TinMan is a Nissan Frontier truck. He joined the family in summer of 2014 after we had ordered our first Toto. Toto was scheduled to hatch the following November, and we wanted to bring our tow vehicle on board a few months in advance so we could get used to driving it. Trucks are different, ya know.
We started out being practical and looking at Just Enough Frontier. But the shiny red one with the leather interior and pre-installed roof rack (handy for hauling kayaks) caught our eye. We rationalized quickly and easily. After all, we only buy vehicles every 11 or 12 years, right? Why not make sure we’re comfortable? Right.
Just before pulling the trigger on the purchase, I made the mistake of publicizing our intention on the Escape Forum. I was hoping for a lot of “Yeah, that’s a great choice there, that’s just right for your new Escape 21.”
But no. It turns out there are a lot opinions about what makes an adequate tow vehicle. Everyone agrees about meeting a minimum standard–the tug needs to be rated by the manufacturer to be able handle the trailer weight, tongue weight, combined weight of both vehicles, and the tug’s own capacity for carrying contents plus tongue weight. (All the theory around this is enough to make you get a motorhome instead, but we didn’t want to do that.)
TinMan on the ferry.
But just meeting the standard isn’t good enough for everyone. Many think a tug should have extra capability — rated capacity not used up by the trailer and cargo — because it’s needed to go up long grades, or to make up for the loss of power experienced at high altitudes.
There are those who want to keep driving at their chosen cruising speed no matter how steep or how high the road gets. Who can blame them?
But to do that with a trailer like Toto, one has to get a full-size truck. And Team Toto did not, at the time, want a full-size truck. Too hard to park! To hard to fit in the garage! Too expensive! Etc. We decided to compromise a little on high-altitude, steep-grade capability, and have a mid-size truck like TinMan.
We never regretted this decision, even when we’re traveling through the Canadian Rockies and other lofty terrain). We chilled in the slow lane, watching others pass us. What was our hurry?
Everything changes, and we changed our mind about a full-size truck — not because we had any problems towing Toto, but because we got a bigger Toto. Which we said we’d never do. Yeah.
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Just want to drop a line to say hi because the handful of entries I’ve read so far made me laugh out loud. I stumbled onto your blog looking for, of all things, a telescoping table pedestal that can drop down to the height of a converted dinette bed, and via your blog found out that such a table pedestal costs upwards of $300. Makes me consider just committing to wrestling with fixed length pedestals and figuring out where to store them so that they don’t roll around at 3am.
Also want to add that we currently tow our ‘61 Airstream with a (horrors!) MID-SIZE SUV.
Thanks for the laughs, and hope to meet you on the road when lighthearted travel becomes possible again.
Thanks for saying hello! It’s possible you’ve made my day, though I can’t say for certain because the day isn’t over yet. Still.
And, yes, it will be nice when things get more lighthearted. We have been out on a few short trips, but find ourselves edging away from other folk around campgrounds. Not ideal. Stay safe and enjoy that beautiful Airstream.