Community Forums

jimdland · 03-29-2018, 11:35 PM

I have thought a lot about getting a toad for my 24 ft Thor Chateau Citation Sprinter. Most of the Sprinters I have seen have Smart cars behind them. That’s a little too small for me. I’ve heard the toad weight limit for Sprinters is 3500 LBS.

ualdriver · 03-30-2018, 12:05 PM

I have only been RVing for a few years. We don’t tow a car. We either choose campgrounds that are the destination, use Uber/taxis, or I drop the wife off at a rental car facility and she meets me at the campground with the car. The cost (and hassle) of dealing with a toad pays for a lot of rental cars and Ubers in my opinion. I guess it just depends on personal preference.

AudiDudi · 03-30-2018, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimdland

I have thought a lot about getting a toad for my 24 ft Thor Chateau Citation Sprinter. Most of the Sprinters I have seen have Smart cars behind them. That’s a little too small for me. I’ve heard the toad weight limit for Sprinters is 3500 LBS.

We have a Coachmen Prism 24G on the Sprinter chassis. The max tow is 5000lbs but anything over 4200lbs must be subtracted from the OCCC. Max tongue weight is 500lbs. We dolly tow a Sonic RS hatchback: dolly + car = about 3250 lbs. Fuel economy is about 15mpg towing and it's hard to tell it's back there. There are many cars that can be and are towed behind the Sprinters.

bmwrider1946 · 03-30-2018, 02:23 PM

We thought this would be a good idea but quickly concluded it was not. Hooking and unhooking was the main problem for me. I guess maybe I'm lazy but I hated getting to a location then unhooking every day to enjoy the area. Also finding suitable parking was not always easy. We towed a Jeep Wrangler 2 door behind our 24 ft Forester and barely knew it was there.

Hooligan · 03-30-2018, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimdland

I have thought a lot about getting a toad for my 24 ft Thor Chateau Citation Sprinter. Most of the Sprinters I have seen have Smart cars behind them. That’s a little too small for me. I’ve heard the toad weight limit for Sprinters is 3500 LBS.

That 3500# applies to some Sprinter chassis that are only equipped with a 3500 lb hitch. Most have a 5000# hitch and the chassis is rated for that. AS AudiDuti pointed out, a chassis at max weight can only tow 4200lbs. GVWR 11030#, GCWR 15250#

Loggenrock · 03-30-2018, 09:34 PM

Hey AudiDudi - you sure you have a tow capacity of 5K? Our Prism 24J has a 3500# tow limit. The HITCH might have a 5000# rating, but the structure of the rig is the limiting factor... We have a sticker right on the back above the receiver stating load/tongue wt. limits. Just curious if the different models have a different rating... ST

AudiDudi · 03-30-2018, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loggenrock

Hey AudiDudi - you sure you have a tow capacity of 5K? Our Prism 24J has a 3500# tow limit. The HITCH might have a 5000# rating, but the structure of the rig is the limiting factor... We have a sticker right on the back above the receiver stating load/tongue wt. limits. Just curious if the different models have a different rating... ST

There was no sticker on mine. When I checked with the factory, they indicated that anything over 4200lbs had to be subtracted from the OCCC, which on mine is 1656 lbs. What year is yours?

Hooligan · 03-31-2018, 08:58 PM

AudiDuti- The Prism specs do show a 3500# hitch, dealer here had one with that limit.
The Sprinter chassis itself is rated to tow 7500# but how the chassis is extended for RV use, also affects the tow limit. My Siesta has a 5000# tow limit and hitch but at my travelling weight I would be limited to about 4500#

Loggenrock · 03-31-2018, 09:30 PM

Audi...

Ours is a 2015 Sprinter - see below... ST

AudiDudi · 04-01-2018, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loggenrock

Audi...

Ours is a 2015 Sprinter - see below... ST

Gotcha

I looked all over and found out a class 2 hitch with a 1 1/4 inch receiver has a capacity of 3500 lbs. A class 3 hitch has a capacity of 5000 lbs and has a 2 inch receiver. I could not find a class 2 hitch with a 2 inch receiver. So the hitch is a 5000lb hitch. As I said above, the factory told me that anything over 4200lbs had to be subtracted from the OCCC.

Loggenrock · 04-01-2018, 11:44 PM

The GCVW for a Sprinter is 15,250# (coach plus toad). The GVWR for the Sprinter chassis alone is 11,030#. So, MAX toad weight is 4220#, which is likely where they came up with that figure, IF the coach is at maximum weight (we've had ours weighed by wheel position, fully loaded, and we were right at maximum). So...if you can reduce the weight of the coach, the CHASSIS would be able to handle extra weight for a heavier toad. However, if you crawl under and look, you will see that Coachmen (and about every other B+ manufacturer) has extended the chassis frame to make it longer to accommodate the camper modification. The 2" receiver (hitch) is mounted to this frame extension. So, it is the CAMPER manufacturer that has set the tow capacity of the coach, not MB or the receiver manufacturer. How they arrived at the 3500# rating is beyond me - maybe just "WAG" ("wild @#$ guess"), maybe some scientific method... Our toad is a Subaru Forester 5-speed, weighs in just over 3000# without a driver, so we are below both the stated tow capacity and GCVW (~11k + 3k = 14,000#). Hope that helps. ST

AudiDudi · 04-02-2018, 08:51 AM

Maybe something changed for 2016 - beats me. It was the camper factory rep that told me 5k and 4200. My toad/dolly comes in well under 3500.

jrcorvette · 08-02-2018, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EShuler

We (me/wife/small dog) do it all the time. We have an Itasca Navion (class C). Great mileage, easy to drive, easy to find parking space. All it takes is a little planning. We stock food and necessities prior to leaving, and resupply as required. Our longest trip has been 4 weeks. Lots of weekend trips, heading to Yellowstone this summer.

That is what we are going to do and see how it works out for now!

paddykern · 08-05-2018, 04:55 AM

Bought a 22 foot Sprinter B+/C- so we wouldn't have to have a toad.

Everything inside is kept ready to roll.
Since we are constantly on the move, everything has a place and is put away when not in use.

Outside, only hookup is electric if available.
Use a heavy 15 amp power cord, large gage and much smaller than 30 amp cord. Much easier to pack up to move.

At most pack up two camp chairs to leave.

Takes less than 5 minutes to be on the road.

MH drives like a car (big car) so we take it everywhere.

Two one month trips so far and can't see why we would ever need a toad.