If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome towing a glider trailer
Hello,
I'm thinking of making a small and short motorhome to tow my DG800b trailer. Can anyone share positive and negative experience in this. Today I use a 2 door Montero, which is fantastic. Tks, Thomas DG800b |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome towing a glider trailer
Making one is gonna take some doing, time wise. Consider buying . . .
In Class C motorhomes there are only 3 mfgs that consistently get good reviews. Big Foot, Lazy Daze, and Born Free. I have a 26' Lazy Daze (they also make a 23'). When you look in places where people don't normally look (like behind the microwave), the wiring is neatly bundled and orderly. This sort of construction quality is hardly prevalent in the RV industry, though. More often it's a cheap veneer over garbage construction. bumper "tmlkbr" wrote in message ... Hello, I'm thinking of making a small and short motorhome to tow my DG800b trailer. Can anyone share positive and negative experience in this. Today I use a 2 door Montero, which is fantastic. Tks, Thomas DG800b |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome towing a glider trailer
On May 13, 9:52*am, tmlkbr wrote:
Hello, I'm thinking of making a small and short motorhome to tow my DG800b trailer. *Can anyone share positive and negative experience in this. Today I use a 2 door Montero, which is fantastic. Tks, Thomas DG800b I towed my Discus with a 23' Winnebago motorhome and it was if the glider trailer was not even there. I think the motor home made the trailer behave even better than with my van. Side wind is the only time where things get interesting. You will have to drive slower than normal to keep the whole thing lined up. Weight on hitch must be around 80 to 100 lbs to keep it from swaying. Good luck TU |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome towing a glider trailer
Thomas,
You didn't mention which country you live in, but if it's the USA or Canada, the only motorhome I would recommend would be one built on the Mercedes/Dodge Sprinter 3500 chassis, with the 3.0 liter diesel engine. The industry has only been making motorhomes on this chassis since 2005 or 2006 so the ink is still wet on the reviews. There are several manufacturers now building on this chassis and I examined all of them closely before choosing the Winnebago View / Itasca Navion (they are the same except for color / carpet schemes). I get 12 to 17 mpg pulling my glider trailer. ~ted/2NO 2008 Winnebago View 24H |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome towing a glider trailer
You didn't mention which country you live in, but if it's the USA or
Canada, the only motorhome I would recommend would be one built on the Mercedes/Dodge Sprinter 3500 chassis, with the 3.0 liter diesel engine. The industry has only been making motorhomes on this chassis since 2005 or 2006 so the ink is still wet on the reviews. There are several manufacturers now building on this chassis and I examined all of them closely before choosing the Winnebago View / Itasca Navion (they are the same except for color / carpet schemes). I get 12 to 17 mpg pulling my glider trailer. It's kind of hard to "make" (as the original poster indicated) a Winnebago, but I do agree on one point. For those of us who don't want to invest nearly the cost of a new glider in a motorhome, a used Mercedes/Dodge/Freightliner tall panel van is an excellent reasonable cost base for hacking together ones own mobile headquarters. I'm waiting for the arrival of the Ford Transit Connect in the US, if it is spec'd to tow a reasonable amount, I think it will make for a fine live-aboard tow vehicle... Marc |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome towing a glider trailer
tmlkbr wrote:
Hello, I'm thinking of making a small and short motorhome to tow my DG800b trailer. Can anyone share positive and negative experience in this. Today I use a 2 door Montero, which is fantastic. Where do you wish to use this motorhome (Brazil only?), why do you want to make one instead of buying one, and how many people will be traveling in it? -- Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA * Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly * Updated! "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4 * New Jan '08 - sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more * "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome towing a glider trailer
"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message news:6eoWj.252$Pr1.150@trndny03... tmlkbr wrote: Hello, I'm thinking of making a small and short motorhome to tow my DG800b trailer. Can anyone share positive and negative experience in this. Today I use a 2 door Montero, which is fantastic. Where do you wish to use this motorhome (Brazil only?), why do you want to make one instead of buying one, and how many people will be traveling in it? Eric, I really like your little motorhome. It looks like the space available is used very efficiently. How many miles are on the odometer? Wayne HP-14 "Six Foxtrot" http://www.soaridaho.com/Schreder |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome towing a glider trailer
Wayne Paul wrote:
Eric, I really like your little motorhome. It looks like the space available is used very efficiently. How many miles are on the odometer? 130,000 miles, almost all of it with my 34' glider trailer behind it. I have to disagree with bumper's assertion that "quality construction" is important these days: I think it's layout and size that are important, instead. As for towing (the original topic), it's perfect: *very stable, even in strong crosswinds, due in good part to it's relatively long wheelbase *reasonable mileage (10 mpg/60 mph with the 2400 lb trailer), due to it's small size of 23' and moderate weight *sufficient power to maintain 60 mph, except on steep or high altitude hills *comfortable enough that my wife looks forward to month long trips even if the glider comes with us! Or two months, sometimes. *and it drives nicely enough she'll drive it when I fly off into the distance, heading for our next stop Wayne, I'll email you a bit more about the motorhome specifics. -- Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA * Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly * Updated! "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4 * New Jan '08 - sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more * "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome towing a glider trailer
check out Roadtrek - I've gotten 16.4mpg pulling a glider in mine,
the best tow vehicle ever..... |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Motorhome towing a glider trailer
Sorry if this is off topic . . .
"Tuno" mentioned the Mercedes/Dodge Sprinter 3500 chassis. While the turbo diesel and mileage is very appealing, there other downsides to consider in some motorhomes with this chassis as offered by many of the manufacturers. It has a max GVWR of only 11030 lbs. This might be reasonable, but not when they load this chassis to the gills in terms of weight. Often, when the driver climbs in, the vehicle is already over gross if full water and fuel are on board. To get around problem, some RV manufacturers resort to a couple of ploys. First they try to avoid mentioning CCC (combined cargo capacity - or the weight left for cargo after adding full fuel, water, propane and "standard"150 lb bodies for each of the sleeping position). Then they consider such niceties as generator, roof air, awning etc, as dealer installed options. As such, they don't have to figure these heavy items in computing the CCC. The'll even limit fresh water capacity to maintain at least some CCC. More than a few motorhomes on the highway are over gross, with poor braking and marginal handling in emergency avoidance manuevers . . . not that they'd be all that good to begin with. As to Eric's thoughts, "I have to disagree with bumper's assertion that 'quality construction' is important these days: I think it's layout and size that are important, instead." I agree, quality doesn't seem important to many people nowadays. I think that's a shame really, and perhaps even short sighted. Why not have quality and a good floor plan and features? The alternative, shoddy workmanship and construction, quite often results in frustration when things break down, or the RV comes apart around you in a roll over accident resulting in otherwise preventable injury or worse. A well designed and built motorhome will be free of squeaks and rattles, have good weight distribution* and handling with a low CG, and a CCC reserve (as an example, my Lazy Daze "mid bath" has about 2,400 lb of CCC available for adding food, supplies and other "junk" . . . though at 10.5 mpg or so, it sure can't equal the Sprinter chassis for mileage). *There was a recent recall where one model's weight distribution overloaded the weight capacity of the front end (not a Sprinter chassis btw). Their fix? Add weights to the rear bumper. No kidding! bumper zz |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Glider Towing Available - Payson AZ (& local) | [email protected] | Soaring | 0 | June 5th 07 10:20 PM |
shipping glider to NZ-advice on securing glider in trailer | November Bravo | Soaring | 6 | November 1st 06 02:05 PM |
:-)) Trailer towing safety | Michael McNulty | Soaring | 1 | August 16th 03 04:15 AM |
Trailer towing safety | CH | Soaring | 9 | August 13th 03 05:45 PM |
Glider trailer towing | Jeff Landfield | Soaring | 0 | July 21st 03 04:25 AM |