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ArmyVet717's avatar
ArmyVet717
Explorer
May 02, 2013

New to Dingy towing and toads

My parents just bought Fleetwood Jamboree 31M. They have a Dodge Grand Caravan which weighs in at around 4400#. We are taking a trip cross country in July and are contemplating buying a "toad" or a dolly to tow my Ford Fusion (auto) with. We found two Saturn vehicles, 97 Saturn SW2 with auto transmission, and 99 SL2 also with auto transmission.
We were told that the tow capacity is 5000#, and figure than anything more than 4000# is pushing it.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

11 Replies

  • ArmyVet717 wrote:
    My parents just bought Fleetwood Jamboree 31M. They have a Dodge Grand Caravan which weighs in at around 4400#. We are taking a trip cross country in July and are contemplating buying a "toad" or a dolly to tow my Ford Fusion (auto) with. We found two Saturn vehicles, 97 Saturn SW2 with auto transmission, and 99 SL2 also with auto transmission.
    We were told that the tow capacity is 5000#, and figure than anything more than 4000# is pushing it.
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.


    the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow will be the lesser of the following:

    - the GCWR minus the actual weight of the MH as it is loaded for travel (food, fuel, water, LP, clothing, supplies, pets, people and misc. stuff); OR

    - the weight rating of the MH hitch (Class II 3500-lbs, Class III 5000-lbs, Class IV 10,000-lbs); OR

    - the weight rating of your towbar

    load up the MH as they would for travel and then get individual axle weights at a certified scale. compare those axle weights to the published gross axle weight rating (GAWR) for that motorhome. the actual axle weight must be less than/equal to the rating for that axle. add the two axle weights to arrive at the total rolling weight and then apply the three conditions above. assume nothing.

    as for limiting your towing to something less than the maximum amount...I think that is wise. not because your tow bar or hitch is going to fail at 5001-lbs...I just think it's better to keep the weight of the MH and the weight the MH has to pull as low as practicable. when we tow our jeep wrangler we're at roughly 68% of tow capacity and 84% when we tow our jeep liberty.

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