Towing w/a Manual 2 Door

[Rocketeer Rick]

A Scamp may have surge brakes (or even no brakes) as well. There may be no need for a controller.

Though electric brakes and a controller are much better than surge brakes.

That's a good point, I normally only associate surge brakes with boat trailers, but they could be standard equipment in some cases with electric brakes as an option. Definitely better to have the electric brakes, far more controllable and capable, and don't fight you in reverse...

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[Dads_bronze_bronco]

I tow with a manual JKUR. Boat and trailer are like 4200 lbs. You have to drop down one or two gears (I have less torque than the 2.3 and more weight than you). That crawler gear will be handy on the boat ramp pulling out.

 

[MaverickMan]

We won't know until somebody tries it on a production-spec Bronco.

Hopefully an in-warranty one.

I'm willing to video anybody who wants to try and max-speed tow on the highway in L1. Beers provided afterward to tell old war stories!

I bet Hooper will do it. I wonder if he's still working stunts.

 

[dgorsett]

FWIW, what I was referring to was a trailer brake controller. Just because the trailer will have brakes doesn't mean that they will work unless you install a brake controller in the tow vehicle. Also, at that weight, the Scamp is probably legally required to have the brakes anyway whether you ordered them or not. That's beside the point. You'll need to buy and install (not always fun) the brake controller yourself. Its too bad that Ford doesn't offer an integrated unit in the Bronco like they do on F-series, because the OEM ones are the best in my experience. But short of that, I'd suggest going to etrailer.com and looking at what's offered. I've used Tekonsha brand controllers a couple of times, they seem to be decent.

Regarding towing with the tanks full, its easy to say you'll never do it. But, here's the thing, any time you use the plumbing onboard, you'll need water. Its a lot of little things. If you're taking a trip and want to pull into a rest stop, then pop back into the camper to make lunch, you'll probably want water to clean up or wash your hands, etc. Or, if you're driving a distance and you need to pull into a Walmart lot to overnight, you either 1) walk into the store when you want to pee and brush your teeth, or B) travel with a partial tank of water. Or maybe you decide to camp in a national forest where the views and hiking are great but there's no hook ups. You'll need to carry water with you when you get there. And, of course, if you've been camping and there's no place to dump tanks when you leave (like the national forest site), then you'll have to leave with both grey and black tanks partly full.

I went thru the same thing when I bought my Micro Minnie, but in short quickly learned that there's a lot of benefit to traveling with at least half a tank or so. So it becomes part of the weight you have to plan on.

And when backing use low range to have lower speed/more control.

And when backing: you can use low range to have lower speed/more control.

Yeah, I chuckle at all the posts here telling folks to tow with tanks empty.. Kinda defeats the purpose of having a camper. You want to be able to lunch/camp/pee wherever you are without having to find a water source. Walmart, National Forest, wide spot in the road.

 

[Rustytuna]

FWIW, what I was referring to was a trailer brake controller. Just because the trailer will have brakes doesn't mean that they will work unless you install a brake controller in the tow vehicle. Also, at that weight, the Scamp is probably legally required to have the brakes anyway whether you ordered them or not. That's beside the point. You'll need to buy and install (not always fun) the brake controller yourself. Its too bad that Ford doesn't offer an integrated unit in the Bronco like they do on F-series, because the OEM ones are the best in my experience. But short of that, I'd suggest going to etrailer.com and looking at what's offered. I've used Tekonsha brand controllers a couple of times, they seem to be decent.

Regarding towing with the tanks full, its easy to say you'll never do it. But, here's the thing, any time you use the plumbing onboard, you'll need water. Its a lot of little things. If you're taking a trip and want to pull into a rest stop, then pop back into the camper to make lunch, you'll probably want water to clean up or wash your hands, etc. Or, if you're driving a distance and you need to pull into a Walmart lot to overnight, you either 1) walk into the store when you want to pee and brush your teeth, or B) travel with a partial tank of water. Or maybe you decide to camp in a national forest where the views and hiking are great but there's no hook ups. You'll need to carry water with you when you get there. And, of course, if you've been camping and there's no place to dump tanks when you leave (like the national forest site), then you'll have to leave with both grey and black tanks partly full.

I went thru the same thing when I bought my Micro Minnie, but in short quickly learned that there's a lot of benefit to traveling with at least half a tank or so. So it becomes part of the weight you have to plan on.

Yes, i wish Ford gave us something more than a hitch and connection point for brake lights. Hopefully its more of a simple plug and play if they set us up right.

Never thought about that but yes, I could see us setting up on a non-hook up site routinely. Great info and gives me more to think about with transitioning from tenting.

I'll have to really try to figure out what our gear and this scamp + a partially filled tank will weigh.

 

[Rick Astley]

Yeah, I chuckle at all the posts here telling folks to tow with tanks empty.. Kinda defeats the purpose of having a camper. You want to be able to lunch/camp/pee wherever you are without having to find a water source. Walmart, National Forest, wide spot in the road.

Or plan your route ahead and tow with empty tanks until your last fuel stop or two.

That would require foresight, planning, and understanding your route. So throw that crap out the window, rely exclusively on internet access and Google maps!

 

[PSUTE]

Not sure how the crawl gear will work. If it's anything like the granny gear in my F 250, it will be spring loaded so it more or less requires just a straight push forward to go from it to 1st. Same as in all trucks I've driven. But this is an all new transmission, so who knows...

 

[dgorsett]

Just a heads up ,for me the Class II hitch will be fine, but I'm getting a Base so it's not a factory option, but the aftermarket will fix me up for $500 less: Under $100 on Quadratec, I'm sure they'll have one to fit a Bronco soon.

 

[dgorsett]

Or plan your route ahead and tow with empty tanks until your last fuel stop or two.

That would require foresight, planning, and understanding your route. So throw that crap out the window, rely exclusively on internet access and Google maps!

I travel with paper maps and at least a partially full water tank. Some of the most enjoyable times we've had are just stopping to lunch or camp at whatever spot we ended up.

 

[PSUTE]

Just a heads up ,for me the Class II hitch will be fine, but I'm getting a Base so it's not a factory option, but the aftermarket will fix me up for $500 less: Under $100 on Quadratec, I'm sure they'll have one to fit a Bronco soon.

Go with a class III. Much more stable towing, and if you go over the tow weight, it will be attached to the frame, no just a cross piece...

 

[dgorsett]

Go with a class III. Much more stable towing, and if you go over the tow weight, it will be attached to the frame, no just a cross piece...

Like I said, I'll be happy with the Class II, seldom will tow with this rig, maybe just a utility/atv trailer under 2000#. I might use it for a jack point for the handyman, or to tie on a tow strap.

Now, not trying to be argumentative but: How is the boxed frame cross member welded by Ford to the same frame rails a Class III would bolt to weaker than an aftermarket hitch with ears bolted to it?

 

[PSUTE]

Like I said, I'll be happy with the Class II, seldom will tow with this rig, maybe just a utility/atv trailer under 2000#. I might use it for a jack point for the handyman, or to tie on a tow strap.

Now, not trying to be argumentative but: How is the boxed frame cross member welded by Ford to the same frame rails a Class III would bolt to weaker than an aftermarket hitch with ears bolted to it?

Class III should not bolted to the cross member, but to the frame. Distributes the weight better. Torque and weight goes to the outside, not the middle. Nothing wrong with class II, but the more stable a platform you have, the easier and more stable the tow...

 

[kodiakisland]

You either can or cannot back up a trailer. Type of transmission won't play into that.

 

[VoltageDrop]

You should be able to drop it in 4LO for backing into spots and probably just work the clutch pedal without touching the gas at all. I'd do that when backing heavy trailers up my driveway just for the finer control even though it was an automatic.

 

[ndumlao72]

You should be able to drop it in 4LO for backing into spots and probably just work the clutch pedal without touching the gas at all. I'd do that when backing heavy trailers up my driveway just for the finer control even though it was an automatic.

Well said, I do same when backing trailer into a campsite or my garage with m/t Tacoma I’’m in 4low which makes things a lot easier

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