stew47 wrote:
trailertraveler wrote:
Stew47,
Lots of good comments so far. I did not see any mention of the added insurance cost for the MH versus the trailer.
As has been mentioned, the power train maintenance on a MH can be substantial. Will it really be worth it for the limited use you plan?
Hard to say whether changing to a lighter trailer or more capable tow vehicle would be more economical and best suit your need for space in the RV. You did not say what about towing with the suburban you are not that satisfied with. Have you explored any upgrades to the suburban such as a Banks system, changing the rear end or better weight distribution/sway control system that might improve the towing experience?
I was just thinking of that yesterday. My insurance cost for the trailer is 8$ a month. I doubt a motor home will be cheaper. My problem with the suburban is it's constantly in second gear going up hills locally. Haven't looked into performance mods. Scared of them really. Gearing change in 4wd prob cost prohibitive. I didn't invest in sway or weight distributing because it seems to ride well.
The particular motorhome you are looking at will be slowing down, dropping down a gear or two, on most hills. Acceleration and hill climbing performance are determined by power to weight ratio, and that class of truck pulling that size TT is in the same power/weight class as a late 90s 32-36 foot A gasser. More recent models have a liitle more power, earlier ones a lot less.
Moreover, that power/weight is valid only when RPMs are in the power band, just over 4000 for Ford and Chevy big block truck engines, closer to 5000 for high output small bore engines. Typical gas truck motor torque curve mean engine has less than 1/2 the power at full throttle and 2000-2500 as it does at full throttle and peak HP RPM typically around 4000-5000.
What you experience towing is the cost of dragging a house around. Improvement comes from less weight or more power, and that means a lot less weight (20-22 feet of house instead of 30-35) or a lot more power (350-400 HP instead of 200-250). If it is still a gas engine, it will still need high RPM to get the full power it can produce.
Most people do better with their RV experience when they learn what to expect for performance.In most cases, RVs get heavier in proportion as the become more powerful, although at a very high price you can find larger motorhomes where the motor is a little more ahead of the home's weight.
Cheaper approach, in addition to getting lighter, is turbodiesel power, easiest to do with a tow vehicle upgrade. You still need higher RPM for max power, but for small diesels that might be 3000 RPM and big ones 1200-1800, but power bands get narrow and you start working with six to eighteen gears instead of three to five needed on wider range gas engines.
