Community Forums

John H... · 01-13-2016, 05:46 AM

Welcome to the forum. Renting first is a good choice. Good luck....

hal1phx · 01-13-2016, 08:22 AM

Finding the right unit is a great adventure .... enjoy !!

Scarab0088 · 01-13-2016, 09:09 AM

Being so filled with questions, I have moved this thread from the New Member Check-in forum to the MH General Discussion Forum (I think I read that towables are already excluded).

Please feel free to go back to New Member Check-in and tell us something about yourself.

Best luck

Sweetbriar · 01-13-2016, 10:18 AM

Getting a test drive at a show can be difficult. Sometimes best to establish a dealership point of contact and work out details later. May times they will extend a show price out for a time as long as you don't wait too long and maybe make an appointment with the sales rep.

Concerning renting there are potentially two ways of working this. If you intend to rent several times before buying renting a drivable can be a bit costly but well worth it to find out if owning an RV is will work. Considering maybe 2/3's of the time spent in an RV is parked first rent a trailer that can be preplaced at a camp site by the renter. You can save a bit of money and get an idea if the family can make it happen. For the second rental go with a drivable and find out if going down the road works also.

I suspect you will be overweight with the car/trailer combination. The hitch capacity is just one part of the formula the other is if the coach has the reserve between what it weighs in at and how much reserve is available for towing.

Can't say much concerning prices of a new rig if that is the direction you wish to go but I do try and console a first time buyer to consider something maybe two years old to help save on the initial cost. Two years is a good time frame considering most if not all the first use problems have been found and corrected but it's still a relatively new coach. Most if not all warranties will have expired but with consideration of the age of the coach an aftermarket warranty can be affordable.

38Chevy454 · 01-13-2016, 10:27 AM

What I do not understand, because you have not given specifics, is why you have to trailer your car. So your car may not be able to tow 4 down, ie flat tow, but it could be a good candidate for a dolly instead of a full trailer.

So what kind of car do you plan to tow? It might be a better solution to switch your car out to fit the towing capacity of your class C MH for example.

cwk · 01-13-2016, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HHIDan

Tow 4 down, it is so much easier. Less weight to pull also.

You say you plan to buy the RV in a year or two, trade the car in the meantime for a car that will tow 4 down.

Pardon me, but what is "tow 4 down"?

jondrew55 · 01-13-2016, 06:41 PM

4-Down refers to having a set up where you attach a tow bar to your car and have all 4 wheels on the ground. As opposed to putting the car on a trailer or tow dolly

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwk

Pardon me, but what is "tow 4 down"?

jondrew55 · 01-13-2016, 06:49 PM

Everyone says "buy your last RV first". I've said that myself every time I buy a new RV. If your target price is $75K I think you're options are very wide. You could buy almost any kind of RV imaginable assuming you're willing to buy used, and depending on how old you're willing to go. That kind of money will buy a fairly late model Class A gas rig. And most likely you'd be able to tow your present car using a tow dolly or 4-down set up (see remco.com for a list of what cars are towable).

That said, for that kind of money you could also sell your car and buy an SUV capable of towing a decent trailer, like a featherlight 28 ft or even a hybrid (a cross between a pop up and a travel trailer). And don't forget, a pop up can be towed by almost anything and is a great value.

Anyway, good luck. Let us know what you decide.

montyhp · 01-13-2016, 10:32 PM

I think the idea of trading your car for a flat towable vehicle is a good idea. Can your current vehicle be towed on a dolly? If so you may be able to stay under 5000lb.

nothermark · 01-14-2016, 06:09 AM

FWIW I like the way people sell off other people's stuff. ;-)

A lot of 4 WD or All Wheel Drive vehicles cannot be dolly towed or 4 down. For a family of 4 that creates significant problems over what to use for the daily driver if they live in places where they think they need that capacity. As far as that goes the range of choices for 4-6 people and stuff is steadily shrinking.

montyhp · 01-14-2016, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothermark

FWIW I like the way people sell off other people's stuff. ;-)

A lot of 4 WD or All Wheel Drive vehicles cannot be dolly towed or 4 down. For a family of 4 that creates significant problems over what to use for the daily driver if they live in places where they think they need that capacity. As far as that goes the range of choices for 4-6 people and stuff is steadily shrinking.

My 2013 Silverado 4x4 can be towed 4 down, seats 6. And weighs less than 5000 lbs.

38Chevy454 · 01-14-2016, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothermark

FWIW I like the way people sell off other people's stuff. ;-)

A lot of 4 WD or All Wheel Drive vehicles cannot be dolly towed or 4 down. For a family of 4 that creates significant problems over what to use for the daily driver if they live in places where they think they need that capacity. As far as that goes the range of choices for 4-6 people and stuff is steadily shrinking.

It becomes a question of what is the best solution. Factor in the weight vs storage hassles vs time to hook up vs cost to get the tow bar/baseplate/brake system/dolly/trailer/etc. Any solution that involves taking a vehicle behind your MH will have some tradeoffs. It might just be the best solution is to get a different vehicle to take with you.

BTW, a lot of people specifically *do* have 4x4 vehicles as toad because they can be towed four down, just put transfer case in neutral and no additional vehicle modifications are required. whether a vehcile can be towed foru down is a design issue, and there is not a straightforward answer for all cases.

nothermark · 01-14-2016, 09:50 AM

Notice that I did not say "all" I said "a lot" because some can. On the other hand it seems a lot of the popular AWD mini vans, SUV's and sedans cannot be. Most of us choose a vehicle for what suits us most of the time not just for a couple of weeks per year.

mojoracing · 01-15-2016, 05:04 AM

If you want a test drive, visit a dealer. Up north where you are, all the winter shows are indoors so test drives are not feasible. You will get much greater attention when visiting the dealer. Shows cost dealers a ton of money to attend so they are very good at singling out the buyers as they have big overheads to cover.