Advice needed for towing a vehicle with my RV

[olifer]

Happy Holidays to all of you!

Here's my question. I have a 1997 Fleetwood Storm 34' 460 Ford Chasis.

I would very much like to be able to tow a vehicle behind it and am looking for a vehicle right now. Because of our family situation, a 4-door mid sized pickup is what I'm leaning toward. (2009 Nissan Frontier).

I've read a few reports and it looks like I should be able to do this. My motorhome runs great, low miles, etc. and I don't see us pulling the pickup extremely long distances...200 miles or so for the most part.

I'm looking for someone that has experienced something similar in terms of RV, towed vehicle, etc.

Any and all advice is most graciously welcomed.

Thanks in advance.
dan

[amxerhull]

Dan: I towed a 20' enclosed trailer with a race car in it behind a 27 foot Chevy chassis with no problems. (Well, there was the fire but that's another story).

I recently bought a 31' Ford chassis and it feels much more substantial than the Chevy chassis. I suspect you will have no problems towing. Make sure you have a good hitch (class IV?) attached to the frame rails.

John

[TXiceman]

Check the hitch rating on your motorhome first...many are 3500# hitches and some are 5000#. This does not determine the towing capacity of the motorhome. You meed the GCWR for the motorhome and the actual loaded weight.

GCWR - loaded weight = maximum load you can tow.

Also, you will need to make sure the Frontier is towable 4 wheels down. Check with REMCO Towing for what is required to set it up for towing. Next you will need to install auxiliary brakes in the dinghy and a break away system.

Ken

[clubmed98]

2 major issues you need to remember..1 is most old gas rigs were pretty under braked so make sure you use an aux brake...2 make sure your truck or any toad will not weigh more that the towing capacity of the coach or hitch, so don't exceed GcVW and hitch limit..I had a 94 adventurer that was at 4,000# hich but almost any toad would have exceeded gcvw

[MPI_Mallard]

Presently we have a 34'Mallard A-Class [were switching to a fiver next april] hauling a 98' Jeep Grand Cherokee behind on all fours with a reese folding tow bar. It started by buying the car,it has a manual transfer case and i thought the four door/hatchback was perfect for family camping giving seating as well as cargo capacity i also built a tray to hold my full size BBQ with a bike rack to hang off the hitch in back of the jeep.Now off i go to the filthy crook,i mean local RV dealer who quoted me $4700 CAN for the blue ox set-up,yeah right!!! While at Canadian tire i saw the Reese Folding Tow bar and connection plates rated at 5000lbs. at $350,'nuff said! After perusing the Royce jeep repair manual honerable son #1 and i removed the front clip and bolted/welded the plates to the frame horns wich were conveniatly located behind the bumper boxes wich i made removable,installed metal plates for the safety chains and Bob's yer' uncle! I had a buddy of mine hook up the wiring with 7 pin connectors and the thing worked flawlessly over several years. All in all the whole she-bang [incuding sonny's box of carona] cost less than $500 CAN.

Red Green:
Spare the Duct Tape, Spoil the job.

[bdaball]

Regardless of the type of toad. Towing is one thing. Stopping is another. Do not think of towing without a brake system of some sort. I use TST but search this site FMI.

Good luck!

[AL]

Hi All,

Hey Dan I agree 100000000000000000% with others on some sort of toad brake system! I also say look at jeeps they make great toads and are also fun!! Best of luck with what ever you end up with, also

[olifer]

I greatly appreciate the input. I am purchasing a 2008 Nissan Frontier crew cab as my toad. I will definitely install the correct aux. braking system recommended here. My wife will be happier riding co-captain in lieu of driving separate.... As for me.... Happy New Year everyone!!!!