Towing with a 28ft Classic MH

[JerryT94]

Well, I lost out on the 20ft Argosy.

Just looked at a real clean 28ft excella MH that has a lot of extras.

Before I jump in the deep end, does anyone have any info on how heavy a tow'd this unit will pull? It has the 454 with a T400 series trans.

I like to tow my 1993 Toyota half ton extra cab, with a stick....gross on manufactors plate is 3300 pounds.

It has a large sticker on the sun visor that says the max weight is 14,500 pounds. The owners manuel syas it can tow up to 2000 pounds (but I'm assuming that this a trailer capicity)

I'm on the road and will not be able to respond for a day or so.

Thanks...still looking.

Jerry

[jpurdy]

maybe you need to know the actual weight of the motorhome
with all that you will load into it to see if you can tow 3300 lbs.

My 1981 28' MH is rated 14,500 .but that is the way it was shipped to airstream.
My Airstream manual indicates the rating to be 12,500 after they built the motorhome.

I would weigh the motorhome before I bought it to make sure I could tow the 3300 lbs.

[ALANSD]

the tow rating is actually 2000 pounds, but the PO of mine towed a jeep cherokee. I tow a Saturn which is lighter than either yours or hers, and it tows easily. It is very close to the rated towing capacity.

I would think with the addition of a brake controller, and proper hitch and all you would be ok to tow your truck. But I would see what others say who have towed heavier vehicles.

The vehicle weight rating of 14,500 applies to the loaded motorhome with equipment and passengers and not the tow rating.
The hitch weight rating and the tow capacity are what you need to be concerned with.

[thenewkid64]

For vehicle weight I use the published curb weight of the vehicle. My saturn is 2300 lbs. By state law I do not need to have an aux braking system, but I do for safety sake. The 2000 Lb max that airstream states assumes (MY opinion) that the towed vehicle will not have aux brakes. You still need to consider the fact that the aux brakes could fail and the MH will have to stop the toad and itself.

Each state is different regaring brakes on a toad, and breakaway on a toad. If your truck is over 3K Lbs almost all states will require some type of brakes.

I am comfortable using a brake buddy with my saturn towing with a 28 foot Argosy. You can feel the weight is back there on acceleration, but once I get going the only way I know it is there is when I brake and the remote indicator tells me the brake buddy has activated.

[JerryT94]

I have decided to pass on the 28ft, its just to big.

Anyone know of a 24f for sale on the West Coast?

Thanks for all the help.

Jerry

[85MH325]

For what it's worth... My '85 325 MH has the 454 and Allison transmission. I have the heaviest tow dolly built by Master Tow with brakes. We have successfully towed a '92 Lincoln Continental for one season, and I have towed my '97 Toyota T100 extended cab 4WD across the state (with the drive shaft disconnected!... a whole 'nother story...) Fortunately, the state is Iowa which is relatively flat, and I don't get in a hurry when towing that heavy. Actually, the biggest issues I've encountered when towing the heavy beasts is the added heat to the already only-nearly-adequate radiator of the MH on a hot day.

Now for the caveats... inspect your hitch on the MH regularly. Make sure that there are no stress cracks, rust problems or other structural issues in either the hitch or the frame to which it attaches. I have seen neglected old hitches break when put under load from having rusty, stressed welds. Keep your hitch painted and check it regularly. Make sure you have brakes on your dolly for that kind of load, and again, never get in a hurry.

I'm not sure I'd be really excited about towing that kind of load over any of the mountains in the Rockys or the Sierras tho...

[Astrodokk]

After reading posts about the types of tow bars some of you 28 footers are using out there, I went to an RV place and plomped down cash for a receiver type aluminum tow bar (Blue Ox), brackets for my '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the accessory package, and installation. When the service guy came out to inspect the receiver on my '81 28 footer, he shook his head and said that the sticker from Airstream itself says not to exceed 2000 pounds in the towed vehicle. Then he inspected the chassis and said that the P-30 chassis ends about where the gas tank begins, and the rest of it is an extension that was welded on by AS for the rest of the MH rear. He said that he would not accept liability for "marrying" the tow bar to my receiver. He suggested that I have a welder reinforce crossmembers along the extension to be able to tow max. 5K lbs., but he said I would probably have to replace the receiver too. I truly appreciated his honesty and interest in safety instead of trying to make a quick $1000 sale.
Now I know that at least two of you out there have Roadmaster and Falcon 2. How did you modify the assembly to tow more than 2K?

[swebster]

This is a great post. I've often wondered why my 345 has a limit of 2000 lbs and guessed that I could be because of the frame extensions. I have a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee that I would like to tow but haven't because of the limit. Anything smaller (close to 2000 lbs) might not be a great vehicle for all five of us. Besides, I already own the Jeep.

I often see other older MH's on P30's pulling Jeeps, Trucks and SUV. They are either overloaded or have the necessary reinforcing to handle the tow'd weight.

Does anyone know how to go about getting the frame "beef'd up"? What about the insurance implications?

[Astrodokk]

Yes, I also already own the Jeep, and really wouldn't have it any other way. It's a heck of a 4WD! I have two boys and we go everywhere in the MH, even to the store! I sure could have used the Jeep on certain camping trips. But I don't want to risk an accident if my tow setup is incorrect. I won't mind beefing up the rear if it can be done, but I wonder if it can be on the 28 footer. The tech said these Jeeps are about 4500 lbs.
Can't wait to hear if anyone tows as is or if alterations have been done.
I could just risk it and tow anyway, but then...

[thenewkid64]

Astrodokk,

My manual for the 78 Argosy says I can tow up to 4000 LBS on a 28 foot chassis. I wonder if the frame from GM was shortened for some reason???

My 76 28 footer said 2000 and I towed a Saturn(SL2), I see Motorhomes on a regular basis towing what IMHO is too big a toad. 24 foot pace arrow towing a full size pickup comes to mind.

IF the factory says 2000 LBS then that is all it was designed for. It is nice to hear about a safety minded RV equipment dealer!

I would take it to a local hitch shop and see what they say, not Uhaul, necessarily but an actual hitch place that has welders on staff.

[Astrodokk]

Good idea...I was wondering where I could take it for mods, if any.

[fabofabo]

Originally Posted by JerryT94

I have decided to pass on the 28ft, its just to big.

Anyone know of a 24f for sale on the West Coast?

Thanks for all the help.

Jerry

Jerry,
Fabian here in Whittier.
Give me a call.
I have the following:
1976 28 ft Argosy
1974 24 ft argosy
1977 20 ft argosy
All motorhomes.
The $ range between 7k and 10k
323 3957042

[Astrodokk]

Touchy subject, huh? No one else has any advice about towing with a 2000lb rated motorhome? The previous owner said that all he towed was a small trailer with two dirtbikes.

Well then, it's off to the hitch shop to hear their opinions. I will PM some 28' owners as well to hear what they have to say. Will not give out any names.

I'm disappointed that I can't pull my Jeep...yet.

[swebster]

please post your findings. I'm very interested in what a hitch place has to say about all of this.

[Astrodokk]

I called five shops today and all of them referred me to a place called Fabworks. I left two messages but didn't get a call back. Apparently, when a job like this has to be done, even the hitch shops, which only install hitches already rated for whatever, aren't able to do this because it's considered a fabrication of a new design. RV shops told me that while they have welders and had included this service in the past, liability companies stopped insuring them if they continued, so now only specialty shops will do the work. "Monster Garage" comes to mind, although I would prefer to go to an "You've Been Overhauled" type shop. Will have to wait til next week to see if this can be done. If not, does anyone want to buy an Airstream MH?