Looking at used DP that towed 20k with Allison 3000

[Pudgy Camper]

Hi everyone, I'm looking at a used DP with the Cummins ISC350/Allison 3000 combo. The owner mentioned to me that he towed a racecar all over the country and was about 55k GCVWR. The GCVWR for this particular coach is 43k and GVWR 33k. So this tells me that he towed about 22k! Is this even possible? Maybe he was confused, but this sounds like a big red flag to me if it's truly the case.

[Ray,IN]

I once looked at a DP that the owner of an RV dealership was selling. He said he towed a trailer containing an unlimited fuel dragster his daughter drove, plus tools, supplies and 55G drums of fuel.
I questioned him about that and he admitted the MH engine was rebuilt once and the Allison 2X with HD parts designed for towing heavy loads. I think the MH had around 88K on the odometer.



I passed on the MH due to those comments and the odds of future problems.

[Pudgy Camper]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

I once looked at a DP that the owner of an RV dealership was selling. He said he towed a trailer containing an unlimited fuel dragster his daughter drove, plus tools, supplies and 55G drums of fuel.
I questioned him about that and he admitted the MH engine was rebuilt once and the Allison 2X with HD parts designed for towing heavy loads. I think the MH had around 88K on the odometer.



I passed on the MH due to those comments and the odds of future problems.

Thanks Ray, yeah I'm thinking I better run fast from this one!

[Lt Dan]

I would run, not walk from that one. There's no telling how much hidden damage there is to the drive train from severely overloading it.

[cm2785]

When I was a little kid my mom and stepdad bought a fleetwood jamboree class c with the ford 460 (my stepdad is a Chevy guy too), and he used it to pull his race truck (desert racing) and I remember the big trailer and the race truck was way too much for the motorhome and even as a little kid I could tell that poor thing was giving it’s all, and it would be so bad he would have to go in the slow lane and literally just crawl up hills with that thing screaming and I always remember thinking man, first this thing really is a work horse and second I feel bad for the person who bought it.. I was probably about 11 or so when they sold it and I knew it had to have been so used up by then… one time towing the setup with his suburban with a 454 the fan chucked a blade through the hood I remember seeing it go through the hood and it actually shut the engine off if I remember right… but anyway I am always weary of buying rigs people tow with because of people like my stepdad who can see a 5,000 tow limit and over double it without a worry in the world… his thought process if the frame cracks he will reinforce it, etc.. they went on to buy a bounder class a and then beat on that one for a good bit and then bought another bounder class a this time brand new and then that one just kind of hardly got used and it’s a 2008 with like 10,000 miles on it… when he does drive it he drives it like it’s a corvette around town and speeds down the highway like it’s nothing… but he doesn’t tow like he used to.