Help Towing a 23' Airstream Travel Trailer

[johnsoax]

If you will happen to read the first reply in the this thread, I already answered the question.

You were the one that stated "Also, pushing the limits is where something like I posted comes into being more useful." Which is what I responded with it sounded like you needed more truck...

You want to be a ****, go right ahead, but it seems you are the one being unhelpful...

 

[jwest]

No, you first said "friction brake anti-sway unit" then basically said what I offered to them as a similar idea to be BS. Just move on.

 

[johnsoax]

I would just use the factory tow hitch, and get a friction brake anti-sway unit if you need it.

And a brake controller.

From what the OP posted, I would use the factory hitch, with a brake controller (the one you recommended is a fantastic model), and a drop bar that put the height where it needs to be. It is well within the capabilities of the LR3 as is....

Hmmm, seems I said the same thing twice....

I said get the anti-sway unit if you need it...

Whatever, you are ignored. Enjoy being a ****.

 

[jwest]

And you tried to invalidate my offer of a specific type of solution. You are the one who behaved like a ****. "buy a truck"

 

[LolaT]

OK, people, chill out.

Yes, we are getting the Prodigy P3 brake controller.
We are definitely keeping the LR3 at this time. That's part of the reason we limited ourselves to the 23D Airstream on not the 25 footer.

We are looking at the Andersen WD Anti-Sway and the Blue Ox Sway Pro. The ProPride is very expensive, which I'm not opposed to if that's what it takes to pull this thing safely, but it's also very heavy and I'm not convinced on it's value over the other options.

I'm also concerned about the LR hitch. It seems that, of the few people I've learned about through the Airstream forums that are pulling these with SUVs, many have reinforced hitches. ??? Not sure how to go about that. The quick release LR hitch seems a bit scary to me. But I'm a girl and what do I know. I'm mostly motivated to research this stuff fueled by the need to mitigate my stress over towing and to ensure safety with our three kids in the back of the LR3. We looked at the Curt trailer hitch, but that seems to drop the "weight carrying capacity" to 6,000 which is no good and it may also pose some issues with the spare tire.

I have been looking through the Airstream forum but the downside there is not hardly anyone with Land Rovers so people are not too familiar with the hitch system and self-leveling air suspension. So, I would still appreciate any specific input I can get on this.

 

[jwest]

On the factory quick release style receiver, the older one apparently failed on some people but the newer one is with almost no failures, maybe none. New one is shorter overall height and also the shaft length. I have both so could measure the shafts to give you an exact way to know which one you have. - if you don't know for sure already.

 

[johnsoax]

The quick release LR hitch seems a bit scary to me. But I'm a girl and what do I know. I'm mostly motivated to research this stuff fueled by the need to mitigate my stress over towing and to ensure safety with our three kids in the back of the LR3.

I have used the newer style quick release Land Rover hitch to pull 5 different trailers ranging in weight from under 1000lbs to just under 3000lbs, for over 5000 miles combined. I have complete faith in it.. On spring break this year, we completed a 2900 miles road trip in our 2006 LR3 from Ohio through Indiana, Illinois, Missuri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and back to Ohio pulling a 1800 lb dry weight, 22' long pop up camper with my wife and 4 kids.

 

[kwlr3]

The LR3 is rated to pull a 7000 pound trailer with a 550 pound tongue weight provided the trailer has brakes and the ball height is positioned to keep the trailer level and within a certain vertical range. All of this well spelled out in the owners manual. Your choice of an Airstream 23D exceeds the recommended tongue weight, not by a large margin but enough to elicit concern. If you follow the factory recommendations you don't need any additional towing aids and they are not recommended. No reputable RV Dealer (especially an Airstream dealer) is going to let you drive off the lot unless your vehicle is capable of and properly prepared to tow. With regard to the tongue weight, I would discuss this issue with the dealer. Note that the Airstream 23FB has a tongue weight of 467 pounds, within the range of the LR3, while your 23D has a tongue weight of 720 pounds (galleys weight more than bunks!). Of course, once you load all of your personal gear, both of these numbers will change. The only way to really know the tongue weight is to pack it up and weigh it, not a very practical option for something that weighs 500 pounds!

I have towed boats that weighed 7000 pounds and camper trailers at 5000 pounds all with the factory hitch and never an issue. My measure of tongue weight - if I can lift it, its within range. Again talk to the dealer but I suspect that after you load the portable canopy, camp chairs, BBQ grill, fishing equipment, and all the other things we take camping under the aft bed in your 23D the tongue weight will go down. With judicial loading, I think you can get the tongue weight within the range of the LR3.

 

[jwest]

The LR3 is rated to pull a 7000 pound trailer with a 550 pound tongue weight provided the trailer has brakes and the ball height is positioned to keep the trailer level and within a certain vertical range. All of this well spelled out in the owners manual. Your choice of an Airstream 23D exceeds the recommended tongue weight, not by a large margin but enough to elicit concern. ......

... My measure of tongue weight - if I can lift it, its within range. .

I think Land Rover changed this at some point because mine said 7700 and 770. I may check the imprint on my older and newer factory receivers out of curiosity as well as the Cat Scales numbers from the last big towing trip which was near and over the spec limits.

You can lift a TW of 500 lbs? Dude!

 

[LolaT]

Well, there in lies the crux of the problem with confidence. The manual says 550 tongue weight but the hitch says 770. 770 is more in line with 10% of the tow weight which is 7,700 lbs. So we are going by that.

And yeah, I don't know why the 23D has such a high tongue weight compared to similar Airstream sizes but it does. Sure, we're going to put stuff in it, but aware of the weight issues, we'll try to keep this to a minimum. I really don't want to take my whole house camping anyway. We're already keeping it kind of "small" with this trailer having three kids. (We're going to have to take them. Luckily they don't way that much yet).

Still trying to verify if we have the "new" or the "old" quick release hitch. Turns out we bought it used so now I'm not so sure. It's part # KNB500023 and looks like the longer one which seems like it would be better, but is that the old version?

And we're still throwing our hands up in the air as to which WD-Anti Sway system to get.