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I have towed a 25 foot Tradewind behind a 1/2 ton Suburban over about 25,000 miles over 2 years. I have also done the motorhome route with a 40' diesel pusher pulling just by coincidence, a Dodge Durango as the dingy. We traveled about 40,000 miles over 4 years in the motorhome/dingy.
We all might look at safety differently. Here are some of the metrics I use:
1. Is it safe enough for my wife to be willing to share the driving responsibilities? For the Suburban/Tradewind combo the answer was Yes. For the Motorhome the answer was No. My wife felt much more at ease sitting in the Suburban, which was also her daily vehicle. She felt more in contact with the road, not as subject to winds, and able to slow the combo down more easily. With the motorhome she was always concerned about the width of the vehicle and got tired constantly trying to stay in the middle of her lane. After a couple of motorhome stints, I was left with the driving responsibilities. Advantage - Airstream trailer
2. Does it feel safer when the big semis come rolling by? We had a Pullrite hitch on the Suburban and we never felt any sway. On this forum most owners with a properly set up Hensley, Reese, or Equalizer hitch don't worry about sway. On the motorhome, nothing was going to push it around because it weighed so much, but when the trucks were rolling you did think more about where you were in your lane. Advantage - neither
3. Does it feel safer when it's time to slow down coming down the mountain, or slow down quickly to avoid an accident? I actually worried alot more when I was in the motorhome coming down the big mountain grades. Even though we had a pack brake, when the grade was over 8% you weren't slowing down. With motorhomes weighing in over 40,000 there is simply a lot more mass to stop. Yes the brakes and engine braking are built for the job, but I never felt safer than my Suburban/Tradewind combo. And for accident avoidance, I certainly did not feel more nimble in the motorhome/dingy, probably mostly because I was about 60 feet in length. The Suburban/Tradewind was more around 45 feet in length. I was always working hard in the motorhome to slot into another lane on those lane changes, even with my rear camera turned on. Advantage - Airstream trailer.
4. Does it feel safer when we have to stop at night or during the day in less than desireable areas? Well we shouldn't have been in these places in the beginning, but it happens. We felt safer in the motorhome because we never had to go outside, but we also felt like we were attracting more attention. Advantage - Motorhome.
I could go on with more examples. You might want to think what "safer" really means for you and post some questions and we could give you better answers to your specific needs.
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