Well, it's time to return the riding mower to the rest of the family, acquire the snowblower (they don't need it in NC), and the rest of my [censored]. We will be using my grandfathers 2010 Escape FWD/V6 to tow a 6x12 uhaul trailer (Tandem axles, surge brakes). It shouldn't be too bad, the mountains of WVA and VA will be interesting. On the agenda for tomorrow is to change the oil, air the tires up to 38psi, check the brakes and coolant. Not really a whole lot else to do. It barely has 17k miles on it, so not much else to do really.
Preparing to tow a trailer 1200 miles
- Thread starter Nick R
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If irc the v-6 escape should handle 3500lbs. I did pull a small 16 travel trailer when i had an 01 escape. You only have to worry about sway, as the escape is a short wheel base. Pulling should not be an issue, but stopping and trailer sway could. A travel trailer is taller and more prone to sway, but i think you should be fine. Just watch way down the road for stopping distance.
Those trailers are extremely heavy and tow poorly with high drag,
make sure you check the trailer tires.. I got a dolly with only 22psi in the tires.
The empty weight on the enclosed 6x12 is nearly 2000lb
The open trailer is 1730lb.
if you step down to a 5x10 they are much less weight
the 5x8 even lower of course.
make sure you check the trailer tires.. I got a dolly with only 22psi in the tires.
The empty weight on the enclosed 6x12 is nearly 2000lb
The open trailer is 1730lb.
if you step down to a 5x10 they are much less weight
the 5x8 even lower of course.
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It should be a piece of cake. After college, my daughter set off years ago with the identical Uhaul trailer....it was the enclosed model..... fully loaded with all of her worldly possessions on a cross country trip, towing with a Ford Escort. No problems of any kind, and with the surge brakes it stopped pretty good also. The Escort was a manual transmission, so there really was very little to worry about. Tow away!
An escort pulling a trailer!
Originally Posted By: Chris142
An escort pulling a trailer!
With a 2,000 lb hitch on her Escort, she had often slipped her dads smallest ski boat out of the garage and to the nearest lake for a day of skiing. So both the car and driver were experienced with heavy towing. Note....the boat had double the HP of the car!
fsskier
An escort pulling a trailer!
With a 2,000 lb hitch on her Escort, she had often slipped her dads smallest ski boat out of the garage and to the nearest lake for a day of skiing. So both the car and driver were experienced with heavy towing. Note....the boat had double the HP of the car!
fsskier
+1 on checking the uhaul trailer tires, as well as the lights on the trailer.
Originally Posted By: fsskier
Originally Posted By: Chris142
An escort pulling a trailer!
With a 2,000 lb hitch on her Escort, she had often slipped her dads smallest ski boat out of the garage and to the nearest lake for a day of skiing. So both the car and driver were experienced with heavy towing. Note....the boat had double the HP of the car!
fsskier
LOL! In the early 90's I towed a 4 x 8 trailer with my 1982 Ford Escort station wagon (with 4 speed manual) numerous times - even from southern Ca. to Salem, Oregon and back. Went a little slow up the hills of southern Oregon, (about 35 - 40 MPH in second gear) but otherwise went ok.
Originally Posted By: Chris142
An escort pulling a trailer!
With a 2,000 lb hitch on her Escort, she had often slipped her dads smallest ski boat out of the garage and to the nearest lake for a day of skiing. So both the car and driver were experienced with heavy towing. Note....the boat had double the HP of the car!
fsskier
LOL! In the early 90's I towed a 4 x 8 trailer with my 1982 Ford Escort station wagon (with 4 speed manual) numerous times - even from southern Ca. to Salem, Oregon and back. Went a little slow up the hills of southern Oregon, (about 35 - 40 MPH in second gear) but otherwise went ok.
Take it slow, leave lots of room, and enjoy the scenery! Might want a tarp or two if the trailer is open.
Make sure to load the heavy stuff just a hair ahead of the axle, and fill in with lighter stuff ahead and behind. Whatever you do, if the trailer is at all making the back of the tow vehicle rise up, unload it and re-pack. A trailer pulling up is at a much higher risk for sway, and might well pop off over a large enough bump.
Make sure to load the heavy stuff just a hair ahead of the axle, and fill in with lighter stuff ahead and behind. Whatever you do, if the trailer is at all making the back of the tow vehicle rise up, unload it and re-pack. A trailer pulling up is at a much higher risk for sway, and might well pop off over a large enough bump.
i had an 02 escape it towed pretty well. pretty funny that it got the same gas mileage with/or without the trailer. thats why i got rid of that car.
remember to turn O/D OFF! other than that, it pulls pretty well. and i was going through the mountains of west virginia too. hauling [censored] on those empty roads!
i remember going about 80 on that wide open section of 55. LOng, straight, 2 lane highway that went for about 30 miles. a cop with no lights on passed us like we were standing still. he must've been going 120.
remember to turn O/D OFF! other than that, it pulls pretty well. and i was going through the mountains of west virginia too. hauling [censored] on those empty roads!
i remember going about 80 on that wide open section of 55. LOng, straight, 2 lane highway that went for about 30 miles. a cop with no lights on passed us like we were standing still. he must've been going 120.
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My contribution -- use the gears rather than the brakes when going downhill, shift down early and leave it there, using brakes to keep engine rpm where you want it. When going uphill, put it in a lower gear before you start up the hill, and hold it there so it doesn't hunt gears.
I am jealous, I LOVE driving through WV and the mountains of VA. If you need a driving buddy just let me know, I have LOTS of experience driving with a 24' enclosed trailer
Pulled a 6x12 4000 lbs 1500 miles with my Tacoma. Added heavy duty fan clutch and a secondary transmission cooler. The transmission cooler will be smart to get. Monitoring transmission temp is a good idea also.
I recently pulled two of those trailers, probably much more heavily loaded than yours from Virginia to Tennessee, and once pulled one from South Dakota to Louisiana to Virginia. Years ago I pulled one with a 2005 Dodge Ram QC 4x4, 4.7 V8 and one with a 2002 Trailblazer 4.2L 4WD. Recently with the F250 in my sig, and one with an E350 van, 5.4L 2V. A few notes- the Ram did pretty well, did not like hills very much. The E350 also did OK. The F250 pulled it like a boss. The Trailblazer did Ok. Recommend 55-60mph. I find much faster than that while pulling anything substantial has an atrocious effect on gas mileage. Don't even consider overdrive if you can lock it out. Transmissions like that are literally not made to tow. If you have a tow/haul mode, use it and no O/D lockout use that. If you have both, use both. Check your transmission oil. Not ripping on your vehicle, but that trailer is going to be a challenge. Respect what you have back there, drive slow, as said before, use lower gears (especially up and DOWN hills), stay in the right lane,anticipate braking, and make sure you can see out of your mirrors (that trailer is BIG). If you cant stick on or add on towing mirrors might be beneficial.
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Well, it's time to return the riding mower to the rest of the family, acquire the snowblower (they don't need it in NC), and the rest of my [censored]. We will be using my grandfathers 2010 Escape FWD/V6 to tow a 6x12 uhaul trailer (Tandem axles, surge brakes). It shouldn't be too bad, the mountains of WVA and VA will be interesting. On the agenda for tomorrow is to change the oil, air the tires up to 38psi, check the brakes and coolant. Not really a whole lot else to do. It barely has 17k miles on it, so not much else to do really.
That is not a load for any vehicle. Enjoy the trip.....
Well, it's time to return the riding mower to the rest of the family, acquire the snowblower (they don't need it in NC), and the rest of my [censored]. We will be using my grandfathers 2010 Escape FWD/V6 to tow a 6x12 uhaul trailer (Tandem axles, surge brakes). It shouldn't be too bad, the mountains of WVA and VA will be interesting. On the agenda for tomorrow is to change the oil, air the tires up to 38psi, check the brakes and coolant. Not really a whole lot else to do. It barely has 17k miles on it, so not much else to do really.
That is not a load for any vehicle. Enjoy the trip.....
Originally Posted By: rjundi
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Well, it's time to return the riding mower to the rest of the family, acquire the snowblower (they don't need it in NC), and the rest of my [censored]. We will be using my grandfathers 2010 Escape FWD/V6 to tow a 6x12 uhaul trailer (Tandem axles, surge brakes). It shouldn't be too bad, the mountains of WVA and VA will be interesting. On the agenda for tomorrow is to change the oil, air the tires up to 38psi, check the brakes and coolant. Not really a whole lot else to do. It barely has 17k miles on it, so not much else to do really.
That is not a load for any vehicle. Enjoy the trip.....
Wow.. So a 2000lb trailer with about 500lbs of mower on it is not a load for any vehicle. Funny, it exceeds the tow rating of my V6 Grand Caravan and most (if not all) cars, as well as CUVs. If you look at the UHAUL link the trailer is close to if it doesnt actually equal or exceed the trailer frontal area limit for Escapes (30sq ft). http://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/6x12-Cargo-Trailer-Rental/RV/
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Well, it's time to return the riding mower to the rest of the family, acquire the snowblower (they don't need it in NC), and the rest of my [censored]. We will be using my grandfathers 2010 Escape FWD/V6 to tow a 6x12 uhaul trailer (Tandem axles, surge brakes). It shouldn't be too bad, the mountains of WVA and VA will be interesting. On the agenda for tomorrow is to change the oil, air the tires up to 38psi, check the brakes and coolant. Not really a whole lot else to do. It barely has 17k miles on it, so not much else to do really.
That is not a load for any vehicle. Enjoy the trip.....
Wow.. So a 2000lb trailer with about 500lbs of mower on it is not a load for any vehicle. Funny, it exceeds the tow rating of my V6 Grand Caravan and most (if not all) cars, as well as CUVs. If you look at the UHAUL link the trailer is close to if it doesnt actually equal or exceed the trailer frontal area limit for Escapes (30sq ft). http://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/6x12-Cargo-Trailer-Rental/RV/
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Check the weight of that trailer empty, U-Haul trailers are heavy, bet it weighs ~1700 lbs ...
Surprised the U-Haul drones will rent you that trailer for an Escape...
Surprised the U-Haul drones will rent you that trailer for an Escape...
Originally Posted By: 95busa
Empty weight 1920lbs. ...
There are 3 6x12 U-Haul trailers, 2 open (with and without ramp) and one enclosed. They range from 1730LB to 2290lb (assuming one believes U-Haul...)
Unless it is a HUGE riding mower or snowblower any of them are extreme overkill. I suspect a couple days rental on one would buy a trailer at Lowes/Home Depot/Menards ETC...
Anyway...
Empty weight 1920lbs. ...
There are 3 6x12 U-Haul trailers, 2 open (with and without ramp) and one enclosed. They range from 1730LB to 2290lb (assuming one believes U-Haul...)
Unless it is a HUGE riding mower or snowblower any of them are extreme overkill. I suspect a couple days rental on one would buy a trailer at Lowes/Home Depot/Menards ETC...
Anyway...
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