Thor Forums

[bharrisv65]

Originally Posted by TurnerFam

1) weigh* the coach, FULLY loaded as when you would be traveling, with fuel, water, stuff, people, everything - including the tow bar. This number should be less than the GVWR(24,000) your coach's chassis is built for.

2) weigh* the vehicle you are going to be towing, WITH the including scooter or vehicle and stuff and fuel, etc.

*if you don't physically WEIGH these units, you'll never really know the answer to your questions, you'll just be guessing : /

3) subtract the weight of the Fully loaded coach from your labeled GVCWR(30,000)... this is the amount you have 'left over' to TOW, under the specs of the coach's chassis capacity.

4) if your fully loaded TOAD is within this number, and not heavier than the hitch itself is rated for(8,000), then you're fine.

travel, enjoy ! : )

Ok, as follow up, I weighed both the MH and truck fully loaded with fuel and the MH with everything we currently travel with. The MH came in at a surprisingly low 22,800 lbs. while the truck came in at a whopping 6,050 Lbs.! I was shocked the truck weighed that much as I was really figuring around 5,800 and that was being very liberal. I know 250 lbs. doesn't seem like much but every pound adds up, as you all know. I was also surprised the MH came in below the 24,000 lb. GVWR as I figured, since it was loaded with all the clothes, chairs, BBQ grill, tools, etc. it would be well above the GVWR. So all told, I do have wiggle room to tow the truck with about 1,000 lbs. to play with. But, as is usually the case, things have changed a bit and I've decided to go with a different tow vehicle, looking at and probably getting a new Ford Focus. I'm going to add a baseplate to the truck in case we want to take it along sometimes but our primary toad will be the car. I like the room in the hatchback which will allow some cargo carrying capability but I really like the weight difference from the truck. That 6,000+ lb. weight just scared me, I don't want to be at the upper limits while thousands of miles out in the middle of nowhere! The Focus is almost half the weight of the truck and I know will be a better option in the long haul....pun intended!
Thanks for all the input and I'll finalize this when we get the final vehicle. If anyone has any input regarding the Focus as far as towing, please chime in. I've done a ton of reading/research on them and I've already SPECIFICALLY asked the selling dealer, and I plan to get it in writing as well as recorded, that you can flat tow these things with no issues. I know what the owners manuals say but I've read a few threads where owners had trannies go bad, explode, etc. even though Ford states they can be flat towed, then Ford doesn't want to cover them under warranty without threatening a lawsuit or major haggling.