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Old 07-16-2014, 09:37 AM   #1
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9 days, 2200 miles pulling a Swift with a Ford Escape

We left Tucson July 4th headed for our old home in Sun Valley Idaho. We took three days to get there, stopping in Kingman AZ and Ely Nevada KOA’s to camp along the way. Once in Sun Valley we dry camped for five days before heading back along the same route.

To keep the gas mileage reasonable I pulled the trailer at 60 mph, we averaged 13.4 mpg for the entire trip. The Escape pulled the trailer fine despite the hills and very hot temperatures. We traveled about 350 miles a day.

We had never dry camped for that length of time before so I brought along a 1750 watt generator and an extra battery which I hauled in the bathtub to keep the extra weight behind the axle. Once in camp I wired the two batteries in parallel together and charged them with the 30 amp cord via a 110 adapter for an hour a day. Because of my Sleep Apnea I use a CPAP that runs off of 12 volt and I didn’t want to chance losing power to it in the middle of the night.

Probably the biggest pain dry camping was getting fresh water into the trailer from a 7 gallon can via a funnel. I am thinking some type of pump setup would work better to retrieve the water from the can. We never had to drain the black tank while dry camping because only our two daughters used it. My wife and I used the pit toilet in camp. We hauled grey water in a rolling waste tank to the local dump facility. Hot water heater and fridge worked great off of gas.

To those thinking of pulling an SLX with a smaller SUV or Minivan I personally wouldn’t attempt a trip this long again unless I had a larger tow vehicle. Going 60 mph you get passed a lot. This setup felt good up to 70 mph, but since the Escape only has a 15 gallon tank I wanted to raise the mpg to keep fill ups farther apart. After the three day drive back I was exhausted, but part of that has to do dealing with our 4 and 6 year olds in the back seat!
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Old 07-16-2014, 09:45 AM   #2
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Nice report! Don't feel bad about your speed. Just an FYI, the ST rated tires on most trailers are limited to 65 mph anyway. And while most of can tow faster than 60 we don't. Typically I run just over 60. It gets you the best mileage and is safer than trying to keep up with traffic. In some states,vehicles with trailers are limited to 55 mph.

We towed on two very long trips out west. One was just under 6000 total miles, the other about 2500 miles. Didn't mind being passed up by others at all and it was never a problem even where the speed limits are 70+. A lot of times WE were passing cars!
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Old 07-16-2014, 09:53 AM   #3
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Do you use any wdh? If so what kind. I tow a 184bh with a 2012 liberty it pulled fine but without a wdh I was very uncomfortable. I bought 600/600 fast way e2 and it does a lot better
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Old 07-16-2014, 11:25 AM   #4
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Quote:
Do you use any wdh?
No wdh. Have airbags installed in rear springs, car sits pretty level.
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Old 07-16-2014, 03:39 PM   #5
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You don't have any sway control? I don't have air bags either. With a camper 2 kids and a dog and gear we did get some hitch bounce but also got a bit of sway
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Old 07-16-2014, 03:51 PM   #6
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We have 7-year-old and 5-year-old boys. 2200 miles??? All I can say is I salute you.
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Old 07-16-2014, 05:41 PM   #7
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Yes we have sway control

Quote:
You don't have any sway control?
Oh god yes we have a friction type sway bar installed. I accidentally forgot to attach it on a trip, when the first semi passed that trailer went ape s*#t!
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Old 07-16-2014, 09:19 PM   #8
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I remember when we had our '05 Escape we wanted a Jayco similar to what you have but there was a max frontal surface allowed with the Escape for towing, and any travel trailer exceeded it. I seem to recall high wall pop-ups exceeded it too so all we could get was a regular pop up. Do they still have that max frontal area in the newer Escapes?

Sounds like you did awesome with the kids though! We've got a 5 hour ride on Saturday and back on Sunday and I am not looking forward to out 2 youngest fighting the whole way!
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Old 07-16-2014, 09:28 PM   #9
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I think my head would explode from my kids with that much driving! let me guess: they watched a lot of movies?

good for you! we are working our way up to longer trips so far we went about half of your length.
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Old 07-16-2014, 10:20 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lssmith View Post
Probably the biggest pain dry camping was getting fresh water into the trailer from a 7 gallon can via a funnel. I am thinking some type of pump setup would work better to retrieve the water from the can.
For about $15 you can use a battery powered (d-cell) liquid transfer pump. It will pump between 1 or 2 gpm. The batteries last longer than what you would think. You can find them at the big auction site. I have one and it is pretty handy. Uses the same batteries found in most flashlights.
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Old 07-17-2014, 06:09 AM   #11
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My goodness! What a trip! I use to pull my old trailer with a Mazda Tribute - same vehicle as your Escape. Boy, could I feel the semi's go by!

I, too, found filling the water tank with 5-7 gal. totes to be a real pain. A couple of years ago, I picked up a small hand pump designed for winterizing your RV - looks like a basketball air pump with a hose coming out of the side. Think I bought it at Wall-Mart or Camping World. I've only used it a couple of times, but boy it makes the job a whole lot easier. You might also look into one of those pumps that fit onto the end of your power drill/screwdriver.
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Old 07-17-2014, 07:11 PM   #12
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the ones that use the drill are crap. Youd be better off getting one for a fish tank (seriously). quiet, cheap, and reliable. Hose is cheap and they are self priming.

just sayin.

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Old 07-22-2014, 06:28 AM   #13
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We pull our Swift with a Tundra, no WDH, my husband forgets its back there, but of course we are pulling with WAY more than what we need. We use to tow with a Tacoma (smaller truck) and there was a lot of bounce and push and pull. Altho we probably look rediculous with this big truck and little tiny camper, we dont care, it tows beautiful.
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Old 07-24-2014, 09:06 AM   #14
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We originally towed our Skylark with our 6 cyl. Mazda Tribute, but found the towing gas mileage and small tank (16 gallons) to be very limiting. We also felt every semi that passed us pushing us all around. We upgraded to a 2012 Honda Pilot (V6 with ECO) and could be happier. With the larger vehicle and larger gas capacity, the towing mileage is about the same, maybe slightly better, but the comfort and better driving control makes trips much more comfortable.

We have a 5200 mile trip planned for later this summer, so we will see how it goes. We will have some significant mountain climbs and descents to deal with as well.
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