Dale.Traveling wrote:
Ductape wrote:
Watch the cargo carrying capacity. Easy to find MH with too little.
And mind the chassis GVWR, GCWR, and gear ratio for what you are considering. We were considering the Winnie 27N vs the Newmar. 27N was 18k gvw and 4.88. Newmar is 20.5k and 5.38.
Spot on. Even with a DP. They are not created equally. As an example a lower cost DP might have a Cummins ISB mated to an Allison 2500 transmission. The Allison is a bit of a weak link in the set up with a weight limit that may restrict your GCWR. Don't shop base on the hitch but do the math. The Thor Palazzo and Tiffin Red both fall into this category. Both are good rigs but they don't have the tow capacity you might need. The Palazzo literature as an example lists a 10K hitch but if you go by the listed GVWR and GCWR the chassis is limited to 5K Lbs.
this is true that you cannot run with the Thor Palazzo at max GVWR and have anywhere near 10K towing however if you watch your weight you have plenty of room. Most normal priced DP units are in the same category. The Palazzo 33.3 has a shipping weight of about 21k with driver and fuel with a GCWR of 30K that leaves a lot of room for towing. With full fresh, grey,and black tanks and full propane with driver it weighs about 23k. Most people don't travel with full black or grey tanks. Depending on the use case you may not need 105 gallons of fresh water either. If you pack light you can still have plenty of tow rating left. You will never get that with a gas coach. The entry level DP units can work especially if you need to keep within a tight budget. Sure I would like to have a DP with a net tow rating of 10K, 15K or 20K but I can't afford $500K - $1.5 for a coach.
