Typical Towing Capacity for Diesel Class A
What is the typical towing capacity for diesel class A? I am going to look at 2002 Bounder that has 300 HP Cummins engine in it. I know it is more complicated than that as we have to consider another ...
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The tow rating is fairly complex on a DP MH (or for that matter a Super C diesel MH). The factors you have to consider over and above the "hitch" rating is the CCWR (Gross Combination Weight Rating). For flat towing you generally don't need to worry about tongue weight. However you do still need to deal with the issue of GCWR. Many DP A motorhomes have 10K hitches as does my Thor Palazzo 33.3 however in my case the GVWR is 26K and the GCWR is 30K. I would not be able to flat tow more than 4K if I am loaded at my max GVWR. This means I need to carefully watch my GVWR ensure I don't exceed my GCWR either. You in some cases can get a DP unit with a GCWR of 33K with a GVWR of 28K but a dry weight of about 22K which can give you a lot of room. There are units from Thor, Winnebago, and Fleetwood and potentially Berkshire that meet this. The other way to go is to a Tiffin, Newmar or Prevost that meet the requirement however those units are much more expensive than the lower end DP units. Think of it this way. A well equipped Thor Palazzo can be had for $139 - $150K whereas a Phaeton runs about $300K - $350K and Newmar and Prevost units are even more expensive. I would ask the seller the following:
GCWR (get a picture of the sticker)
GVWR (get a picture of the sticker)
NCC (Net cargo carrying capacity) which will tell you the UWV (unloaded vehicle weight) (Again get a picture of the sticker)
Hitch rating (sticker on the hitch)
Transmission model
Engine model
With this information you can determine how much headroom you have to tow your F350. It is tough work but can be done. The higher end DP tag axle coaches have large engines and large transmissions so in general they have more available headroom depending on the UWV of the vehicle. It took me a long time to find a suitable unit that would tow my Tahoe within the weight ratings. I really wish I had an Allison MH2500 rather than the Allison MH2100 because that would get me a 33K GCWR and 28K GVWR. According to Freightliner and the number plate the XCS chassis is made to 28K and de-rated due to the transmission selection by Thor.
GCWR (get a picture of the sticker)
GVWR (get a picture of the sticker)
NCC (Net cargo carrying capacity) which will tell you the UWV (unloaded vehicle weight) (Again get a picture of the sticker)
Hitch rating (sticker on the hitch)
Transmission model
Engine model
With this information you can determine how much headroom you have to tow your F350. It is tough work but can be done. The higher end DP tag axle coaches have large engines and large transmissions so in general they have more available headroom depending on the UWV of the vehicle. It took me a long time to find a suitable unit that would tow my Tahoe within the weight ratings. I really wish I had an Allison MH2500 rather than the Allison MH2100 because that would get me a 33K GCWR and 28K GVWR. According to Freightliner and the number plate the XCS chassis is made to 28K and de-rated due to the transmission selection by Thor.
