We have my dad's 1989 33' Elite Class A motorhome in storage here in Reno. I drove it out from Florida a couple of years ago to sell for him. Now he's decided he doesn't want to sell it. The thing is a 454 front engine and gets 5-6 mpg on a good day. I figure the coach weighs in around 12-14,000 lbs as it sits, but that's a guess since I've never weighed it. I know that GVWR on it is like 18k.

I want to get it back to Florida, but I don't want to drive it at 5-6 mpg and have to fly back. I would rather tow it with my truck. I know that finding a gooseneck flatbed to do the job would be difficult, and expensive even if I did find one. I'm fairly sure that I'd still get better mileage towing it than driving it. And I'd be able to bring some stuff home that he wants to get rid of.

My Torklift Superhitch is rated at 17,000 lbs, so if I could find a good old-fashioned Tow Bar that was strong enough, I could just tow the thing all-wheels-down (with the driveshaft disconnected). Does anybody know if such a towbar exists? If I could rent one for a a couple of weeks it'd be ideal. It'd be four days each way there and back... and I'd probably spend a few days in between.

The only problem that comes to mind is how to stop the thing... but I imagine I could install a brake actuator in the MH like motorhome owners put on their towed cars.

So the question is this... does anybody know of a towbar strong enough to do this kind of job? I know it's a nutty idea but I figured I'd ask.

Rob

 

you are a nutty one. lol I am sure that it could be done but how many times you get pulled over on the way, you would for sure need one of thouse brake buddys that push on the brakes on the towed car. as for a tow bar it would beed to be huge, I have seen some on like a 21/2 truck but only for short tows like 40-50 miles and slow speeds. I don't know Might be safer and cheaper in the long run. to drive .

 

I would have a trucking company move it! If you try to pull it you will have a stack of tickets! That is so unsafe it isn't even funny!

You can always drive it. That would be cheaper in the long run and you can always pull a little car behind it to get you back home instead of flying.

 

Have your dad fly out and have him drive it home. It's his motor home. Time to let him grow up and take responsibility for his decisions.

 

Now that's funny right there...

 

The first day you hit wind, that motor home would be driving you!!!!! Film at 11:00. Rent a trailer or find a delivery service.

 

If he made it down the first hill without it pushing him off the side of the mountain!

 

If you would slow down to 55-60 mph you could get more like 7.5-8.5 mpg and enjoy the trip. Take a scenic route and spend a few days. This will be a lot safer and cheaper.

 

I used to run a wrecker service and believe me you don't even want to try it. It was a hard pull for our medium duty wrecker and most of the time we used the heavy duty to pull motorhomes. You would not get more than a mile or two with a pickup.

 

The 5-6 mpg I quoted is at 55-60... that's about as fast as it'll go in the mountains at elevation.

Besides, I've already given up on the crazy idea anyway. The only way to do it would be on a big gooseneck trailer, and even that isn't practical.

Thanks for all the input!

Rob

 

Well shoot........... I wanted watch you pass by so I could see that. Probably wouldn't of went thru Wyoming though.

 

And what kind of mileage do you think you'd get towing a motorhome ?

 

UMMM well I have my money on it going the other way!! You know Gallons to the mile!!!

 

Funny story....

I have a friend that was traveling from MN to Vegas in his $800K Prevost and blew his U-joint halfway through South Dakota... On 4th of July weekend!
He was towing his Jeep Gr Cherokee on a tow bar and decided to have his buddy that was traveling with him drive the jeep and push the RV (here is a Link to give you an idea of how big these things are) using the towbar!!

He called a dealer in Wyoming and they told him that if he got there by 5pm they would have a mechanic fix it... He left the engine running so they had brakes and power steering and gave that Cherokee the workout of it's life >>> I bet they pushed it 300 miles!!! They used those little motorola walkies to communicate and actually made it on time... He traded the jeep in while they were in Vegas (I wouldn't want to be the next owner!)

Just talkin bout crazy stories... just thought I'd share...


I bet a dodge cummins would push it better than that jeep did and not turn as many heads in the process.... Just thought I would toss that out there....

 

I'm a rescue diver in cincinnati and about two years ago we sank a 38 ft Rv (bus) into the local rock pit that had filled up with about 80 feet of water and is now a popular dive attraction. After emptying the RV bus of all its fluids we decided to push the bus with another guys truck (2nd Gen Cummins) off the edge of the cliff and let the bus sink to the bottom. After several attempts to get the RV moving with the ol' Cummins we gave up the truck wouldn't even budge the RV. We ended up moving the bus with a 4x4 back hoe the following weekend. We later found out that the bus weighed in over 35,000 pounds.