What RV to buy for my towing needs?
Hi everybody. I've been looking for a Motorhome capable of towing a two car trailer, but when I search RVs nobody mentions its towing capacity and most of the time the owners only know the motor's HP ...
Forum Discussion
I have been towing enclosed race trailers for 20+ years now, starting with a 30' gas coach. Can it be done yes, but few in the pre-2000 range have the hitch capacity.
On both my first two coaches I custom fabricated the hitch in order to handle the weight. Our 30' Travelcraft had the carbureted 454 engine/TH400 transmission and we towed a 24' enclosed trailer weighing about 8k pounds. Make certain the trailer has very good brakes as the brakes on the earlier GM P30/P32 chassis were "adequate" at best. Safety concerns should be at the top of your list so do it safely whatever you do.
Our second coach was our first DP. It was a 1991 38' Beaver Contessa on a Gillig chassis. It had a 300 HP CAT engine but was only coupled with the four-speed Allison transmission. It was no ball of fire but handled the trailer very well after fabricating a stronger hitch on the coach. We towed the trailer as well as flat towed our Jeep GC for 7 years and over 65k miles around the western U.S.
From there we stepped up to our current coach, a 40' Dynasty with the ISL400/Allison MD3060 combo. Absolutely fantastic rig on a solid semi-monocoque chassis. It towed our 24' trailer so well we upgraded in 2008 to a 26' Haulmark Edge race trailer. Loaded with sand toys it is right @ 10k pounds, with the Jeep and Harley in the trailer we are @ 12k pounds. I also run a weight distributing hitch although with the tag axle it is not really necessary, it just helps distribute the tongue weight.
For the price range you are looking at I would look at the mid 90's to around 2000 Dynasty or if you run into a screamin' deal an Executive or Signature. Also consider the Country Coaches of the same era and Foretravels as they will have the towing capacity, engine and transmissions that should do what you are asking. They will also be equiped with exhaust brakes. The Foretravel if you could swing it will be equiped with a transmission retarder in place of the exhaust brake. And trust me, despite what you will be told, 8k pounds is not what I would consider "heavy". We recently got out of racing but up until this past year when we traveled with the group we travel with, our rig was one of the smallest and I was the only one without a stacker trailer, although when I ordered our new trailer I did have it built taller than standard.
You will also get a lot of blowback concerning length laws, especially on an RV forum, this one in particular. I belong to a couple of other RV forums and the length police here are definitely high in numbers. However, you cannot go to a racetrack without seeing rows of overlength rigs. Granted it would be my rathers to stay under the 65' length that most states post but I will also say it is not the earth shattering event that many think it is to be slightly overlength. I am sure I will get beat up for that but oh well.
Mike.
On both my first two coaches I custom fabricated the hitch in order to handle the weight. Our 30' Travelcraft had the carbureted 454 engine/TH400 transmission and we towed a 24' enclosed trailer weighing about 8k pounds. Make certain the trailer has very good brakes as the brakes on the earlier GM P30/P32 chassis were "adequate" at best. Safety concerns should be at the top of your list so do it safely whatever you do.
Our second coach was our first DP. It was a 1991 38' Beaver Contessa on a Gillig chassis. It had a 300 HP CAT engine but was only coupled with the four-speed Allison transmission. It was no ball of fire but handled the trailer very well after fabricating a stronger hitch on the coach. We towed the trailer as well as flat towed our Jeep GC for 7 years and over 65k miles around the western U.S.
From there we stepped up to our current coach, a 40' Dynasty with the ISL400/Allison MD3060 combo. Absolutely fantastic rig on a solid semi-monocoque chassis. It towed our 24' trailer so well we upgraded in 2008 to a 26' Haulmark Edge race trailer. Loaded with sand toys it is right @ 10k pounds, with the Jeep and Harley in the trailer we are @ 12k pounds. I also run a weight distributing hitch although with the tag axle it is not really necessary, it just helps distribute the tongue weight.
For the price range you are looking at I would look at the mid 90's to around 2000 Dynasty or if you run into a screamin' deal an Executive or Signature. Also consider the Country Coaches of the same era and Foretravels as they will have the towing capacity, engine and transmissions that should do what you are asking. They will also be equiped with exhaust brakes. The Foretravel if you could swing it will be equiped with a transmission retarder in place of the exhaust brake. And trust me, despite what you will be told, 8k pounds is not what I would consider "heavy". We recently got out of racing but up until this past year when we traveled with the group we travel with, our rig was one of the smallest and I was the only one without a stacker trailer, although when I ordered our new trailer I did have it built taller than standard.
You will also get a lot of blowback concerning length laws, especially on an RV forum, this one in particular. I belong to a couple of other RV forums and the length police here are definitely high in numbers. However, you cannot go to a racetrack without seeing rows of overlength rigs. Granted it would be my rathers to stay under the 65' length that most states post but I will also say it is not the earth shattering event that many think it is to be slightly overlength. I am sure I will get beat up for that but oh well.
Mike.
