Towing capacity - surprisingly little on new coaches

I don’t think the weight limits of the hitch is misleading, but an accurate measure of what the hitch can support. When they make the hitch they have no idea what they hitch will be attached to, or how much the vehicle can handle. What other measure do they have or would you realistically like to see FROM the hitch maker? A jeans maker will say their pants will handle a man with a size 38 waist. It’s not their fault that you can’t fit your size 44 butt in them.

I do think perhaps the manufacturer should post a big yellow sign that says based on the a fully loaded vehicle per stated weights, how much the vehicle as delivered can tow. Especially for those that are weak in math, or have no clue what the numbers already provided mean.

It would also be nice, if not already considered, by the manufacturer of the MH to make sure their designs and contents leave sufficient room for towing (not to mention contents) a average size car. Of course it doesn’t help much when the size and weight of toads has increased with the move to SUV’s. But I don’t give this one much hope. I personally believe that no RV designed actually uses one, or they would not put things where they do.

Some Gas MH’s like mine have a 4k lb CCC. While other like my buddy’s 17 Fleetwood Bounder have only 1700lbs.
With mine I can actually tow 6k lbs with how I load for a trip. However I would have to replace the hitch.

I never realized how low some of the DP’s could be. Thanks for the info. Never would’ve thought it would be an issue on a DP.

way2roll wrote:

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Really. Plenty of race tracks in your area. Go look at what they are pulling. If the hitch is substantial enough and the motor has enough horsepower they do it. Some use a “Trailer Toad” to carry the tongue weight. Many DPs can be had with 4-500hp. A Freightliner chassis will handle it.

I realize there are plenty of MH's out there that don't suffer from lack of capacity. I was merely stating that a lot of new MH's do. And I was naive enough to think that even entry level Dp's were immune to this by virtue of being a DP. Seems like I was wrong.

I like to do things the proper way, which means weighing loaded for travel, doing the math and ensuring I am within capacity. IMHO it's pretty irresponsible for manufacturers to make the tolerances in capacity so tight that the 10k hitch they like to tout as a selling point, is worthless and frankly misleading. By the time you load people, water, food, clothes etc, there's nothing left. But unless buyers do their homework they are left with the understanding that it has a 10k hitch so I can tow 10k. And I am confident there isn't a dealer out there that will advise them otherwise without being prodded.

Glad you are doing this the right way. Our 2006 gasser has a 5k hitch, but if you do the math and load the MH to it's carrying capacity there is only 4k left for towing. My point is this is probably not a new thing AFA manufacturers playing with the numbers.

Al

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Really. Plenty of race tracks in your area. Go look at what they are pulling. If the hitch is substantial enough and the motor has enough horsepower they do it. Some use a “Trailer Toad” to carry the tongue weight. Many DPs can be had with 4-500hp. A Freightliner chassis will handle it.

I realize there are plenty of MH's out there that don't suffer from lack of capacity. I was merely stating that a lot of new MH's do. And I was naive enough to think that even entry level Dp's were immune to this by virtue of being a DP. Seems like I was wrong.

I like to do things the proper way, which means weighing loaded for travel, doing the math and ensuring I am within capacity. IMHO it's pretty irresponsible for manufacturers to make the tolerances in capacity so tight that the 10k hitch they like to tout as a selling point, is worthless and frankly misleading. By the time you load people, water, food, clothes etc, there's nothing left. But unless buyers do their homework they are left with the understanding that it has a 10k hitch so I can tow 10k. And I am confident there isn't a dealer out there that will advise them otherwise without being prodded.

It saves money Well built trailers like North wood usually have larger towing capacity.

Really. Plenty of race tracks in your area. Go look at what they are pulling. If the hitch is substantial enough and the motor has enough horsepower they do it. Some use a “Trailer Toad” to carry the tongue weight. Many DPs can be had with 4-500hp. A Freightliner chassis will handle it.

your math and comment about actual weighing needing to be done are spot on. from earlier comments on this and other forums my personal belief is that many don't care or don't want to know.