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13" or 16" Foot Scamp towable?

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#2 ·
If you have the tow package--you can tow up to 2,000 lbs. I've towed much more--nearly two tons--but only on the flat lands and not trying to maintain my 0-60 acceleration. However, if you're going into the mountains--I'd keep the weight as close to 2000 lbs as possible.
 
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Discussion starter · #3 ·
Thanks for the insight. 16 foot says 1750lbs, but says 5000lb hitch and 3500lb axle on the specs. What do the latter two mean?

I'm thinking I might be safer w/ the 13'; says 1200lbs but 2200 lb axle so I'm confused on that.

Would be driving in Northern California so def. some foothilly and potentially mountainous terrain here and there. I was concerned with either; daring not even go above 2000lbs because of various recommendations online regarding belt CVT not being up to snuff in tht dept.
 
#4 ·
hakujin said:
Thanks for the insight. 16 foot says 1750lbs, but says 5000lb hitch and 3500lb axle on the specs. What do the latter two mean?

I'm thinking I might be safer w/ the 13'; says 1200lbs but 2200 lb axle so I'm confused on that.

Would be driving in Northern California so def. some foothilly and potentially mountainous terrain here and there. I was concerned with either; daring not even go above 2000lbs because of various recommendations online regarding belt CVT not being up to snuff in tht dept.
Click to expand...
The 3500/2200 is the axles rating. Ditto with the hitch. On the 16' unit it shows a 5,000 hitch. The 13' does not show what rating the hitch has, but it'll be fine.

On the 1750 lb trailer you will get much more than 250 lbs of water, canned beans, bedding, poo, guns, ETC loaded. Best go with the smaller unit. I'd think you can load the 13' with what you need and stay below that 2,000 lb limit.
 
#5 ·
If it is worth anything to you, I just pulled a 1500 lbs uhaul 250 miles with my FDII, and the CVT was great. No constant down shifting, going down a hill and taking my foot off the gas was enough to slow down the Jeep and trailer without brake input, and the back of the Jeep didn't even seem to really sink that much. Taking my foot off the brake from a stop, the Jeep was still able to start rolling forward at idle like normal even with the trailer behind me. Most of the trip was done at about 68-70 mph with some hills
 
#6 ·
The FDII has the oil cooler so same as the towing, and it should come with the wiring harness too, so for the OP if you get one be sure to see the harness somewhere. Both of those trailers are under the weight limits though, the heaviest was only 1750 pounds.

And now you have me thinking about it too. I'd like to travel more to other places to hunt birds with my dog, and those would work.
 
#7 ·
Do you want me to pick one up for you? I'm only 18 miles from their factory right now.
 
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#8 · (Edited)
#9 ·
Yes you can pull a Scamp! Below is my 2010 16' Scamp leaving the factory with my 2007 Limited 4X4.

I have towed it around for almost 2 years now and have had no issues. I would not tow it up and down the Rocky Mountains but I have had no problems towing it all around the northeas. You will want to keep it light and make sure you have the oil cooler/tow package.
If you want to load the camper with some gear make note of distributing the weight properly and keep the water tanks empty when traveling. Also you will have to install a 7-way RV wire connector. If you go with the 16', it has electric brakes so you will need to buy and install a brake controller (that’s a whole other story and project)

The 13' is a little lighter and does not require the brakes but most people that buy a 13' wish they has the extra 3 feet in the end.

If you have any questions, PM me.

Chris
 

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#10 ·
Spoke to my RV guy the other day about this. Older Boler trailers weight under 1000 pounds, and some of the other 13 foot "eggs" about about 1200. He said there would be no problem pulling one with a Patriot, but he advised me to upgrade my hitch to a 2" receiver. Mine is the smaller 1 1/4", which works for my utility trailer, but it's only used for short hauls. I'd have to upgrade my wiring, too. I just have the flat four-connector at present. My Pat has the tow package, and CVT.

I do a lot of traveling in the mountains, and have seen a Patriot pulling a small trailer. Seemed to be doing fine. I think the only issue would be loss of speed on the inclines, but that's an issue with any RV. I have to gear down my motorhome on steep hills, too.

Read a story about a guy who pulls a little teardrop trailer with his classic Nash Metropolitan... 55 mighty horsepower. Now that's pushing your luck.

By the way, my RV guy said that in his opinion, manufacturers' tow limits are very conservative. Jeep says 2000 pounds because they want to avoid litigation if something goes wrong while towing more than that.
 
#11 ·
Pounds per horsepower might work into the equation, too. My motorhome weighs about 13,000 loaded pounds and has a 300 horsepower engine. That's about 43 pounds per horsepower. A Patriot and loaded small trailer would weigh about 4800 pounds. That works out to about 30 pound per.
 
#12 ·
Yes, it would pull it, but I would not recommend it.
Most RV dealers will recommend that you not pull a trailer that is over 80% of your towing capacity. By the time you add everything you need for camping (pots & pans, luggage, water, beer, etc) you will be right at your capacity.
Additionally if you pull through a hilly area it will put an aweful lot of strain on the CVT.

I looked at the website. It's a nice little camper. If you decide to go with it let us know how it works out.
 
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#13 ·
Double D said:
...Most RV dealers will recommend that you not pull a trailer that is over 80% of your towing capacity. By the time you add everything you need for camping (pots & pans, luggage, water, beer, etc) you will be right at your capacity.
Click to expand...
1750 is only 150 lbs over the 80%... But at the same time, 250 lbs to hit the max rating doesn't leave a lot of room for luggage and supplies.

If the trailer has working brakes, I wouldn't hesitate at all to pull a 2,000 lbs trailer with a FDII
 
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