Community Forums

wfcentral · 08-26-2014, 08:50 AM

My parents are picking up a 2014 Coachmen Pursuit Class A tomorrow. It has a 5,000lb towing capacity.

They have generously offered to let DW and I use it whenever we want for some vacations.

They asked if we wanted to use my CRV as a shared toad. It is a 2001 with 185k miles on it. So, seems a waste to spend $3k getting it ready to tow 4 down.

I could spend $3,000 and get a flatbed auto trailer to pull behind the RV. Then, we could each just load up our vehicle of choice and pull it behind the RV.

Or, I could spend a little more and get an enclosed trailer to put the vehicle in.

Each of us have nice mini-vans that we would probably take with us.

So, we could just hitch up the trailer and they could take their van with them when they go... then, we could take our van when we go...

that way - we don't have to do any baseplate / brake mods / etc to all the vehicles...

Thoughts???

Dr4Film · 08-26-2014, 08:57 AM

When you change from Flat Towing a car to hitching up a flatbed trailer or an enclosed trailer, now you are adding thousands of pounds to the equation.

My 26 foot cargo trailer weighs about 4800 lbs dry. Then once I ad my motorcycle, car and all of my other junk, I am now at about 11,000 lbs.

Do the math regarding the trailer/car combination and you will quickly realize that Flat-Towing will be far less weight on the coach than the trailers.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

drewtk · 08-26-2014, 08:59 AM

With a 5K towing capacity, your options are limited because that CRV weighs at least 3K pounds, and the typical open steel trailer weighs 2K pounds. I wouldn't use up all of the towing capacity because those numbers are usually BS (overstated). An enclosed trailer will weigh A LOT more than 2K pounds. Also, I'm a race car driver so I unload and load cars onto trailers all the time. It's a hassle and you have to do it properly.

The CRV is one of the most common toads out there, so I would use that. I think your next best option is a tow dolly (light and only need to drive front wheels on it). The nice thing about the tow dolly is that you can take any front wheel drive car you want. As you may already know, not all cars can be towed 4 wheels down.

**TonyDi** · 08-26-2014, 09:32 AM

Towing a trailer, even if it is open will put your weight right at the max. This also would preclude that you don't add things to the vehicle which could increase the weight further.

If you don't want the expense of towing 4 down then get a dolly. They can be had for about $1200.

Good Luck with your choice.

FIRE UP · 08-26-2014, 10:37 AM

wfcentral,
Well Sir, as you can read, there's lots of opinions on just which way you should go. Only YOU can determine which course of action might be best, for both you and your folks. You state your '01 CRV has 180K on the clock and, you think it might not be worth it to set it up for towing. Well, first off, how long are you thinking of keeping it? Did you buy it new? If so, then YOU'VE put all the miles on it and, know its history and, its dependability.

If, you plan on keeping it for quite a while, say, oh about 2-3 more years, then in MY opinion, setting it up for towing, even at $3K, is still not all that bad and, you have a great little toad. Now, as has been stated, do not believe what you read in Dinghy towing guides etc. about what the "supposed" weight of your CRV is. If, you even think about towing it, GO GET IT WEIGHED! This way you'll KNOW EXACTLY what it weighs. And, I don't know how "handy" you are but, $3K seems a bit high to me, for setting up the CRV for towing. But, then again, I do all my own work so, maybe it is that high.

An enclosed trailer is very nice in terms of security and, cleanliness of keeping whatever toad you put into it for transport. You can also put some stuff in there with it. But, also as has been stated, it will add significant weight to your total bill. And, here's a very important point, at least to us, WHAT to do with it when you arrive at many campsites/RV parks????

While there are some on here that claim they've never had a problem finding a parking space for their trailers when camping, we've been to many, many camping areas and RV parks where there ISN'T ANY extra storage or, you're simply going to have to pay for another spot, PROVIDED THEY HAVE ONE, just to park your trailer on. That goes for a flat bed trailer too and, in many cases, a tow dolly. It all depends on the camping area and or RV park and, what kind of EXTRA area or, parking they have and, their rules about using it.

You can split the cost of setting your CRV up for towing with your folks and, they can use it too, if that would be a thought to you and or them. Just some info for you here to ponder. Good luck.
Scott

Rockwood27 · 08-26-2014, 05:54 PM

My guess is you may be limited to a 4K tow limit if you have a 22K chassis and are loaded to max. A 22K chassis has a 26K GCWR. If you aren't fully loaded then your tow capacity is GCWR - GVW up to 5K.