Thoughts on towing a 17’ Casita?

[SHANUT]

I have a 4dr base Sas, 2.7. Installed the curt hitch, and will add a brake controller as well.

I’m looking into buying a 17’ Casita spirit trailer, dry weight is 2480lbs. I don’t plan to carry much in it, and not filling the water tank. So it should stay under 3k total trailer weight.
Family of 3, maybe 4 some day, and gear in the bronco.

Would this put it too close to limits to be comfortable towing? I know it has the power to pull more weight, but obviously lots of other factors at play here.
Currently I tow a 1,500lb off road trailer with no issue. Had my boat (probably close to 3.5k lbs with trailer and fuel etc) with no issue but only short mostly flat distances on that.

thanks for sharing your experiences/ thoughts.

one thing I just noticed is their tongue weight is published at 365lbs too.

Install a weight distributing hitch and adjust it till your bronco sits level and you probably won’t even know it’s behind you unless you have a strong crosswind. The 2.7 is a premium towing engine in the F150s so power will not be an issue but stability could be under certain conditions.

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[mpeugeot]

I have no problem towing a 16' dry 2450# Sunset Park RV 16 BH Sunlite Classic behind my 2 door Bronco, so it will only be better with a 4 door. Tongue weight is around 240 lbs. Just doesn't like to go much over 70 MPH. Wind doesn't seem to be a factor (as I have towed it without problem in cross winds). This is without even installing the load balancing hitch.

 

[805BaseSquatch]

Cool, Yep, definitely a big weight difference there. Also, the 16ft is a foot shorter in height, so less frontal area to worry about.

It gets that lower frontal area at the cost ceiling height too though, But If you looked at it, I'm guessing you already knew that..

I like the shorter height for that reason as well. I have it behind my F150 right now until I wire up the 7 pin, and brake controller on my Bronco. It looks like it will sit nicely behind the Bronco and not stick above it much.

And I'm 6'2", inside the Casita 16 is 5'10". Its comfortable enough for me to just duck my head slightly. Much bigger than anything I've ever camped in before.

You seem very familiar with the Casitas.

Dry weight is easy to stay under $3,500 lb with one of these light trailers. But be careful of the tongue weight.

I went through an exhausting list of possibilities...targeted <2500 dry + < 250 tounge.

Ended up with a Sunlite 16Bh (You're probably going to want to stay right around the 16 size)… replaced my oem hitch with a better build one that won't bend so easily, and my WT pulls it with barely noticing it is back there.

No WD hitch so far. Just be aware of how much you add to the tongue...for example my water tank is in front so I don't fill it to the top just because...they typically have batteries, propane tanks..all add straight tongue weight.

You will definitely need the brake controller..adjusted right..again, barely feel the trailer back there.

Ah one thing to note as well...most normal trailers are probably going to require your spare tire removed+ and extension which also changes the tongue leverage.

Yep, I am very cautious about weight and loading. The water tank on the Casita is actually aft of the axle and can be used to balance the tongue a bit. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the tongue weight and keep it below 300lbs personally.

I'm hoping this jack will work without an extension. Someone on a Casita FB group tows a 17' with a bronco, and said they didn't have an issue with the spare and the jack.

 

[zuke]

I like the shorter height for that reason as well. I have it behind my F150 right now until I wire up the 7 pin, and brake controller on my Bronco. It looks like it will sit nicely behind the Bronco and not stick above it much.

And I'm 6'2", inside the Casita 16 is 5'10". Its comfortable enough for me to just duck my head slightly. Much bigger than anything I've ever camped in before.

You seem very familiar with the Casitas.

I'm not super familiar with the Casitas, But I have looked at them as a possibility for behind the Gladiator for my wife's annual Beach Run with her family, seems like a great choice for towing behind light duty pickups and SUVs. But in the end we went an entirely different route.

 

[da_jokker]

I have no problem towing a 16' dry 2450# Sunset Park RV 16 BH Sunlite Classic behind my 2 door Bronco, so it will only be better with a 4 door. Tongue weight is around 240 lbs. Just doesn't like to go much over 70 MPH. Wind doesn't seem to be a factor (as I have towed it without problem in cross winds). This is without even installing the load balancing hitch.

Hey mpeugeot! I can't believe you and I happen to have bought the same trailer!

Mine has the extra 6" lift as well and with my drop hitch flipped over, it is perfectly level.

Questions:

How much fresh water do you load up when you travel? It's a 26gl tank so that's over 200 lbs of tongue if you fill it up!

Also, mine has the power tongue jack and so it rams into the rear view camera. That is why I have to run an extension....donyou have the same issue?

Side note: I switched to an aftermarket hitch because they are built so much stronger than the flimsy OEM. I know the 350 limit was not solely the quality of hitch, but holding them side by side, you can see why the factory is limited to 350 while the aftermarket is 650.

 

[mpeugeot]

Hey mpeugeot! I can't believe you and I happen to have bought the same trailer!

Mine has the extra 6" lift as well and with my drop hitch flipped over, it is perfectly level.

Questions:

How much fresh water do you load up when you travel? It's a 26gl tank so that's over 200 lbs of tongue if you fill it up!

Also, mine has the power tongue jack and so it rams into the rear view camera. That is why I have to run an extension....donyou have the same issue?

Side note: I switched to an aftermarket hitch because they are built so much stronger than the flimsy OEM. I know the 350 limit was not solely the quality of hitch, but holding them side by side, you can see why the factory is limited to 350 while the aftermarket is 650.

I have always drained the water for hauling it around on the highway. I have the manual jack, but I plan to upgrade it. I also need to reinforce the flimsy factory hitch, as I agree with you that it is the weak point. I did use the extension, but I prefer to not use it because it has less leverage on the factory hitch.

It’s a great little trailer, I lived in it for the last few months I was in the Navy. I figured rather than renew my apartment lease, I would just rough it in the camper. I had to make a few modifications to suit my needs, but overall it's pretty decent. The A/C needed to be redirected so as to not blow straight down at insane sound levels. Also mounting a 42" TV in the little trailer was a challenge.

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