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Anyone tow with a motor home?


Shawn266

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I have a buddy who tows his LSV with about a 27' class C. He usually tries to use another truck to put the boat in & out. But occasionally he has to use the RV. You definitely have to get used to using the mirrors only for watching the boat (how many people do that with their current tow rig??). And the distance from the rear axle to the trailer hitch is like 10' so it jackknifes in a hurry. He just goes really slow & is super careful.

Most camp grounds will have a host or someone who is more than willing to help out. Or he'll have one of the others who join him do the honors.

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I towed a 23' Cobalt with a 27' class C, was a tad bit scary for me ... 11 hours to Lake of the Ozarks.

Also pulling the boat out of the water was hard.

Edited by MalibuNation
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We have pulled 2 dierent boats over the past 6 years behind a 24ft class c. As mentioned above the backing in can be a little sketchy but we have had no problems. I have seen several people use a hitch mounted to the front of the motorhome to put the boat in and out. We will be installing a hitch on the front over the winter for that reason as well as having the ability to put the bicycle carrier on the front. It seems really strage the forst time you see someone come around the corner to the ramp PUSHING their boat backwards.

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I have a cabover camper that I sometimes tow my boat to the lake with. After you back down the ramp a few times it isn't too bad. It is actually easier than backing down my jet ski trailer. The most annoying part is most of the parking lots are not level so my fridge quits working, that sucks. 90% of the time I get a buddy with a truck to put my boat into the water.

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Im buying a 37ft motor home and im going to pull my bu with it. My problem is im not sure how im going to get the boat in the water once I get to the lake.. Any ideas anyone?

Is that a Class A? Click here for our first experience towing with a Class C....

Is some ways it's more difficult to maneuver because of the turning radius, but we actually have more visibility with the rv than with the truck/camper combo by a wide margin.

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Im buying a 37ft motor home and im going to pull my bu with it. My problem is im not sure how im going to get the boat in the water once I get to the lake.. Any ideas anyone?

Is that a Class A? Click here for our first experience towing with a Class C....

Is some ways it's more difficult to maneuver because of the turning radius, but we actually have more visibility with the rv than with the truck/camper combo by a wide margin.

Once we installed the backup camera on the motorhome it feels like I know everything that is happening back there.

Tracie, our little RV only has the 5.4l in an E-350. I am very suprised at how well it pulls through the mountains. I only had the antilock brakes kick in once!! Whistling.gif

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Yes, I think that your overall weight is probably significantly less too, between the E350 & 24' chassis. We're just shy of 20k lbs loaded up, that's the absolute max on an E450 chassis. People don't give that 5.4L enough credit, it's a great engine.

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Yes, I think that your overall weight is probably significantly less too, between the E350 & 24' chassis. We're just shy of 20k lbs loaded up, that's the absolute max on an E450 chassis. People don't give that 5.4L enough credit, it's a great engine.

There is only a couple of things I would like to add. Stabilizer jacks and of course a little more power. Other than that we never get in a big hurry if we are in the motorhome we are in "relax and enjoy the ride" mode. Heavy winds can get exciting though!

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Yes, relax & enjoy, & figure that you're on vacation! The 450 I think handles winds a little better & the air bags helped with the handling, but I think that the downside to the 450 is the weight that it adds. We want to add more power & a few other things like a steering stabilizer. I've also been considering how to add a backup camera. Loading the boat....well, it can be interesting. :lol:

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We tow the boat with the motorhome frequently, but have never used it to launch the boat. I probably could, but I have been able to have another tow vehicle launch. We camp with my brother in law often, and he brings his Ford truck to pull his camper and then uses it to launch the boat. Never had any problems taking it up over Mt. Hood with the boat in tow.

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Yes, relax & enjoy, & figure that you're on vacation! The 450 I think handles winds a little better & the air bags helped with the handling, but I think that the downside to the 450 is the weight that it adds. We want to add more power & a few other things like a steering stabilizer. I've also been considering how to add a backup camera. Loading the boat....well, it can be interesting. :lol:

The backup camera I installed in about 2 hours. It has a wireless connection to the LCD monitor in the cab. I hooked the power up on the camera to the park lights so anytime I want to look back behind I just pull on the headlights and I can check on the covers, racks, etc. I can also see the cars following, depending on the angle I have the camera set at. I can also tilt the camera down and almost see the hitch which helps lining up the trailer as well.

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Im buying a 37ft motor home and im going to pull my bu with it. My problem is im not sure how im going to get the boat in the water once I get to the lake.. Any ideas anyone?
I have always towed my Malibu with a m/home when I camp. I tow with a 32 ft class A motor/h. Going over the grape vine, So. Cal north to Sacramento, is kinda of tricky or rather I should say slow. But other than that the rig tows well. Launching is easy at the lakes I travel to unless the water level is too low. I do use the backup camera or else a living body to make sure I do launch at the right depth. After you get used to the rig, it should be a breeze for you. Good luck
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I pull the bu with my truck.. Parents have an RV. So we always have a truck while at the lake.

I have had couple people ask me if I could put their boat in the water for them. They usually kick down couple bucks, if you do it all weekend... but if it's once or twice till their friends get their with a truck.....not big deal... Lets have a drink together or go boarding...... Either way, we are there for the same reason, to have fun and kick back...

K.Silva

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Im buying a 37ft motor home and im going to pull my bu with it. My problem is im not sure how im going to get the boat in the water once I get to the lake.. Any ideas anyone?

If it was an option, a hitch on the front of the unit for launching would make it simple.

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I bought a used Beaver Monterey motorhome with the Cat 300 hp diesel in 2002. We kept it a year. It was nice while it was parked but wasn't really fun to drive. Silverware rattling in the drawers and so forth. Plus it did not fit well in most of the government campgrounds.

I do not miss it all.

We then bought a new Komfort 21 foot travel trailer which the entire purchase price amounted to one year's depreciation on the motor home. We bought a GMC Duramax diesel pickup which has turned out to be the all time killer application for towing anything. For the last 3 years I have towed either Dennis or Rick's boat to Lake Billy Chinook a total of 41 times and left my boat in the garage.

For our annual 9 day campout I make two 93 mile trips to our favorite lake, first the trailer, then the boat. A couple of years I had guests at the front end and the last day pull my boat.

Uhaul will rent you a new GMC half ton pickup with V8, air and class 3 hitch for $19.95 a day and 50 cents a mile. I was going to have my wife tow the boat with this until I found a friend that wanted to go the first few days and could tow the boat to the lake. I worked out the same arrangement with my cousin for the last Sunday so they just towed my boat back home.

I will definitely use the U-Haul truck if necessary in the future.

The advantage of the trailer is that you can pack that baby with everything ahead and be ready to go at dawn. Plus the cost of depreciation is such that you can rent U-Haul's truck for the difference in cost of the motorhome.

Bottom line: Duramax towing a trailer gets more use for less cost.

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We had a 30ft 5th wheel camper that I pulled with my cummins dodge but my wife would hafto pull the boat with her tahoe. taking 2 cars to the lake was getting old so I sold the camper and went looking for a motor home. Well today I Bought one today, Its a 2008 monaco cayman class A 37 feet long, it has side view cams and also a rear view cam.. it has the hitch in the back no hitch in the front. My biggest worry was "high centering" as I back the boat down the ramp. But looks like no one has had any real problems. Once again you guys are a great help. Thanks!

Edited by Shawn266
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Jeez man!!! If you can afford the 37ft Monaco you can pay someone a little cash to put the boat in and out for you!!!! Just kidding , congrats on the new rig. Cheers.gif Do you have any pics of that beast?

Where did you pick it up at?

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What I hate is having to move your motorhome from camp to pull out the boat. I rarely leave the boat in overnight. My original solution was to double-tow (5th wheel and boat) but I now live in one of those states that does not allow double towing. So----we usually take two vehicles. If we go far from home we are usually with someone with another vehicle to put the boat in. So in summary, 5th wheel or camper we have two vehicles or have another friend's vehicle to put the boat in and out. Otherwise I have no problem with towing a boat with a camper but wouldn't want to put the boat in and out with it mostly because I want to leave camp set up.

Edited by Squag Mon
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Cayman.jpg

77b2_3.jpg

SAweet. Now we just need to see a pic of them hooked together launching somewhere. One thing you can do is find lakes/campgrounds with Marinas nearby or that have somewhat secure docks. Then you can launch and retrieve 1x each, instead of each day. A lot less hassle. They are out there, you just have to do a little research.

For starters (these are all up North, but you get the idea...)

Lake Chelan State Park - Wa.

25 Mile Campground (Lake Chelan) - Wa.

Lincoln Rock Statepark (Columbia River) Wa.

Priest Lake Luby Bay or Indian Creek - Id.

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I always hated braking camp to launch and retrieve, that's why I went with a different thought . A 5th wheel. Yea I know we lost the ability to grab a sandwich while driving but now I use my tow vehicle as a daily driver and instead of only putting 5,000 miles a year on the motor home I put 25,000 on the truck.

Once camp is set up we are free to come and go as we please and we do alot more site seeing.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/gwn...cation08059.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/gwn...111Medium-1.jpg

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I always hated braking camp to launch and retrieve, that's why I went with a different thought . A 5th wheel. Yea I know we lost the ability to grab a sandwich while driving but now I use my tow vehicle as a daily driver and instead of only putting 5,000 miles a year on the motor home I put 25,000 on the truck.

Once camp is set up we are free to come and go as we please and we do alot more site seeing.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/gwn...cation08059.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/gwn...111Medium-1.jpg

That is a long train going down the road. Too intimidating for me, but good for you.

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