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Old 03-14-2020, 08:47 AM   #1
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Howdy - New 2019 Micro Minnie owners

Noobs here (well, sorta...)

Helped pull the family's 30' Holiday Rambler with a 5 speed, 4WD, International Travelall some 45 years ago so I'm no stranger to towing and trailer camping but it has been awhile. My wife Pat (aka SWMBO) and I have really begun traveling seriously in the 15 or so years since the kids left the payroll with tent trips in a Miata, pulling a little Aspen motorcycle tent camper with our Mustang GT convertible and now a 2000 Chevy S10 ZR2.

Enough tent camping in the rain has caused us to rethink our ultralight ambitions a bit so we just towed a new 2019 Micro Minnie home yesterday. This weekend will be spent getting the stuff from the tent camper organized into the Winnie and then we'll assess whether camping next weekend at a local state park is a good idea right now with all the coronavirus issues as we are both compromised a bit, health-wise.

Planning on getting a new and larger tow vehicle by this time next year as the S10 is under-powered, under-braked, low on cooling capacity, and generally 20 years old. It's a pretty good rock-crawler and expedition/fishing vehicle for one or two people, but a trailer-towing beast, well, not so much. But we figured it better to buy the trailer first and then get what is needed to tow it.

Hope to keep my mouth shut and learn much about this little trailer for a while.


Bob
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Old 03-14-2020, 10:18 AM   #2
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Sounds very exciting! Which model of the Micro Mini did you purchase (it looks like there are about twelve of them.)

A number of folks whom I know purchased two year old lease return F-150s, and are very satisfied with them. Might be good to get a short-box crew cab.

Happy Camping!
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Old 03-14-2020, 10:43 AM   #3
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Welcome Bob! Sounds like a great way to start.

First, thing you'll hear on here is to please put your TT's year, model and floor plan number in your forum Signature. That way when you are talking about your RV we'll all know what you are referring to. Makes asking questions and giving opinions so much easier.
  1. Click on UserCP in the upper left side of the top menu.
  2. Click on Edit Signature
  3. Put YEAR, MODEL, FLOORPLAN and any other info like your Tow Vehicle.
Simple!
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Old 03-14-2020, 12:24 PM   #4
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Having the model would help. I have a 2106DS towed with a 2019 Chevy Colorado with a 2.8 diesel engine. That is the only mid-size I would tow with, mainly due to fuel range concerns. All the mid-range trucks have small fuel tanks, and the Ranger is only 18 gallons! With the weight of the 2106DS, my accessories, cargo, spouse and cat the weight limits are pretty well maxed out. Do not assume that a truck can haul anywhere near its maximum tow rating. My 2106DS as I load it is about 3,000 pounds less than max tow but other numbers are very close to their limits.

If you go full size I would check out the new 3.0 diesels each of the manufacturers offer. Unfortunately the Chevy is the only one that has an exhaust brake, which is really nice for towing, but they don't have the option for a larger size fuel tank. But it's probably adequate with the diesel. For the others I'd make sure you get an optional larger tank, especially with the gas engines.
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Old 03-15-2020, 02:23 PM   #5
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Thanks for the welcome, folks. Testing to see if my saved signature worked; most forum software applies the signature to earlier posts as well and I see this does not.


So - testing, testing...


Bob
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Old 03-15-2020, 02:43 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Goodspike View Post
...All the mid-range trucks have small fuel tanks, and the Ranger is only 18 gallons! With the weight of the 2106DS, my accessories, cargo, spouse and cat the weight limits are pretty well maxed out. Do not assume that a truck can haul anywhere near its maximum tow rating. My 2106DS as I load it is about 3,000 pounds less than max tow but other numbers are very close to their limits...
I'm researching the range issue now, Goodspike. We plan to do a fair amount of our traveling out west which means range is critical. We'll be buying at the end of this year or early next year and my choice comes down to mid-sized with two 5 gallon Jerry cans of fuel or full size with the optional gas tank. I'm not a fan of the full size trucks these days just because of the size - they're as big as ocean liners, even compared to my 1995 4 door Tahoe which was not small. But that may be my choice due to trailer weight and manufacturer incentives. The mid-sized segment is hot right now so folks aren't quite as willing to deal as with full sized.

And yes, even carrying a bit over dry weight the 75 miles home from the dealer, I'm not impressed with my current truck's capabilities at all. We plan to stay close to home this year until we buy the tow vehicle. We've weighed every item we've put in the trailer so I keep the GVWR below 3600 lbs as the manual says that old ZR2 is only good for 5k pounds and I'd rather be below the 80% mark than above. It's under-powered, under-cooled, and under-braked, for sure.

But I'll maybe start a thread in the vehicles section so I don't crap all over the Tacoma thread that's been started. He had some thoughts I found were valuable but that one's really about Tacomas.

Thanks again,


Bob
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Old 03-15-2020, 04:56 PM   #7
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I'd probably be a little more comfortable towing closer to the ZR2's tow rating since they limit it so much due to the suspension. FWIW, most the 2.8 Colorado diesel owners who tow over at Coloradofans.com seem to be happy campers, pun intended. If you go mid-size I really do think that's the only viable option if range is a concern, as it was for me.
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Old 03-15-2020, 06:50 PM   #8
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I like the idea of a diesel, especially with my other off-road activities. That said, maintenance costs, especially for a maintenance freak like me, may be an issue. Tuneups become rather pricey with all the filters, Rotella, etc. and if done as called for, might be more than I want to afford. Went through that with a diesel Volvo wagon years ago.

But I do like the idea of a diesel ZR2. It's a bad boy.
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Old 03-15-2020, 11:34 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Trout One View Post
I like the idea of a diesel, especially with my other off-road activities. That said, maintenance costs, especially for a maintenance freak like me, may be an issue. Tuneups become rather pricey with all the filters, Rotella, etc. and if done as called for, might be more than I want to afford. Went through that with a diesel Volvo wagon years ago.

But I do like the idea of a diesel ZR2. It's a bad boy.
I think you need to move away for the ZR2 if you want to tow. Still has the 5,000 pound tow rating, where with the other versions it would be either 7,600 or 7,700.

I'm only 12,000 miles in, but the maintenance isn't horrible. There's a Penzoil oil that meets the GM specs that is reasonably priced (I though use the more expensive Mobil 1 stuff since I've used Mobil 1 since the 70s). Diesel and DEF are cheap at Costco. The fuel filters should last 30,000+ miles are are reportedly easy to change yourself.

The biggest issue seems to be if you live in an extremely cold environment and cannot garage, the turbos and ice do not get along! Not sure if that affects other turbo vehicles, but there've been a number of the 2.8s affected.
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Old 03-16-2020, 07:48 AM   #10
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Welcome to the board trout, many of us are in this category. I tow ours with a Tacoma, but I want to use this truck. Oh, and yes range sucks for these size trucks, hence I also carry 2 five gallon jerry cans.
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