Best Vehicle to Tow Micro Minnie

[R_Lefebvre]

Originally Posted by Ret.LEO

That is awesome! We are currently the same price for Diesel as Gasoline. Your mileage report is awesome! For no more than it cost for the Diesel option you will have that paid for in no time.
Congrats on the new trailer and great truck!

For me, it's less about economics (I'm not really sure it would ever really pay itself off). It's more about the fact that diesel tows so much more confidently, and competently. It's quieter. And I won't have as much range anxiety as I did with gas. Going 600 km on a tank is so much better than 300km and having to stop so much more frequency, pay attention to station availability, etc.

[Florida88]

Lots of good discussion about tow vehicles. I’m curious, what did you end up buying?

I can give you real world feedback about towing a 2108DS with a V6 Toyota Highlander... It does just fine on Florida’s flat, sea level terrain. But I don’t think I’d be so confident in CA hills or at high elevation. I am using a Curt class III receiver hitch, Blue Ox WDS sway control, and a Curt Echo Bluetooth Brake control. I have never felt scared or out of control. The Highlander is probably a little too small for a TV, but since towing accounts for less than 5% of my driving (mostly daily commuting) I couldn’t justify buying a specific tow vehicle. Running 60 mph on flat Florida highways cuts my mpg exactly in half, from 26 to 13 mpg.

[FlyingV]

Originally Posted by FlyingV

I will be towing a Micro Minnie 2100BH. 3760 dry weight 5000 GVWR. I will be using a 2021 Ford F 150 Lariat Powerboost. It’s a hybrid truck with 1441 lb payload. With me spouse dog full tank of gas and hitch weight, I calculate about 400 pounds for additional cargo in the truck and I doubt we will loading more than 1300 lbs of gear in the trailer, but it’s nice not be on the edge of my limits.

The best part of using this truck is not that it has enough payload power and torque, it is the 7.2kw inverter built into the bed wall that runs off the 1.5kw lithium battery and the truck motor at idle when it needs to recharge the battery. Boondocking will be a piece of cake. Picking up my trailer in June. Gotta admit I am very excited about having the flexibility of not having to be concerned with power and AC especially.

So, I picked my 2100BH in Amarillo on Saturday . Got the orientation which went well. Thanks to this forum I was well prepared for it. Since negotiation on price is so difficult, I feel good about having them throw in the voyager rear view camera and the EAZ WDH.

First thing on the agenda after leaving the dealer lot was to power up the trailer with the truck generator/inverter. Here’s the set up:

Start truck
Plug in 30 amp power cord
Plug in adapter to get 30amp 120v from the 30amp 240v bed outlet
Plug adapter into bed outlet
Touch the generator on button from the Ford Pass app on my phone or on the dash touch screen
Go to trailer, turn on the lights. Check
Turn on the connex sound system fire up some Spotify
85 degrees out so turn the thermostat to a cool 70.
No problem.
Turn on the microwave
Check dash readout of 3100w
All while perfectly quiet outside the trailer.
The ICE turned itself on 3 times over the hour I had everything running, for about a minute or so each time.
Only noise was the quiet idle of the truck.
It all works like I hoped it would.

Now, the 390 mile ride back home across the panhandle through NM over Raton pass to Colorado Springs.
The trip started out good enough, only some normal west Texas wind and dust devils. Traveled at 65mph some in tow haul mode some in normal. Went up the pass easily. No issues with acceleration at all. Didn’t really notice a big difference on those long relatively flat stretches, but tow haul mode was great going down the pass as it appears to use the engine to prevent unwanted excessive acceleration The real fun started near Walsenburg on I-25 when the winds picked up and we drove through driving rain lighting and thunderstorm. A small car ahead of us hydroplaned into the median. That made me pucker some. Then just south of CS we got a high wind warning gusts of 55 mph. I could feel the gusts hit the truck and trailer but the WDH did it’s job. While I did slow down a bit from my 65mph. I got no sway at all, just a little side bump. All in all it seems like an obstacle course for a newbie like me, but it went well and I got a nice range of driving experiences for a short trip.

To say I am happy with the performance so far, of the truck and trailer is an understatement. I’m also happy with my decision to go with the F150 Hybrid and the 2100bh and to not push the limits of the truck with a bigger trailer.. Makes a great combo for our out door recreation plans.

Here’s some pics. Sorry about the sideways orientation.

[Foothills83]

^^^Truck envy. Super slick. Congrats.

[R_Lefebvre]

Very cool, congrats. Yeah, little wonder you had no real drama towing that trailer with a full size.

So what kind of mileage did you get on the trip?

[Marine359]

Wow, a Micro Mini owner’s dream truck.
But I am I little confused when you say 1400lbs is plenty of payload. We’ve got 1,400 lbs of payload and are in a constant struggle to stay under ccc limit. Going to CAT scale on the way to DC this weekend, and hopefully we’ll get it sorted out.

[FlyingV]

Originally Posted by R_Lefebvre

Very cool, congrats. Yeah, little wonder you had no real drama towing that trailer with a full size.

So what kind of mileage did you get on the trip?

Not great. 9mpg I’m hoping to improve on that if it’s not as windy as this trip was. I was also more focused on driving than managing my fuel consumption, but if I have to live with that, I will. We will also be doing most of our trailer driving in the mountains so I may not see much improvement on those outings.

[FlyingV]

Originally Posted by Marine359

Wow, a Micro Mini owner’s dream truck.
But I am I little confused when you say 1400lbs is plenty of payload. We’ve got 1,400 lbs of payload and are in a constant struggle to stay under ccc limit. Going to CAT scale on the way to DC this weekend, and hopefully we’ll get it sorted out.

I’ll be visiting the local Cat scale as well to get more accurate weights, especially tongue weight. Big difference between whether it’s 10% or 15%. I understand we will have to be aware of what we pack and we won’t be throwing whatever we want into the bed just because there’s room.

[Florida88]

@FlyingV - Quite impressive tow rig! I think we’re all jealous! I have been reading about this truck, but the real thing has proven to be something of a unicorn in my part of the country. I had been wondering how the onboard inverter would do powering a Micro Minnie with its 15Kbtu ac. Now I know! Please keep us updated with real world info on generator fuel consumption, etc. (ie if you boondocked the ac all night, would it drain your truck’s gas tank?)

One of the things that has always intrigued me about using a hybrid TV is the fact that since a hybrid vehicle already carries huge lithium batteries onboard, in an RV situation, one should be able to use the hybrid TV batteries to store power from an RV rooftop solar array instead of having to carry the weight of additional storage batteries onboard the RV. I realize this would require an energy management system that might not yet be commercially available, but it seems possible.

[COSCamper]

Originally Posted by FlyingV

Not great. 9mpg I’m hoping to improve on that if it’s not as windy as this trip was. I was also more focused on driving than managing my fuel consumption, but if I have to live with that, I will. We will also be doing most of our trailer driving in the mountains so I may not see much improvement on those outings.

Also have an F150 Lariat, 2020 3.5eco, and tow the 2100bh.. and we are in Colorado Springs also .


For MPG comparison, our avg is usually 10-11mpg on our trips, mountains or "flat" trips via 25 doesn't seem to matter all that much. The last from here to Fruita via 24/70 we did about 10.8 out (Skewed high by ~35 miles w/o trailer) and about 11.3 on the way back. Wind definitely is the big factor in my view. We had one trip to Lake Pueblo I believe was under 10mpg there due to a strong headwind the whole way.

Overall though truck tows like a champ in the mountains. No issues at all going up/down the passes. I've done Ute/Wilkerson, Hoosier, Vail, Monarch all with ease.

[backtrack15]

We just got home from a 3300+ mile trip with the 2100BH and the F350 (Austin, Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, then to Ouray CO, then Austin again). Towed it over the pass from Ouray CO to Durango on US-550. The exhaust brake is just the best thing ever. Best mileage was 14.3 and worst was 10.3 or so. Average was likely 11.5. I stopped at a CAT scale. The trailer was running 4160 on the axles. Both truck axles were ~5000 lbs, which means we’d used 1700 lbs of the truck’s payload (only 1600 remaining).

I’m happy to report the trailer held up well after being battered on horrible roads. No flats. Only the hose fitting for the pump suction strainer loosened a bit.

[backtrack15]

Originally Posted by backtrack15

...The trailer was running 4160 on the axles. Both truck axles were ~5000 lbs, which means we’d used 1700 lbs of the truck’s payload...

Just to add to the above. The 1700# in payload needed reflected 2 adults, a teenage boy, and a pre-teen girl. It also included the trailer tongue weight ~650 lbs. We carried quite a large assortment of tools/tapes/ropes/wire (I expected more things to fail), some spare fluids (oil/DEF/roof sealants), a big Yeti ice chest (we skipped running the fridge), our air compressor, and our as-yet-unused dump cart with accessories.

Edit: Just to get it documented for those who care... Our travel times in this part of the USA were almost perfectly forecast using a 50-mph overall average speed. So 500 miles meant 10-hours. We had a self-imposed max cruising speed of 65-mph and we stopped for fuel roughly every 150 miles or so.

[FlyingV]

Originally Posted by COSCamper

Also have an F150 Lariat, 2020 3.5eco, and tow the 2100bh.. and we are in Colorado Springs also .


For MPG comparison, our avg is usually 10-11mpg on our trips, mountains or "flat" trips via 25 doesn't seem to matter all that much. The last from here to Fruita via 24/70 we did about 10.8 out (Skewed high by ~35 miles w/o trailer) and about 11.3 on the way back. Wind definitely is the big factor in my view. We had one trip to Lake Pueblo I believe was under 10mpg there due to a strong headwind the whole way.

Overall though truck tows like a champ in the mountains. No issues at all going up/down the passes. I've done Ute/Wilkerson, Hoosier, Vail, Monarch all with ease.

Greetings! I hope to do as well as you (10-11mpg) in less severe wind and weather conditions. Next test will the first camping adventure around Buena Vista/Cottonwood Pass in a couple weeks. Fortunately, we’ll be able to get away for short weekday trips this summer to avoid some of the crowding.

[Peaches]

Originally Posted by JessicaSoCal

Hi everyone,

I am brand new to this and looking to purchase a 18ft Micro Minnie. Probably looking at 4,000 with all my stuff. Problem is, I dont know what the best suv/truck to haul it is.

I've done a ton of research and realized there is more than just needing 5,000lb towing capacity. I also need to be aware of power, safety, etc. I am a single mom with a little girl and need to get this right :P

In many forums, I saw that people regretted buying a certain truck/suv because it struggled going up hills or scared them (brakes) downhill or swayed with strong winds so I'm trying to figure out what is the best option.

I also would like something that is great for everyday. It's just the two of us so I didnt want to buy a huge vehicle. I would also love to be able to fit the vehicle in my garage.

We will mostly be going out from San Diego to Havasu, maybe Big Sur, Zion, and possibly up to Oregon this summer. So what is the best vehicle?

Ford F150, Chevy Colorado, Jeep Gladiator or something like the Tacoma, Highlander, Explorer, etc. ?

What specifically should I look for in a package - diesel vs. gas, certain features tow/haul button, etc). I want it to be as easy as possible and know how to safely and automatically when possible change gears.

I really want to get this right! and would so appreciate any advice! - Jessica

Honda Ridgeline carries 5,000
Works great with our Micro Minnie

[R_Lefebvre]

Update on our setup.

Did a ~400 mile round trip to Algonquin with the Colorado ZR2 Diesel towing our new 1800BH. There are some decent hills, but not the rockies obviously.

This was the first time actually packed for camping vs. empty on my delivery trip a couple weeks ago. We also had a full fresh water tank, and some in the black and grey tanks even.

Averaged 15.4L/100km or about 15.3 MPG. We did a fair amount at 65 MPH on the way out. On the way back we were typically cruising at about 55 MPH, and I forgot to dump the remainder (2/3rd indicated) fresh water until about half way home. The return leg would have been closer to 18 MPG but it did a DPF regen somewhere in there.

The ZR2 is extremely un-aerodynamic with high clearance front bumper, and big tires. And to make matters worse, I'm half-way through this Australian style canopy build with no side doors. So overall, this is fantastic. This little diesel rocks.

[R_Lefebvre]

Originally Posted by FlyingV

Not great. 9mpg I’m hoping to improve on that if it’s not as windy as this trip was. I was also more focused on driving than managing my fuel consumption, but if I have to live with that, I will. We will also be doing most of our trailer driving in the mountains so I may not see much improvement on those outings.

Wow, that's surprising. Did that include a whole bunch of idling to run the "generator"?

[FlyingV]

Originally Posted by R_Lefebvre

Wow, that's surprising. Did that include a whole bunch of idling to run the "generator"?

No. I did not use the bed wall inverter while traveling, although I believe you could if you wanted to. I don't think I would want to have the trailer plugged in while traveling since the placement of the 30 amp cord would be an issue, but it would be practical to use it if there was something you wanted to charge in the truck bed, like an e-bike or something. Nothing but the 7 pin and break release was plugged into the truck. Not sure it would make any difference if I did have something plugged in because the ICE (generator) is running pretty much the entire time while towing. I did some very short stretches on all electric through small towns, but not on the highway.

I suspect the low mileage was due more to traveling uphill for 392 miles and experiencing substantial wind and weather most of the way. lol It was kind of like some kind of new driver simulator.

We are taking the trailer from Colorado Springs to the Buena Vista area in a couple weeks, so I am very interested in how I do on that trip. I am not expecting much better than 10-11 mpg in any event, mostly because our travel will initially be primarily in the mountains. I have gotten between 28-30 mpg on a couple trip to the Denver area without the trailer though, so maybe I can justify it as a give and take, win some lose some.

[R_Lefebvre]

Understood you didn't use the inverter while travelling. But did you run the truck a bunch while camped to generate power? That would have dragged down the MPG average?

[FlyingV]

Originally Posted by R_Lefebvre

Understood you didn't use the inverter while travelling. But did you run the truck a bunch while camped to generate power? That would have dragged down the MPG average?

ahhh. I misunderstood your question. But still no, because I used the trip feature for mileage and mpg from the start of traveling to the end of the trip. No camping during that period of driving, but it's a great question as I have been wondering how to tell how much gas I will actually use to run the ICE to recharge the Lithium ion battery while camping. I will try to do this on our upcoming shake down trip. All I know now is that when I first tested the set up before driving home, I ran the trailer AC for about an hour in 85 degree heat and the engine ran continuously until I realized that I had the ac and radio on in the truck, once I turned everything off in the truck it only kicked on about 4 time during that hour for about 2-3 minutes each time, so about 12 minutes per hour of engine idle.

I appreciate your questions as there a lot of variables to think of and consider.

[R_Lefebvre]

Yeah, if I was still a Ford engineer... I would offer the customer a few different readings. One is the travelling MPG, which would include any idle. And then break out the fuel consumed for generating power.

Wouldn't have been too hard. No extra cost, just a bunch of 1's and 0's.