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Old 06-09-2007, 05:40 AM   #1
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Hey everyone,

Has anyone entertained the idea of pulling an enclosed trailer with an Adventurer? I presently tow a Nissan Frontier (manual) all four on the floor but would like to sell it and get a Mini Cooper. The cooper would be manual however BMW does not recommend/support towing it all four down. Plus I am looking a acquiring a Harley and would like to put both in an enclosed trailer. The Harley is 658 dry so we'll say 700lbs and the Cooper is 2700lbs. My concerns are weight as the tow hitch is only 5000lbs on the 38T and if you add the trailer I will be topping that. Has anyone retrofitted a stronger tow hitch? Can the frame support it? The 38T has the workhorse 24 or 22 I can't remember which.

Any other suggestions? I am not a big fan of hitching a bike to the back of the RV because I don't think the frame would support that nor the axle but I could be wrong.

Thanks,
Kyle
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Old 06-09-2007, 05:40 AM   #2
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Hey everyone,

Has anyone entertained the idea of pulling an enclosed trailer with an Adventurer? I presently tow a Nissan Frontier (manual) all four on the floor but would like to sell it and get a Mini Cooper. The cooper would be manual however BMW does not recommend/support towing it all four down. Plus I am looking a acquiring a Harley and would like to put both in an enclosed trailer. The Harley is 658 dry so we'll say 700lbs and the Cooper is 2700lbs. My concerns are weight as the tow hitch is only 5000lbs on the 38T and if you add the trailer I will be topping that. Has anyone retrofitted a stronger tow hitch? Can the frame support it? The 38T has the workhorse 24 or 22 I can't remember which.

Any other suggestions? I am not a big fan of hitching a bike to the back of the RV because I don't think the frame would support that nor the axle but I could be wrong.

Thanks,
Kyle
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Old 06-09-2007, 05:47 AM   #3
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I've known folks that have done this, but....

The hitch is rated at 5,000 not only due to the capabilities of the hitch itself, but due to the design and configuration of the frame. Changing the hitch would still leave you with the limitations of the frame restrictions.

Personally, I wouldn't entertain doing this with my MH.

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Old 06-09-2007, 06:16 AM   #4
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You've got the perfect excuse to trade up to a Journey/Meridian. 10000# hitch and lossa power to pull it...
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Old 06-09-2007, 07:28 AM   #5
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You know Tom, you are not far off!!! I was looking at upgrading to the Tour/Ellipse 40TD as we like the layout of these as they match our 38T. The only problem is the extra $$$ and don't know if I want to go there right now - even though I did call the dealer and ask them for best price!!!

Looking at other options, tow dolly for car/bike might work as it's a lot lighter.

Tks.
Kyle
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Old 06-09-2007, 08:24 AM   #6
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Kyle241:
Any other suggestions? I am not a big fan of hitching a bike to the back of the RV because I don't think the frame would support that nor the axle but I could be wrong. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Kyle, First off you have a W24 which has a 6,000 tow rating, 30,000 pound combined rating. That said the hitch is only rated for 5K tow.

There are other considerations such as the existing hitch being attached to a frame extension, you would have to take a look. You don't want to over stress an extension. If you are attached to the frame itself that will handle a lot of weight - because it's metal uses 50,000 psi tensile strength steel in the rail just like most RDPs.

If you got together with a good shop you should be able to install a Class IV receiver and then you can wire up a brake controller and get it all together. You're not going to want to throw much tongue weight on the hitch but it should pull the trailer OK. Hopefully you'll have a twin axle trailer and descent brakes.

You are going to be on the edge but that 8.1, 2000 series Allison and your final drive gear ratio should handle the weight acceptably. I would rather be close to the edge in a Workhorse machine than anything else comparable using a gasoline engine.

The Workhorse UFO on the other hand has a 10,000 pound hitch directly attached to the frame and depending on how much GVW is aboard the UFO should be able to handle a 6K tow quite well with the appropriate towing gear.
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Old 06-10-2007, 08:08 AM   #7
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Hi Ho: My that's an ambitious project. What you didn't give is the weight of the trailer you plan to use. Our enclosed snowmobile trailer is about 4000 lbs. as I remember it. It will hold 5 snowmobiles, which are about 500 lbs each. I haven't towed that with our 2000 gas 35U MH with a Ford engine, but I think it is about the same weight as our cabin cruiser. We have towed the cabin cruiser and had no problems even on mountainous roads here in Utah. I'll admit we were pretty long since the boat is a 26-foot cabin cruiser plus the trailer. Good brakes are a must with that much weight. Unfortunately an equalizer hitch doesn't work very well with the MH. Your MH is heavy enough so that it tows quite well. We also tow with our Suburban, but I think the MH is actually more stable. I don't know if this helps...just our experience.
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Old 06-12-2007, 09:19 AM   #8
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Thanks for the advice everyone. The trailer I was looking at was an aluminum with dual axles, electric brakes, 8'6"x 20". Unfortunately I didn't get the weight and it's not listed on the vendor's website. My guess is 3000-3500lbs so that would place me way over 5000lbs. I also looked at the present setup of the hitch and extensions which is the problem as per DriVer, they are not as strong as the frame. I do not wnat to over-tax the RV in any way so I am also looking at a dolly that includes carrying a bike with a major rock shield (4'x8') and that would work because it's 850lbs, plus 2700 for Cooper and 700 for HD = 4300lbs approx. The same weight as my Frontier is now!!!

Tks,
Kyle
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Old 06-12-2007, 11:03 AM   #9
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Hi Kyle241,
Yes, I had my trailer hitch strengthened. My Winnebago Sightseer 29R is rated to tow 8,000 pounds but I was limited by my 5,000 pound hitch. I was also limited by a sticker on my hitch limiting my vertical load to 350 pounds. I took my RV to a local shop that sells it's towing and camper products nationwide. Their name is Tork Lift and they are located in Kent, WA. They looked at my hitch and they were able to strengthen the existing hitch and frame extensions and certify it for 7,500 pounds and a vertical load of 750 pounds. They did this for less than $200.00.

My FeatherLite aluminum open trailer weighs 1,400 pounds. So far I haven't needed to tow more than 5,000 pounds but I have the ability if needed.

So, if your rig can carry 6,000 pounds and if you strengthen the hitch to carry 6,000 pounds, based upon your figures of 2,700 and 850 pounds you could have a trailer that weighs 2,450 pounds. I, like you, think a 20 foot enclosed trailer would weigh more than 2,450 pounds.

Tongue weight is another thing to think about with a trailer. Tongue weight is transferred to your RV through the ball and hitch. Tongue weight is then transferred to your rear axle and multiplied based upon the length of your overhang which is acting as a lever arm. It is easy to overload your rear axle. To avoid this I weigh all four corners of my RV and I weigh my trailer tongue when I load my trailer.
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