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Old 12-24-2018, 12:41 PM   #1
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40' Class A Pulling A Trailer

I'd like to pull a car trailer behind our 40' DP so we'll have something to drive when we get where we're going. My question is how do you find a campground to stay in when you're 65' long? Most places we've been to so far here in the mountains in the Southeast just aren't big enough. We've had trouble at a couple places just being 40' with no trailer!!

I had thought about flat towing a vehicle behind our DP but I hear you can't back up with a vehicle attached that way so that kinda scares me. I've pulled car trailers for 30+ years and I'm very good at backing those up. Seems to me the trailer would be more feasible to drive but would create problems when you get where you're going due to length issues.

What do you guys with trailers do? Where do you stay? Do you ever have to take the trailer off so you can fit into a campsite?
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Old 12-24-2018, 12:59 PM   #2
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For 7 years we pulled a 20' pickup behind a 41' motor home and now we are pulling it with a 43'. While travelling we never disconnect.
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Old 12-24-2018, 01:32 PM   #3
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Prefacing my comments below.... Towing a vehicle 4-down is soooooooooooooooo easy. If I need to disconnect (to back into a campsite), it is no big deal. Disconnecting & positioning a trailer?.....big deal.



You, being a senior member, surely you know that reserving a "pull thru" site is the life you are about to commit to. You also state that most back-in sites can only handle 40 or perhaps 45 feet of rig. That's been my observation too.


Now, if your vehicle inside the trailer is not street legal (i.e., you're hauling a dragster around).......... Just kidding.
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Old 12-24-2018, 01:35 PM   #4
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Make sure the vehicle you are putting on the trailer has a hitch. At least you can move around the trailer if you have to. We traveled all over North America in a 40 ft pulling a car. Seldom if ever did we have to unhook the car. As long as you can connect the trailer to the tow vehicle, you can easily move it if you have to.
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Old 12-24-2018, 01:46 PM   #5
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We used to pull a 26' enclosed trailer and were 73' long. Only twice in three years did I have to stay at a Walmart because of no campground space. However, we never travel in the southeast or east. WI and west of the Mississippi has better accommodations for Big rigs. I agree that towing four down is an easy and convenient way to travel.
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Old 12-24-2018, 01:52 PM   #6
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We used to pull a motorcycle inside a trailer with our motorhome. On the few occasions that we didn't have room for the motorcycle, trailer, and motorhome on our site (hard to believe but yes we did have that problem a few times) I would run the motorcycle back into the trailer when we returned to our site after being out for a ride. I've never trailered a car so I don't know how easy/hard that would be to do every time you went somewhere with your car.
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Old 12-24-2018, 02:29 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by winniman View Post
Make sure the vehicle you are putting on the trailer has a hitch. At least you can move around the trailer if you have to. We traveled all over North America in a 40 ft pulling a car. Seldom if ever did we have to unhook the car. As long as you can connect the trailer to the tow vehicle, you can easily move it if you have to.
We use a car hauler behind our MH. Our Escape can pull the trailer so we can move the trailer if needed to unhook and maneuver. Certainly more work than flat towing but would rather put miles on the trailer Vs. our car when towing. Pull through sites are needed or we check with the RV park for "overflow/storage" parking prior to committing to making a reservation. So far no problems. We will see how it goes when we head west after Christmas.
Good luck and safe travels!

Cheers
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Old 12-24-2018, 08:03 PM   #8
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there have been a couple times when pulling my 20' car hauler I have to park the trailer in a separate area no big deal. other times I have been able to get a pull through site. if and when I don't have to have the trailer I will be getting something to tow 4 down, a lot lighter than the trailer
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Old 12-25-2018, 09:31 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skiddy View Post
there have been a couple times when pulling my 20' car hauler I have to park the trailer in a separate area no big deal. other times I have been able to get a pull through site. if and when I don't have to have the trailer I will be getting something to tow 4 down, a lot lighter than the trailer
towing the trailer with the car inside will also effect your gas milage and climbing steep grades towing an extra 3,000 lbs or so
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Old 12-25-2018, 11:48 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EZRider800 View Post
I'd like to pull a car trailer behind our 40' DP so we'll have something to drive when we get where we're going. My question is how do you find a campground to stay in when you're 65' long? Most places we've been to so far here in the mountains in the Southeast just aren't big enough. We've had trouble at a couple places just being 40' with no trailer!!

I had thought about flat towing a vehicle behind our DP but I hear you can't back up with a vehicle attached that way so that kinda scares me. I've pulled car trailers for 30+ years and I'm very good at backing those up. Seems to me the trailer would be more feasible to drive but would create problems when you get where you're going due to length issues.

What do you guys with trailers do? Where do you stay? Do you ever have to take the trailer off so you can fit into a campsite?
You'll get plenty of discussion here and have already, but story short, four down is the way to go and you'll learn that sooner or later.
No you can't back up, but then again you can for a little ways, using a few tricks and a topic for another discussion. Other than those far and few, in between, you shouldn't have to, but just in case, you can always unhitch and connect back up. This we've done a couple of times over a period of years, but that's about it. For the most part, it's a no problema....
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Old 12-26-2018, 07:09 AM   #11
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I agree that towing four-down is the only way to go. In all the years we have been towing that way, I only had to back up once. GPS sent me down a road to nowhere where I couldn't turn around. Five minutes to disconnect and back out. Another couple of minutes to re-connect and go.
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Old 12-26-2018, 10:46 AM   #12
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Another issue is - having to deal with the "empty" trailer once you unload the car..... Very few CG's have sites large enough for MH, trailer AND car.....
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Old 12-26-2018, 04:28 PM   #13
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Curtis.....sometimes we're forced to tow a certain way. It's a tough decision. Some people don't want or can't afford to buy a separate vehicle, just for RVing. Obviously, 4 down towing is the number one way to tow a vehicle, but that requires many to buy a specific car that is towable, yet works for their daily needs.....tough choice.

You say the flat towing scares you, especially since you can't back up.....you shouldn't be. When you get to a campground, you're not going to try and back the toad into a site, you disconnect at check in or in front of your site and then park the coach. Depending on space, I disconnect where it's most convenient. My wife then moves the toad to our campsite.

As you start towing a vehicle 4 down, you soon learn where you can turn and the type of places you can't get into or out of while towing. In 15 years of towing behind a DP, only once did I have to disconnect the toad, primarily because I didn't want to drive through some dirt. There are times you can back up a few feet. If the toad is directly behind my coach and the wheels are straight, I've backed up 3-4 feet so I can make a turn more easily.
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Old 12-26-2018, 04:55 PM   #14
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been towing a flat bed hauler now since 2009.
we have a vehicle that is four down towable, and last three also have been. for us there have been a few times where the trailer and its empty size was an issue..but they are far and few in between. only one cg asked us not to leave the trailer hooked up at the spot, and they provide a free secure area to store the trailer, since we were there for 2 weeks.
its just like everything else we do when rving...what ever you decide to use, you will find your rhythm for what works best.
personally the road rash and tailgaters, only serve to re-assure me the trailer is the best for ME.


i have been through 4 sets of tires, two sets of springs (upgrade), repaint and tie downs. still far less money than tires on the towed and towed is not getting miles on it. I know they say miles dont click on the towed...but tires, suspension still take a beating when its towed on the ground. on the trailer the vehicle rides smooth and may use the shocks a bit, but no where as much as rolling along.
as far as MPG...i get 7.5 empty or towing.
my trailer plus vehicle is 8400lbs.
i can back up, i can turn very sharp.


but the end is its YOUR decision, not mine or anyone here. Do what works for your happiness, because thats all that matters.
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