V10 and towing

[Hank85713]

just got a winnebago on E450 chassis with the 6.8. Going to need a towed car and we are considering using my 94 ranger. Weighed it today and its around 37-3800 lbs. So my question is, are you running a v10 and pulling this weight? How is the tow vehicle handling the weight and is it really bad in hills or in winds?

We are getting 9-10 without a tow on our initial voyage, but was kinda doggy on long pulls. RPMS went into high 3's to 4 on some just to maintian 45 or so. Dont know if this is typical for this engine set up or not.

Any help appreciated.

Hank

[rk911]

Hank85713 wrote:
just got a winnebago on E450 chassis with the 6.8. Going to need a towed car and we are considering using my 94 ranger. Weighed it today and its around 37-3800 lbs. So my question is, are you running a v10 and pulling this weight? How is the tow vehicle handling the weight and is it really bad in hills or in winds?

We are getting 9-10 without a tow on our initial voyage, but was kinda doggy on long pulls. RPMS went into high 3's to 4 on some just to maintian 45 or so. Dont know if this is typical for this engine set up or not.

Any help appreciated.

Hank

we have a 2000 Itasca suncruiser on the ford F53 V-10 chassis. we pull one of two jeeps...a 2003 wrangler weighing in at roughly 3200-lbs and a 2010 liberty weighing in at roughly 4400-lbs. neither presents any issues. so from that narrow standpoint you should have no problems.

but..you need to know just how much weight YOUR MH can safely tow without exceeding the various weight ratings...gross combination weight rating (GCWR), gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and each axle's gross axle weight rating (GAWR). you also need to know the curb weight of the vehicle you're planning to buy and whether that curb weight includes a full tank of gas (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't).

the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow will be the lesser of the following:

- the GCWR minus the actual weight of the MH as it is loaded for travel (food, fuel, water, LP, clothing, supplies, pets, people and misc. stuff); OR

- the weight rating of the MH hitch (Class II 3500-lbs, Class III 5000-lbs, Class IV 10,000-lbs); OR

- the weight rating of your towbar

load up the MH as you would for travel and then get individual axle weights at a certified scale. compare those axle weights to the published gross axle weight rating (GAWR) for that motorhome. the actual axle weight must be less than/equal to the rating for that axle. add the two axle weights to arrive at the total rolling weight and then apply the three conditions above. assume nothing.

good luck.

[Dr_Jay]

No issues thru the Black Hills of SD with my V10 towing a FORD Focus, 3000#.

[Raymon]

I fully agree with 427435. I pulled a 2005 Jeep Wrangler soft top with a 2006 V10. In my opinion, it sorely lacked power on long, steep mountain grades. It was not unusual for the engine rpm's to go over 4,000. The noise from the engine was very loud. On flat land it did very well. Here again, this is just my own personal opinion and experience.

Ray

[rvten]

We have a Flex at 4200# have pulled it out west.
The V10 handled it just fine.
Just do not use the cruse control. Going up grade.

[Bobbo]

You won't even know it's back there. Mileage may go down by about 1, or it may not. Be sure to have auxiliary braking on the car.

[PUCampin]

Wow, that seems like an awfully high curb weight! Rangers of that era generally were 2900-3000lbs. I know my 95 was not anywhere near 3700, even with a shell!

[timmac]

My 08 V-10 Bounder 33ft tows a 3600lb Jeep Wrangler with no problems.

V-10 and even 8.1 will run high RPM in the hills, its normal, 45 MPH is about the correct speed in the hills, you don't want to over tax the motor.

[427435]

I forgot to mention, that the Explorer doesn't affect the handling of the MH--------it just follows faithfully behind. I do have a good tow bar and braking system on the toad. If you have cross winds (like we've had in Nebraska), you will feel the wind's affect on the MH, but the toad isn't affecting things (the toad's pull on the MH might actually help).

[427435]

My MH is right at its GVW of 20,500 lbs and we're pulling a 5000 lb toad. We're done that for probably 40,000 miles without problems. We are currently headed back to Minnesota on I80 from California. Some rather long and steep grades coming over the Sierra and in Wyoming. There have been several times when we've slowed to 45 mph (V10 at 4000+ rpm in 2nd gear) and even had to drop into first a couple of times at 30 mph (4500 rpm). Those were at higher elevations where a NA engine takes a hit. Never any doubt, however, about making it to the top.

Today we were on cruise control at 65 mph across Nebraska (could have easily pulled 70 mph, but the mpg takes a big hit).

And that is all with 310 hp and only 4 tranny gears.