Mobile suites weight and mobility question

rhagfo wrote:

jimmac28 wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:
I still don't understand why people use "empty weight/dry weight's" of a 5er to give examples of....One REALLY needs to use the GVW of the rv whether it's loaded to that weight or not..It makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE...No one tows one "empty" or "dry", nor do they drop "dry pin weight" onto their hitch...sorry, it just doesn't make any sense.

Mobile Suites, in my opinion has a very good, high quality unit. To the OP, just make sure your truck is up to towing it, I'd take the GVW of the 5er and take 20% of that to figure out what kind of pin weight you'll be dropping in the bed of the truck...There are still a whole lot of campgrounds out there that you shouldn't have any issues at all camping in. My 5er is at 39' 9" and I've camped everywhere we wanted to stay...just looked at sites on the internet to see which one's work best for my unit.

The reason a lot of people do not use GVW is its way to much weight to be realistic. The industry standard for a family of "4" is 600 to 800lb's of stuff. A good rule of thumb is just add 1000lb's to the base weight and you should be close. Also if your going to add a generator and washer-dryer, you have to include that in your base weight, because that weight will always be there.

Lets face it most larger trailers are 3500 to 4000lb's of payload, that's the weight of an automobile. if I was carrying 3000lb's of stuff I would be rethinking what I'm bringing.

Wow, only 200 per person, what dream world do you live in! I have seen these people that basically bring it ALL with them camping. Much better to look at GVWR, and Payload capacity to get an estimated towing weight.
Most people greatly under estimate the weight of what they are adding to their trailer.
Falls right in the category of a vehicles MAX tow rating, which is based on a stripper model of the vehicles, not the plush one they drive and tow with.
Max Tow + Dry weight = Bad towing experience.

Live in the real world, most trailers are weighted as the leave the manufacture ready for delivery. All you have to do is to walk out at the dealership and look at comparable trailer as the one your going to buy. If it's used just look at the yellow tag, then you will know. No guessing.

jimmac28 wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:
I still don't understand why people use "empty weight/dry weight's" of a 5er to give examples of....One REALLY needs to use the GVW of the rv whether it's loaded to that weight or not..It makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE...No one tows one "empty" or "dry", nor do they drop "dry pin weight" onto their hitch...sorry, it just doesn't make any sense.

Mobile Suites, in my opinion has a very good, high quality unit. To the OP, just make sure your truck is up to towing it, I'd take the GVW of the 5er and take 20% of that to figure out what kind of pin weight you'll be dropping in the bed of the truck...There are still a whole lot of campgrounds out there that you shouldn't have any issues at all camping in. My 5er is at 39' 9" and I've camped everywhere we wanted to stay...just looked at sites on the internet to see which one's work best for my unit.

The reason a lot of people do not use GVW is its way to much weight to be realistic. The industry standard for a family of "4" is 600 to 800lb's of stuff. A good rule of thumb is just add 1000lb's to the base weight and you should be close. Also if your going to add a generator and washer-dryer, you have to include that in your base weight, because that weight will always be there.

Lets face it most larger trailers are 3500 to 4000lb's of payload, that's the weight of an automobile. if I was carrying 3000lb's of stuff I would be rethinking what I'm bringing.

Wow, only 200 per person, what dream world do you live in! I have seen these people that basically bring it ALL with them camping. Much better to look at GVWR, and Payload capacity to get an estimated towing weight.
Most people greatly under estimate the weight of what they are adding to their trailer.
Falls right in the category of a vehicles MAX tow rating, which is based on a stripper model of the vehicles, not the plush one they drive and tow with.
Max Tow + Dry weight = Bad towing experience.

NC Hauler wrote:
I still don't understand why people use "empty weight/dry weight's" of a 5er to give examples of....One REALLY needs to use the GVW of the rv whether it's loaded to that weight or not..It makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE...No one tows one "empty" or "dry", nor do they drop "dry pin weight" onto their hitch...sorry, it just doesn't make any sense.

Mobile Suites, in my opinion has a very good, high quality unit. To the OP, just make sure your truck is up to towing it, I'd take the GVW of the 5er and take 20% of that to figure out what kind of pin weight you'll be dropping in the bed of the truck...There are still a whole lot of campgrounds out there that you shouldn't have any issues at all camping in. My 5er is at 39' 9" and I've camped everywhere we wanted to stay...just looked at sites on the internet to see which one's work best for my unit.

The reason a lot of people do not use GVW is its way to much weight to be realistic. The industry standard for a family of "4" is 600 to 800lb's of stuff. A good rule of thumb is just add 1000lb's to the base weight and you should be close. Also if your going to add a generator and washer-dryer, you have to include that in your base weight, because that weight will always be there.

Lets face it most larger trailers are 3500 to 4000lb's of payload, that's the weight of an automobile. if I was carrying 3000lb's of stuff I would be rethinking what I'm bringing.

NC Hauler wrote:
I still don't understand why people use "empty weight/dry weight's" of a 5er to give examples of....One REALLY needs to use the GVW of the rv whether it's loaded to that weight or not..It makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE...No one tows one "empty" or "dry", nor do they drop "dry pin weight" onto their hitch...sorry, it just doesn't make any sense.

Mobile Suites, in my opinion has a very good, high quality unit. To the OP, just make sure your truck is up to towing it, I'd take the GVW of the 5er and take 20% of that to figure out what kind of pin weight you'll be dropping in the bed of the truck...There are still a whole lot of campgrounds out there that you shouldn't have any issues at all camping in. My 5er is at 39' 9" and I've camped everywhere we wanted to stay...just looked at sites on the internet to see which one's work best for my unit.

No kidding! Throughout years of RV'ing we learned that Newton omitted a couple of laws regarding the purchase/sales of RV's in general.

If the salesman's lips are moving.....!
Showing up with an old Chevy Corvair Greenbriar will elicit "we have just the 34' unit for you"....!
The sticker in the kitchen cupboard listing all the weights is accurate to within plus or minus 12,000lbs.....!
Tires will last only until you get the thing off the lot and far enough away that your temper-motivated desire to have the thing returned to the dealer's lot with a lemon sign on it will involve a towing fee too large to consider....!
Refrigerators will fail with a frequency in direct relationship with how much and how expensive the food is contained within.....!

We prevailed as most folks do, and enjoyed many years of RV'ing in spite of it's various challenges. The last few were with a 38' Mobile Suites towed by an International 4400. Loved that thing.

I still don't understand why people use "empty weight/dry weight's" of a 5er to give examples of....One REALLY needs to use the GVW of the rv whether it's loaded to that weight or not..It makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE...No one tows one "empty" or "dry", nor do they drop "dry pin weight" onto their hitch...sorry, it just doesn't make any sense.

Mobile Suites, in my opinion has a very good, high quality unit. To the OP, just make sure your truck is up to towing it, I'd take the GVW of the 5er and take 20% of that to figure out what kind of pin weight you'll be dropping in the bed of the truck...There are still a whole lot of campgrounds out there that you shouldn't have any issues at all camping in. My 5er is at 39' 9" and I've camped everywhere we wanted to stay...just looked at sites on the internet to see which one's work best for my unit.

I would doubt that it weights just 12,800 lbs. dry. More like 16 or 17 K and around 18 to 19 when fully loaded for living in. Mine is a 36' and we upgraded the weight rating so we come in at 20.5K with 4500 pin weight. On the axles we carry 16,000 so it is a heavy rig. Would I weekend with it? Sure but it wouldn't be loaded with everything we carry but would still be BIG and HEAVY. Not for state or county parks as it's very hard to maneuver in small places.

My 36' Mobile Suites weighs 16,400# with supplies for a week and full water tank. Best constructed RV I have ever owned and there have been 5 other brands before this one. I can camp in the winter of northern MI in Zero degrees or summertime in 90's and stay comfortable due to how well the unit is insulated. 1 ton truck would be needed as pin weights are in the 3500# range depending on how equipped. Washer/ Dryer adds pin weight as does how much stuff is put into the large basement.

Mobility depends on where you like to camp. Older campgrounds with a ton of trees gets tight but most will have at least a few sites that are big rig friendly. You just have to ask and maybe make reservations farther out to be sure you get one of the larger sites.
Getting into sites can also depends on your level of backing talent.

I'm 10 years from retirement so all of my use is many extended weekends or a week at a time as far as my 5 weeks of vacation go each year. Randu

janegowest wrote:
There is a 36' MS for sale in our area that the couple had purchased to live in while they were house hunting for 3 years. The pics look really good. She said that this unit is NOT for weekend camping, due to its being 12,800 lbs. dry weight.

Is what she said true? We will need to live in ours for a while but will be doing some traveling as well. Is this weight not a good choice for traveling around?

I'd agree that it's not really intended for weekend camping -- more like extended trips, extended stays or full-timing. I think of a "weekend camping unit" as a smaller one like our 27' footer. It was cheap to build and cheap to buy. It wouldn't last a year under heavy use, but when only used a for few weekends and a short vacation each year, it'll last for decades.

We'd have trouble parking a 36-foot 5er in any of our favorite spots for weekends, and since we don't spend much time inside on weekend trips, it would be a bit of a waste to invest in a high-dollar 5th wheel and a dually to haul it with.

That's not to say a Mobile Suites couldn't be used for weekends. It would be fine, just overkill. I'd trade even-up for one in a heartbeat. I'll likely trade for something like it in a few years when we plan to do longer trips or full-time, but for right now we simply don't NEED something of that size and quality.

janegowest wrote:
There is a 36' MS for sale in our area that the couple had purchased to live in while they were house hunting for 3 years. The pics look really good. She said that this unit is NOT for weekend camping, due to its being 12,800 lbs. dry weight.

Is what she said true? We will need to live in ours for a while but will be doing some traveling as well. Is this weight not a good choice for traveling around?

3 years house hunting? Really? Anyway, if I listened to that lady we wouldn't weekend camp in our 41 foot, 15,000 pound dry weight (19,000 GVWR) tow hauler. But we do. We have a dually and we drag this thing everywhere, whether it's for a couple of weeks or a week end. I don't think that lady has a clue what she's talking about. One other thing, that 12,800 does seem light for a MS - I'd double check that.

janegowest wrote:
Thank you! Will pulling a trailer that heavy with a dually take more gas than a lighter trailer, like say around 7,800 lbs. dry weight with a smaller truck?

Sure will take more gas and you will be excluded by size from some state and national parks
Example 5 of the campgrounds in Yosemite have a 35 foot limit
4 have a 40 foot limit with others having lesser limits