 30' enclosed car hauler with a race truck and spares and tools down the Baja.Whoo Hoooooo:D

Thanks fpr the pic of the marshes. What a fantastic place. Now I want to go there. People don't understand the desert unless they have spent time in it. I have stood on a mesa in Southern Utah where it was absolutely silent - I could hear a fly 30 feet away. All the mountain ranges in the great Basin are islands of life. We hiked around Valley of Fire near you for a half hour one February and it was like being on a skillet.

Sometimes towing on the freeway I have had to speed up to get away or around agressive drivers. We had a semi on I-80 in Echo Canyon once who did not like me for some reason and was driving in a way to block me. Slowed when I did sped up when I did crowded me on the curves. Only way I could get away was to go faster than him.