I just acquired a 2006 GULF STREAM B TOURING CRUISER 5270 and has a hitch rated at 5,000 lbs installed. It has a Ford 6.0 Turbo Diesel engine. I am going to flat tow my jeep and it weighs 5,220 lbs empty with 1/2 tank of gas. I was looking at the documentation that came with the RV and it states that I can tow up to 10,000 lbs.Should I upgrade my hitch to a higher rating to flat tow my jeep?Thanks!Russ

I would. Did on our MH. There are plenty of hitches made to fit the 350 / 450 chassis which IIRC is 34" wide. Check to see if the coach builder extended the frame, that can complicate things.

Good point on the possibility of the coach builder extended frame possibility.That is the weak link on our old Class A. Some have ran heavy chains from the OEM frame to the hitch itself for added safety. If your hitch attaches to the OEM truck frame directly I know what I would do. :)

Me personally. I would tow AS IS 270# won't make that much difference. The mfg. has more than that as a built in safety factor. I wouldn't go over 500# overweight though.Marvin

Since flat towing means practically no tongue weight, just pulling/pushing/steering forces, you could probably get away with using the stock hitch. But it's always a better idea to upgrade the hitch to one with the proper rating.

The forces on a hitch when flat towing are not weight but side to side twisting as it has to first start to drag the front wheels sideways before they start to caster the right direction. That can be a fair amount of stress especially for a jeep with big tires, but I would bet that the hitch rating was more concerned with the 500 to 750lbs of tongue weight that was to be expected way at the back of an extended frame that is now several feet behind the rear wheel balancing point. I don't think I would have much of a problem with it, but as mentioned I wouldn't push it too much either, like don't load all the bikes on the back or fill the jeep with all the extra camping gear.

Tow Rating Hitch | Good Sam Community

Mich_F
Explorer
Aug 02, 2016
SoCalDesertRider wrote:
Mich F wrote:
dangerruss wrote:
I was able to post a picture of the frame extension in a previous post. Looks pretty solid...
Your frame is probably also extended between the front and rear axles. I believe the longest wheelbase offered from Ford was 176". Yours is probably around 200".
I think Ford offered 200" wheelbase chassis on the E450's.

I don't think so.
2006 E450 chassis specs
SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Aug 02, 2016
Mich F wrote:
dangerruss wrote:
I was able to post a picture of the frame extension in a previous post. Looks pretty solid...
Your frame is probably also extended between the front and rear axles. I believe the longest wheelbase offered from Ford was 176". Yours is probably around 200".
I think Ford offered 200" wheelbase chassis on the E450's.
SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Aug 02, 2016
The picture is now up.

The extension joint welding looks alright from this side.

I would have used a full height fish plate and welded it full length along each lower and upper edge, instead of the small, random stitch welds.

Did they 'box' the inside of the channel with another plate welded along the upper and lower the flange edges?
Mich_F
Explorer
Aug 02, 2016
dangerruss wrote:
I was able to post a picture of the frame extension in a previous post. Looks pretty solid...

Your frame is probably also extended between the front and rear axles. I believe the longest wheelbase offered from Ford was 176". Yours is probably around 200".
dangerruss
Explorer
Aug 01, 2016
I was able to post a picture of the frame extension in a previous post. Looks pretty solid...
Mich_F
Explorer
Aug 01, 2016
Ford might have rated the van portion to tow 10,000#, but I doubt Gulfstream rated the finished motor home to tow more than 5,000#. A 3,500# tow rating was more common back then, not that it couldn't tow more, if the frame extension was done properly, and is still in good shape.
SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Aug 01, 2016
Picture didn't work
dangerruss
Explorer
Aug 01, 2016
Not familiar with truck chassis, but this picture shows a weld joint and a solid plate bolted over the weld joint. So, in conclusion, I believe the chassis has been extend.

Hope I did this picture attachment correctly. Be better is you could just upload a picture...

Russ
rekoj71
Explorer
Jul 31, 2016
The forces on a hitch when flat towing are not weight but side to side twisting as it has to first start to drag the front wheels sideways before they start to caster the right direction. That can be a fair amount of stress especially for a jeep with big tires, but I would bet that the hitch rating was more concerned with the 500 to 750lbs of tongue weight that was to be expected way at the back of an extended frame that is now several feet behind the rear wheel balancing point. I don't think I would have much of a problem with it, but as mentioned I wouldn't push it too much either, like don't load all the bikes on the back or fill the jeep with all the extra camping gear.
SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Jul 31, 2016
Since flat towing means practically no tongue weight, just pulling/pushing/steering forces, you could probably get away with using the stock hitch. But it's always a better idea to upgrade the hitch to one with the proper rating.