Community Forums

JohnofJax · 07-16-2014, 12:03 PM

Afternoon ladies and gents,

I have just purchased a 2005 NKK DP 3910. Take delivery in two days. Although this is my first motor home, I don't expect to have problems driving it. I have driven other commercial units similar. My concern is this: I want to tow a 6x10 enclosed trailer, which I have never done. Is this something that is straightforward, but just needs to be learned? How well can you back up if needed? Any opinions would be appreciated.

Grandpere · 07-16-2014, 12:41 PM

Pulling a trailer if fairly straight forward, just go 55 to begin with to get the feel of the trailer behind you and avoid sudden steering movements as that will cause the trailer to start whipping around behind you. If that happens and you have trailer brakes just apply the brake controller manually and it will pull the trailer back into line.

Backing a trailer with a big outfit is a little harder than with a car or a truck. I suggest that you go to a large parking lot that is mostly empty and practice trying to get the trailer into a specific parking spot. The length of the MH changes the action on the trailer and practice is needed. After you get good at putting the trailer into a spot from different angles of approach then you need to concentrate on how much area you are using with the front end. Most camp grounds are not easy to back into because of limited space for the tow vehicle to swing around and you need to be cognizant of this fact.

As with anything about RVing, it takes practice to get good at it, and doing it in a campground for the first time is not the place to practice. My wife and I use hand radios to communicate as vision behind you is very limited. We tried hand signals but that did not pan out so we went to radios and now I know exactly what she is seeing and what she wants me to do to get the trailer in position.

Congratulations on your new MH and good luck.

GaryKD · 07-20-2014, 03:31 PM

Hi JohnofJax,
Welcome to iRV2 and the Newmar Kountry Klub Owners Forum. I have the same coach as you. The trailer should be no problem. I tow (4 down) a GMC ENVOY with a street weight of 5.3K lbs. Your hitch weigh is 1K and 10K weight for towing.

I have asked the moderators to move this thread to the towing forum. Thjis forum is about the Newmar owners Klub it's activities and information about the Klub.

Gordon Dewald · 07-20-2014, 03:42 PM

Pulling a 12 enclosed trailer with a DP of your size will be hardly noticed. You outweigh the trailer so there will be no issue of tail wagging.

Backing up will take some getting used to because of the differences in wheel base. The trailer will be very quick once you get it started to turn. The object is to not let it get too far ahead of the ability of the coach wheel cut to catch up and correct it. You don't want to have the corner of the trailer hitting the corner of the coach.

It will take some practice but you can learn to back the trailer almost any place. Just be patient.

dvmweb · 07-20-2014, 04:27 PM

V-Nose or square? If square, be careful turning too sharply, even going forward. You can bump corners, mh to trailer. Good luck.

2013 FleetWood Expedition 38B

qqvepy · 07-31-2014, 12:24 PM

In addition to the handheld radios, I have added a wireless back up camera to the trailer. It is a huge help in visualizing where you are and how much room you have left. It also helps with vehicle clearance when passing on the road.