Towing a nice little camper trailer - Sun Lite 18RD

[MinnesotaMatt]

I just purchased a nice little camper trailer - a Sun Lite 18RD
This is 19 foot tip to tail.

I do have the 4k towing package, in fact I switched my buy from the hybrid because we wanted a trailer and nothing I wanted really fit well (with towing headroom) in 2k.

Lately I have been hitting around 29 mpg without the trailer - keep that number in mind....

The "dry" weight of this trailer is 2900 lb (dealer est), and GVW (which I doubt I could hit) is 4k. The difference for those that don't know is that dry is "empty" - no propane (2x20lb), water (25 gal * 8lb ~= 200lb), kettles, camp chairs, beer in the fridge...
I did have propane but the rest was empty.
Tongue weight is said to be 270lb.

I did have a load balancing, sway control hitch for the initial haul. Turned on Trailer mode as well.

With the trailer and mostly highway for a 2 hour drive home, looks like about 14 mpg which is close to what I was hoping for. With the trailer brake gain dialed in (7.0) , I had a pretty decent ride. Never felt like the trailer was pushing me when stopping. A touch of porpoising but no more than I expected when you have 3k waggling your hitch ball Overall - I was pleased with the towing performance. In particular - just for fun I hit the gas a few times just to see how much acceleration I had left, and felt it was plenty. Note: the words of wisdom is that 65 mph is a good cap when towing - so that is what I did on the highway.

This Sun Lite is aerodynamic than the sweet trailer I have on order.... (due March of 2024... a Safari Condo Alto F2114) so it will be interesting to see what if any gain I get when that arrives. And I would really be interested if someone gets the retractable roof version the R1723 - which we really think is amazing, but we wanted more storage and fridge.

So - why this Sun Lite trailer ?

• I did not want an east/west bed as that means someone is always crawling over someone to get in/out of bed. This has a camper queen with space on either side to get out.
• Big fridge/freezer
• enough space for 2 adults and a dog to move around
  
• separate dinette (many smaller campers your dinette may be part of your bed.)
• good price, nice build quality - for my short term camper.
• huge amount of storage - though that can lead to you overloading.....
• weight. My goal was to leave head room in the towing, and a dry of 2900 means I have a chance to keep my towing weight to ~3600.

Hopefully I will get it out for a weekend trip in a few weeks

Here it is behind the Maverick

Still waiting for my build date and I'm still fairly new to the forum. In fact, this is my first post.

My wife and I are looking at ordering a Safari Condo Alto. We have been lucky to have local owners look at theirs. Both the F1743 and the F2114. One of the Alto owners didn't think the Maverick would be big enough to pull the F2114 safely.

My thought is that the max load will be about 3500 lb loaded. With the towing mode, the adjust the. brakes on the F2114 to compensate for wind and other events such as fast breaking. Also, I would think Ford would over engineer the towing on the Maverick. If they say 4000 lb, it better be at least 4000 if not more, otherwise they are opening themselves up to a lawsuit.

I would appreciate everyone's opinion on my assumptions. ddhill, I would really appreciate your opinion and what your thoughts were since you have ordered a F2114 that will be delivered in March.

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[MinnesotaMatt]

Sorry for posting this twice, I thought it was hard to read my previous post.

Still waiting for my build date and I'm still fairly new to the forum. In fact, this is my first post.

My wife and I are looking at ordering a Safari Condo Alto. We have been lucky to have local owners let us look at theirs. Both the F1743 and the F2114. One of the Alto owners didn't think the Maverick would be big enough to pull the F2114 safely.

My thought is that the max load will be about 3500 lb of the F2114 with everything loaded. With the towing mode, the Maverick should automatically adjust the. brakes on the F2114 to compensate for wind and other events such as fast breaking. Also, I would think Ford would over engineer the towing on the Maverick. If they say 4000 lb, it better be at least 4000 if not more, otherwise they are opening themselves up to a lawsuit.

I would appreciate everyone's opinion on my assumptions. ddhill, I would really appreciate your opinion and what your thoughts were since you have ordered a F2114 that will be delivered in March.

 

[bluesteel]

Sorry for posting this twice, I thought it was hard to read my previous post.

Still waiting for my build date and I'm still fairly new to the forum. In fact, this is my first post.

My wife and I are looking at ordering a Safari Condo Alto. We have been lucky to have local owners let us look at theirs. Both the F1743 and the F2114. One of the Alto owners didn't think the Maverick would be big enough to pull the F2114 safely.

My thought is that the max load will be about 3500 lb of the F2114 with everything loaded. With the towing mode, the Maverick should automatically adjust the. brakes on the F2114 to compensate for wind and other events such as fast breaking. Also, I would think Ford would over engineer the towing on the Maverick. If they say 4000 lb, it better be at least 4000 if not more, otherwise they are opening themselves up to a lawsuit.

I would appreciate everyone's opinion on my assumptions. ddhill, I would really appreciate your opinion and what your thoughts were since you have ordered a F2114 that will be delivered in March.

No opinion on most of that, but I don’t know about “automatically” adjusting the brakes; you have to adjust the gain, but of course The force within that range will be proportional to deceleration.

Generally it is best to leave a buffer under the towing limit, even if you can get by without.

 

[MinnesotaMatt]

My mistake. I was thinking about the sway control. Sway control only controls the brakes of the Maverick.

 

[GPSMan]

I think you will be fine.
I have the Hybrid and it pulls better than most people expect.
Are you new to towing?

In my 25 years of towing, I've never had a problem with sway. And until now, all my trucks were old with no electronics. It may be my exact setup. It may be I put MAXIMUM allowed weight on the tow ball, not minimum.

When towing GET AN OBDII reader to display the truck's data while towing.

For under $300 you can see EXACT water temperate, oil temperature, transmission temperature, exhaust temperature, engine load, torque, horsepower being generated and much more.

If you see ANYTHING getting into a caution zone, just slow down by 5 or 10
mph until everything turns green again.

Best thing you can add to ANY tow package.

Now, go get your dream trailer!

example from mine:

I'm not a salesman. Just a very happy "camper".

www.scangauge.com

 

[GPSMan]

I was thinking about the sway control. Sway control only controls the brakes of the Maverick.

See above.

 

[MinnesotaMatt]

Thank you to both bluesteel and GPSMan for your advice. I definitely going to look into the Scan Gauge OBDII device.

I did a little more research after I posted. It looks like safe towing is a combination of factors between the trailer and the tow vehicle. Ford has the Ford RV & Trailer Towing Guide with a great calculator at the end of the guide. I used the 2022 Guide because it was referenced in a TestDrivenTV YouTube video.

I was able to find most of the numbers I needed. For GVWR, I was able to find a range for the 2024 Maverick so I entered the high end of the range. Finally, I reduced the cargo weight for both the camper and the Maverick so that I passed all tests. I entered numbers for both the F2114 and the F1743.

I discovered that I could safely tow the F2114 with a reasonable amount of cargo capacity. I had to reduce the cargo capacity in the F2114 to 962 lbs. The F1743 cargo capacity was 950 lbs which I didn't have to reduce. The F1743 did have more cargo capacity in the Maverick but total cargo capacity for the F1743 was only 68 lbs more than the F2114. I also calculated the camper weight as a percentage of towing capacity. The F2114 was 83% and the F1743 was 68%. If you like the 80/20 rule, I think I'm good too. I'm hoping we will not max out either camper setup.

I converted the calculator in the Ford Guide to an Excel workbook. Once I finish working on it, I will post it to the Internet and share a link here. I want to add a tabs for detailed information on cargo and passengers.

 

[Nw_adventure]

Rove lite/14-BH - 9 feet in height with solar / off road packages. 2200 LBS - with 2 batteries/Propane tank.

 

[Howard]

After seeing some comments from time to time saying you shouldn’t really try to tow what your Maverick is rated for, it is clear that some do not understand how the tow rating is established. It is determined from a Society of Automotive Engineers procedure, SAE J2807, Vehicle Tow Testing. The tests are rather rigorous and may explain why some have commented that European ratings seem to be higher, because their standards aren’t the same. Tests are done with standardized trailers of various weights. Some of the tests:

The acceleration test while towing requires single-wheel trucks to do 0-30 mph in 12 seconds, 0-60 mph in 30 seconds, and 40-60 mph in 18 seconds.

Repeated restarts on 12% grade are done.

The truck must be able to brake from 20 mph to zero in 45 feet with trailer brakes, or 80 feet without.

The parking brake must hold on a 12% grade.

In terms of handling, the truck needs to be able to maintain understeer as it accelerates on a circular skid pad from 0.1 g to 0.3 g of lateral acceleration plus a sway test is performed.

The final test is called the Highway Grade / Davis Dam Test. It requires that the truck be able to tow its maximum trailer weight up a specific 11.4-mile uphill stretch of road in Arizona. For this test to be run correctly, it must be at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and the air conditioning must be on its maximum setting using outside air. The truck must maintain a minimum speed of 40 mph (35 mph for a dually), and it can't throw any error codes or burn any fluids during the test.

Info from https://www.roadandtrack.com/carculture/a29339668/how-truck-tow-rating-is-calculated/

A video showing testing:

After seeing all of this, I am very confident a 4K Maverick is very capable of handling 4K, perhaps more under less strenuous conditions.

The only thing that is not tested is driver experience and ability. If you’ve never towed a heavy trailer, jumping right into a 4K trailer can be scary. Getting experience with something lighter will be easier on your nerves and perhaps safer.

 

[Nw_adventure]

After seeing some comments from time to time saying you shouldn’t really try to tow what your Maverick is rated for, it is clear that some do not understand how the tow rating is established. It is determined from a Society of Automotive Engineers procedure, SAE J2807, Vehicle Tow Testing. The tests are rather rigorous and may explain why some have commented that European ratings seem to be higher, because their standards aren’t the same. Tests are done with standardized trailers of various weights. Some of the tests:

The acceleration test while towing requires single-wheel trucks to do 0-30 mph in 12 seconds, 0-60 mph in 30 seconds, and 40-60 mph in 18 seconds.

Repeated restarts on 12% grade are done.

The truck must be able to brake from 20 mph to zero in 45 feet with trailer brakes, or 80 feet without.

The parking brake must hold on a 12% grade.

In terms of handling, the truck needs to be able to maintain understeer as it accelerates on a circular skid pad from 0.1 g to 0.3 g of lateral acceleration plus a sway test is performed.

The final test is called the Highway Grade / Davis Dam Test. It requires that the truck be able to tow its maximum trailer weight up a specific 11.4-mile uphill stretch of road in Arizona. For this test to be run correctly, it must be at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and the air conditioning must be on its maximum setting using outside air. The truck must maintain a minimum speed of 40 mph (35 mph for a dually), and it can't throw any error codes or burn any fluids during the test.

Info from https://www.roadandtrack.com/carculture/a29339668/how-truck-tow-rating-is-calculated/

A video showing testing:

After seeing all of this, I am very confident a 4K Maverick is very capable of handling 4K, perhaps more under less strenuous conditions.

The only thing that is not tested is driver experience and ability. If you’ve never towed a heavy trailer, jumping right into a 4K trailer can be scary. Getting experience with something lighter will be easier on your nerves and perhaps safer.

Good info- Ford puts out a lot of towing spec information but adds a large does of confusion when it mentions frontal load recommendations, then the adjustments needed for elevation which makes a little more sense.

 

[ddhill]

Just an update. We pulled this trailer for ~4000 miles on a trip to/from New Hampshire and North Dakota. We took the trans Canada for a good part of the route out and tried to stay off the interstate on the way back.

MPG ranged from about 10 to 15 depending on conditions (the 10 was a hot head windy day).

Over all the tow was fine with the Maverick. Never felt I needed more power or anything like that. We triggered sway controll twice so know that works

We learned to ignore the estimated times on Google maps. And to some extent the route suggestions. Given the tires we have are rated for 60 mph, we are not going to be going highway speeds (and really I don;t want gallons per mile instead of mpg so 60 max is a good limit). We learned to pick a nice "direct" route, often not using the interstates and working with an estimate of about 50 miles per hours. So force the route I wanted in Maps, then divide by 50 for the time. (You force your route by picking a town or two along the desired route....) Driving US 24 below Chicago was delightful compared to the interstate - and avoiding the traffic around Chicago was fantastic.

Here is a picture of us at the Langdon, ND town

campground....

 

[GPSMan]

I also found it a comfortable sweet spot towing at 62 mph / 100 kph and net 18 mpg on all sorts of mountainous terrain in the western states, western Canada, and Alaska. It will get better than 20 mpg at 55 mph.

Have a side-by-side OHV inside.
About 3000 lbs.
7x12x9

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