Towing a Rockwood GEO Pro G15TB

I too am looking for a lightweight TT. Thanks for sharing your info and pics.

 

I recommend to all new rvers and even experienced looking different, rent first. Check out rvshare or outdoorsy.com. No rv is a smart financial decision so try to ease the hit by getting it right the first time.

 

Very true!! All our friends with RV's have told us the same thing. We went to look at the 15TB just before COVID and they really tried to sell use the 19BH. We ended up leaving and not buying anything. We want to make sure we only have to invest once .

 

Congrats! I think you will love it, I know we are happy with ours!

 

Have been researching small travel trails lately and stumbled upon the 21 GeoPro G15TB. Seems a few of you have this trailer or may have just recently purchased it.

Can you share anymore towing details? MPG? towing in S5? etc.. Is this weight fairly easy to tow in the mountains with the new Gen 3 auto?

As for the trailer, have they been problem free? anything one might want to pay close attention to when using? Ok for fire road use? Type of WDH used? Are the holding tanks heated or will they freeze? Rear suspension mods for the tongue weight? How are the trailer brakes? strong?

Thanks for the insight.

 

Regarding the MPG, I really have no clue, as I don't track MPG but I would guess it would be in the 10-12 range in my area. I am in Utah and every place I camp requires MANY mountain passes and climbs. My second gen with the tow package handles it fine. You wont win any races, but keeping the transmission in 4 or dropping it an manually shifting through the gears on the AT transmission allows me keep highway speeds even on the long and or steep climbs. Before I bought the 2nd gen in 2017 I test drove a 3rd gen 2018 and was not happy with the engine/transmission performance up a local mountain pass while empty so I removed a 3rd gen from my list of trucks to consider. I even considered regearing my 2nd gen just to get more performance, but the cost is not worth it to me and I feel comfortable with my trucks stock gearing. I am planning on upgrading the transmission cooler to a larger size this spring.

No problems noted with the quality/construction of the trailer. I initially thought I might have an electrical issue, but I was able to narrow it down to a faulty battery. The solar works great, but you will want to either ensure you get AT LEAST 2x100AH batteries or larger if you expect any serious off-grid time. I am upgrading to 2x170AH lithium batteries, as I got a good deal on them during a black friday sale - that should ~quadruple the usable power (based on best practices for battery discharge/maintenance)over my current 2x65AH battery setup that came with the trailer from the dealer. I always carry a 2200w Honda generator for powering the AC if needed. The 2200 handled the AC without a softstart on the AC, but would occasionally trip the overload protection if attempting to run max cold/max fan - softstart fixed that.

I run a stock suspension and I installed a Equal-i-zer brand 90-00-0600 for sway and load distribution. Tows fine on fire roads, but once we hit any area that is worse than a fire road, i remove the sway bars and have not had an issues (some of the trails/offroad hills I need to use are very rough and I have not had any issues with the trailer. Never noticed an issue with the stock trailer brakes, it is after all a relatively light trailer.

Holding tanks are heated. Like I mentioned previously, for 2021 they upgraded the solar panel to 190W, but I also carry an Overland Solar collapsible 130w panel to augment the roof panel. The overland unit will also be used as a panel for my dual battery RedArc setup on the truck when not traveling with the GeoPro. The larger fridge with separate freezer and larger kitchen sink are also nice improvements for the 2021 model year.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. I have had mine out over 30 days this past year (trailer purchased in Aug 2020 ish) and it works great for my camping style.

 

Thanks for taking the time to provide all the details. Sounds like a pretty nice travel trailer. I live in the Midwest and am contemplating spending the entire summer traveling around the nation but would like to select the right trailer for both long distance towing and problem free operation.

Would also like to have something I can get down forest roads with without damaging it and that has sufficient ground clearance.

Are the passes you typically go over in Utah, those east of Salt Lake City or another part of the state?

 

All sites are east of the I-15 corridor. East and Southeast are the areas I predominantly go. The High Uinta's(Ashley NF, Wasatch Cache NF), Blanding/Bears Ears down in the four corners area, and an area in American Fork Canyon are where I have taken the trailer so far. We have sites that we like from as far north as Logan and all the way down to Jacob Lake AZ/North Rim of the Grand Canyon and points in-between that we camp at. All are off-grid/unimproved spots and several are on trails off of the forest service fire roads that require high clearance vehicles. I had had to do some piling of rocks to get over some obstacles with a stock truck and the GeoPro on our first trip out and both the truck and trailer handled it well.

-Scott

 

Flagstaff, E19FD E-Pro camper. 19 ft. long. I have a Blue Ox weight distribution hitch and a Tekonsha P3 brake controller. The truck and camper are a good pair in my opinion.. As long as I stick with the 4S and ECT transmission combo, I'm set. One HUGE improvement, after a windy, rainy trip I got rid of the factory Goodyear Wranglers (with only 23000 mi.) and replaced them with a set of Cooper AT3 LT's. Night and day to say the least. Softopper is a nice addition too.

 

Unclebuck... which SLC dealer did you go to, my wife and I live in Ogden and would like to check one out?

 

Apologize for the delay in responding, I haven't been on TW for a while. We bought it at Parris RV, the north location (they have two dealerships on State Street)

 

We bought a 19BH from the same location last week.

 

My wife and I are looking at getting a 19BH next month. How does the towing feel? How is the side mirror visibility?

I am planning on getting an Anderson WDH and keeping the truck bed cargo to a min because the numbers look like it will be hitting GVWR with just the family + tongue weight.

 

Love my 15TB! Removed a few decals while I was camping.

 

Our plan is to actually use our Quigley Transit van to tow the Geo Pro but I’m sure at some point, for a short trip, I’ll try the Tacoma. I need to get a trailer brake and would prefer to get air bags too. We pick up the trailer tonight actually.

Our neighbors have the Geo Pro 16BH, same weight just a little shorter, and they tow it with their Tacoma everywhere but admit, it’s slow going.

 

I tow in the mountains alot and needed a little more truck than the Tacoma.

 

Regarding these lightweight trailers, airbags, and weight distributing hitches - I am far from an expert and new to towing with lightweight vehicles (compact and 1500 series trucks), but have years and 80,000+ miles of towing with a 3/4-1Ton truck with low to max trailer weight rating for the tow vehicle. If you are going to drive highway speeds/more than just around town - Do yourself a favor and invest in a WDH setup if you are going to tow these or similar trailers with the Taco. Reducing sag with airbags is NOT going to reduce the effects/possible adverse effects of towing a heavier/heavier tongue weight trailer with the Taco.

 

Yup. Bags usually make things worse on the front end.

https://youtu.be/XBZu39pQ8Gg

 

Good video. Would have been interesting to see the results if they used both the airbags and the WDH together.

 

That actually works quite well. The WDH has to be setup with the bags at the low psi. Bags carry load in the truck, but that is all they should carry.