Winnebego micro mini

This past week rented a 19 ft long 8 ft wide 3200 lb empty travel trailer to have fun with the family. Loved the experiance hated the trailer.

Tacoma didnt mind the weight but thinking the 8 ft flate front was just alot for the taco to deal with.

Thinking the micro minni believe the 2100bh unit would be great but would like opinions. Unit is only 7 ft wide and more stream lined. Wont have a foot of trailer blocking as much wind on the sides and more curved front. Unit is 3800 lbs and 2 axes. Assuming only loading max 500 lbs of gear, not go going near trailers max weight. Def to heavy if you do. Thinkong this would be a great tacoma trailer.


Opinions?

 

If you travel very light you could probably make it work. I'd normally say 21ft is too big for the Tacoma but that trailer seems to have a pretty light tongue weight of under 500 lbs. Just remember that only leaves 500 lbs of payload left on the truck for you, your family, and your cargo.

 

Yup and im double cab long bed so least payload of our trucks. Granted sr5 so less heavier options

 

I’m stepping up my trailer from a T@b 320 Boondock. Sold it at onset of Covid since my reservations across state and national parks were all cancelled. I’ve since rented bigger, last one being a Coachmen Nano 187RB. That’s the biggest I would go with a Tacoma. I’m currently on the look to buy a Winnebago 1706FB. Yes trailer frontal area has a big effect on trailer capability. There’s even published frontal area guidelines for the Tacoma. What made a big difference in my trailering was adding a high rise topper on the truck. I picked up about 2.5 mpg trailering with it. I’ll post my opinion when I finally find my trailer.

 

I like the nano you are getting as it looks quite nice, but kind of want to future proof my purchase. Tired of buying the smaller / less costly version of something only to sell and re buy bigger at a loss. Looking for more width near the kitchen area (happy wife) and want a dedicated bed space for the little one. That being said posting here as i am trying to do this in an educated fashion.

Doing the math I can never get a cap, at least with the 2100BH I don't have the load capacity. I would be over. My version of the Tacoma as Long bed and with 4x4 leaves 950lb of total payload, wish I knew id like camping I would have skiped the 4x4 here (use to go to 4 wheel beach alot). Never though id say it but being trim here is good..

For 2100BH hitch weight Dry is 430, only planing on using 1 battery and gas tank. So guess hitch weight of 500?? Family weight + a few lbs to leave room for my son to grow is 350-375. This leaves 75ish lbs for light supplies in the truck. As for the trailer on our rented trip EVERYTHING we needed fit in the bed of the truck (had to drive 90 miles to get it). Maybe 300-400 lbs including fire wood. That can be placed in the trailer. Looking at the "what you tow thread" seams to be A fair amount of people towing Much bigger. Some 27 footers... which I personally would not be willing to do.

I believe, this would tow well or at least the same as the lighter but more block like rental.


ps Father 20plus years ago flipped a trailer that was overloaded, dont think he bothered to connect break controller nor did they own a WDH. Granted this was before the internet and i honestly dont think he knew better. BUT i was in the passenger seat to watch what and how it all went wrong. With this in mind i don't want to max towing.. but don't think running the truck payload itself near the upper ranges is unsafe. Maybe im wrong??

 

I'm a big fan of Micro-Minnie's in general, particularly the 1706fb (owned two, 2017 and 2019). They have desirable features not found on many trailers in the 19' - 22' range.

Huge two door fridge/freezer, two sinks, 3-burner stove with oven, twin axles, dual LP tanks, huge passthrough storage, walkable roof, fully enclosed and insulated underbelly, furnace ducted into the bathroom. A thing I like is the white Maple cabinetry, really brightens up the interior.

Yep, 7' wide is desirable for narrow trucks and SUV's. Less wind resistance and don't need tow mirrors. For you and @Nyneuro look at this website https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/f267/

The Micro-Minnie models 2018+ seems most were dealer ordered with factory lift (nice) and heated tanks. IMO lift is necessary, stock the tank drain is about 5" ground clearance, after lift more like 11"-12" so that opens up offroadability.

I always say RV's are all about tradeoffs and compromises. I'd love to have fore and aft windows on the 1706fb, some small trailers have that, but they don't have tandem axles, huge fridge/freezer, dual sinks, 3-burner stove, etc.

 

All of my Toy trucks needed enhanced rear suspension to tow properly, especially offroad where you can't use a WDH. Airbags, Hellwig helper springs, Hellwig swaybar, Timbren bumpstops are what I've used but there are other options.

 

Ya i thinking airbags will be needed. I do drive alot so dont wanted the added stiffness when its not needed. Its a catch 22 i like the smooth ride but want the stiffness when needed lol.

I will read up on that forum. Thank you for the link. Glade that i found someone that has had similiar units

 

@Nyneuro You can also go with Sumosprings instead of airbags for a quick fix. I did sumosprings and they've been great so far. I don't need a WDH with them on my travel trailer. I'd do airbags if I could start over again, but that's only because I ended up adding onboard air anyways.

I agree that a 7' is more manageable. I went 7' instead of 8' after comparing the two on a dealer lot. You can see a LOT more around the truck that way. I didn't want to have to worry about tow mirrors or maneuvering something I couldn't see behind.

My boss has a Minnie and he loves his. We got a more budget camper (Forest River) and it's been great to us too. Ours weighs around 4000lbs fully loaded and tows fine - I just use S4 with ECT and keep it in the right lane.

 

Good to get confirmation the 7 ft wide is a smarter choice. Ya leaning towards bags for tge simple reason im not going to be stiff all the time. Can turn them down.

Doing the math ill be 150 lbs over payload which is not super... Anything i want to carry will go to the trailer. Oddly wish i didnt install the steel bumper(rear ended twice)Thats the majority of weight ill be over. =(


After doing the math relize was likely a few hundred over on family trip as i had fire wood and stuff in the bed. Not talking 900 lbs draggen ass you should no better over. More like 200 lbs

 

Yeah, I think I’m heading for a Winnebago 170S. I’ve looked at the trailers, two, prices not “right”, but trailer is. What’s pushing me? Narrower than 1706fb. This is not my first rv trailer. Single axle much easier to level than tandem. Since I’m not living in it I don’t need the extra gvwr. And we despise temperatures below 60 so enclosed heated tanks are naught. Now I’ve got to find the “right” price in a hot market.

 

Im planing on waiting till the market falls. Think in 6 months to a year half the people that bought campers will sell as they hate them OR sell to buy the camper they want. Went to a few dealers in last few weeks. People just buying whats there. Not what they want.


Would like one now. But honestly would not use it for a while. As i get older learning to time things. Often save a alot of cash.

Also debating if 2nd axle is worth it. I assume it would break alot better but the unit i want would really max payload. Looking at the apex nano. Lighter toung still not 8 ft wide and likly cost alot less

 

How is single easier to level? Assuming same unit size?

 

Leveling a single axle takes me about 5 minutes. I back in the site, look at my level bubbles. I slide my Bal leveler under the low side wheel and raise it until level. Done. With a tandem I have to get out the “LEGO blocks”. Pull trailer forward, set blocks, back up, check level, pull forward, adjust blocks, back up, check level. Meanwhile the other me next door has his site set up and having a cold one.

 

Well. You had to bring up cold one. Now more ok with single lol

 

Trailering is a dark hole. Buy one that seems adequate, then you see about 400 others that seem better.

 

1. that is a nice trailer and about the same kind of trailer that we have been looking at for the past 3 months. we are a family of 4 and also have a 3rd gen DCLB. we looked at a million trailers right around the 4,000lb range as that seem to be the sweet spot for features on the trailer while still accommodating our family of 4. micro minnie 2100bh, apex nano 194bhs & 208bhs, wolf pup 17JG/cascade lite 17JG, salem 178BHSK. we Went with the salem 178BHSK and the only reason for that is availability and it still had all the features we were looking for. i think for the tacoma a 7 footer is ideal so you have better sight around the sides of the trailer. also i don't think a double axle is going to be super beneficial unless you're going for something towards the max tow rating or something that is super long like 25 feet. adding a good brake controller and weight distribution hitch should help a lot. all in all i think everyone one of us has different camping needs/wants. but the trailer you're looking at seems like a great family camping trailer!

 

Looks like I looked (digitally) at all the campers you listed. Kind of gave up on the Winnebago to honestly. I like the double axe BUT holy crap its $$$. Strongly leaning towards the Apex Nano 193/194. Added benefit they will place less weight on the truck and still look nice / appear higher quality. As the pricing right now are high, going till wait to January or mid winter to buy. Im on long island, learned I also cant buy local. Its like extra 6-7k if I want to buy withing 100 miles of New York City.

Your comment on 4000 lbs sweet spot. Iv also noticed this. 17 ft bare minimum bunk trailer like 15.5k in my area. extra 2k-3k get any on your list which are all much nicer. Granted 2-3k, is 2-3k. Just seams like its a lot more trailer for the money.

If i may ask, what hitch are you using? Wondering if the Anderson is worth it. Looks a lot faster to set up / break down then the swing arms, Which means more time for Beer!

 

in those smaller trailers the double axle also seems to add more to the GVWR than it does to take away tongue weight. we have also been looking for a few months and everything used that is was a trailer we liked seemed to sell within a few hours of being posted and any new trailers local were $5,000+ more expensive than i see them on RVtrader.com a state or 2 away. We were also looking at used trailers in the 16-20k range and then this one popped up for 19k new which is around the same price i was seeing them for a few states away. im running a tekonsha P3 brake controller and a fastway E2 hitch. didn't choose that hitch for any particular reason except that a coworker sold it to me for a decent price and it seems ok. the initial setup for the hitch takes a little while if you're actually measuring and torquing everything. after the initial setup it isn't bad at all.

 

This is what I use. Put a level on the side, have my wife drive forward and BOOM 30 seconds and it is level left to right. Plus you can use one of them as a trailer jack if you have a flat.

https://shop.andersenhitches.com/products/camper-leveler