Motorhome help

[Freddie]

big differance in chassis from the class C to the class A. A friend of ours uses a class C with his 24' trailer, and hates towing it anywhere, we used my motorhome to take hit trailer to a race not long ago, and he was amazed at how much better it towed.

His is now for sale also.

[Dean Oliver]

I just bought a '07 Winnebago Class C 31' Outlook earlier this year. I use it to pull my open trailer, and I honestly cannot tell that it is back there. I talked at length with Marc LaBrecque at Diamond RV before I bought this unit and his advice was extremely helpful. The Winnebago units are truly better made motorhomes than many of the other brands that I looked at. Mine has a 215" wheelbase and has the rear air springs. This is my first motorhome, so I really don't have anything to compare it to but I have been pleased with how well it drives and with how it pulls the trailer. I plan on maybe boxing in the frame extensions at some point, but as Marc pointed out, it is probably not necessary with the Winnebago and my current trailer.

The only issue I have is, of course, with fuel mileage. It has the V10, and gets about 7 mpg or so without the trailer and about 6 mpg with it. Anyone have any suggestions on how to improve this? I usually drive about 67-68 mph with the engine turning about 2400-2500 rpm. I called Hypertech and they told me that they do not have a programmer for it yet, but they are working on it. I've heard good things about the Banks systems, but it seems like the payback would take forever.

Dean

[Bill Harris]

I started out looking for a class C but found my way to a class A instead. Maybe I'm too anal, but I tend to pay attention to the mfg specifications and the class C chassis don't have enough GCWR to tow most enclosed racecar trailers. The F450 chassis has a GCWR of 20K lbs and most 26' to 32' class C's use up 14,500 of that in their own loaded weight (GVWR). You only have 5500 lbs of capacity for what you are towing. You might get away with an aluminum trailer and a really light racecar and get it down to 5500 lbs, but it's not likely. A trailer-toad would probably really help in this case. An open trailer might work pretty well.

The Ford class A chassis has a GCWR of 26K. I purposely looked for a short overall length with a long wheelbase and a fairly low GVWR to maximize the towing capacity.

I see quite a few Ford chassis class C's, even quite a few E350 chassis which only have a GCWR of 17,600 lbs, towing pretty substantial trailers, so it CAN be done. I wouldn't want to do it myself, however.

[Roger Weaver]

I use a 2002 class A motorhome v10 to tow a 24 foot trailer with a s/st car and golf cart.Have had real good luck with it,hitch has extra braces and air bags.This year I bought a Trailer Toad and am very happy with it.Takes all the load off the coach, much better ride,took all the sway out when you pass or get passed by the big trucks.Worth looking at anyway. Trailer Toad ask for Jok 319-404-7001

[John DiBartolomeo]

We (http://www.drcraceproducts.com) do quite a bit of motorhome hitches. Your only concern should be a hitch which is mounted properly. Gasoline chassis motorhomes need to use the weight distribution bars as well as some sort of sway control. Diesel pushers with air ride suspension don't require weight distr. bars but by installing them loosely, they will take out the bounce you'll get when you hit bumps. You won't have any problems towing with this unit and if this is your first motorhome, I think you're really going to be happy you have it. If you have any questions, feel free to call us at 609-209-9979.