youth4him wrote:
Hey there!
We've been long-time campers, but have been in the travel trailer crowd with a 23' then 32' with living room slide.
We know that a MH is a good fit for us (2 of us, about to be empty nesters, want to pull a car trailer). We'd like to find a diesel pusher, but budget might not make that possible.
Most of the time, we'll be pulling a 4500' car trailer, but may end up at 5500' if we put a Jeep on it (or we could just go 4-down with it).
We are thinking a $20,000 or less budget, though, is that realistic at all? We've seen a lot of them on rvtrader, etc in that price range.
We don't mind the 1990's coaches, and then doing cosmetic upgrades, we just want to have a good solid base to work with that we can use and then slowly build out.
We're hoping to find a "forever" unit and build it out the way we want.
People are on both sides of the fence with gas units. For me, it's a little easier to work on since I build cars and race cars, diesel is a new animal for me.
The things that concern me with gassers:
1) Cockpit Noise
2) Power - especially this big mountain passes and towing
3) Towing capacity (related to 2.)
Everything else seems to be preferential.
We aren't opposed to a Class C either, if that sounds like a better option.
Thanks in advance!
many 90's gas coaches will have a Class II hitch capable of pulling 3500-lbs. a Class III hitch is nominally rated at 5000-lbs; a Class IV hitch at 10,000-lbs. It' unusual to find a Class IV hitch on a gas motorhome but since you're looking for a diesel you may have better luck.
regardless, be very careful when purchasing a MH. understand the weight of the MH as well as it's weight
ratings.
- GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating): the maximum weight the chassis can support including itself.
- GCWR (gross combination weight rating): the maximum weight the vehicle can propel including itself.
- GAWR (gross axle weight rating): the maximum weight each axle can support. each axle will have a different GAWR. in a MH the sum of the GAWRs will usually, but not always, equal the GVWR.
- GVW (gross vehicle weight): the total weight of the MH as you have loaded it for travel. includes food, fuel, fresh water, clothing, supplies,
people, pets and stuff.
- GAW (gross axle weight): the total weight of the above loaded MH on each axle. please note that the GAW on a particular axle should not exceed that axle's GAWR.
- Empty Weight: the weight of the MH with full fuel and LP tanks but which is otherwise empty of food, fresh water, clothing, supplies,
people, pets and stuff.
- Payload: the difference between the GVWR and the Empty Weight and represents how much additional weight can be added.
in general, the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow (diesel or gas) will be the lesser of the following:
• the GCWR (gross combination weight rating) of the MH minus the actual weight of the MH as it is loaded for travel (includes fuel, fresh water, food, clothing, people, pets, supplies, etc.)
• the weight rating of your tow bar
• the weight rating of your hitch
this is why it's vital to know what your MH weighs...by axle...as it is loaded and configure for travel before choosing a toad.
load the MH as you would for a trip including fuel, water, food, clothing, pets, supplies and people. get individual axle weights and compare them to the GAWR for that axle. if either axle is overweight then either move weight to the other axle or eliminate the weight altogether. you need to check individual axle weights because it is possible to be under the GVWR of the MH even if one axle is overweight. I know 'cuz it happened to us.
