Hi Lo Towlite
- Thread starter paul1944
- Start date
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Bob Buchanan
Well-known member
paul1944 said:
Hello Paul:
At one time, I considered a Hi Lo trailer. I was new to trailering and wanted to be able to tow with a Chevy Blazer. I was also considering an 18 foot trailer. Both dealers agreed to let me test drive their rigs with my Blazer and that would be my recommendation to you. I was sure I was going to trailer at the time so bought all the towing gear I would need. Would also recommend that you ask to go far enough that you can pull up a 4-6% grade. You may do well on level ground but over heat when pulling a good grade.
There is good news and bad new about the Hi Lo. The good news is that I couldn't believe how easy it was to tow. The lowered cross section reduces the wind drag even more than I thought it would. Unfortunately, the bad new is that (1) you pay a premium for that ability and (2) you wind up with only half a trailer, vertically.
I wound up buying the TT for about almost half of what a same length HL would have cost me. And when extended vertical, you will notice you only have half of a frig. And the same is true with cabinets and so forth. The other thing that turned me off was that you don't have a real wall between the upper half of the bathroom and the rest of the rig -- just a folding blind kinda thing. Think about it.
IMO, a HL would be great only if you are only trailering once in awhile for short stays -- and do not want to invest in a larger tow vehicle.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
I think the newer Hi-Lo's are somewhat more, ah, "elegant" than what Bob describes, but you need to go see one first hand to decide. Look one over, then go away for a few days and think about what you saw. Then go back for another look once the initial excitement is over. you will see more on the second visit.
According to the Hi-Lo website, the HiLo 2606 weighs in at 4479 lbs and can weigh up to 6500 lbs fully loaded. You should assume it wil be at or near 6500 lbs when towing, at least some of the time. I suspect that is far too much weight for a minvan, which is typically rated somewhere around 3500 lbs. And that's without any passengers or gear onboard the van.
According to the Hi-Lo website, the HiLo 2606 weighs in at 4479 lbs and can weigh up to 6500 lbs fully loaded. You should assume it wil be at or near 6500 lbs when towing, at least some of the time. I suspect that is far too much weight for a minvan, which is typically rated somewhere around 3500 lbs. And that's without any passengers or gear onboard the van.
Bob Buchanan
Well-known member
RV Roamer said:
Gary, I'm not sure what the two downsides I described have to do with elegance features. No matter how elegant a feature, you still only have half a frig vertically and no cabinets between sink top level and the shallow cabinets just under the roof. And the upper half of the bathroom wall between the person sitting on the john and the living area is still a folding or rolling blind kinda thing.
Your point about the weight is well taken. I was looking at a model similar to the 2206 I see on their website if I recall -- and my Blazer pulled it OK though I only got to Auburn in the foothills vs. going all the way over Donner summit (on the 80 to Reno) which would have been a better test. Of course, I was pulling an empty trailer -- so I probably would have been in trouble anyway. The 18 foot trailer I finally bought was too much for the Blazer on mountain grades and I wound up trading for a pickup.
Carl L
Moderator Emeritus
Boy howdy to that, Gary.? In fact, at 6500 lbs GVWR it is beginning to push full sized F150 class trucks -- one would have to pick carefully in the engine/rear-end ratio line up.
Thanks to all who replied about the HI-LO model, I did check out them out and found how much weighed, way too much for my Town and Country (3800# max). Thinking now about a Trailmanor, it is the same weight as my popup but has hard sides which my wife wants.
