What do you TOW with your Tundra?

Hub to fender 21.5” front and back. WDH dialed in. 0.5” drop in front fender measurement once hooked up.

 

Tundra towing brethren, I will be selling my Outback 292URL (34' overall length and 7400# dry weight) and downsizing to a SUV towable size camper (4k pounds or so dry weight). I'm looking to get into a 20' or so bunkhouse with dual axles. This is the leading candidate. Anyone else have something similar with experience?

https://coachmenrv.com/apex-nano/208BHS/9355

 

I have a buddy in Nashville who bought that exact camper a couple years ago. He and his wife have four young kids. They love it. He pulls it all over Tennessee and to Florida with a Tundra. His is a base model SR5 crewmax with the bench seat.

He keeps telling me that is THE one I need to get. He also said he never had any problems with the build quality.

 

Looks like a similar layout to our Coachmen Freedom Express. You have a little less storage than we do but that's the tradeoff going with a smaller, lighter camper.

 

Lighter is key. We will be pulling with a Jeep Grand Cherokee or my FGT. Now, I previously pulled a 7200# camper with my FGT, so while the capability exists, it’s not a comfortable tow. 4k dry weight will be pleasant to tow long distance behind either vehicle. And surprisingly, the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee has a 6500# tow rating. Ours does not have air suspension, but the self leveling Nivomet shocks in the back. Selling the 2019 Tundra as I will have no need for it any longer without the gigantic camper.

 

"Alements"

 

I'll try to get some pics but I plan to begin by towing a single axle 6 x 12 foot trailer hauling a lawn tractor and zero turn mower. Later I hope to buy a two axle 6 x 20 foot trailer and pull that load plus a self propelled lawn mower or two zero turn mowers and the self propelled.

Alternatively I hope to tow the future 2 axle trailer with a compact backhoe tractor.

That's why I bought this truck and how I came by my online name.

 

I would be interested in your experience if you end up buying one of these. This specific model is on our short list and we are probably looking to pull the trigger in early 2025.
Would be for 2 adults, 2 kids, 1 dog for our family. I plan to haul kayaks/bikes in or on the truck when traveling.

Heard good things, there is a long thread over on the Forest River forums if you are interested with lots of notes on common fixes for the minor issues that pop up with this model. Overall seems like a solid smaller unit.

We would be towing ours with a Tundra for now.

 

On our way to go camping/fishing this past weekend

 

Buying today. Will post pics

 

Picked her up and brought her home. Easy tow even without a WDH and sway control. Happy so far!

 

Nice looking! I'm glad they are finally moving on from the swirls and curls.

 

I have a 2022 Apex Nano 208 BHS. I haven't have any issues towing it with the Tundra and wdh, the trailer tracks really well. For my particular setup, I think we are pushing the payload capacity limit, though. We never went more than 3-4 hrs from home, and didn't have any severe conditions to deal with. We put it on a seasonal site this year about an hour from home. and will probably leave it there until we sell it.

As for build quality, it is "ok". Had our share of annoying little issues, stuff like trim pieces coming loose, cheap bathroom fan died on day 2 of ownership, cabinet door hinges loose/falling off, we had a small leak in the skylight - fortunately it dripped right into the shower at least. There's lots of little upkeep needed, but I suspect that is the same with most of these things these days.

 

"Nano"! I guess that just speaks to how ridiculously huge campers have gotten. Looks great.

 

To be fair, most American are "ridiculously huge" themselves so campers had to expand also?

 

'Nano' 'Lite'
Two oxymorons that should never be allowed to be labelled on the sides of trailers

 

How about: ultra nano micro lite?
Has a double axle and 2 slides with a svelte 8900 gvw!

 

I do laugh at the names given to RVs. I passed a travel trailer that had Ascend written on the back. Couldn't quite get into position to see if the front of the trailer said front end.

 

This one is 21’, has a slide out, two full size bunks, an outdoor kitchen, a queen bed in the front, and a full 3 piece bathroom. Only weighs 4200# dry. Not small, not “light”, but for the weight and size and features, pretty efficient use of weight and length.

 

A rental, and first camper towing experience. Coachmen (Forest River) Apex Nano - OffGrid 208BHS. 25 ft, 4260 GVW. About 600#TW. Single slide-out and bunkhouse configuration. A little overkill for just my wife and I, but we had our adult daughter along for the trip.
I did get the camper leveled out better after I took these pics.
No WDH or sway control used for this short trip based on recommendation from the owner. He would have suggested we use if we were going for more distance or terrain other than MN/WI flatlands. I DID have 25 psi in the AirLift bags though. Leveled it out and rode great. Towed like a dream, barely knew it was there.

 

I should have looked up the page a bit....just saw @KNABORES new one. Congrats man!
My rental was a 2021 or 2022 MY.
School this camper newbie a bit please:
I believe they are the exact same model. Is the 25 foot (listed on the rental) overall including tongue and the 21 foot that you listed the "living space?"

 

We ended up getting rained/snowed out of our annual lakes basin riding trip. Left a day early but still had a great time.

 

New camper. Still have the old one but will likely sell and switch to this. For now it's a hunting camper. And for now I tow it. But very soon it'll be in the back of my truck.




If knabores' camper is a nano, not sure what that makes this.

 

A "NO-NO?"
j/k. I'm sure it's well suited for purpose as a hunting camper.

I had to look up what a "STINKER" was.....
Gotta get out that way more.

 

Yeah a terrible name for a gas station/convenience store in my opinion. No idea if that's a chain, or just that particular business. That's in Idaho Falls.

I'm a backpacker and car camper, and I don't mind tents and sleeping on the ground. Bought a trailer because I've lived out of it the last 7 summers. Now that phase of my life is over, and though the comforts of a trailer are still tempting, I find I really don't need them. I have a truck topper and built a sleeping platform, and I'm pretty darn comfortable in that on summer camp trips. I have a tent with a cot. That works great for me, too. This slide-in is empty. It's "finished", in the sense of having windows, very minimal insulation, a roof vent and paneling, but has no utilities. Just a propane space heater.

I'm going to build a very simple two-seat dinette, a small sink with a hand pump and drain going to a bucket, a couple burner stovetop, and maybe a true furnace with outdoor venting and fan, rather than the current space heater which requires keeping a window cracked so I don't die of CO poisoning.

With all that, I feel it's still pretty luxurious "camping".

 

Another example of "don't judge a book by its cover." That looks pretty nice on the inside.
I've done my fair share of tent camping when my kids were little, so I can relate to roughing it.
Now that Mrs. BlackNBlu and I are pushing 60, a little more comfort is required.

 

Mad respect for the Ford bumpside bed trailer.

 

I've seen my neighbor with a bumpside pickup, sporting a flatbed, eyeing it...