Towing

[Larrysr1957]

My question is has anyone pulled a full size pickup with a 35 ft gas motor home I have a 1997 Fleetwood Bounder 34V with a Ford 460 engine and my tow limit is 3500 lbs my truck is 4900 lbs.

[PastorCharlie]

There is a difference in a tow limit and a pulling limit dependent upon the ditch rating. Hitches rate their limit for trailer towing which has a tongue weight. If the hitch has 350 tongue weight it has a tow weight of 3,500 pounds for a trailer. That is not addressing a 4 down towing, i.e. wagon type of vehicle which bears it own weight.

Also his Motorhome build may be built with too little CCC therefore maxed out and overweight when loaded for travel.

I was addressing the capability of the '97 Ford 460 CI engine and E40D transmission to pull the 4,900 pound wagon type vehicle according to my experience, with a properly rated hitch and auxiliary braking system properly adjusted for the specific vehicle being towed.

If his MH is overbuilt for his chassis and his tow combination then he has a problem. Not all '97 35' MH had the same chassis and same weight of house built upon it. Not all taters are alike. 🙂

[dodge_guy]

BTW. My MH is rated at 22k lbs (26k lb chassis). Forest River leaves 5k lbs for towing. But the MH has a CCC if 3500lbs. So I’m under the rated weight for a trip. Hat leaves me with the leftover weight for towing a bit more if I need too.
I have to look at the numbers again to give you actual numbers. But I figure I’m good for towing a 6k lb toad. Of course I would have to replace the hitch first.

[way2roll]

PastorCharlie wrote:

Larrysr1957 wrote:
My question is has anyone pulled a full size pickup with a 35 ft gas motor home I have a 1997 Fleetwood Bounder 34V with a Ford 460 engine and my tow limit is 3500 lbs my truck is 4900 lbs.

I towed a 4,900 lb. pickup with a 35 ft. MH with a 460 motor and 4 speed transmission for a few years and never once had any problem on flat land or mountain. I was under weight on the scales for the combination. Towing 4 down does not put any weight on the hitch only on the pulling and what if any on the stopping. If the auxiliary braking system is properly adjusted it will take all of the towed weight stress off the hitch and MH. Actually it can be set to actually pull back on the MH when stopping thus aiding the MH braking. The three potential stress situations are pulling, stopping and sharp turning. I used a 10,00 lb. Blue Ox hitch and a Brake Buddy brake system for the tow.

If you read the instructions on your hitch it is labeled for tongue weight. Such as you would have if towing a trailer. Not when towing 4 down.

I went to my local DMV with the titles for my current MH and tow and they assured me that as long as I was not over the rated weight for the motorhome and not over the 10,000 tow weight I was in compliance with the law. Your state may differ...my advice is to ask the Department of Motor Vehicles in your area...they will tell you Truth and give you the Facts.

Not sure what any of this has to do with the OP who is admittedly 1400 lbs over. You say you were underweight on the scales and he admits he's over. Comparing oranges to basketballs.

[PastorCharlie]

Larrysr1957 wrote:
My question is has anyone pulled a full size pickup with a 35 ft gas motor home I have a 1997 Fleetwood Bounder 34V with a Ford 460 engine and my tow limit is 3500 lbs my truck is 4900 lbs.

I towed a 4,900 lb. pickup with a 35 ft. MH with a 460 motor and 4 speed transmission for a few years and never once had any problem on flat land or mountain. I was under weight on the scales for the combination. Towing 4 down does not put any weight on the hitch only on the pulling and what if any on the stopping. If the auxiliary braking system is properly adjusted it will take all of the towed weight stress off the hitch and MH. Actually it can be set to actually pull back on the MH when stopping thus aiding the MH braking. The three potential stress situations are pulling, stopping and sharp turning. I used a 10,00 lb. Blue Ox hitch and a Brake Buddy brake system for the tow.

If you read the instructions on your hitch it is labeled for tongue weight. Such as you would have if towing a trailer. Not when towing 4 down.

I went to my local DMV with the titles for my current MH and tow and they assured me that as long as I was not over the rated weight for the motorhome and not over the 10,000 tow weight I was in compliance with the law. Your state may differ...my advice is to ask the Department of Motor Vehicles in your area...they will tell you Truth and give you the Facts.

[ncrowley]

I do not think you should exceed the weight you are supposed to tow. So my advice is to not do it.

[tropical36]

tropical36 wrote:

rk911 wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

gswcgi wrote:
If you get into an accident while towing that much over your weighted limit your insurance company will probably tell you to get lost !!

Granted, they may tell you to get lost, if they even have a clue as to weight being a factor or for maybe not wanting to renew your policy next time, but they will have to pay, regardless.

civil suits can be filed by anyone for any reason anytime. but knowingly towing 1400-lbs overweight could be called an ambulance chaser's retirement plan. OP, you do what you want. the fact that you're even asking indicates you have doubts. good luck and be safe.

Again, where's the weak link and if we would have had an Allison 3000 tranny in our old P30, there wouldn't have been an overweight problem and one that never created a safety problem in the first place.
With checking out the specs on some of the newer Pace Arrow, 40ft DP's, the towing capacity is only 800lbs and all because of the Allison 2500 series tranny. Not that anyone, including the owners, pay it any mind and as long as it doesn't alarm and go into limp mode with overheating. I mean what kind of toad, weighs only 800lbs and assuming that one might be at max. GVWR, before hitching up?

[tropical36]

rk911 wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

gswcgi wrote:
If you get into an accident while towing that much over your weighted limit your insurance company will probably tell you to get lost !!

Granted, they may tell you to get lost, if they even have a clue as to weight being a factor or for maybe not wanting to renew your policy next time, but they will have to pay, regardless.

civil suits can be filed by anyone for any reason anytime. but knowingly towing 1400-lbs overweight could be called an ambulance chaser's retirement plan. OP, you do what you want. the fact that you're even asking indicates you have doubts. good luck and be safe.

Again, where's the weak link and if we would have had an Allison 3000 tranny in our old P30, there wouldn't have been an overweight problem.
With checking out the specs on some of the newer Pace Arrow, 40ft DP's, the towing capacity is only 800lbs and all because of the Allison 2500 series tranny. Not that anyone, including the owners, pay it any mind and as long as it doesn't alarm and go into limp mode with overheating. I mean what kind of toad, weighs only 800lbs and assuming that one might be at max. GVWR, before hitching up?

[rk911]

tropical36 wrote:

gswcgi wrote:
If you get into an accident while towing that much over your weighted limit your insurance company will probably tell you to get lost !!

Granted, they may tell you to get lost, if they even have a clue as to weight being a factor or for maybe not wanting to renew your policy next time, but they will have to pay, regardless.

civil suits can be filed by anyone for any reason anytime. but knowingly towing 1400-lbs overweight could be called an ambulance chaser's retirement plan. OP, you do what you want. the fact that you're even asking indicates you have doubts. good luck and be safe.

[tropical36]

gswcgi wrote:
If you get into an accident while towing that much over your weighted limit your insurance company will probably tell you to get lost !!

Granted, they may tell you to get lost, if they even have a clue as to weight being a factor or for maybe not wanting to renew your policy next time, but they will have to pay, regardless.

[Trumpet_Player]

dodge guy wrote:

gswcgi wrote:
If you get into an accident while towing that much over your weighted limit your insurance company will probably tell you to get lost !!

No they won’t. Same could be said if you were speeding and got into an accident.

Now that is a leap if I have ever seen one. Speeding compared to knowingly violating posted certification limits? I wouldn't be so sure about your answer if I were you. And you know this how?

[dodge_guy]

gswcgi wrote:
If you get into an accident while towing that much over your weighted limit your insurance company will probably tell you to get lost !!

No they won’t. Same could be said if you were speeding and got into an accident.

[Trumpet_Player]

RLS7201 wrote:
Ford rated your 17,000lb F53 chassis to tow 8,000lbs. Fleetwood derated your chassis when they installed frame extensions and installed a 3500lb receiver. If you take a look at the installation of the frame extensions, it may scare you. Have those frame extensions beefed up and add a 5000lb receiver and you'll be good to go with that truck.

Richard

Unfortunately, the recommendation to "beef up the frame extensions" is frankly one really bad piece of advice.

As most probably know, the required federal certification sticker as issued by the completed vehicle manufacturer sets the maximum limits allowed for each vehicle. The fact is, if you were over the allowed gross combined weight (as you would be based on your description), having the modifications made as recommended above would actually work against you, if God forbid there were to be an accident. See, a first year law student could present the idea that clearly you knew you had an over capacity/weight issue and you attempted an unapproved modification to try and compensate for the conditions. That would then be turned on you to prove gross negligence on your part. You would also likely see your insurance carrier wash their hands of any liability coverage as a result.

Sorry, that is just the way it works. I have testified many times on issues like these as a SME (Subject Matter Expert) and seen it happen.

[tropical36]

Larrysr1957 wrote:
My question is has anyone pulled a full size pickup with a 35 ft gas motor home I have a 1997 Fleetwood Bounder 34V with a Ford 460 engine and my tow limit is 3500 lbs my truck is 4900 lbs.

Where is the weak link and for possibly correcting it or for at least being aware of it's limitations?
We pulled a ton over, all over the country, as most of these specs. are made for the worst of conditions.
In our case it was the GM tranny, so we had to be careful and for knowing a few tricks, when climbing long 6% grades in hot weather.
Otherwise, we never knew it was back there, just like our present coach, regardless of the terrain.

[RLS7201]

Ford rated your 17,000lb F53 chassis to tow 8,000lbs. Fleetwood derated your chassis when they installed frame extensions and installed a 3500lb receiver. If you take a look at the installation of the frame extensions, it may scare you. Have those frame extensions beefed up and add a 5000lb receiver and you'll be good to go with that truck.

Richard

[gswcgi]

If you get into an accident while towing that much over your weighted limit your insurance company will probably tell you to get lost !!