Towing travel trailer with a Sprinter C?

[lss177]

Hi, looking to (occasionally) tow a travel trailer (5K UVW, 27 feet long, 500 pound hitch weight) with a Sprinter diesel Class C... anyone have experience towing a travel trailer with a Sprinter Class C?

Will have WDH and sway control on travel trailer and hitch, fyi. Of course, noticed most Sprinter C's have 5000 pound tow ratings with 500 pound tongue weight limit.

Thanks!

[vjswhippet]

If I remember correctly the sprinter class c has a 3500 lb tow limit.

[Dakzuki]

carringb wrote:
Hitch rating =/= Tow rating.

GCWR of the Sprinter cutaway chassis is 15,250. IMO thats awfully optimistic for 170 HP to start with.

Your motorhome probably already weighs 11,000 pounds, so you'll be down to ~4,000 remaining towing capacity.

Weighing the motorhome is a must. It's pretty easy to max out the rear axle on Sprinters (well, most Class C's really) even without carrying any hitch weight.

...AND the tongue weight of the trailer comes out of the OCCC.

[Cider]

I think you had posted this same question on another forum and I am glad to see that you are getting the same advice here - don't do it..

[ron_dittmer]

lss177 wrote:
Thanks everyone, will heed all of the advice!

Smart move!

A 5000 pound 27' travel trailer is just too much for a Sprinter class C to handle. I could see doing it one time locally to deliver the TT to a charity or a buyer's house, but not doing trips.

I feel it would be less of a challenge, but still concerning with a shorter E350-V10 or longer E450-V10 with a 5000 pound hitch and heavy duty suspension upgrades.

A shorter E450-V10 with the current day 7500 pound hitch and all the available heavy duty suspension upgrades would be a "best case" scenario that could safely work.

[lss177]

Thanks everyone, will heed all of the advice!

[carringb]

Hitch rating =/= Tow rating.

GCWR of the Sprinter cutaway chassis is 15,250. IMO thats awfully optimistic for 170 HP to start with.

Your motorhome probably already weighs 11,000 pounds, so you'll be down to ~4,000 remaining towing capacity.

Weighing the motorhome is a must. It's pretty easy to max out the rear axle on Sprinters (well, most Class C's really) even without carrying any hitch weight.

[bobndot]

Bad idea ! The tongue is never what you think it is and can often be double on a loaded trailer. My 27' Jayco said the tongue was 475# and on average trips it was approx. 900# as per my Sherline scale.

The tail wagging the dog".

or, the tail passing the dog. The last you want to see while driving down the highway is your trailer passing you. :E

[Desert_Captain]

lss177 wrote:
Hi, looking to (occasionally) tow a travel trailer (5K UVW, 27 feet long, 500 pound hitch weight) with a Sprinter diesel Class C... anyone have experience towing a travel trailer with a Sprinter Class C?

Will have WDH and sway control on travel trailer and hitch, fyi. Of course, noticed most Sprinter C's have 5000 pound tow ratings with 500 pound tongue weight limit.

Thanks!

Seriously? :h

Sounds like a very bad idea to me. A 27' TT is going to weigh a lot more than 5,000# loaded and even if it only weighs 5K your tongue weight will be 650# + the 100# of WDH which puts you well above the Sprinters limits. You also might want to check the Sprinters rear axle weight limit, rest assured you will be exceeding it.

Now consider the bulk of a 27' trailer which is going to be larger than your Sprinter and you have the textbook definition of "The tail wagging the dog".

:S

[Oldtymeflyr]

We tow a Ford Ranger which weights 4100#. Its all I care to tow. Lets say this it will go down the level road at 60-65 mph. I am going to be in 4th gear on gradual hills.

On Raton Pass and on the Beeline (AZ 87 Mesa to/from Payson0, we are going to be down to 35 mph, turning 3500 rpm and going to second gear. All of the engine parameters are in the green (I use and recommend a Scan Gauge).

We knew this going into the purchase and we only tow the Ranger on one trip a year. Otherwise when we tow, we generally tow a 3200# Aluminum boat-its a dream.

5000# I won't go there and our plan is not too. You might look at an all aluminum trailer. Our 25' car hauler was steel and it weighed #4000 empty, a beast.

Good luck

Rick