How far would you take your 16XRB (or light hybrid)

sinclaj1 · 11-01-2015, 08:04 PM

We've owned a 2015 16XRB since August of 2014, and with me, the wife, and two small boys, we're having a lot of fun...locally.

We've camped probably 20 nights (more than I've ever camped in my life combined), and it's all been within an hour or two away on flat roads in central FL.

I want to take this thing out and go further with it. Like Tennessee, or Maine. Or maybe out west on a few week trip towards the Grand Canyon (not to boondock).

I've never towed a trailer until this camper, and I'm rather leery of taking this out too far, especially with a single axle and those tiny, tiny tires. I've heard of so many stories of blown tires...makes me a bit nervous.

So, if this were you and your family...how far would you take it? Is it durable enough to take thousands of miles on a round-trip? Or is it more for quick jaunts (like 3-6 hours one way) here and there?

bankr63 · 11-01-2015, 09:35 PM

Go as far as you want to go. Your TT doesn't know if it is 20 miles from home or 2,000 miles from home. Now that you are comfortable with your rig, you know what you need to travel.

Make sure you have some form of roadside assistance if changing a flat bothers you. There are less trailer tire sizes than cars, so spares are pretty easy to come by anywhere. The trick with a light single axle is to be sure that you don't overload it. Know your limits, tow within it.

The whole promise of a TT is that you can take your home with you anywhere the road will carry you. I'm sure there are ultralights that have visited every one of the lower 48 without serious issue.

Jagiven · 11-01-2015, 09:49 PM

Make sure the tt is setup correctly, and go. We have a hTT 2nd year we had it we traveled 4000 miles. No issues at all. We probably have over 10K miles on it now.

Murff · 11-01-2015, 10:11 PM

Wife & I towed our White Hawk 20MRB from Seattle to Ohio this past summer, about 5400 miles round trip. The trailer didn't seem to care that it moved everyday for a week, sat for a week and then moved everyday for another week.

For that matter, the dogs didn't mind, either.

Murff

ttavasc · 11-01-2015, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bankr63

Go as far as you want to go. Your TT doesn't know if it is 20 miles from home or 2,000 miles from home. Now that you are comfortable with your rig, you know what you need to travel.

Make sure you have some form of roadside assistance if changing a flat bothers you. There are less trailer tire sizes than cars, so spares are pretty easy to come by anywhere. The trick with a light single axle is to be sure that you don't overload it. Know your limits, tow within it.

The whole promise of a TT is that you can take your home with you anywhere the road will carry you. I'm sure there are ultralights that have visited every one of the lower 48 without serious issue.

X2 on this. We picked up a 195RB Baja in March. It's our first TT of any kind. After 3 local trips to get the feel of things we packed it up and headed south on a ~2300 mile round trip to Southern Utah. All told for this first season we put almost 4000 miles on the new trailer. Our first trip in early spring will be about the same distance to Southern Nevada with another Utah trip in the fall.

In addition to watching the loading on the trailer pay close attention to the inflation level of the trailer tires. Under-inflation will definitely cause problems. I keep mine at the max cold pressure listed on the sidewall and check them frequently. One thing I did do before the long trip was make sure and test the jack so that in the unlikely event I had to change a flat myself I wasn't figuring it out for the first time on the road.

As far as the road side assistance goes - I think it does make sense to have some sort of plan when traveling greater distances. We are still using the 1-year complimentary plan with Coach-Net that came with the trailer. Going to do a little more research on this over the winter before it expires but will definitely keep a plan of some form in place.

Good luck in your travels and enjoy all the places you can go

bucko · 11-02-2015, 07:10 AM

To the OP, did you buy at the Sanford RV show (Mall parking lot)? We too own a 16XRB, and we bought ours the summer of 2014 at that mall show. Very happy with the camper, and would not be afraid to take it anywhere. We've been up to Gainsville with it, and around locally many times. As others stated, load it within spec, and I'm assuming yours has the spare mounted on the back bumper. My Ford F150's scissor jack would work to lift the axle of this camper should I ever need to replace it while traveling. Make sure you have the correct lug nut wrench to remove them from the trailer (keep a decent set of socket wrenches and 1/2 drive ratchet in the outside storage bin for travel).
Jayco did a nice job constructing these; tow with confidence.

NC Roamer · 11-02-2015, 08:48 AM

Although we have a Jayco motorhome, I have pulled various boat and motorcycle trailers over the years. The comments offered on checking the cold tire inflation pressures are dead on as that is a critical safety item. Also, when you get loaded up for a trip, swing through a truck stop with a CAT scale to make sure your towing vehicle and trailer are within their max allowable ratings. Also check your tongue weight, too. Finally, check the speed rating on your tires and do not exceed that.

Isaacs · 11-02-2015, 03:27 PM

Go for it! I drag my 17c all over the place. However, I do wish I had a dual axle unit. This one already chewed up a pair of tires; I suspect the single axles bounce a lot.

As far as blown tires, I've had several between my travel trailers and boats. It's not that big of a deal--you'll notice some vibration and when you look in the mirror you'll see a lot of smoke. It won't go flying off the road or anything like that.

Good Sam Roadside Assistance is good piece of mind. They'll look after your trailer or TV if you get into trouble. Changing a tire at the side of a 70+ MPH interstate is no fun.

DanNJanice · 11-02-2015, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinclaj1

We've owned a 2015 16XRB since August of 2014, and with me, the wife, and two small boys, we're having a lot of fun...locally.

We've camped probably 20 nights (more than I've ever camped in my life combined), and it's all been within an hour or two away on flat roads in central FL.

I want to take this thing out and go further with it. Like Tennessee, or Maine. Or maybe out west on a few week trip towards the Grand Canyon (not to boondock).

I've never towed a trailer until this camper, and I'm rather leery of taking this out too far, especially with a single axle and those tiny, tiny tires. I've heard of so many stories of blown tires...makes me a bit nervous.

So, if this were you and your family...how far would you take it? Is it durable enough to take thousands of miles on a round-trip? Or is it more for quick jaunts (like 3-6 hours one way) here and there?

Why not boondock! You have a perfect size trailer for it! Easy to get in and out of places.
Just to give you an idea, here is a spot that just a mile off a good blacktop road. Yes, you have to drive on a little gravel, but just go slow and you will be fine. It is just outside of Moab, UT. and FREE! Oh, and it has a great view from the back side over the canyons.

PT Traveler · 11-05-2015, 06:19 PM

We took our 16XRB from Port Townsend WA to Joshua Tree and back on our second trip out this past February. Two week trip (not enough time.) Towed with a Honda Ridgelline. Had no problems.

Echo the advice about the tire pressure trailer tires. Though I've got roadside assistance through my insurance I took a small hydraulic jack to make sure I could change a trailer tire if I had to.

Edd505 · 11-05-2015, 10:56 PM

Check tire pressure before you move, carry a spare, and a jack that will lift the trailer. Blown trailer tires are the number one trailer break down. My parents drove a PUP coast to coast in the past at 60 &70 years old, time will be your limit.

campingva · 11-07-2015, 10:17 AM

Also make aure your lug nuts are not so tight you can not get the tire off on the side of the road if needed. Before any long trip I always check the tightness of my lug nuts. Too many time they will not come off when trying to change a flat. Taking a breaker bar along also helps.

paisanpaul · 06-19-2016, 07:06 PM

Just got back from a 5700 mile trip.
Had a great time.
Just go
Paul

Kim Gass · 06-19-2016, 08:52 PM

Our very first tow.. aside from the 12 miles from the dealer to home was 10,000 miles with out single axle 195 rb.

It went on the interstates, curvy narrow mountain roads and even dirt roads. We checked the tires reasonably often (usually every night) and kept them inflated to the psi recommended. We dont carry much in the trailer and there was a bit of bounce ( that broke the table) going into Chaco Canyon but all was well otherwise

Our dealer , when we got home and took it in for warranty work, reminded us that the axle bearings need to be checked and maybe repacked at 5,000 miles. Oops.
We are off 200 miles again this weekend

The nice thing about wee trailers is you can tuck in most anywhere. Just go. Dont overload it. Go.

We did all the states on my sig line the first trip.

the tiny tires and single axle are disconcerting at first. Then after miles, you forget all about it as your trailer happily teams with your truck. You also lose fear of tight gas stations!

You may also like: