Looking seriously at a 21RBS, with dinette option. Just for the 2 of us with perhaps an occasional visitor. No rush, but want to make sure we have made the right choice. Any advice much appreciated. Live in Ontario, Canada. Thank you!
[quote source="/post/26316/thread" author="@jjbass01" timestamp="1481250062"]Looking seriously at a 21RBS, with dinette option. Just for the 2 of us with perhaps an occasional visitor. No rush, but want to make sure we have made the right choice. Any advice much appreciated. Live in Ontario, Canada. Thank you![/quote]Welcome !
For just 2, you'll be shouting from one end to the other just to be heard. It will feel cavernous. My advice is to visit the local pound and acquire 3 dogs.
Please tell us more about your (presumably inadequate) tow vehicle so we can offer lots (more) of unsolicited advice.
But seriously, the 21 footer won't be too large for the 2 of you. My wife and I have the 21BHS and we love it. It's not too big by any stretch, especially if you plan on taking some longer trips. You can never have too much room! That would be a good choice for you!
[quote timestamp="1481250404" source="/post/26318/thread" author="@pinstriper"][quote source="/post/26316/thread" author="@jjbass01" timestamp="1481250062"]Looking seriously at a 21RBS, with dinette option. Just for the 2 of us with perhaps an occasional visitor. No rush, but want to make sure we have made the right choice. Any advice much appreciated. Live in Ontario, Canada. Thank you![/quote]Welcome !
For just 2, you'll be shouting from one end to the other just to be heard. It will feel cavernous. My advice is to visit the local pound and acquire 3 dogs.
Please tell us more about your (presumably inadequate) tow vehicle so we can offer lots (more) of unsolicited advice.
[/quote]Towing with a Lexus RX350 - that's pretty cavernous for 2 - and I should have mentioned the Pekingese (sort of like a plush toy come to life).
[quote timestamp="1481251560" source="/post/26319/thread" author="@gbpack"]But seriously, the 21 footer won't be too large for the 2 of you. My wife and I have the 21BHS and we love it. It's not too big by any stretch, especially if you plan on taking some longer trips. You can never have too much room! That would be a good choice for you![/quote]Thanks for the vote of confidence, we have a 7.4 m motorhome in the UK and certainly don't find that too big. And yes, long trips planned - maybe Route 66!
My advice is to go for it! The 21RBS was in our top choices list for a long time; they are really nice. Where in the UK do you keep the "caravan". We lived for a while near Leek, England.
Quote from: @jjbass01" source="/post/26323/thread" timestamp="1481263642[quote timestamp="1481250404" source="/post/26318/thread" author="@pinstriper"]Welcome !
For just 2, you'll be shouting from one end to the other just to be heard. It will feel cavernous. My advice is to visit the local pound and acquire 3 dogs.
Please tell us more about your (presumably inadequate) tow vehicle so we can offer lots (more) of unsolicited advice.
Towing with a Lexus RX350 - that's pretty cavernous for 2 - and I should have mentioned the Pekingese (sort of like a plush toy come to life).[/quote]I might be misreading your response, but you plan on towing the 21RBS with a Lexus RX350? We have an '11 RX350 and I'm quite confident it would not be able to pull that off safely. We have a 21BHS.
We used to use a '02 4.7L V8 Toyota Sequoia and it handled it fine once I upgraded the rear suspension and added air bags. But we recently upgraded to a 5.7L Toyota Tundra and it's now somewhat barely noticeable back there.
Yes, a Lexus RX350 is rated as having a towing capacity of 3,500 lbs. A 21RBS will weigh a minimum of 4,000 lbs loaded, probably closer to 4,500 lbs.
David
[quote timestamp="1481373168" source="/post/26336/thread" author="@david"]Yes, a Lexus RX350 is rated as having a towing capacity of 3,500 lbs. A 21RBS will weigh a minimum of 4,000 lbs loaded, probably closer to 4,500 lbs.
David[/quote][font size="3"]Yes, an unloaded 21RBS is now rated at 3650# and that's without batteries, propane, 6 gallons in the WH, and maybe A/C and microwave. Ah those beautiful wood cabinet frames. Still a great trailer. [/font]
I called it.
Thank you for the comments (mostly helpful!) about our proposed tow vehicle. Would like to hear more, especially as we chose this (Lexus RX350 AWD) based on advice from a reputable RV dealer here in Ontario Canada. At that time we were looking at an Airstream Sport 22FB which, wet, comes in around 4500 lbs so the concerns about our ability to safely pull that weight are naturally a concern.
A reputable RV dealer giving sound advice on a tow vehicle ? Sounds like a unicorn story to me.
[quote source="/post/26370/thread" author="@jjbass01" timestamp="1481578788"]Thank you for the comments (mostly helpful!) about our proposed tow vehicle. Would like to hear more, especially as we chose this (Lexus RX350 AWD) based on advice from a reputable RV dealer here in Ontario Canada.[/quote]Can Am RV in London, Ontario?
Quote from: @fasteddieb" source="/post/26389/thread" timestamp="1481594416[quote timestamp="1481578788" author="@jjbass01" source="/post/26370/thread"]Thank you for the comments (mostly helpful!) about our proposed tow vehicle. Would like to hear more, especially as we chose this (Lexus RX350 AWD) based on advice from a reputable RV dealer here in Ontario Canada.
Can Am RV in London, Ontario?[/quote]
Isn't that the dealership that promotes towing huge trailers with VW Jetta's?
[quote timestamp="1481578788" author="@jjbass01" source="/post/26370/thread"]Thank you for the comments (mostly helpful!) about our proposed tow vehicle. Would like to hear more, especially as we chose this (Lexus RX350 AWD) based on advice from a reputable RV dealer here in Ontario Canada. At that time we were looking at an Airstream Sport 22FB which, wet, comes in around 4500 lbs so the concerns about our ability to safely pull that weight are naturally a concern. [/quote]I'll just chime in here that simply put, you should never exceed the tow rating of the vehicle. If anyone advised you otherwise, they were wrong and it's not safe. Most conscientious folks would advise a trailer weight of somewhat less than the maximum capacity of the tow vehicle. Tongue weight and overall vehicle weight carrying capacity figure in this too. The actual trailer weight and tongue weight going gown the road is what matters, not the dry weight in the fancy brochures.
Quote from: @billmoore" source="/post/26391/thread" timestamp="1481595653[quote source="/post/26389/thread" author="@fasteddieb" timestamp="1481594416"]Can Am RV in London, Ontario?
Isn't that the dealership that promotes towing huge trailers with VW Jetta's?[/quote]Yep! Not sure if "promote" is the right word, but they do "enable".
Andy is active on Airforums and assisted us with setting up our Flex, including reinforcing the hitch. He has a column in a Canadian RV magazine that deals with towing setup and issues. http://www.canamrv.ca/blog/category/hitch-hints/
I found this thread, which details our experience, starting on page 2:
[a href="http://livinlite-owners.com/thread/2295/cl21bhs-highlander"]http://livinlite-owners.com/thread/2295/cl21bhs-highlander[/a]
Quote from: @sandroad" source="/post/26393/thread" timestamp="1481599601[quote timestamp="1481578788" author="@jjbass01" source="/post/26370/thread"]Thank you for the comments (mostly helpful!) about our proposed tow vehicle. Would like to hear more, especially as we chose this (Lexus RX350 AWD) based on advice from a reputable RV dealer here in Ontario Canada. At that time we were looking at an Airstream Sport 22FB which, wet, comes in around 4500 lbs so the concerns about our ability to safely pull that weight are naturally a concern.
I'll just chime in here that simply put, you should never exceed the tow rating of the vehicle. If anyone advised you otherwise, they were wrong and it's not safe. Most conscientious folks would advise a trailer weight of somewhat less than the maximum capacity of the tow vehicle. Tongue weight and overall vehicle weight carrying capacity figure in this too. The actual trailer weight and tongue weight going gown the road is what matters, not the dry weight in the fancy brochures. [/quote]
I generally concur...but the problem is the same identical vehicle coming off the same assembly line has different ratings depending upon the country of destination. A vehicle's weight rating seems to be more affected by how litigious a country is rather than engineering design specification.
[quote source="/post/26389/thread" author="@fasteddieb" timestamp="1481594416"][quote timestamp="1481578788" source="/post/26370/thread" author="@jjbass01"]Thank you for the comments (mostly helpful!) about our proposed tow vehicle. Would like to hear more, especially as we chose this (Lexus RX350 AWD) based on advice from a reputable RV dealer here in Ontario Canada.[/quote]Can Am RV in London, Ontario?[/quote]Yes indeed. Sounds like you have something to say about them?
Quote from: @jjbass01" source="/post/26416/thread" timestamp="1481666047[quote timestamp="1481594416" source="/post/26389/thread" author="@fasteddieb"]Can Am RV in London, Ontario?
Yes indeed. Sounds like you have something to say about them?[/quote]
See my post above, complete with links!
Quote from: @aggie79" source="/post/26415/thread" timestamp="1481658857[quote source="/post/26393/thread" author="@sandroad" timestamp="1481599601"]I'll just chime in here that simply put, you should never exceed the tow rating of the vehicle. If anyone advised you otherwise, they were wrong and it's not safe. Most conscientious folks would advise a trailer weight of somewhat less than the maximum capacity of the tow vehicle. Tongue weight and overall vehicle weight carrying capacity figure in this too. The actual trailer weight and tongue weight going gown the road is what matters, not the dry weight in the fancy brochures.
I generally concur...but the problem is the same identical vehicle coming off the same assembly line has different ratings depending upon the country of destination. A vehicle's weight rating seems to be more affected by how litigious a country is rather than engineering design specification.[/quote]
Litigiousness may play a part in those decisions but the primary reason for the differences in tow ratings comes down to fact that Europeans typically have trailers that have significantly lower tongue weights. Therefore the weight of the trailer can be higher given similar payload capacities. As a result of the lower tongue weight, maximum highway speeds around 50mph are enforced for "caravans".
Hello from ON too... Toronto here.
Quote from: @jamie" source="/post/26469/thread" timestamp="1481938777Hello from ON too... Toronto here.
This forum will be shutting down at some point. Many of the guys here are moving to this forum: http://aluminiumcamperforum.com
Quote from: @thedusty" source="/post/26554/thread" timestamp="1482344381[quote timestamp="1481938777" author="@jamie" source="/post/26469/thread"]Hello from ON too... Toronto here.
This forum will be shutting down at some point. Many of the guys here are moving to this forum: http://aluminiumcamperforum.com
[/quote]
Only the cool kids are going there. The dweebs are going to rv.net