Need advice please!

[kennyr]

I have a jayco 154bh, dry weight 2600lbs. I tow it with my 2006 Ford escape, tow capacity 3500 lbs. I would like to buy a jayco 195rb, dry weight 2890 lbs. Would this be a problem? Love my 154 but tired of dropping the dinnet every night for a bed. We camp every month for 3-4 nights, we travel light with small amount of equipment. We live in Florida but have been to Georgia and handled hills pretty good. Any ad?

[Jagiven]

I would guess your pushing the limits. The key thing to look at is payload. All your gear, hitch, tongue weight, passengers make up your payload. In the calculations already, is a full tank of fuel and an "average" size driver, I do not recall the exact weight but it is 150 or 170 lbs.

Your tongue weight will be in the range of 435 lbs (15% rule).

[PoulsboJohnny]

The listed tow capacity of the escape is 3500 lbs. You'd be just up against the max with a full load out.
For towing, there is what they say you can do and what you should do. It comes down to braking and stability. If you have good brakes, then you should be OK. If they are factory units with no cooling then it might be worth it to upgrade the discs. Powerstop make a good rotor that is slotted and cross drilled and are affordable if you decide to go down that road.

[Nature Ist]

You need to be looking at the GVW of the trailer, not the dry weight. I'm sure you will find the GVW of that trailer is very close your vehicle's 3500 lb max trailer rating, and you are all but guaranteed to load your trailer very close to it's GVW. You should also research the Escape's gross combined vehicle weight rating, you're very likely to be very close to that as well.
None of us realize how much we add to campers with just clothes, "stuff", food, water, etc. The manufacturers don't help much by emphasizing "dry weight" when it is really gross (loaded) weight we actually tow.

[CAG]

This topic must come up at least once a week and then you get a multitude of answers. Rather than leaving it to chance and supposition do a search for "Can I Tow This"? and you will find numerous calculators to tell you what you can tow. Go by that.

https://www.canitowthis.com/

[Siamese]

Forget the tow rating. Always look at your payload, first. I just checked the yellow sticker on my Escape's (2018) driver side door jam, and the total available payload is 827 lbs.. That's for driver, passengers, and stuff. On your current trailer the hitch weight is probably in the neighborhood of 400 lbs. That gets subtracted from your payload.

If your payload isn't exceeded, then you can concern yourself with the tow rating. Usually payload is the limiting factor.

Check the sticker inside the door of your Escape and use that number. Share it with us?

P.S. I just looked up a payload for the 2006, which appears to be the old style escape, that's not based on the Focus, like the new one. It may be between 900 and 1000 lbs.. That's good news.

[eow]

The Escape is probably also limited to about 32 sq ft of frontal area per the owner’s manual. Most TTs would far exceed that limit.

[Midnightmoon]

Originally Posted by CAG

This topic must come up at least once a week and then you get a multitude of answers. Rather than leaving it to chance and supposition do a search for "Can I Tow This"? and you will find numerous calculators to tell you what you can tow. Go by that.

https://www.canitowthis.com/

While it does seem that these topics come up often on JOF, we welcome our members to ask questions and seek feedback from others to help them make informed decisions on their potential RV and Tow Vehicle purchases. In this process, online calculators, such as the one you referenced above, can be extremely helpful.

In order to ensure the accuracy of their information, we encourage new owners, or those seeking to optimize their combinations, to visit a certified scale (CAT Scale) to provide the exact weights that they will need in their calculations.

In the Towing, Hitching, and Tow Vehicle section of the forum, there are Stickies at the top of the page to help members better understand how to optimize their setup.

Here are a couple that may be of use to the OP in making their decision.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f37/what-is-my-actual-tow-rating-3866.html

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f37/how-to-weigh-your-tv-tt-3871.html


Midnightmoon

Site-Team

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by eow

The Escape is probably also limited to about 32 sq ft of frontal area per the owner’s manual. Most TTs would far exceed that limit.

The 2007 Ford Towing Guide shows 24 sq ft for the base and a maximum of 30 sq ft with the 3.0L V6 engine.

Looking at the GVWR ratings on the SLX 7 trailers the 154BH has a 3450 GVWR. Every model above it has a 3750 GVWR. Having owned a 195RB for almost 5 years I think it would be hard to keep the loaded weight at or under 3500, especially given that the actual empty weight as delivered will be higher than the 2980 listed on the web site. The dry weight for the 2015 195RB was listed as 2800 but ours as delivered empty weight was 3015.

[RedHorse1]

If you want an answer instead of opinions visit the CAT Scale and get your weights. You will then KNOW if you are within weight limits or not.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

If you want an answer instead of opinions visit the CAT Scale and get your weights. You will then KNOW if you are within weight limits or not.

That would work IF the OP owned it now and was looking for weight help. His questions is for a future purchase. That brings us back to the "Can I Tow This" search.

[RedHorse1]

Originally Posted by CAG

That would work IF the OP owned it now and was looking for weight help. His questions is for a future purchase. That brings us back to the "Can I Tow This" search.

CAG, I disagree. I suspect his current rig has his TV close to max on the rear axle. The scale would either confirm or prove me wrong. Next, calculating an expected tongue weight with the new TT (0.12 x GVWR). A closer estimate would be to use the difference between the “dry” TT weight and the scaled weight. Add that to the dry weight of the new TT and perform the above calculation. The TW would very likely be between those 2 figures.

All my “blah, blah” just means I am a scale believer and I like hard data.

[us71na]

I owned an Escape and towed 3,000 pounds behind it. The gas mileage was no more than 10 mpg. It was a pain stopping every 120 miles for fuel. It also tended to get buffeted pretty easily by any crosswind wind and passing trucks. I moved up to a Honda Pilot and it is a world of difference with the 5,000 pound towing capacity and larger fuel tank. I can go twice as far between fuel stops. I'm still towing the same trailer.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

CAG, I disagree. I suspect his current rig has his TV close to max on the rear axle. The scale would either confirm or prove me wrong. Next, calculating an expected tongue weight with the new TT (0.12 x GVWR). A closer estimate would be to use the difference between the “dry” TT weight and the scaled weight. Add that to the dry weight of the new TT and perform the above calculation. The TW would very likely be between those 2 figures.

All my “blah, blah” just means I am a scale believer and I like hard
data.

What led me to make my comment was " I would like to buy a jayco 195rb, dry weight 2890 lbs."

I am going on the assumption from that that the rig has not been purchased. I could be wrong and if so sorry for the misunderstanding.

[kennyr]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies! Looks like I should either keep the 154bh or buy a stronger tow vehicle. Thanks for all your advice.

[Screwby]

Originally Posted by kennyr

Wow! Thanks for all the replies! Looks like I should either keep the 154bh or buy a stronger tow vehicle. Thanks for all your advice.

It always worries me when the numbers are so close. I’ve always said with this topic that “just because you can, doesn’t mean that you should”. I’ve pulled trailers with trucks that “could” tow them but just because the numbers said it could doesn’t mean it was comfortable or safe. I’m always amazed by the trucks and SUVs with sagging rear ends and trailer sway struggling their way down the highways. Consider the size of the brakes on the vehicle, will you be able to stop the rig in the event of an emergency? Think of trailer sway and buffeting, shorter lighter tow vehicles are much more susceptible to this. Think of engine power and transmission durability, are you going to be pushing the tow vehicle hard and wearing out the transmission and engine?
I’ve been on the “barely capable” side of pulling a trailer. Believe me that being on the overkill, totally confident side is worth every penny. I want to be pulling my trailer in a good relaxed mood, not worrying every time a big hill is coming or gripping the wheel as a crosswind or semi pushes me around.

[bankr63]

Originally Posted by CAG

This topic must come up at least once a week and then you get a multitude of answers. Rather than leaving it to chance and supposition do a search for "Can I Tow This"? and you will find numerous calculators to tell you what you can tow. Go by that.

https://www.canitowthis.com/

I would try to find a better calculator than this. Reading through the definitions and assumptions made, I have issue with several statements.
Tongue weight is rarely 10% for an RV, that is more likely for a cargo trailer. 15% would be a safer assumption for a Travel Trailer (usually between 10-15%)
He does not understand that the manufacturers have for several years has a standard for reporting curb weight, and his assumptions are wrong for inclusions.
Same for Gross Trailer Weight which has been standardized now as well.
Payload should not be looked up on the manufacturer site, it is on the door jamb and is specific to the vehicle as it rolled off the line. It does include the weight of a standard driver and gasoline already.
And so on...

ETA - I agree with @RedHorse1; if the OP takes his current rig to the CATs fully loaded for travel he will very quickly discern if he has the capacity to haul any additional trailer safely. He may already be over payload or GAWR for the vehicle when fully loaded, but the only way to tell is 'eyes on'.

[dexstrom]

Originally Posted by kennyr

Wow! Thanks for all the replies! Looks like I should either keep the 154bh or buy a stronger tow vehicle. Thanks for all your advice.

We bought our 195RB and towed with an '16 Honda Odyssey minivan for year. Same towing weights as your vehicle. It towed nice but I quickly realized that payload was very limited so we bought a Honda Pilot, 5,000# limit now we can each bring our own tooth brush.

[kblast523]

Originally Posted by eow

The Escape is probably also limited to about 32 sq ft of frontal area per the owner’s manual. Most TTs would far exceed that limit.

All Ford products are rated based on equipment. The 2019 tow guide shows the Escape rated at 1,500 lbs UNLESS equipped with FACTORY equipment and optional engine. Then the tow rating is either 2,000 lbs or 3,500 lbs with the 2.0 EB AND the class II tow option which includes an aux transmission cooler, but only has a four pin trailer connector. Same applies to the Edge. 30 sq ft frontal area on both.

In 2012 I began RVing in a Jayco 195RB that the dealer said my F-150 could pull. My 2007 F-150 4.2 L stick shift was a slug rated at 2,650 lbs and severely overloaded by that rig. Traded for a used 2009 Ford Flex with FACTORY Tow package, good for 4,500 lbs. (Non factory equipped Flex is rated for 3,500 lbs, no trailering fuse box, no light hook ups, no brake controller wiring) The difference was amazing.

[Dalej88]

I have a 2009 Escape and have on occasion towed my old 18' trailer which had a dry weight of 3000 lbs and it felt like I was working it awfully hard. It did it, but I wouldn't want to go to far doing it. I think you would be disappointed if you did it. My two cents worth.