Can tow or Can't tow?? So confused.

[water_witch]

I have a 2008 Winnie View 24 J 3500 Diesel, new to me since summer 2014.

I have a 2007 Saturn Vue, set up with a Blue Ox tow package for our previous 35 foot motorhome. With auxiliary brake.

The curb weight of my Saturn is 3,300 lbs. I did tow it about 300 miles to PA in August with the View with no problems except that I definitely felt the car behind the View.

Did not feel the car at all when towing behind our previous larger motorhome, so that worried me.

I recently went for service and the very experienced RV service person there told me no way I should tow my 3,300 car behind my View.

Can I tow my Saturn with my View or not? Some people tell me yes, some people tell me no. I don't know how to find out for absolutely sure.

No means I'd have to buy a new toad and equip it with the tow package, which I'd rather avoid if I can safely tow the Vue. But who knows if that is safe???

Any knowledge about this arrangement, suggestions about who can confirm or deny my ability to tow my car would be greatly appreciated.

[Butch50]

I reposted this as I seen water witch was waiting for me to report back.

I finally got my car and it now is set up to tow.

I did measure the distance from the ground to the center of my receiver with it on level ground and it is 24" to the center of the receiver.

Now that I'm set up and had a chance to measure it out with the car there is no worry. The car sits higher than most so it all worked out ok. I only have 1 1/2" difference between the receiver height and the height of the tow bar at the car. So all good to go.

Here is a picture of the rigs hitched up in front of my house when I returned from getting the car all set up.



As you can see I'm on a pretty level street and the hitch up looks pretty good to me and it tows pretty darn good also. I won't say I don't know it is not there because that would be telling a story. I find even when I had my 2013 Ram dually diesel and pulled my enclosed trailer that ways around 2400# I still knew it was there.

I ran home with it at 60MPH + and it never seemed to bother the rig on the freeway. When I entered the freeway I never had any problem getting up to speed to merge in fact it did better than most people around here do. I had a hill to pull on the way home nothing really steep but still a little pull and had no problem maintaining 60 MPH+ on it without shifting down at all. I am still pretty impressed with this Sprinter chassis and the way it runs.

[fortytwo]

I had a 2008 View, and towed a Saturn L300 wagon - about the same weight as your Vue. I had to use a drop hitch as the L-300 brackets were very low and the tow bar angle was great enough to destroy the front end of the L300.

On my way from Florida to Portland, OR to get braces installed on the extension rails of my View - that supported the hitch - the rails had started to deflect downward. Happened as I descended the west side of I-70 from the Eisenhower tunnel. Had braces installed by the Sprinter Store in Portland and towed the L300 for 20k miles with no further movement of the hitch. Sprinter Store will ship the braces. Went through all of the US and Canadian Rockies. Yes you'll know the toad is there on acceleration and climbing mountains. Just keep your rpm up and watch the engine temp. No problems with the engine or tranny pulling your Vue. You'll appreciate the engine braking on the downgrades.

If you look at your extension braces you'll see 3-4 "lightening" holes about 2" in diameter Winnie drilled there to reduce the empty weight of the rails. Also greatly reduced the strength of the rails! Engineers got their degree with a Wheaties boxtop, but forgot to send the quarter!

[water_witch]

Thanks for all the good responses, encouragement and advice! I will try to find a place to weigh my Vue and I will go to the Winnebago website and the Skinnie Winnie forum. And I look forward to hearing how Butch50's Subie tows with his Profile.

[dicknellen]

Tow it! Have fun enjoy life, some people have opinions that are not based on true facts just their opinion. Dick

[Dakzuki]

All the earlier View/Navions are rated to tow 3500 lbs. Later models are rated for 5000 but usually end up limited to about 4000 due to combined weight rating.

Your very experienced RV person is misinformed but don't listen to us. Winnebago is the final arbiter as to what you can tow. Go to their web site or call them directly.

The best source for things View/Navion is here Skinnie Winnie Yahoo Group

[Butch50]

My 2015 View Profile is rated to tow just over 4200#. Ours has the V6 diesel. I having my Subaru getting the base plate and Brake Buddy Stealth installed today. The Subaru is just over 3000# I should know today or tomorrow how mine will tow the Subaru. There is no doubt that you will feel it behind you but there should be no problem but as it was stated I would weigh the Vue and see how much it actually weighs. The weight is going to be somewhat more than the base vehicle with the base plate and all of the other stuff you have to tow a vehicle.

[Bobbo]

Weigh the car as you would normally tow it. If it is below the RV's towing limit of 3500 pounds, go for it.

[ronfisherman]

Here is a Link to the 2008 View brochure.
You may need to weigh you View to determine if you have towing capacity.
Here is note from above brochure.
5 Actual towing capacity is dependent on your particular loading and towing
circumstances which includes the GVWR, GAWR, and GCWR as well as adequate
trailer brakes. Please refer to the Operator’s Manual of your vehicle for further
towing information.
Weights in the brochure show you should have no problems.

[Grandpere]

According to the following web site your outfit can tow 3500 pounds, so your 3300 pound Saturn should be just fine.

http://www.rvguide.com/specs/winnebago/class-c/2008/view/24j.html

[Harvard]

"Feeling the car" behind an RV may indicate your unit may benefit by having more front end +caster. JMO

Here is a link to my experience on a Ford E450 circa 2010