"John H." wrote in message
...
On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:52:30 -0400, JG2U wrote:

On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:16:09 -0400, John H.
wrote:



Then I made the second big mistake. To show my wife how nice trailers
could
be, I took her to an Airstream dealer. I should have taken her to a pop
up
place first!


Yep, they can be nice. The downside is that you have to have
something larger than your 4runner to tow a decent trailer with.

With a class A motor home, you have the grunt you need to move it down
the road, only when you need it. You can tow a small, gas efficient
vehicle behind that can otherwise be used for everyday transport.
While driving down the road, your wife can use the bathroom, dry her
hair, make you a sandwich and drink, and relax while you drive her to
the destination.

With a trailer, you have to drive, or park, a big tow vehicle on a
daily basis while you're not using the camper. Big cost and burden
even when not camping. Your 4runner is not going to cut it. The
smallest Airstream is sneaking up on your 4runner's max towing
capacity.

Serious "campers" do the motor-home deal. If you're going to do short
distances a couple of time a year, try the trailer. If you are
serious about camping, the motor-home is the answer. On the plus
side, RV's are selling for cheap right now. Have fun.

The Airstreams we're considering are in the 4500lbs or less category. The
4Runner has a 7000lb max capacity, so I'm in the safe zone for the
4Runner.
I would definitely stay below 5000 lbs.

A small cooler in the 4Runner would cover drinks and sandwiches on the
road
(I don't eat lunch), and rest stops would suffice for bathrooms. We are
not
serious 'campers' but want to see the country. She's not seen very much of
the USA.
--
John *H*

4500# is too much for the 4 runner. I towed my 4500# boat and trailer with
a 96 S-10 Blazer. About the same size rig. Broke a differential, bearing
failure, and going over the Sierras to Tahoe, was at about 45 mph, and the
braking could add to grey hairs.