Towing a large vehicle

Jayco-noslide wrote:
Just as if you were towing anything behind anything, check the manual to see how much it is rated to tow not forgetting what will be in the towed vehicle. And of course, each pound of weight uses more fuel and energy to move. Man, you are brave. I can't imagine going much of anywhere with that big of a family. The weight of your family must be over a ton.

I wish it were as easy as checking the manual but with a motorhome you need to know the gross combined weight, the weight as loaded for a trip which you will not know until you actually have it loaded and all aboard and go to a scale plus the weight of the toad and any towing equipment. You tend to accumulate stuff as time goes by so a couple of hundred pound buffer would be good when starting out. Doing all of that before you commit a lot of money and time is virtually impossible. I suggest that you need to have at least a 5,000lb difference between the GRVR and dryweight and 15,000lb difference between GCWR and dryweight. Both of those figures are pointing towards a tour bus. As I recall my 15 passenger van weighed 6,300lbs empty and if you end up putting it on a trailer the combined weight could easily go to 8,000lbs. Also, most carhauler trailers only have two 3,500 axles under them and would be overloaded with a 15 passenger van since you have to count the trailer weight too and you will probably end up using the van for extra storage while traveling.