Towing a trailer with a 210P

[JohnnyFry]

I purchased a park model in Tucson, AZ where we will be spending winters. Naturally we wish to take a load of "Stuff" with us when we travel from the East Coast in October and I am considering renting a small U-Haul type trailer to do the job. I have a 2008 RoadTrek 210P. I have no idea what the GCVW rating is because it is not listed on the door sticker. The only reference to towing is a statement the Cargo Carrying Capacity will be reduced by tongue weight. The type of trailer I am considering will probably have a tongue weight of 100 pounds or less. It will probably not have auxiliary brakes.

Thoughts?

John

[hbn7hj]

Stay away from hills and heat. The engine does not have cooling capacity to do much more than haul itself. Keep your eye on the temperature gauge and stop when it overheats.

[Hondo]

I would look at the Manual that came with the 210. In the front is the list of specifications and one of them will be the GCVW (Gross Combined Vehicle Weight) which is probably 16,000 lbs.


Towing a small trailer shouldn't be that big of a problem or a strain on the 210- just look at the manual and check both doors for the vehicle weight information.

[Hondo]

Here is brochure for the 2008/2009 Roadtreks -


https://library.rvusa.com/brochure/R...model_year.pdf

[Doneworking]

JophnnyFry, look at the towing capacity in that link in the post above and be amazed. Examine your hitch on the 210 and you will gain some confidence.

If it were me, I would sure try to find a trailer with brakes. It is illegal not to have them in most states with weights above X number of pounds on the trailer. Here in Oklahoma it is 2000 pounds, for example. Still, it sure feels good to have a little breaking action back there to me.

I don't recall where you live and your profile doesn't state you location or I missed it when I looked. If you are heading east to west, I probably would take a route with the least elevation gain. Coming down a steep pass in a 210 with a trailer behind it would be sweaty palms for me, but I am extra cautious about those kinds of things. I know coming down a 10,000 foot pass in our 210 requires some planning and down shifting on my part. A 210 is a lot of weight on four wheels.


Paul

[JohnnyFry]

Thanks to all who responded. I found the figures I needed from the link posted by Hondo. I should be well under 2,000 lbs total and I will be taking the southern route from Va to Az.

[hardybob]

We have a 2006 210 and tow a 2000 lb smart behind us with no problems. You should be able to tow up to 6,000 lbs, BUT roadtrek does not put tranny coolers on the conversion so we added one to help with high temps in Mtns. If you plan to drive in mtns, i would advise making sure you have severe duty rotors and pads (i have wagner severe duty) because you can easily get the "death shudder" going downhill even if you downshift and try to be easy on brakes. The factory brakes are crap for these heavy vehicles. Also make sure you flush the brake fluid, coolant, and tranny if not done yet.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by hardybob

We have a 2006 210 and tow a 2000 lb smart behind us with no problems. You should be able to tow up to 6,000 lbs, BUT roadtrek does not put tranny coolers on the conversion so we added one to help with high temps in Mtns. If you plan to drive in mtns, i would advise making sure you have severe duty rotors and pads (i have wagner severe duty) because you can easily get the "death shudder" going downhill even if you downshift and try to be easy on brakes. The factory brakes are crap for these heavy vehicles. Also make sure you flush the brake fluid, coolant, and tranny if not done yet.

Ok, so maybe I drive like an old man as I am - Express Van, 190P.

I have 106,000+ miles with original bakes, untouched. I've driven many miles up/down mountains downshifting and using little brake. My goal is too not use the brakes taking the long view. After mountain driving, I find myself downshifting coming off interstates at times.

At about 95,000 miles the brakes were noticeably less than have used.

Please don't ask about the Corvettes, Porches, Nissan turbo Z ... Those really liked brake jobs, tires and fuel.

ybmv

Bud

[Bjones7788]

The advice so far has been good.
Trailer weights tend to get higher than we anticipate really quickly. It is easy and cheap to go through truck weigh scales to get weights and you may be surprised. Disconnect trailer. Have the trailer tongue jack on one scale pad and axle on a different pad and call the scale operator to record the weights then go to the office for your printout.
Small trailer tires are almost all made in China. (CHINA BOMBS) The chances of a trailer tire blow out is at least ten times greater than a blow out on a Chevy Van/Roadtrek assuming you keep the Roadtrek tires properly inflated. The good news is Trailer tire blow outs rarely cause loss of control.
Small Trailer tires are not made to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 139 like passenger tires. Carry a mounted spare, jack, strong arm bar with proper lug nut socket.
Please realize that you want 10 to 15 percent of the total weight of the trailer including load on the tongue-hitch ball or sway is likely. Sway with even a small trailer can be a big deal. Check You Tube videos to scare yourself straight.
BJ Multiple Roadtreks and lots of towing with them.

[markopolo]

Good idea to mention tires. Lots of trailer tires have a speed rating of only 65mph. I say only 65 because on a lot of highways you'll be the slowest or one of the slowest vehicles on that road.

I've put on a lot of miles at 65mph or less pulling a trailer or a car (speed limited by owner manual guide). It's relaxing and it is rare to have any other vehicle in front of you for long.

[mlts22]

If you can, get a transmission cooler, optionally a "super-sized" one. That will greatly help with hills.

[Nic7320]

One thing I would be concerned about is sway control, due to the distance from the rear axle to the trailer hitch. Extended vans tend to fishtail all by themselves in moderate winds, so adding a trailer will add more sway that needs dampened. I would recommend a weigh stabilizing hitch with a sway damper.

Signed,
-Someone that almost had a trailer get away from him.
(I found out it had a bent axle stub, so it was unstable to begin with).