Towing a 5700 lbs Travel Trailer - it worked!

We did our maiden voyage this past weekend with our new travel trailer. Drove to Estes Park, CO and though it certainly didn't require climbing over any 11,000' passes there were some steady climbs. We have a 2014 LR4 with the SCV6. The trailer is just over 5,000 lbs "dry". Though I did not have time to get it weighed, I am sure it was well under 6,000. The GVWR for the trailer is around 6,500 so it is well within the LR4 max of 7,700. Still, I was a bit concerned about pulling it in the mountains. Added a Hensley SwiftCub sway elimination and weight distribution hitch which took some learning but now is working great. (Figured out how to use the LR4 remote to raise/lower the vehicle to aid in unhitching.) Added a Curt Class 3 bolt on hitch. (I didn't use the OEM thing.)

Here are some stats. 93 miles. Started at around 5500'. Ended at just over 8800'. Winding, 2-lane, mountain roads. Often with 45 MPH limit. LR4 had no issue. Used S-mode. Seemed to work great without a lot of hunting going uphill. Downhill I manually shifted for a bit of engine braking. Avg MPG was about 11.

Planning a trip to SW Colorado in September and will climb over Monarch Pass. That will be an even better test.

Nice...Did you go up through lyons or straight up canyon through loveland? Fun drive regardless of vehicle. I enjoy my 2011 and the power it has. Good to hear the SCV6 had no problems towing that

Went through Lyons. (The 3rd pic is us parked in Lyons while we grabbed some breakfast at a good coffee shop there.) And, yes, it is a very nice drive. I had not problem maintaining the somewhat slower speed limit on that road though I choose not to exceed it, especially with all of the curves. So I pulled over a couple of times to let cars by who did want to exceed the speed limit. ;-) We came home through Lyons then out to Longmont and drove on I25 back to Denver though there we chose to keep our speed around 60 mph in the right lane. Just more relaxed that way with all of the traffic.

danrhiggins said:

We did our maiden voyage this past weekend with our new travel trailer.

Click to expand...

Great-looking trailer and loved the trip report!

cperez said:

Great-looking trailer and loved the trip report!

Click to expand...

Thanks, Chris. And, no, I haven't forgotten about you. I just wanted to make sure the setup worked. I'll contact you next week.

Awesome!! Your Rover looks great!

Awesome looking setup!!

Thanks, for the comments! Some of you have boats that you tow. I love the water having spent many years small boat sailing and racing when I was younger as well as plenty of cruising out of the Seattle area. But in Colorado, a travel trailer seems to make more sense. The few reservoirs are smaller and generally more crowded.

Very nice! Which model Roo trailer is that? Our plan is to someday move up to an LR4 and trailer.

smorris said:

Very nice! Which model Roo trailer is that? Our plan is to someday move up to an LR4 and trailer.

Click to expand...

Hey, Steve. It is a Rockwood Roo 23IKSS - the early 2016 model. We went with a hybrid as you get much more interior space and a more open, airy and light interior than if we had gone with a hard side. The downside for some is that the beds will not be as warm and won't stop an angry or extremely hungry bear! But if we are in a particularly cold situation we can "turtle" (fold up the beds and sleep on the dinette made into a full size bed.

Dry weight is about 5100 lbs. Dry tongue weight for our rid was about 550 lbs. That was just at the tongue weight limit in the LR4 owners manual though there is much debate on whether the real limit should be 770 lbs. To be safe, I added a bolt-on Curt hitch which has a limited of 6,000 lbs and 600 lbs tongue weight without a weight distribution hitch and 8,000/800 with a WDH. I added a WDH.