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02-07-2023, 03:16 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 206
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Towing a Spartan chassis RV with independent suspension
I recently had a road side failure. A tow truck showed up and I was informed he couldn't tow the RV because it had independent front suspension.
(I was able to cobble a patch and drive 5 miles to where a repair could be made.)
For future referance what is the correct / required method tow a Spartan IFS RV?
Can these be towed by lifting the front end with the fork lift mechanism or must they be towed on a flat bed?
(I am doing PM like crazy but with a 20 year old rig a tow is likely somewhere in the future. )
Thanks, Dan
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02-07-2023, 04:57 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Fulda, MN
Posts: 1,025
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I had my Workhorse with independent suspension towed. The operator used a wheel lift like you see the tow trucks use on cars. It all went well.
__________________
2000 Winnebago Adventurer 32v, P32 Workhorse Chassis 7.4l Vortech, J71 Ultra RV upgraded 67,000 miles
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02-07-2023, 05:05 PM
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#3
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Community Administrator
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: DFW, Texas
Posts: 17,225
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Agree with the tow truck driver. They can not put lift forks under the independent front suspension. They have to use wheel cradles like DavidSawyer said. You're not supposed to put a jack under the A frames either.
__________________
2017 Phaeton 40IH XSH Maroon Coral - Power Glide Chassis with IFS
Previous '15 Tiffin Allegro RED 38QRA and '06 Itasca Sunrise 35A
'16 Jeep JKU Wrangler Sahara or '08 Honda Goldwing
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02-07-2023, 05:07 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: North America somewhere
Posts: 28,044
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That tow truck driver was full of it; in 2020 Camping World ERS had my MH towed 60 miles to Cummins Great Plains. Since I was in a small RV park, they sent a 2T small wrecker to lift my IFS Spartan Chassis and tow it out of the park to the highway. There the big Dual-tandem wrecker picked up the front with standard forks under the front tires, attached a compressed air line between the wrecker and my MH and away we went, without any issues along the way.
LT Dan, my Spartan chassis manual states to only jack under the center of the IFS suspension where the tow hook is welded to the Reyco-Granning IFS1200.
__________________
2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD , ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG 11B5MX,Infantry retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA. " My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy
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02-07-2023, 05:18 PM
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#5
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Community Administrator
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: DFW, Texas
Posts: 17,225
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray,IN
LT Dan, my Spartan chassis manual states to only jack under the center of the IFS suspension where the tow hook is welded to the Reyco-Granning IFS1200.
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Interesting, my Power Glide IFS just says do not put jacks under the A frames. When I had new tires the installer was careful to put the jack under the spindle end next to the tire. I didn't know about putting a jack under the center as ours doesn't have a tow hook.
__________________
2017 Phaeton 40IH XSH Maroon Coral - Power Glide Chassis with IFS
Previous '15 Tiffin Allegro RED 38QRA and '06 Itasca Sunrise 35A
'16 Jeep JKU Wrangler Sahara or '08 Honda Goldwing
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02-07-2023, 05:23 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 7,825
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See this document for procedure to tow a Spartan Chassis Entegra Coach. This information should be basically valid for all Spartan chassis coaches.
__________________
Marc and Jill, Wellington FL
2013 Entegra Anthem 44SL
2018 Lincoln MKX
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02-07-2023, 07:27 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 206
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Thank you all. This is helpful advice. I will read the instructions. It is valuable to read the vehicle can be supported by the IFS frame that attaches to the main frame. I have never seen a tow hook, I will recheck to see if I can identify it.
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02-07-2023, 07:55 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Posts: 2,478
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Towing a Spartan chassis RV with independent suspension
Quote:
Originally Posted by dansawyer
I recently had a road side failure. A tow truck showed up and I was informed he couldn't tow the RV because it had independent front suspension.
(I was able to cobble a patch and drive 5 miles to where a repair could be made.)
For future referance what is the correct / required method tow a Spartan IFS RV?
Can these be towed by lifting the front end with the fork lift mechanism or must they be towed on a flat bed?
(I am doing PM like crazy but with a 20 year old rig a tow is likely somewhere in the future. )
Thanks, Dan
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I’m not sure a well maintained 20 year old diesel rig is more likely to need a tow than the new stuff out there. More failures are due to emissions systems malfunctions/failures.
__________________
2002 American Tradition 40'
Cummins 8.3, Banks 431hp, 1260 tq
Canyon Lake, TX
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02-08-2023, 05:25 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 176
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray,IN
There the big Dual-tandem wrecker picked up the front with standard forks under the front tires, attached a compressed air line between the wrecker and my MH and away we went, without any issues along the way.
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What about the driveshaft? When my ifs1050 was towed the front wheels were lifted, air was connected, and the driveshaft was dropped.
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02-08-2023, 06:41 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Winnebago Owners Club Spartan Chassis
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: ...hopefully on the road!
Posts: 5,221
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Tow truck info I culled from the manual for my 2002 Spartan MM is: Overall length 40'; Total rig weight 32,000 lb; Front Axle weight 12,000 lb; Independent Front Suspension; Reach Back distance (to center of wheels) 6 1/2 ft; Requires triple stage wheel lift; Must disconnect drive shaft; Air bag suspension, wrecker must supply air to suspension. I have not seen a tow hook on mine.
__________________
Paul (KE5LXU) ...was fulltimin', now parttimin'
2003 Winnebago Ultimate Advantage 40e
towing 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
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02-08-2023, 07:36 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: N.E. Florida
Posts: 1,343
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Have been towed twice in 14 years of ownership.
A skilled tow truck operator will want to know if you have IFS. Once the operator is aware (if knowledgeable) they will bring what they need to tow your rig in the appropriate manner.
Wheel lift was the technique on both occasions.
Both times the operator removed the axle rather than the driveshaft . The second operator (who was an absolute expert) even had a special bag to put the axle in to eliminate the possibility of any damage or contamination to the axle itself.
The wrecker provided the air for the suspension by connecting to the aux port in the driver side front compartment.
No damage to the coach on both occasions .
__________________
DaveS
1998 American Eagle 40EVS
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02-08-2023, 07:39 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Posts: 2,478
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FormerBoater
Have been towed twice in 14 years of ownership.
A skilled tow truck operator will want to know if you have IFS. Once the operator is aware (if knowledgeable) they will bring what they need to tow your rig in the appropriate manner.
Both times the operator removed the axle rather than the driveshaft . The second operator (who was an absolute expert) even had a special bag to put the axle in to eliminate the possibility of any damage or contamination to the axle itself.
No damage to the coach on both occasions .
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Axles.
Did he cap off the hubs? Or stuff rags in them? Pulling axles is definitely the easiest.
__________________
2002 American Tradition 40'
Cummins 8.3, Banks 431hp, 1260 tq
Canyon Lake, TX
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02-08-2023, 09:22 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: N.E. Florida
Posts: 1,343
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob_M
Axles.
Did he cap off the hubs? Or stuff rags in them? Pulling axles is definitely the easiest.
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On both occasions rags were stuffed to minimize the loss of gear oil. Took less than a quart to top off.
Both tows were short in distance and duration.
__________________
DaveS
1998 American Eagle 40EVS
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02-09-2023, 09:19 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: North America somewhere
Posts: 28,044
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RVingNow
What about the driveshaft? When my ifs1050 was towed the front wheels were lifted, air was connected, and the driveshaft was dropped.
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Of course; i skipped that part because it is SOP, and my fingers were stiff due to arthritis. The drastic weather change here hit my 80 yr old body hard.
__________________
2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD , ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG 11B5MX,Infantry retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA. " My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy
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