Class A Towing capacity

Ibligh is just exactly what I was referring to----he knows it all and has probably done none of it. On the other hand I have been doing it for over 40 years I guess, usually over 30,000 or so miles a year, never had an accident, (no accident when ball broke) never a citation, and never had any problems related to towing happen to the DP or the trailer. But from my experience in the past few years with this unit it tows up mountains, stops when asked to, and does just as I expect it to. Anyone can have an accident no matter how hard you try to avoid it.....Maybe you should walk through the pits at an automobile race and take a look at what is towing what especially here in NC where we are allowed to be 90ft long. Oh and some hitches are rated at 20,000lbs. That is 10 tons!!!!!!

TDInewguy wrote:
There is 10,000lb capacity on diesels, but two things. the hitch rating AND the tranmission. The lower cost diesel motorhomes USUALLY have the Allison 2000 or 2500 transmission, and the beefy ones have the Allison 3000 transmission. This is a big piece in the tow capacity.

I have an allison 3000 and can safely tow 10,000 all day long and I have done it for over 40,000 miles. I did have a custom hitch made that was much stronger than the OEM hitch, but that is another discussion and is related to my wanting things to be more than safe.

good luck on your search!

This is exactly how things like this get started. Where did the idea that "There is 10,000lb capacity on diesels, but two things. the hitch rating AND the transmission" come from because that simply is NOT TRUE. There are many components that come into play when GVWR and GCWR ratings are established.

First, there are many coaches that have a GCWR greater than 10,000 lbs. So, your statement that "there is a 10,000 lb capacity on diesels..." is completely incorrect. As an example, on our current coach, we have a GVWR of 44,600. We have a GCWR of 59,600 and a hitch capacity of 15,000. So, clearly we have a maximum towing capacity of 15,000 lbs.

Second, your statement that the hitch and the transmission alone set these ratings is incorrect. The overall GCWR is set by the manufacturer looking at many different items ie: axle capacity, frame engineering etc. and using industry standards.

The last piece of advise I would give is before you ever entertain the idea of custom making a hitch as you have stated, you first get a copy of the welders liability insurance information. Hitches are rated for a reason and the guy at the local welding shop has no means of rating any hitch.

Safe travels.

There is 10,000lb capacity on diesels, but two things. the hitch rating AND the tranmission. The lower cost diesel motorhomes USUALLY have the Allison 2000 or 2500 transmission, and the beefy ones have the Allison 3000 transmission. This is a big piece in the tow capacity.

I have an allison 3000 and can safely tow 10,000 all day long and I have done it for over 40,000 miles. I did have a custom hitch made that was much stronger than the OEM hitch, but that is another discussion and is related to my wanting things to be more than safe.

good luck on your search!

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Don't make it more difficult than it is----I have been towing way over 10,000lbs almost every weekend and over 100,000mi with current DP for over 10 years without a problem-----in 40+ years of towing the only "accident" I ever had hitch wise was the 2 5/16 ball sheared off of the hitch. Not the hitch, the ball. You follow all the advice given by some of the experts on here and you will WALK!!!!!

Difficult? It isn't difficult. Maximum ratings are just that... maximum ratings. I notice you don't say anything about your ratings? Just by your tone I assume you are exceeding your ratings? What are they? Assuming that you are exceeding your ratings, while you claim to have escaped having an accident to this point, I for one, just would like to know who you are and not be along side or behind you when you do have a serious accident. If/when that time comes and someone is seriously hurt or killed, a law school student would have a field day with you and your knowing about the situation you created and could also have your insurance company leave you hanging due to irresponsible and negligent behavior. Maybe you are the kind of person who also exceeds GVWR and feels that is OK also?

Safe travels

Don't make it more difficult than it is----I have been towing way over 10,000lbs almost every weekend and over 100,000mi with current DP for over 10 years without a problem-----in 40+ years of towing the only "accident" I ever had hitch wise was the 2 5/16 ball sheared off of the hitch. Not the hitch, the ball. You follow all the advice given by some of the experts on here and you will WALK!!!!!

Hudsoner wrote:
I have a 30 1/2 gasser with the Ford V10. The engine and the drive train would allow me to tow almost 10000 lbs (according to the GCWR). I have a 5000lbs hitch on it, but I reinforced this hitch and the hitch attachment points (I feel it is good for about 7000 lbs. The motorhome can pull this weight with ease, but for the stopping reasons mentioned before, I would not pull anything over 200 lbs without auxiliary brakes. Many states require these brakes for anything heavier than 2000 - 3000 lbs..
You should check with your state requirements!

Where did you get the GCWR rating for your coach that stated it had a 10,000 lb towing capacity? While I don't have the specs for your particular coach, I can tell you that Ford for 2014 does not show any of their chassis with an available towing capacity over 7000 lbs. The specifications for their chassis run from as little as 4000 lbs to a maximum of 7000 lbs. To get to those numbers, I believe that Ford has increased their capacity over the past few model years. They are also increasing that capacity further for 2015 I believe. In looking at your profile I believe that you are driving a 2001 year model coach?

Also, I would caution anyone from "reinforcing" a rated hitch and believing that they have somehow increased its capacity. The hitch has a rating plate and the capacity shown is its capacity. Sure would hate to see someone have an accident with a modified hitch exceeding its capacity possibly hurting or killing someone.

Safe travels.

I have a 30 1/2 gasser with the Ford V10. The engine and the drive train would allow me to tow almost 10000 lbs (according to the GCWR). I have a 5000lbs hitch on it, but I reinforced this hitch and the hitch attachment points (I feel it is good for about 7000 lbs. The motorhome can pull this weight with ease, but for the stopping reasons mentioned before, I would not pull anything over 200 lbs without auxiliary brakes. Many states require these brakes for anything heavier than 2000 - 3000 lbs..
You should check with your state requirements!

sandhills wrote:
I apologize as I'm sure this topic has been discussed in the past! We are looking at buying our 1st Class A motorhome(33ft-36ft) but not sure if we should go diesel or gas. At times we will be pulling 5,000-6,000lb trailer and not sure if the gas RV will be able to handle that much. Pretty much just traveling through flatland and smaller hills(no mountains). Thanks for any advice!

While you have been given some good information, unless I missed it, no one has mentioned one VERY IMPORTANT piece of information. That would be the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) for your proposed coach. You may have a hitch rating of 5000 or 10,000 lbs but you may be exceeding the GCWR for the coach at 3000 lbs. Just because you have rated hitch capacity it DOES NOT mean that you have that amount of towing capacity.

Safe travels.

I am a racer also. For years the old 90' P30 chassis pulled my 28' with all the stuff that ended up probably 8,000 lbs plus a little. Reinforced hitch a must. Load levelers and sway control. Air bags in the rear. It did fine power wise. Trailer brakes also a must. Windy days were a bear though. Never felt at-ease pulling it. Just got a pusher, and it is all a different story.

Now about hitches. I couldn't find appropriate hitches for either coach. I ended up reinforcing both, and never looked back. They need to be stout. If going gas, look for one with less overhang beyond the rear axle.

I pulled a 32' trailer loaded with race car and lots of track equipment and spare parts with a 460 Ford. Never had a problem on hills. I did have the hitch reinforced.