FWIW....
I see ~20kw fairly consistently on the kw guage at 100kph cruise on the highway. With just the car.
Is it going to pull all that additional weight and aero load for only an extra ~10kw more?
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Any GTAM'ers have a tiny/micro camper?
- Thread starter PrivatePilot
- Start date
FWIW....
I see ~20kw fairly consistently on the kw guage at 100kph cruise on the highway. With just the car.
Is it going to pull all that additional weight and aero load for only an extra ~10kw more?
You can watch state-of-charge while driving, and modulate your right foot accordingly, right?
The aforementioned 6% grade at 2500 kg GVW takes 36 kW plus the 30 kW drag = 66 kW, so a hill like that will go beyond the generator's replenishment capacity by 11 kW. Six minutes of driving like that would draw 1.1 kWh out of the battery. The longest hill on I75 that I can think of, is about 5 miles long (and at 6% grade, that's about 1600 feet of elevation change).
The power demand math that we're doing here is based on the situation with the Soul (a square box - a small one, but a square box nevertheless) towing it. It's quite possible that the trailer is 50% more drag on that vehicle. It could be worse behind yours ...
My own viewpoint is that the car will do it, but it's not necessarily going to be the most pleasant tow vehicle ever. You are, after all, doing something that they tell you that you're not supposed to do ...
The aforementioned 6% grade at 2500 kg GVW takes 36 kW plus the 30 kW drag = 66 kW, so a hill like that will go beyond the generator's replenishment capacity by 11 kW. Six minutes of driving like that would draw 1.1 kWh out of the battery. The longest hill on I75 that I can think of, is about 5 miles long (and at 6% grade, that's about 1600 feet of elevation change).
The power demand math that we're doing here is based on the situation with the Soul (a square box - a small one, but a square box nevertheless) towing it. It's quite possible that the trailer is 50% more drag on that vehicle. It could be worse behind yours ...
My own viewpoint is that the car will do it, but it's not necessarily going to be the most pleasant tow vehicle ever. You are, after all, doing something that they tell you that you're not supposed to do ...
Does the volt have a rear tow hook? Pull the soul plus trailer on a strap and watch the kw gauge on the volt (I think soul running and in neutral should work but would investigate before doing it).
Well, looks like I’m ordering that expensive hitch tomorrow.
I’m happy to drive within the cars limits and modulate when necessary so long as it’s realistic out of the gate, which it’s increasingly seeming like it is.
Thanks for the number crunching!
Hitch will be on order Monday morning. Going to use Shippsy (discovered from another thread here) to get it from Niagara Falls NY to Toronto - the hitch manufacturer ships anywhere in the USA for free, but it's $180 or something nuts like that (even before taxes and such) to ship it to myself in Canada.
Much cheaper than switching cars. Looking forward to your review and experience.
Indeed. I honestly really like my Volt and as much as it'd be cool to have a Gen2, it's not high on my list right now, although eventually down the road once they start to hit the $10K price range (where I bought my Gen1) I'll probably bite.
I'd been on and off about the towing with it thing for the last month or so however. The original plan for a 800# teardrop/squaredrop trailer I wasn't worried about in the least, but when we ended up with a 1600 pounder, well, that's a little different, and I'd kinda lost all faith at the moment I scaled the trailer on the way home from MTL and realized it weighted that much.
Brians calculations have brought reassurance to the situation.
I'll probably add on a tranny cooler down the road as well just to be safe - the Volt uses regular Dextron ATF for cooling the mechanicals and electric motors...and even without the load of towing it can get pretty warm in the summer months, so it seems like in the interest of not melting anything it would be money well spent before the dog days of summer.
Hitch is ordered! Sounded like it may actually ship today. Headed to Shippsy in Niagara Falls NY.
Now all we need is some better weather in a few weeks when it comes time to bolt it on.
Now all we need is some better weather in a few weeks when it comes time to bolt it on.
Like a lot of others, this pandemic has got me super squirrely. I already own one of these: inTech RV | Flyer Explore and have been dreaming about just bailing for a bit. There's lots of balls still up in the air, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. When both the kids are in uni, that seems like a good time to just go for a bit.
I originally bought the Explore because it could serve triple duty; toy hauler, enclosed haul trailer and camper. It does its' job very, very well; in 2019 it took me, a buddy and two GS1200's to Utah and California. However, a couple of things always bothered me about it. Individually, none of them were big but altogether they added up to irritation.
1. I didn't like the outside kitchen. I mean, it would be a great option if there was an outside kitchen in addition to something on the inside, but it always seems to be drizzly and crappy when I wake up and going outside to make a cup of coffee always kinda sucked.
2. There was no fresh water. I had water jugs, but water would be nice.
3. The 270' awning that ships with it is a POS. Because of the height of the trailer and the 2" lift it has, it makes setting up and tearing down the awning really difficult. It also has to be guyed and staked, which makes it really inconvenient compared to other (much more expensive) options.
4. I'm 6'4" and I couldn't stand up inside it.
5. It had a rooftop AC unit that only worked with a generator. I own a "quiet" Honda generator, but it's still loud enough that I either feel like I'm disturbing my neighbours or the nature I traveled so far to get to. Also my generator would never run the whole night anyway.
I had plans to modify it to add a freshwater tank and a hot water heater, but then I got drawn into the world of truck campers. After about a week of my head buried in that world, I pulled back because the prices to get into flatbed campers is just insane. To do it the way I wanted (and yeah, it could be done way cheaper by making trade-offs that I didn't want to make) it could have cost almost $200k before I even put a drop of gas into a brand new 1 ton truck that would depreciate the second I turned the ignition.
That brought me back to my Intech, and the realization that Intech is producing a slightly bigger brother that solves a lot of my problems: inTech RV | Flyer Discover
This unit is larger, but still not huge. Still small enough to park at the cottage, or the track. Large enough to fit 2 large adventure bikes. Still all-aluminium construction. Small freshwater capacity and an interior kitchen AND I can stand up on the inside.
I ordered one and specd it with no AC and a second tip-out; I find that the tip-outs just add space, light and ventilation when they're open and hving a second bed means not necessarily having to crawl over someone to get out to take a leak. And not having the option for AC means just not having to think about it.
These trailers aren't heavy, but not ultra-light either. I hauled the smaller Explore (loaded, with 1 bike) with an Edge rated at 3600 lbs no issue and my SRT Grand Cherokee just laughs. Well, until I get to a gas station. Then I cry a bit, but whatever.
Super excited to get this new trailer. I love the footprint and the thought that's put into it. Not cheap, but when I look at the glue and wood that's used in most other trailers, I'm very comfortable that this trailer a) won't depreciate as badly as others would and b) will last forever because of how it's built.
Though it's not an "adventure" trailer (whatever that means) it has no trouble getting anywhere the tow vehicle can go. I wouldn't take it on gnarly terrain if there was a bike in there, but if I'm just camping without a bike, I'm confident I could get reasonably adventurous. These things aren't for everyone - lots of people start and stop with no washroom, but it was like they read my mind and gave me almost everything I wanted in a trailer.
I originally bought the Explore because it could serve triple duty; toy hauler, enclosed haul trailer and camper. It does its' job very, very well; in 2019 it took me, a buddy and two GS1200's to Utah and California. However, a couple of things always bothered me about it. Individually, none of them were big but altogether they added up to irritation.
1. I didn't like the outside kitchen. I mean, it would be a great option if there was an outside kitchen in addition to something on the inside, but it always seems to be drizzly and crappy when I wake up and going outside to make a cup of coffee always kinda sucked.
2. There was no fresh water. I had water jugs, but water would be nice.
3. The 270' awning that ships with it is a POS. Because of the height of the trailer and the 2" lift it has, it makes setting up and tearing down the awning really difficult. It also has to be guyed and staked, which makes it really inconvenient compared to other (much more expensive) options.
4. I'm 6'4" and I couldn't stand up inside it.
5. It had a rooftop AC unit that only worked with a generator. I own a "quiet" Honda generator, but it's still loud enough that I either feel like I'm disturbing my neighbours or the nature I traveled so far to get to. Also my generator would never run the whole night anyway.
I had plans to modify it to add a freshwater tank and a hot water heater, but then I got drawn into the world of truck campers. After about a week of my head buried in that world, I pulled back because the prices to get into flatbed campers is just insane. To do it the way I wanted (and yeah, it could be done way cheaper by making trade-offs that I didn't want to make) it could have cost almost $200k before I even put a drop of gas into a brand new 1 ton truck that would depreciate the second I turned the ignition.
That brought me back to my Intech, and the realization that Intech is producing a slightly bigger brother that solves a lot of my problems: inTech RV | Flyer Discover
This unit is larger, but still not huge. Still small enough to park at the cottage, or the track. Large enough to fit 2 large adventure bikes. Still all-aluminium construction. Small freshwater capacity and an interior kitchen AND I can stand up on the inside.
I ordered one and specd it with no AC and a second tip-out; I find that the tip-outs just add space, light and ventilation when they're open and hving a second bed means not necessarily having to crawl over someone to get out to take a leak. And not having the option for AC means just not having to think about it.
These trailers aren't heavy, but not ultra-light either. I hauled the smaller Explore (loaded, with 1 bike) with an Edge rated at 3600 lbs no issue and my SRT Grand Cherokee just laughs. Well, until I get to a gas station. Then I cry a bit, but whatever.
Super excited to get this new trailer. I love the footprint and the thought that's put into it. Not cheap, but when I look at the glue and wood that's used in most other trailers, I'm very comfortable that this trailer a) won't depreciate as badly as others would and b) will last forever because of how it's built.
Though it's not an "adventure" trailer (whatever that means) it has no trouble getting anywhere the tow vehicle can go. I wouldn't take it on gnarly terrain if there was a bike in there, but if I'm just camping without a bike, I'm confident I could get reasonably adventurous. These things aren't for everyone - lots of people start and stop with no washroom, but it was like they read my mind and gave me almost everything I wanted in a trailer.
Hitch is on it's way, eta to Shippsy in NY is Friday. I forget what the process is with Shippsy at that point (I guess I should go re-read that other thread or check out their website or something) but I'm hoping to have it sometime next week. Maybe the weather will cooperate next week and I can get her bolted on in the driveway.
Will need more snow and ice to melt before I'd be able to get the trailer out of it's storage spot however for a test-tow as although the Soul with 4 snow tires hauled her in there, the Volt with 4 All seasons and half the ground clearance isn't likely to haul it out LOL.
Been poking at a few mods in the meantime - changing some of the old incandescent lights (which were pretty dim and dreary the night we spent in the trailer) to LED's, adding some reading lights, and also adding some additional lights in different spots (I like BRIGHT!) to get started.
I need to do something about the dinette table - it's huge and heavy, the fake wood pattern thing is pretty dated...and does anyone see the problem from this angle?
I've been collecting ideas to do something with this to make it so that my wife doesn't have to spin the table (which in turn jams the other corner into my gut and jostles things like drinks on the table) to get in and out. The problem is that it's the base when the dinette folds down into the bed so just notching the corners or whatever isn't really an option as otherwise there will be cushions with no support under them.
I'd really like to put in a round table honestly (the newer models of this trailer went to exactly that setup) but it still leaves the issue of what to do when the bed is folded down.
Someone online suggested making a replacement table with "Baltic Birch Plywood" instead which apparently has a nicer edge profile when cut and then adding some piano hinges to allow the forward edge to be folded back on itself partially and secured under the edge of the table so that there's more room to get in and out when it's setup in dinette mode. Apparently should weigh about half of the lead sled pieces that's in it now as well.
Will need more snow and ice to melt before I'd be able to get the trailer out of it's storage spot however for a test-tow as although the Soul with 4 snow tires hauled her in there, the Volt with 4 All seasons and half the ground clearance isn't likely to haul it out LOL.
Been poking at a few mods in the meantime - changing some of the old incandescent lights (which were pretty dim and dreary the night we spent in the trailer) to LED's, adding some reading lights, and also adding some additional lights in different spots (I like BRIGHT!) to get started.
I need to do something about the dinette table - it's huge and heavy, the fake wood pattern thing is pretty dated...and does anyone see the problem from this angle?
I've been collecting ideas to do something with this to make it so that my wife doesn't have to spin the table (which in turn jams the other corner into my gut and jostles things like drinks on the table) to get in and out. The problem is that it's the base when the dinette folds down into the bed so just notching the corners or whatever isn't really an option as otherwise there will be cushions with no support under them.
I'd really like to put in a round table honestly (the newer models of this trailer went to exactly that setup) but it still leaves the issue of what to do when the bed is folded down.
Someone online suggested making a replacement table with "Baltic Birch Plywood" instead which apparently has a nicer edge profile when cut and then adding some piano hinges to allow the forward edge to be folded back on itself partially and secured under the edge of the table so that there's more room to get in and out when it's setup in dinette mode. Apparently should weigh about half of the lead sled pieces that's in it now as well.
It's fancier inside than I expected. Is the stainless thing a fridge?
My first thought for the table was Ikea Lack based. Super cheap, super light (basically cardboard honeycomb inside). Add a piece of 1/2" ply to the bottom as an attachment point/strength adder and you might be done. Five different colours to fit your style. You could try without the plywood, but I anticipate a few issues.
Yup, it actually has a decent sized 2 way fridge.
Here's from the Dinette facing forward.
View attachment 47154
View attachment 47155
Door on the left is the bathroom.
View attachment 47156
Bathroom is a bit messy right now, plumbing antifreeze on the base of the shower and dustbunnies and such, but you get the idea. I'm 6'0 and can stand up in the bathroom as well as the bulk of the inside of the trailer with some space to spare actually. Head skiffs the ceiling standing right at the front at the sink / counter but for the amount of time I'll ever spend there I can deal with it, and it's all soft headliner the entire arch of the trailer front to rear so even if you bump it, it's forgiving.
It's a heck of a trailer for around 1500 pounds....the advantage of all aluminum and fibreglass encapsulated foam construction.
No idea why the images didn't make the trip.... Weird. Will try again.
It's compact, don't get me wrong, but for 2 of us now, and with the reality that even when we had the 35' fifth wheel we often cooked outside and spent 90% of our there, yeah, this works perfect. Warm dry comfortable place with hard sides and a bathroom to spend the night, and off we go through the day.
My daughter isn't a fan of the interior colours....I wasn't 100% totally enamoured myself out of the gate, but it's growing on me. Wife likes it, guess that's what matters.
My daughter isn't a fan of the interior colours....I wasn't 100% totally enamoured myself out of the gate, but it's growing on me. Wife likes it, guess that's what matters.
If you look at the new Helio O2/03 models you'll see the resemblances. They found a floorplan that pretty much maximizes every square inch and have run with it...and they can't make them fast enough.
View attachment 47160
View attachment 47161
View attachment 47162
Something's borked on the forum this evening....images refusing to load and attach. @Paul ! 
Anyhow, interior pictures here.
Go to Images.
Anyhow, interior pictures here.
Go to Images.
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