Camper Trailer Advice

"ZHP Sparky, the 5th" (e30s2k)
09/29/2020 at 10:58 • Filed to: None

Been casually looking at campers to extend our camping season/retain some sanity in this COVID world, have found a unit that I looked at yesterday. Would love Oppo’s advice before I bite the bullet.

Manuf website to model-

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It is a 2013 model on it’s second owner, here are some basics about my situation and from viewing yesterday -

- Will be towing with a 2016 Outback 2700lbs towing capacity, 200lb tongue weight max (this unit weighs around 1300lbs and has 160lb tongue weight rating)

- I’ve never towed a thing in my life before (does a float in a parade at 2mph count?)

- Car needs a trailer hitch. Was considering doing myself, DIY seems easy - but U-Haul seems to be able to do it all locally as early as today for a decent price including 4 pin connector, etc. (the unit comes with a 4 to 7 pin adapter). Anything I should watch out for?

- Trailer itself is on its 2nd owner, and has been used quite a bit (seller drove all over the country with it, for weeks at a time) - which is fine with us, just in terms of checking out anything to be concerned about?

- New spare tire, but the tires on the unit right now have balding on the outside. Owner just got back from a long trip and believes it’s because they weren’t properly inflated. Anything else this could be caused by? He said he’ll replace them before sale.

No leaks that I could identify and frame only has some surface rust. The guy installed a solar panel on the roof and was a DIY job - there’s caulking all over the top where he installed it. He said it doesn’t leak and I don’t see any evidence of leaks...and solar panel is a big plus in our mind, although it does look like pretty scrappy (if you’re looking down on the roof from above).

He’s asking $7k but I’m assuming there’s some wiggle room there. Sounds like a stupid amount of money for such a basic purchase in the world of vehicles (and also I know you can buy a lot more trailer for the money if you weren’t in teardrop/lightweight territory) - but looks reasonable based on other options out there (and COVID surge in trailer demand). What do you guys think?

Considering putting in offer this morning, outside of you fine folks talking me out of it.

DISCUSSION (21)

The Snowman > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 11:35

Do the wheel bearings right away. This is cheap easy and a good learning experience if you've never done them.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > The Snowman
09/29/2020 at 11:46

Thanks, good info!

Any input about the outside wear - typically on a vehicle this suggests alignment issues. Assuming that could be the case with a trailer too? Assuming alignment is a simple task with a trailer when installing new tires anyway?

HammerheadFistpunch > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 11:56

The tire wear is not a tire pressure issue. 100%. It’s likely an axle alignment issue.

HammerheadFistpunch > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 11:57

Neat trailer, seems a little...little for 7k. That being said, its been a while since we bought ours and the market is certainly different.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > HammerheadFistpunch
09/29/2020 at 12:01

That’s what I suspected - the guy intends to have the tires replaced anyway, I’ll tell him that he should do the alignment then too (especially if I’m buying it).

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > HammerheadFistpunch
09/29/2020 at 12:02

Yeah I see popups and bigger trailers for less money all day long...but that would involve getting a bigger tow vehicle. These seem to be in a weird niche, I’ve seen much less trailer for more money. This at least you can hang out in without being horizontal.

shop-teacher > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 12:12

See if there is an actual trailer shop near your house. Have them do the hitch, and check the wheel bearings, axles, and brakes (if it has brakes).

General camper advice. They are all build like hot garbage. Make sure you do a VERY thorough inspection.

HammerheadFistpunch > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 12:16

it is an odd niche, and you are exactly where I was when I had my Forester XT. 2400 lb towing limit and a need for a camp trailer. Sold the Forester, bought the Land Cruiser, haven’t looked back. The trouble is that vehicles with low tow limits really shouldn’t be towing at the top of their limit often for a variety of reasons and it significantly shortens their life. Not saying you can’t do it, but it’s harder on your vehicle.

HammerheadFistpunch > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 12:36

My advice is to have him discount you the tires, and buy some radials instead of...what I assume...are bias ply. HUGE difference.

The Snowman > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 12:37

I think it could be alignment for sure but I would think it would not be both outsides unless the owner rotated them. The axle could be a bit tweaked and have more toe than needed and wear out the outsides maybe?

HammerheadFistpunch > shop-teacher
09/29/2020 at 12:37

Yup. My experience has taught me that rolling surfaces, joints, hinges and plumbing are the failure points.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > HammerheadFistpunch
09/29/2020 at 13:01

Already has radials on it...so I’d rather just have him replace them and have an alignment done at the same time (assuming that is possible) as a condition of sale.

Mark Tucker > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 13:07

The tire wear is an axle out of alignment. Have it checked before you go too far on new tires . Just went through this with our old Aristocrat. (Note: if you look under there, the axle won’t be straight even if it’s correct. The axle will have a slight crown to it; they’re supposed to have 1 or 2 degrees of positive camber, this sounds like it just has too much.)

As for towing limits: does this trailer have brakes? It makes a huge difference, even on the little guys. Without brakes, you’re probably close to the limit of what you would want to pull with that car, but still OK. Just watch your stopping distances.

The hitch isn’t hard to install, but wiring the lights can get weird. If you’re not familiar with it, it might be a good idea to let a pro do it. (I did our old Explorer myself and it was a pain, so on the new car I had the trailer shop do it.) Have them step up to the newer 7-pin connector for everything; it’s just easier to deal with, and a more secure connection.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > HammerheadFistpunch
09/29/2020 at 13:10

Odd niche indeed. Right now we’re not replacing a vehicle - we don’t drive enough, or camp/trailer enough to justify it. We’re doing sub-100 mile round trips, maybe once or twice a month at most in this thing...so not particularly concerned about the Outback at least in the short to medium timeframe.

Longer term we will certainly reassess when buying our next family vehicle...which I really want to be a PHEV. I know hybrids have low tow ratings themselves, gotta look in stats for the RAV4 Prime, which right now sounds like the ideal option in my mind...outside of availability concerns/price premiums. Hopefully not an issue by the time we’re ready to buy used in a few years.

shop-teacher > HammerheadFistpunch
09/29/2020 at 13:38

Also literally anywhere that a screw punctures the skin.

HammerheadFistpunch > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 14:54

my experience with alignment is that you need to find a shop that will do a trailer, usually heavy alignment shops that deal with trucks. I ran through a pair of tires on one trip to yellowstone (technically half a trip, I had to replace one tire there). I took it home, put radials on it, and had it a ligned and have never had a problem since.

HammerheadFistpunch > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 14:56

I’ve also been looking in that direction to replace the GX, but It’s only 2500 lbs. I wish we got the 2.8 inline diesel in the prado here (GX). With the diesel sized tank (21 gallons) and a huge V8 the range is...poor.

HammerheadFistpunch > shop-teacher
09/29/2020 at 14:57

yeah, which I’ve been able to avoid thus far. I’ve been very tempted to get solar on the roof, but never do.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Mark Tucker
09/29/2020 at 14:59

How easy was it to fix on yours (beautiful vintage find btw!). From reading up sounds like alignment issues could be either bent axle or even bent frame issues? And bent axle you could restraighten it but appears the recommended solution is to replace the axle?

Unless the seller is willing to take care of all this I think I’m leaning towards walking away...especially being our first trailer and a 100% newbie to all this - found an identical one for sale that seems to be in much nicer condition. Slightly more expensive but might be a better fit. This model doesn’t have brakes - none of them around this weight capacity seem to, but absolutely will be very mindful since I’m new to all this.

etrailer has DIY videos for the install and seems very straight forward in my car , but U-Haul can handle it all for $100 or so of installation cost, which seemed very reasonable. Most likely just going that route.

Thanks for the info!

Mark Tucker > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
09/29/2020 at 15:10

On ours, the axle needed to be replaced (along with both leaf springs), but I would guess that had to do with them being 54 years old... was about a $1200 job at our local RV place. Probably a little cheaper if there’s no brakes. And I’ve seen videos of them being straightened - they just loop a chain over the axle and pull it down until the camber is right. Low tech, but I guess it works.

And I wish I had known about this axle-alignment stuff when we bought our first trailer; we had one of those little fiberglass clamshell jobs from the 70s, and it towed hard, really made the car feel like it was working, despite being only about 1500 lbs. I suspect it had some axle issues as well.

Good luck, and enjoy that first beer in a camp chair after you get to your first campsite. That really makes it all worth it.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > HammerheadFistpunch
09/29/2020 at 16:20

Ouch, 2500 is low but I guess par for the course for CUVs.

My brother lives in Japan and is a huge Toyota nerd, trust me I’m well aware of all the interesting offerings even by Toyota’s conservative standards we’re not getting on this side of things.