Forum Discussion

Sabluka's avatar
Sabluka
Explorer
Jun 27, 2013

Towing with older W. Minnie Winnie

I'm on the cusp of buying a used 2000 30'DL with 20k miles. Having it checked now.

I fnd the owners manual and it says:

The factory installed towing hitch on this
coach is capable of pulling 3,500 lbs. (max.) and
carrying 350 lbs. (max.) on the hitch ball.....

I need to tow a trailer with maybe 500-1k in it.

Any gurus think this wld be a prob?

Also, the manual says do not use weight dist hitch..I don;t understand that at all.

Advice please?

Tanks

Rick...leaving Ak = 4,250+/- -miles back to Ga.
  • I bght the RV.

    Needs alignment.

    Having the cabover and roof caulked and 2-loose corner mouldings repaired back in place.

    I fig I can redo the caulking on the sides.

    Is there a how-to section on recaulking..I'll look here and at the Winnebago web site.

    Steps are probably;

    1. Remove existing caulk.

    2. Clean with some sort of solvent.

    3. Re-caulk.

    RR
  • OK thanks..All makes sense..

    Got some Lincoln welding gear thats heavy along with tools..

    Wonder if a lower cargo area wld handle a Lincoln tombstone ac/cd welder. weight abt 135-lbs.

    I'll load it up and weight it then tailor the trailer ( have to buy) to not exceed the totals.

    Ya know,..."the more complicated I get, the older the world seems Ha!".

    Rick
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    By 500-1000# I think you mean the load in the trailer, not the trailer tongue weight. If it's load within the trailer, then what does the empty trailer weigh? If the traier weighs 500 empty and you put 1000 in it, that's 1500 and your tongue weight shouldn't need to be above 150 to tow the trailer without having it whip behind the coach.

    How heavy is the coach, as loaded for travel? Jayco stuck a label by our hitch saying the coach brakes are rated at GVWR (max fully loaded coach weight) not GCWR (coach and trailer combined). That could mean that you should have brakes on your trailer, even if it doesn't fall under state DMV rules to have brakes on it. For example, our 2002 E450 has GVWR 14050. Say we actually scale out at 12500. That'd leave 1500 that Ford wouldn't expect to have its own brakes.
  • A weight distributing hitch puts a lot of stress on the frame and there is a pretty good extension on a 30' C. In addition to the weight from the tongue you are also attempting to lift the MH rear to transfer some more weight to the front. That is the problem on a frame extension. It wasn't made for that purpose.
  • If the hitch capacity is listed as 3500 lbs trailer weight and 350 pounds tongue weight, then that's just what it is. You have to make sure you are not over your chassis Gross Combined Weight Rating and your rear axle's maximum weight. If you have a 1000 pound cargo load and your trailer weighs less than 2500 pounds empty, then you should be fine.