After our second camping outing to Caddo Lake State Park in east Texas, I was able to stop by some CAT scales and figure out where our 2017 Winnebago Micro Minnie 1700BH stood in the weight department. A few initial notes to give some context to the above figures:
- The trailer was completely dry. All tanks, including the hot water heater, were drained.
- The A-frame of the trailer had a powered tongue jack, two 20 pound liquid propane tanks, a 12v battery, and the components for my Andersen Weight Distribution Hitch.
- We had already burned a whole tub of firewood during the trip, which I figure adds at least 50 pounds judging by how heavy that thing was to lug around. We also consumed some food and drink, but that is probably only worth a few pounds.
- We have not changed out any of the mattresses from the factory. I assume new mattresses will add weight.
- We travel with two slim adults, a toddler, and about 100 pounds worth of dog. That means that our tow vehicle is mostly full of dogs and people, with 95% of any cargo being carried in the trailer.
- About the only odd thing we have that adds a fair amount of weight compared to other people is a heavy duty offroad stroller, but it still only weighs about 30 pounds.
My thoughts:
- The Andersen hitch is doing it’s job. I’m not sure if 100 pounds is in the ballpark of what I should expect to transfer to the front axle, but it is at least doing something. I could tell after a few times towing it in various states of adjustment that I had it dialed in way better on this trip. There were some pretty gusty winds this weekend and I could easily pull at 65mph.
- I would like the ability to boondock on a rare occasion, which would mean maxing out the fresh water tank. Such trips will require some slimming down, for sure.
- I wonder if the actual capacity of the trailer is limited by the 3,500 pound axle rating, and as long as we stay under that number we should be safe. Having 500 pounds to play around with makes me feel a lot better than only 260 pounds.
I knew going into the 1700BH floor plan that cargo carrying capacity would be the biggest downside. I’m guessing that Winnebago decided on a single axle trailer for the 1700BH in order to keep the dry weight near 3,000 pounds in order to convince the millions of people with kids and a crossover SUV that the 1700BH could be towed with their existing car. However, the 1700BH will sleep up to five people, four easily, and when you are traveling around with four people, especially children, that means a lot of extra things that will need to be packed versus just two adults. We’ve loved our 1700BH in the short time we’ve had her, but if I could change one thing on it, it would be to have a dual axle, even if that means the dry weight and GVWR swells.