Stuck in the mud

msmith1199 wrote:

Rich D. wrote:

C20 wrote:
Thank you all. I looked up towing companies here and there is one that does heavy trucks and rv's. ill ask coach net if we can use them. I got stuck once at talladega and a little one ton wrecker pulled me out but he was able to hook on the back at the hitch. Not so now.

I'm sorry if I double posted. Didn't mean to.

NEVER attempt to pull out a stuck motorhome by having the wrecker hook up to the hitch! Remember that the hitch has a rating much, much lower than the weight of the motorhome! For example, my last coach had a 10,000 lb capacity hitch and weighed 50,000 lbs. Attempting to pull 50,000 lbs with it could make for a catastrophic failure and rip the hitch right off.

If the operator can get under the front, they can safely use a wheel lift to raise the front and pull it out. Also remember that the frame may be located up quite high (over the storage compartments) and many have a removable panel at the front that exposes a tow point on the frame.

But that's a 10,000 pound rating for towing something at highway speeds. That doesn't mean if you tow something over that weight that the hitch is going to fly off. However, I would agree you have to be careful when pulling a 50,000 motorhome no matter where you attach the tow hook. I'd have no problem using the hitch as long as the truck operator pulled smoothly and as long as I was helping by driving the coach out of the mud.

I agree that the hitch is not a great place to hook to but when you are stuck somewhere you don't always have that much choice - it's not as if there are tow hooks anywhere on the motor home. Also, they aren't pulling the motor home off the ground so it's not lifting the full weight.

Best of luck. Let us know how it goes (I'm actually quite curious because I was recently stuck in a field and had a tow truck on the way but managed to get myself out (using the jacks to raise and then placing those tracks you use when stuck on ice under the wheels) but I was really worried about how it was going to pull me out and the potential damage to the motor home.