towing opinions?

[jfwyatt1]

i found an enclosed 7x14 single axle trailer for a very good price and am wondering what you guys opinion is as far as towing with an open trailer verses an enclosed the open trailer i now use is a 5x14  open on which i haul my polaris RZR and my sons 400ex or 250r. total weight loaded is usually less than 2500# total the trailer i found weights 1450# verses my current trailers weight of 850# if i buy the enclosed i thought that we could take both the 400ex and the 250r when we go riding (carrying 1 in the truck bed) and my son could have the option of which to ride and we could be able to lock the other up in the trailer. do you guys think the extra weight of the enclosed trailer would hurt my fuel mileage alot or would it not make much difference. right now im getting around 17mpg pulling the rzr and 1 of the atvs in my `11 gmc canyon its rated to tow 5000 so im not real worried about being able to tow just wondering if my fuel mileage will suffer greatly. thanks guys

[GO OVRIT]

Your mileage will be affected by the extra drag of that front wall as much as the extra weight.   Be sure and check the weight rating of the enclosed.  7x14 is a little big for a single axle.  Hopefully its at least a 3500lb axle.  I know a lot of people have the mentality that if there's still space, then they can put more on it.

[rsss396]

you will feel it back there, even if its empty wind drag will still make it feel like a loaded trailer. Its when you start moving and slowing down is when you feel a weight differance. my guess you will lose 1-2 mpg and you will need to keep the truck out of the highest overdrive gear.

[jfwyatt1]

thats what i was figuring the dealer with the trailer is saying that an enclosed trailer pulls better than an open trailer which didnt make much sense to me. this will be my first enclosed trailer. im thinking that ill be able to use it for storeing the rzr at home and not have to tie up that space in the basement. it does have a 4000# axle i checked that first thing. thanks for the input.

[rk88r]

Get a v-nose if you can they pull much easier. The lower roof ones also pull easier if you can tolerate hitting your head on the door.

[jfwyatt1]

this trailer is a v nose i should have mentioned that in my original post. the guy is askin $1895 obo the closest new trailer 7x14 trailer i can find is $2800 but i would have to modify the door to get the RZR in on the new 1 the used 1 i found it just bearly clears.

[Tbone07]

A v-nose should obviously make a difference with wind resistance. That's quite a load for a GMC Canyon unless you've got some type of towing package. I like the enclosed trailer though it's worth the convenience. Maybe park the RZR directly over the trailer wheels as much as you can to keep the tongue weight down

[jfwyatt1]

yes ive got full towing package and 5.3l v8 although i havent been able to tell much difference in the pulling power between the v8 and the 3.7 inline 5 in my previous canyon. fuel mileage has been about the same if i keep my foot out of the v8 but thats hard sometimes.

[rk88r]

That 5.3 will do just fine. I've always thought enclosed trailers were better in a cross wind. Tongue weight is important, otherwise your trailer will do the driving. I use an equalizer hitch on our camper and it works great.

[rsss396]

while a v-nose does help it really still all boils down to total frontage that is cutting the wind a little less frontage makes a bigger differance than a v-nose despite what most people believe

[jfwyatt1]

went to pick it up the guy sold the thing even though he said he wouldnt till i got there wasted 3hrs of drive time. people sometimes suck