wheelbase consideration and motorcycle lift

Update: I have 1900 lbs left on my rear Axle, total gross 2800 lbs. So I will be OK with the motorcycle in the back.

Motorhome weighted: 21,142 lbs
Max Gross: 24,000 lbs

Rear weight: 13,574 lbs
Rear max Gross: 15,468 lbs

Thanks for these encouraging words, if you can carry 1200 pounds on this MH, I should be able to carry the 400 pound scooter plus 200 for the rack. My carrier will fit in two receivers that I got welded on the existing hitch. The aluminum ramp will be sliding with roller under the carrier. Everything will be finished with checker plates.

Also, I went to see a big truck suspension shop today and they did replace those arm before on MH. They do pretty well all the big suspension job on MH and big rigs. He said he can inspect them and reinforce the trailing arm with plate on each side. This shop has a very good reputaion in the area and have been in business for over 20 years. This was not a surprise to him when I told him that these MH arms are cracking, he said that trailing arm cracking happens on any other vehicle and big trailer and they fix them regularly.

I think that if they are not already cracked, they will not crack when reinforced, he explained to me how he welds the plates and it will be no problem. He figures around 5 to 6 hours for the complete job at $75.00 an hour.

OP,
We have an '04 Itasca Horizon, 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT engine and I installed the Hydralift on the back of it to haul our '08 Honda GL 1800 Goldwing. That system worked absolutely flawless. I won't bother going to all the details but, suffice to say I was considerably overweight on the rear axle. Now, we carried that bike and towed three different toads for well over 8,000 miles and I never bent, broke, damaged anything, including the frame of the coach, mounting points, suspension parts, tires, NOTHING!

But, due to circumstances that were changing, we changed the way we bring along the bike now. Since then, I've sold the Hydralift and, purchased a Rampage lift/carrier. We tow an '11 GMC Sierra 1500 Extended Cab 4x4 and, I've mounted the Rampage lift in that truck to now carry the Wing. The lift hovers around 300 lbs. and the Wing, right close to 900 lbs.

As others have stated, pushing a button to lift that 900 lb. bike into the back of that truck is a cake walk. Yes, it's not "quite" as stable as on the Hydralift but, it's never even came close to falling as it's being loaded or un loaded from the truck.

Once it's loaded, I add 4 additional tie downs to strategic locations to make that big monster as stable as a rock. When taking on the weight of the bike, the truck lowers approximately 2.5". No big deal. The payload of it is 1500 lbs. The bike and carrier are close to 1200 plus or minus. Our truck, weighs right at 5300 according to a certified scale I weighed it on.

So, what you're aiming at is a well proven practice. Many on here and, motor cycle forums use this method for hauling their big cruisers. Good luck.

By the way, I set that Rampage up so that it's removable in approximately 1-2 minutes. It slides out half way on the bed and, I lift it a small amount while the wife rolls a cart I built for it, right under the center of it. I lower it onto the cart and, roll it away to it's parking place in the corner of the garage. Our truck is then ready for service in short order.
Scott

FireGuard wrote:
Thanks for all the great info, I'm just starting my research on a MH so no hurry.
I also like the idea of flat towing a P/U and putting the bike in the bed.
I would only be carrying a bike around 600 lbs.

That's what I do... picked up a Rampage Lift on Craigslist and load the bike in the PU with a push of a button

Ivylog wrote:
OP, since you are just looking... look for something in the 36-40.

Length is not the determinant on safe vs faulty designed rear trailing arms.

This is a very well know issue. Here is an indepth discussion from 2009:

Important Safety Problem: Monaco, Holiday Rambler & Safari Chassis

http://community.fmca.com/topic/569-important-safety-problem-monaco-holiday-rambler-safari-chassis/

Obviously you never want to exceed the maximum weight on either the front or rear axles. That said, they do make air bags that can be added to either the front or rear of most coaches to increase the load carrying capacity by 5000 pounds. That is more than enough to compensate for an additional 1000 pounds from a motorcycle. Again, the important thing to consider is if you have the extra 1000 pound capacity on your axle AFTER your coach is loaded for normal travel. Extra weight puts extra strain on your axle, shocks, and most importantly, your tires.

I already bought the MH, I am looking for solution with the trailing arm issue. Ivylog, I saw your towing method, sure is different, it must put quite a bit of weight on the MH?

OP, since you are just looking... look for something in the 36-40. In those size most Monaco's do not have the trailing arm issue. I made the mistake of starting with a 36' because of posts on here about getting into SP, NP, Blm. Did not take long to realize that is not that big an issue so went 40' and now 42'. You might want to click on "How I tow" in my first post.

Irrespective of WHICH redesigned/much stronger rear trailing arms you choose, PLEASE, do not drive until you replace them. If one breaks while driving, it could be like those old-fashion hook and ladder trucks with steerable rear wheels. Ones you have no control over if an arm breaks and one rear wheel moves back a couple of inches (or more).

wolfe10 wrote:
Yes, you will need to check the weights carefully, particularly with that very short wheelbase coach.

But, the rear trailing arm issue is not part of the equation. You need to verify that you have the new style arms from either Monaco or Source Engineering-- at least those are the two sources I am aware of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL_2MW3iUSg

I am also considering the new arms but the price would be quite a chunck in my wallet. I am looking for other option for the arm.