DP with only a 7000lb or less towing capacity...why?

JimM68 wrote:
The Monaco and HR rigs mentioned by the OP are both rr4r chassis rigs. These were the light duty, entry level chassis. Some say the trailing arm failures on these chassis are what put Monaco under.

The cross country, those are entry level too.

Many manufacturers tried hard to put a low cost DP out there.
These rigs gave up quite a bit.

Not quite ...

The Vacationer is a Roadmaster RSR Rail Chassis (see link above) with leaf springs. The trailing arm issue was on the higher level Neptune coach with the Roadmaster R4R, 4 bag air suspension.

We Cant Wait wrote:
Even now with new DP coach's if the motor is 350hp or less you'll have the Allison 2500 trans and that trans has a 5000lb towing limit.

Please post a link to a single 350 HP diesel with Allison 2500 transmission. It WILL have the Allison 3000 series.

The Monaco and HR rigs mentioned by the OP are both rr4r chassis rigs. These were the light duty, entry level chassis. Some say the trailing arm failures on these chassis are what put Monaco under.

The cross country, those are entry level too.

Many manufacturers tried hard to put a low cost DP out there.
These rigs gave up quite a bit.

The Allison documentation has ratings for both HP, torque, and weight. The Thor Palazzo 33.x (where x=1,2 or 3) are all on a Freightliner 28k chassis with a maximum tow rating of 10k and a GCWR of 33k however the Allison MH2100 has maximum ratings of 26K GVWR, and 30k GCWR. It still has a 10k tow rating but that would be very difficult to achieve and not exceed the GCWR unless you are empty. Allison doesn't set the tow rating directly they set the GVWR and GCWR for each transmission. The coach manufacturer chooses what hitch to put on the coach. The user must keep the weights under the maximum allowed.

At a rally, I attended an Allison seminar. Their transmissions are not limited by weight, but by HP and torque. Here are the limits:

All transmissions below the Allison 3000: Max HP 340, Max torque 575...not positive of these numbers.
Allison 3000: Max HP/Torque is 450/1250.
Allison 4000: Max HP/Torque is 650/1950.

The Allison 2500 MH has a GCW of 33,000 lbs. That is stated right on the Allison website in the specs. Nowhere does it state 5000 lbs towing is max.

Actually the Allison 2500 has a GCWR of 33,000 lbs.
No specific dingy weight from Allison

DSDP Don wrote:
You're talking about three entry level coaches with small engines and the Allison 2500 transmission. The LaPalma and Vacationer started out as gas coaches and were elevated to DP's. Similar to the Fleetwood Bounder. It has traditionally been a gas coach and then they upgraded a few to DP's.

These are typically coaches priced at a level that allows gas shoppers to make that first step up into a DP. The Thor Palazzo would be another example.

Not every DP has a huge chassis. The majority are designed to tow 10K with some of the big boys being able to do 15K.

This pretty much sums it up.

I remember looking at the first Vacationer DP and walked away disappointed. For a DP it lacked a lot of full features, like air brakes, air suspension & a Alison 3000 transmission, but it was still a DP.

The Alison 1000 it came with is a good transmission, but for the weight of this coach and a tow, it had it's limits.

Good try, but far from a home run ... might as well stay with a good gas rig that has all the same amenities, but lighter.

Vacationer Diesel Brochure

Even now with new DP coach's if the motor is 350hp or less you'll have the Allison 2500 trans and that trans has a 5000lb towing limit.

My guess it's the 2500 Allison. It's rated for 25000 pounds. And 7000 will let you tow about anything.

The Bounder DP had an Allison 3000'and is rated for 10000 pounds.