[PWCMedic04]

New here guys . My wife and two young children are in the Rv market. We looked at the keystone bullet Crossfire 1650EX . Dry weight is 3459, tongue is 470 and total GVWR is sub 5000. It was nice and checked most of our boxes. I’ve really gained a lot of towing info just today with you guys. I’d say I’m an experienced tower with trucks but nothing crazy. Love the ascent and don’t want to kill it . Thanks guys !

 

[Ruben Marin]

New here guys . My wife and two young children are in the Rv market. We looked at the keystone bullet Crossfire 1650EX . Dry weight is 3459, tongue is 470 and total GVWR is sub 5000. It was nice and checked most of our boxes. I’ve really gained a lot of towing info just today with you guys. I’d say I’m an experienced tower with trucks but nothing crazy. Love the ascent and don’t want to kill it . Thanks guys !

I'm a bit late on this, but two things stick out. 1. This must be a single axle trailer with such a high hitch weight. 2. I would have it weighed as it sits. You can move weight around a trailer fairly easily but that 470 lbs is awfully close to the max.

Observations on our rig.
I originally towed it home with all tanks showing full. It felt just fine no issues at all with balance/sway even up to 70mph. Fast forward a couple trips and I also towed the trailer with just the fresh water tank reading full, approx 25 gallons in a 28 gallon holding tank. With just the fresh tank full, the extra squat and weight is unmistakable. And th weigh safe read right at 500 lbs fwiw.

If you can afford the extra weight you can always use the holding tanks to try and balance out your load as well. I am definitely getting this trailer weighed soon, as I need a reference point as to how much water is safe to carry. Some parks we have been to have some well water that has a lot of character, lol. And using our onboard supply ensures we wont overfill our holding tanks, unlike using the city connection.

Also a video review I ran across for the sherline scale that I am sure could apply to all hydraulic scales.
@Ken Myers I dont known if you have run across this yet.

 

[Ruben Marin]

So after a lot of speculation and hemming and hawing I finally took an afternoon to fill up our trailer tanks and have it weighed. I was quite surprised at the numbers.
With trailer attached:
Steer 2540lbs
Drive 2800
Trailer 4560

With no trailer:
Steer 2700lbs
Drive 2240

Conditions: all trailer tanks were full, we never would knowingly tow this way on a trip but I figured a worst case scenario was in order. I was quite surprised the TW was 400lbs, while the trailer weight came in at 4960 lbs. Reminder this is with 3-28 gallon tanks reading full.

 

[Ruben Marin]

Something I have been considering for a while was adding a heavier duty tow vehicle to our fleet. I don't see us downsizing our trailer any time soon as it is great size for us. I am looking into full size suv options that will also double as an alternate vehicle. We will of course keep the Ascent and use it for our local trips since it does the job nicely and is much easier to maneuver than anything else we have driven. But I think longer trips are going to need a bigger vehicle more leeway on capacity.

If you are looking in to a camping trailer:

1. Look for a narrow trailer, they are easier to tow and that frontal area makes a huge difference at speed. Many shorter trailers are still 8 ft wide. Ours is only 7 ft wide.

2. Check where your tanks are positioned, it matters especially if you have a smaller unit with a 40 gallon freshwater tank. That is a whole lot of weight that is going to sit right on your tow ball.

3. Consider a slightly heavier/longer tandem chances are it will be better balanced and easier to tow than a shorter, wider, but lighter single axle trailer.

4. More than anything hitch it up and take it for a driver just like you intend to do when you travel. I went on a good 10 mile run down highways and through an urban area. I don't think I would like a wider trailer at all.

 

[Chado]

@Ruben Marin , remind us what trailer make and model you ended up with?

 

[Ruben Marin]

@Ruben Marin , remind us what trailer make and model you ended up with?

We purchased a 2016 Jayco Jay Feather 7 22 BHM. The Jay Feather 7 line is only 7feet wide as opposed to standard 8ft wide options, this makes a big difference in frontal area wind resistance and visibility on the sides. We couldn't be happier so far with it.

 

[FirstSubie]

Happy Memorial Day to all you active service and vets, and to our fallen heroes.

We finally are getting some relief from lockdown. I won't get into my opinions of the science and politics here.

Anyway, some local parks and campgrounds opened, at partial occupancy. And our fav RV rental place is operating. I got a little aggressive on the specs and booked a 22' Keystone Bullet Crossfire 1900RD.

• 3330 lbs empty
• 1370 lbs payload
• 4700 lbs GVWR
• 485 lbs hitch wt

This is within spec but way above the "give yourself 20% headroom" recommendation. I towed a lighter 18' trailer last year, and it was easy peasy. This one hits 500 lbs tongue weight in a blink, especially if you're going for 15% of total weight. I figured 12% or so will keep it stable (just a guess), and that gave me some wiggle room for loading gear.

For 500 limit on the tongue, that'd be 4167 lbs gross (if using 12%), which is 837 lbs of payload. NOT a big number at all. In the end, we went minimalist for the 2-night trip, but I'm sure we're over, plus 4 people and a roof top tent on the car.

The lake is less than 2 hours away, flat drive. The 1900RD handled fine at 55mph, and held its own at 65 but I kept it at 55 most of the time. Downhill had a little bit of speed-shimmy, probably a brake controller issue (I backed off the gain and it was better), and maybe a touch of waggle. Got passed by other RVs, and it feels like the car is working to keep the trailer straight (some brake pulses, some speed shimmying). I never felt the trailer wag badly, but my butt told me that if I jostled the steering wheel, I'd get a bunch of back and forth. The car was working hard to pull the beast on steeper highway hills.

I will not be pushing specs for longer trips, and certainly not on a windy day or mountain trip. The extra space is nice (actually, really nice), but having to be so careful packing and still not know where I am (I did not use a scale), it did not seem worth doing for anything but a short trip.

That said, we hardly spent any time on the road, and here we are all settled in camp. Ahhhh.

Detailed specs are here:

2016 Keystone Bullet Crossfire 1900RD

2016 Keystone Bullet Crossfire 1900RD pictures, prices, information, and specifications.

www.rvguide.com

F.S.

 

[kann]

I have towed a couple of trailers with my Ascent and have recorded a 2600 mi round trip. We recently traded in the last trailer for a brand new Winnebago 2100BH a few months back. With a little bit of loading knowledge, I easily keep my distribution and my tongue weight right where they need to be. Here are a few things that I considered when pairing a new trailer with my Ascent.

1) Everyone talks weights to death. I implore people to ponder trailer width as well. A very light 8 ft. wide trailer makes towing much more uncomfortable than towing a heavier 7 ft. wide trailer. Not to mention, your gas mileage will thank you. Oh yeah, and you will sure have a hard time seeing around that wider trailer.

2) I had a Sherline trailer tongue scale. My trailer tongue came in anywhere between 230-550 lbs. It was incredibly inaccurate. Load up your trailer and go to the local CAT scale. You can spend as little at $13 and can rest assured that you have a very accurate reading on your GVWR, Trailer weight and Tongue weight. My trailer perfectly fits on the scale, so I can break down the weight between my Ascent, front trailer axle and real axle.

3) A tandem axle should be a consideration for many reasons. Weight distribution, better braking power, flat tire change, tracking/sway, the list goes on.)

I think the Winnebago Micro Minnies and Minnie Drops are good choices for the Ascent.

With all gear haphazardly thrown into my storage bays and fully loaded with food and what not, I recorded my worst tongue weight at 440. When I load it with care, I come out around 380-400. I do a fair amount of hills and the Ascent handles it perfectly.

My MPG comes out around 11-13.5 MPG when towing with my 2100BH. I don't remember exactly where it was with a wider 8 ft. wide trailer, but it was significantly less. This was a big hit against the Bullet Crossfire when looking at that model.

I hope this helps in your decision making process. View attachment 570 View attachment 571

What did you end up with for a back up camera and brake controller for your Winnie and Ascent? I'm leary of wireless. Are you still happy with your rig? Thanks!

 

[kann]

I have towed a couple of trailers with my Ascent and have recorded a 2600 mi round trip. We recently traded in the last trailer for a brand new Winnebago 2100BH a few months back. With a little bit of loading knowledge, I easily keep my distribution and my tongue weight right where they need to be. Here are a few things that I considered when pairing a new trailer with my Ascent.

1) Everyone talks weights to death. I implore people to ponder trailer width as well. A very light 8 ft. wide trailer makes towing much more uncomfortable than towing a heavier 7 ft. wide trailer. Not to mention, your gas mileage will thank you. Oh yeah, and you will sure have a hard time seeing around that wider trailer.

2) I had a Sherline trailer tongue scale. My trailer tongue came in anywhere between 230-550 lbs. It was incredibly inaccurate. Load up your trailer and go to the local CAT scale. You can spend as little at $13 and can rest assured that you have a very accurate reading on your GVWR, Trailer weight and Tongue weight. My trailer perfectly fits on the scale, so I can break down the weight between my Ascent, front trailer axle and real axle.

3) A tandem axle should be a consideration for many reasons. Weight distribution, better braking power, flat tire change, tracking/sway, the list goes on.)

I think the Winnebago Micro Minnies and Minnie Drops are good choices for the Ascent.

With all gear haphazardly thrown into my storage bays and fully loaded with food and what not, I recorded my worst tongue weight at 440. When I load it with care, I come out around 380-400. I do a fair amount of hills and the Ascent handles it perfectly.

My MPG comes out around 11-13.5 MPG when towing with my 2100BH. I don't remember exactly where it was with a wider 8 ft. wide trailer, but it was significantly less. This was a big hit against the Bullet Crossfire when looking at that model.

I hope this helps in your decision making process. View attachment 570 View attachment 571

We're picking up a 2100BH in a few weeks. What rear camera did you get for your Winnebago? I'm glad to hear it's towed easily with the Ascent. We've been looking for at least a year now. Thanks.

 

[Ruben Marin]

We're picking up a 2100BH in a few weeks. What rear camera did you get for your Winnebago? I'm glad to hear it's towed easily with the Ascent. We've been looking for at least a year now. Thanks.

Decide your budget for the camera and then shop accordingly, ours was around $130 and works pretty well for that price point. Of course there are much pricier options with better performance as well

 

[UrbanSurfer]

Last Fall we bought a cute fiberglass travel trailer. A 2014 ParkLiner built in North Carolina. Bought it from the lady who ordered it new and lightly used it. alas, our 1st 2-camping trips (Outer Banks, NC & Hudson Valley, NY) were cancelled due to Covid-19.

but it came in handy as the lovely Mrs. Surfer & my younger daughter took to the road and drove to Wisconsin and back to bring my older daughter home for an extended visit. 2,000 miles in a week. left on a Saturday and back on Friday nite. They camped each nite in a state campground, and lucky too because availability was scarce.

2-pix of our moving motel room (below)

all campgrounds required everyone to be self-sufficient. That meant no tent-camping or using the facilities, RV's only. Camping has become quite popular and will take alot of planning from now on. We have to do this again in a few weeks to bring her back to WI and again in August when the other one starts grad school at Wake Forest Univ. I found a private campground within 1/2 hr of Winston-Salem to stay while we are there.

the lovely Mrs. doesn't know it yet but I'm gluing a 2-inch Grateful Dead Dancing Bear sticker on the hitch-plug. If you see us traveling up and down Rt. 81, Rt. 78 or the NJTpk this summer, wave & BEEP!
specs -

 

[Merope]

Nice. I imagine gas mileage would be decent towing that sleek little thing. Do you have an idea of what they got?

It's a little small for our purposes though.

 

[Ken Myers]

I posted FirstSubie's and UrbanSurfer's information to the Subaru Ascent Real World Towing Examples page.

Subaru Ascent Actual Towing Examples

 

[UrbanSurfer]

Getting an idea of mpg for this trip I looked at the credit card gas purchase for those days ($121.90) Then I took the Average Gas Price/gallon for that week in each of the five states they passed thru and then averaged those, ($2.25/gal)
$122 / $2.25/gal = 54 gallons. I added in the full tank of gas they started with, 19.3 gallons to get a consumption of 73.3.
They arrived home with gas in the car, not sure how much, so this is rounded to 70 gallons used in total.

Using Google Maps the mileage each way 930 miles, x 2 =1,860 miles. There were detours off the highway to get to/from overnight camping at state parks. Not certain of exact figure so the trip total is rounded up to 2,000 miles.

2,000 miles / 70 gallons gas = 28.5 MPG

Nice. I imagine gas mileage would be decent towing that sleek little thing. Do you have an idea of what they got?

It's a little small for our purposes though.

 

[Merope]

...2,000 miles / 70 gallons gas = 28.5 MPG

Wow!

 

[reduno]

Just picked up a 2020 Starcraft Autumn Ridge 182RB. According to the manufacturers label on the trailer, the unloaded weight with empty tanks and full propane bottle is 3,581 lbs. I weighted the tongue when I got home using the bathroom scale fulcrum method and measured 462 lbs with the dealer added battery and box (weighed separately at 41 lbs). I have not had a chance to load the trailer yet but I did take it to work yesterday, just to see how it handled at highway speeds. Overall the Ascent handled the load well with sufficient power available for acceleration. Towing at speed was stable on the way to work but on the way home strong cross winds from an approaching storm made me reduce speed on one overpass. I also need to get a ball mount with a 3” or 4” drop, as the nose is slightly high with my present 2” drop.

The trailer is 22’9” long and a full 8’ wide but appears to sit lower than some models, as the height with AC is 3’’ lower than comparable models. I calculated the frontal area as 10% larger than Ken Meyer’s Coachmen 187RB. The length is also a little longer than the rule of thumb guide suggests for the Ascent but the last 9” is pretty much just the rear bumper. The 8’ width was not my first choice but we needed the larger dinette to sleep our 6’+ son when he joins us. The wife also felt cramped in most of the narrower models, even those with a slide in many cases. Once we get our first camping trip under our belt I will update.

 

[Ken Myers]

reduno,

I've posted your information to the Ascent Real World Towing Examples Website.

Subaru Ascent Actual Towing Examples

Ken

 

[Titanrx8]

Anyone ever look at Oliver trailers. Claim to be Airstream quality at lower cost (but still up there). The single axle looks really nice and within Ascent's towing abilities. It's 6.5' wide, rounded and even has an aero cover over the propane tanks so fuel mileage should be reasonable. I like that even though it's a wet bath, there's a shower curtain to contain the wet to the floor. Not sure where the tanks are with respect to increasing the tongue weight.

Legacy Elite

Embark on a remarkable journey with the Legacy Elite, a compact single-axle travel trailer with kitchen, full bathroom, shower and sink.

olivertraveltrailers.com

 

[wimpy1943]

Anyone ever look at Oliver trailers. Claim to be Airstream quality at lower cost (but still up there). The single axle looks really nice and within Ascent's towing abilities. It's 6.5' wide, rounded and even has an aero cover over the propane tanks so fuel mileage should be reasonable. I like that even though it's a wet bath, there's a shower curtain to contain the wet to the floor. Not sure where the tanks are with respect to increasing the tongue weight.

Legacy Elite

Embark on a remarkable journey with the Legacy Elite, a compact single-axle travel trailer with kitchen, full bathroom, shower and sink.

olivertraveltrailers.com

Made in Tennessee near me. They are a little heavy. Have a good rep. Pricey. Look in to the Escape 19 built in British Columbia near Vancouver . They are factory direct as is the Oliver I believe. Have have two RVs built in Canada and both great.

 

[Ruben Marin]

Just finished up a trip to the panhandle, around 5 hours driving one way. Longer with all the stops for potty breaks, kids and dog what can you do. I am leaning heavily toward a 10% tongue weight as the sweet spot for our rig it was a really nice pull compared to just setting a 500 lb tw. I have to move some stuff around and I am going to be able to mount a second propane tank up front now, maybe even our generator.

A pic of our site at Falling Waters SP.