SylvanSport Go Camper Trailer

Wow, 800 pound load capacity. Can the Prius handle 1600 pounds of weight being towed behind it?

 

800 lbs empty. How much loaded with all of your camping gear?

 

See above post...1600 pounds loaded, 800 dry, 800 load capacity

 

I know it can *hold* 800lbs on top of it's weight of 800 lbs.

But the Prius can't tow 1600 lbs.

So I'm basically asking how little gear you can get buy with to keep the weight as low as possible.

 

That looks like an 800 pound tent on wheels to me, and it's not going to keep you any warmer or dryer than an 8 pound tent. With the money you'll save not buying the trailer and the extra gas to tow it, you can splurge on the occasional motel.

 

That's a pretty cute little trailer. It appears it's main function is to haul other toys, and as such, it will be too heavy for your Prius. If you are just planning to use it for camping, a simple tent will work as well with less cost and weight.

Tom

 

I can get a tiny tears for probably the same (or maybe even less) money and that weighs about 200 lbs less. That allows me to haul 200 lbs of stuff, plus I can sleep inside.

 

The Prius is a great car for many things, but towing a trailer isn't one of them. I wouldn't want to stress the HSD and end up with an expensive repair.

As others have stated, tenting/camping are ok if you're into that sort of thing. Now with fuel prices so high, a low miles pickup is cheap to buy, along with a small trailer. Not so cheap to operate though

A friend of mine back in Utah, his folks picked up a Dynaquest last month.

DynaQuest ST Key Features | Dynamax Corporation

They got a great deal on it, brand new 45% off. It's based on a Freightliner M2 chassis, has a Mercedes Benz 900 series turbodiesel, and an Allison 6 speed auto. They claim 14 mpg, for a rig that size, brand new, is amazing. They tow a Honda Civic behind

They spend about 3-4 months out of the year camping, so they get their use out of it. Previous camper was a 5th wheel 34 ft, with a 2002 Ford powerstroke. Had enough trouble with the powerstroke they were happy to see it go

If you want to spend a lot of time camping, a truck-based camper is the way to go. The chassis is built for heavy service and - with proper maintenance - should last a long time.

The only upgrade they made was to the front leaf suspension. They had a Mor Ryde rubber spring shackle put on. With the standard Freightliner rear air suspension, they claim exceptional ride quality, way better than the Ford pickup

 

Nothing personal, Jay, but that's not camping.
Mind you, having a fridge, a dishwasher, and one of those little rooms where hot water comes out of the walls would be nice. But then, you'd be taking your home with you instead of leaving it behind. And some of the behemoths (crisis - what crisis?) we saw only last week would put many homes to shame - seriously, I've lived in smaller apartments.

 

Beside our Prius, we own a Goldwing motorcycle. We pull our motorcycle camper behind either vehicle. It weighs in at just under 200 lbs and carries what we need. It folds out to a queen bed (so go to a king), it has stand up dressing area also.

It folds very compact and the Prius or Wing do not really know it is behind. There are a lot of mfgs of these units and even some used for sale from time to time. Personally I think the Sylvan Sport is way to heavy for what it is.

 

Probably the only way I could try "camping."

Now you couldn't possibly be talking about one of these?

Columbia Motorcoach | Chariot RV motorcoach manufacturer

Anderson Mobile Estates

Monaco Coach

The one thing that makes me very leery of motorhomes is that they are made of a lot of highly flammible material. They can literally burn like gasoline

 

Yeah, like that. I haven't seen the 'semi-trailer' one before (1100 square feet!), but the buses are pretty common. I've seen a few crashed and burned RVs over the years, and it's not pretty. Why do crash standards not apply to all vehicles that carry passengers?

About that camping thing, Jay, I know I'm more to the purist end of the spectrum. If it weren't for having a family, I wouldn't even need a car. Just a bike, a tiny tent, a skinny sleeping bag, and I'm set. Even fully loaded, the whole shebang likely weighs less than an RV's spare tire.

 

Are you kidding me? My house is only 1275 square feet!

 

I figure the price of the trailer unit, plus taxes, title, licenses and more, add towing gear plus costs, and then cost/per/night in todays' camp grounds, and by golly, I can stay cheaper in an air conditioned hotel room . . . ha ha . . . my wife tells me it is not the same, to which I agree! My hotels serve free continental breakfast, with hot coffee from 6 to 10 am!

 

I'm sure Hyo just uses a ground cloth, creates fire from rubbing sticks together, and shimmies up trees to cache his food far from the bears.

Personally, I'm a tent person. I do like the air mattress, though, as the ground has gotten strangely harder and lumpier over the years. I think it's global warming. If I'm not tenting, then I'll stay in a nice hotel, thankyouverymuch.

 

Truth be told, the rest of the family thought the thin blue foamies seemed to be getting thinner, so I wimped out and bought us each one of those self inflating mattresses. And shimmy up trees? No, I just tie a rock to the end of the rope and toss it over a branch, preferably far enough from the tent that the bear isn't going to land on us when he's jumping for the food bag. But you're close on the fire thing, because I very rarely have a campfire. I prefer to enjoy the trees while they're alive.

 

Those thin blue foamies ARE getting thinner! it's that degradation of quality that we see everywhere.

Someone had a tent thingy that went over the hatch, and created a tent using the Prius...

 

Sportz Dome To Go is what to search for.

J.C. Whitney has them on sale right now.

"Redefining SUV - Sleeping Utility Vehicle Napier Enterprises introduces the latest addition to our camping accessories family, the Sportz Dome To Go Tent. This one of a kind product wraps around the cargo area of your vehicle allowing use of its interior for easy access storage or as an inclusive sleeping compartment. Featuring a large entrance door & windows, fiberglass poles, gear loft and mesh pockets for additional storage, the Sportz Dome To Go Tent can easily be set up in minutes and allows you the convenience of being able to drive away while your tent remains standing. This 8' x 8' x 6' high tent provides sleeping space for four along with the additional space provided by your compact hatchback, small SUV, or wagon. The patented wrap-around sleeve can be completely removed which leaves you with a self-contained ground tent. This is by far the most versatile tent on the market. Features: #1 selling hatchback tent sold in America 8' x 8' tent designed to fit hatchback cars"