How Much Car Should I Dingy Tow

I have an '08 Winnebago 29' Access on the Ford e-450 chassis with the V-10. I pull a dodge dakota 4x4 that weighs around 4250 lbs. I pulled it over the eastern mountain ridges in Tennessee with no problems. I know it's there, but it's not an issue.

I have a winniebago 28 ft aspect, we tow a 13 hyundai elantra. It weighs in around 2800 lbs has a 4 cyl 150 hp direct injection engine with 6 speed trans. The coach gets around 9 or so without and with the car in tow. I have gotten 10 going across nebraska but it drops to high 8's in colorado.

We needed to go out of town to get the rv, so we needed a rental to get there. We looked at a couple but the wife liked the fold down rear seat and large trunk space of the elantra we rented. She said it has got foot room in the front seat area so she can stretch out. There is only the 2 of us but we have had up to 4 of us in it and it drove well. We average around 37mpg but I drive it at 80 mph when we can (in az its easy to do).

The bottom line is to go light if possible and unless you need 4x capability then look for something light with 4x like a used samari or something. But to find a decent one be prepared to pay big. My BIL tows a isuzu rodeo, but he has DP class A. The isuzu is an older one but it has a manual trans and selectable transfer I think.

SO consider you needs first than look at what may fit the bill.

How much car do you need? With a heavy E-450 C motorhome I found a big improvement in towing ease (handling more than acceleration) by downsizing from a 3600 pound compact pickup to a 2600 pound subcompact hatchback. I think the lightest thing that meets your transportation needs is your best tow.

In my experience, the dinghy tow matters little to MPG. It matters a lot for getting around (whatever it is, you can't back up or parallel park) and the weight has an impact on motorhome handling, at least with 9,000-12,000 pound C's hauling 2500-6000 pound toads. Guys with the 40,000 pound motorcoaches might say "can't feel it back there" but with a C, you'll feel it, or else as a driver you are numb.

The lighter the better, IF IF IF it meets your needs. We towed a 2500 pound mini pickup. I replaced it with a midsize pickup that's closer to 4000 pounds. Just finished setting the wife's 2500 pound car up for towing, to shed some of that weight. I can tell you it feels better.

If the coach is smaller and still on E450, you won't notice the weight of the toad a much as we do. Our 31 foot is right at 13800 loaded for travel with us aboard.

So two questions:

1. Will it work, towing toward the maximum, Sure.

2. Will it work better, towing the least you need, Sure.

robbie2013 wrote:
I have a 1024 Forest River Sunseeker 2650 with the E450 chassis and a V10. The question I have is how much car should I dingy tow? It appears to have a tow rating of 5,000lbs but would I hate my life if I maxed that out? I am getting 25L/100km (I am Canadian) so about 9.5mpg. How much will towing a dinghy car effect that?

Ideally, I want to pull a Jeep Wrangler, and they weigh about 4,000lbs. Do you think this would be too much and I should look at a smaller car?

I live in Alberta and camp in the Rocky Mountains, so I do end up on some long hills.

any advice would be appreciated.

you are wise to ask before purchasing a toad. many don't and live to regret that. before moving forward it's best to understand the various weight ratings on your MH.

- GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating): the maximum weight the chassis can support including itself.

- GCWR (gross combination weight rating): the maximum weight the vehicle can propel including itself.

- GAWR (gross axle weight rating): the maximum weight each axle can support. each axle will have a different GAWR. in a MH the sum of the GAWRs will usually, but not always, equal the GVWR.

- GVW (gross vehicle weight): the total weight of the MH as you have loaded it for travel. includes food, fuel, fresh water, clothing, supplies, people, pets and stuff.

- GAW (gross axle weight): the total weight of the above loaded MH on each axle. please note that the GAW on a particular axle should not exceed that axle's GAWR.

- Empty Weight: the weight of the MH with full fuel and LP tanks but which is otherwise empty of food, fresh water, clothing, supplies, people, pets and stuff.

- Payload: the difference between the GVWR and the Empty Weight and represents how much additional weight can be added.

you'll see a bunch of other weight ratings like CCC, sleeping capacity and the like. IMO those were designed to confuse the customer. although 'Empty Weight' and 'Payload' are no longer part of the parlance they are still most valid concepts.

load the MH as you would for a trip including fuel, water, food, clothing, pets, supplies and people. get individual axle weights and compare them to the GAWR for that axle. if either axle is overweight then either move weight to the other axle or eliminate the weight altogether. you need to check individual axle weights because it is possible to be under the GVWR of the MH even if one axle is overweight. I know from first hand experience.

once you know the various weights and weight ratings you can then do the following computations:

in general, the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow (diesel or gas) will be the lesser of the following:

• the GCWR of the MH minus the actual weight of the MH as it is loaded for travel (includes fuel, fresh water, food, clothing, people, pets, supplies, etc.)

• the weight rating of your tow bar

• the weight rating of your hitch

once you know the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow how much of the max should you tow? that's for you to decide but some folks limit towing to 80% or 90% of max while others tow to the limit...some beyond. I look at it this way...if exceeding limits weren't an issue then there'd be no limits.

good luck.

Our '10 2300 Sunseeker is also on the Ford E450 chassis and we tow our highly modified '13 Wrangler Unlimited all the time with it. We weigh in right at 5K and we get about 7 MPG overall towing. We've towed many a long hill in our travels with this setup and always outperform the large loaded trucks.

I can't think of any other vehicle I'd prefer to tow, but then...

My philosophy would be to tow as little or as much as you need. I tow a little Chevy Sonic that I purchased for that purpose, it fits my daily driving needs, and gets terrific gas mileage. My 31ft Ford gasser does a great job with it. Your Ford chassis should have no problem pulling the Wrangler, though don't expect to be leading the pack going over the top. And yes hauling 4klbs up hills will make a small dent in the MPG, which will not be recouped going down.

What is the GCVW? Our MH and toad together weight way less then the GVW of the MH, not even close to the GCVW. Our gas mileage is the same towing or not.