Pulling 242 with Motorhome

[cane.mba]

@Wayloncle Absolutely! I've even thought of using some sort of contraption like a dock whip to keep the 'toon camper from colliding.

 

[Wayloncle]

@Wayloncle Absolutely! I've even thought of using some sort of contraption like a dock whip to keep the 'toon camper from colliding.

My dad made a simple triangle out of PCV with a rope through it to keep his boat from running into the back of his house boat.

Let me know when you build it, I'll make a trip up to Lanier

 

[cane.mba]

http://tinyhouseblog.com/floating-homes/my-house-boat-the-y-knot/

Yes this is a chalet style pop-up camper attached to a pontoon!

 

[0627Devildog]

I would definitely put on some fold out locking out riggers for stability.

 

[txav8r]

The only thing is...it has been reported by many that when they stopped to render aid, and tried to tow someone with our jet boats, it was extremely hard to do and maintain any kind of directional control. The camper/toon idea has an appeal to me and I have actually piddled with plans to do one. But then pulling it out of the slip to my anchorage and back in a jet boat??? Just not sure about that.

 

[cane.mba]

@txav8r that's where I think Pontoon may excel. Less drag in the water on the two tubes plus the center area is open, vs a V shaped hull redirecting the flow from the jet. I have towed a small 14' John boat / flat bottom boat, and didn't notice any difference in the way mine handled. Issues with other jet's towing may have been weight related, ie, they were towing something that weighed close if not more than their jet. Obviously I'll have to search for towing threads and see what I can find.

 

[Zarrella]

I use to tow the boat with a class C motorhome. It was nice for traveling with the only issue being launching. We got to know where we could launch and where we could not. Some instances I was able to use other friends or family members vehicles to launch. In the end it was a pain in the butt.

 

[PEARCE]

Here's my dad's setup 85' long.
View attachment 16079

My in-laws have a 42' motorhome that they use to pull their 30' sleek when camping.

The maximum legal length in most states is 65'. I believe Oklahoma is 75'. If this setup was legal in Texas I would be doing it in a heartbeat. I've got plenty of truck along with the fifth wheel that's 36'. I've thought about just doing it anyway, but if something happens, and I'm at fault, I'm screwed.

 

[Zarrella]

My buddy recently got a ticket in Florida for triple towing. He was made to leave the boat in a parking lot and retrieve it later. Triple towing is illegal in Florida and Georgia.

 

[OrangeTJ]

One thing to consider is that many motorhomes have a 5K tow limit. Many of the larger Class Cs actually hit or exceed their GVWR just standing still but loaded for a reasonable trip (water, fuel, food, dishes, luggage, bedding...it all adds up, while they still have GCWR available. That's fine, I suppose, unless what you're towing has any tongue weight at all! We considered going this route last year but ultimately backed away from it, as I couldn't rationalize the increased expense compared to our trailer and I didn't want to have to drive the MoHo around once we got where we were going. Big advantage of the MoHo is you can ride in it on long road trips, where you can't with a trailer. You can also press them into service for relatively light duty towing, although they seem pretty far from ideal for that purpose.

 

[utahrd]

We routinely tow and launch with our Class A, so I thought I would share a pic and a video.

Here is a still pic of my tow vehicle and boat:

And here is a link to a video of my wife showing how its done on the ramp with me loading the boat (click the pic to see video)....





Notice the rear tires and rear of the RV never touch the water. I am sorry for such a boring video, but figured someone who is tempted to launch with Class A will benefit from my experience. p.s., that is only a 6" ball drop on the RV.

This is the ramp at Wahweap at Lake Powell....You can see the resort off to the right.

I have towed thousands and thousands of miles with this setup. very, very stable. the chassis is rated for 24,000 pounds gross combined weight, but is 16,500 actual. I estimate the boat and trailer at 4500lbs, and hitch is rated at 5000. very safe setup. way easier than you think, especially because of the backup cameras mounted high on the motorhome.




Cheers,

Jon

 

[jcyamaharider]

Welcome to the board @utahrd . Thanks for sharing as well.

 

[txav8r]

Glad your back with all
of us @utahrd ! Thanks for sharing the video and the info. I have been banned at that other forum for a long time now, so I couldn't get into it to get the links for everyone. Glad to have you on here as the biggest contingency of knowledge and info moved here!

 

[Zarrella]

Welcome !! Nice setup!

 

[PEARCE]

Welcome to the new clubhouse! Glad you made it over here. I thought I'd seen your rig and that video before. I remember that HUGE ramp!

 

[cane.mba]

@utahrd Awesome video, thank you for sharing! I love the way she whips the whole rig around and gets it all lined up and backed perfectly. However, what kind of boat was that semi unloading? It had to be massive!

After going to the Atlanta RV show last weekend, I convinced my wife that a Travel Trailer wasn't the right choice for our situation. At this point we've decided to go with a 5th wheel, so now I have to trade in my Ram 1500 on something larger, hopefully a 3500 4x4 drw. Growing up a Texan, I've always wanted a Cowboy Cadillac. On the plus side tandem towing may now be in my future....

 

[utahrd]

@utahrd Awesome video, thank you for sharing! I love the way she whips the whole rig around and gets it all lined up and backed perfectly. However, what kind of boat was that semi unloading? It had to be massive!

That big monster trailer in the video was going to load a houseboat. we see that all the time there. massive 50 to 80 footers.

 

[PEARCE]

After going to the Atlanta RV show last weekend, I convinced my wife that a Travel Trailer wasn't the right choice for our situation. At this point we've decided to go with a 5th wheel, so now I have to trade in my Ram 1500 on something larger, hopefully a 3500 4x4 drw. Growing up a Texan, I've always wanted a Cowboy Cadillac. On the plus side tandem towing may now be in my future....

I think that's an awesome idea! It can also be very expensive. A one ton would probably be a good idea, but I don't think you necessarily need a duelly. For you to be able to tandem tow you need to keep your total length in mind. You also want to make sure that the frame of the rv is up to the task of the additional weight and stress. My original intent of having a fifth wheel camper was to be able to tow the boat behind it. We got to looking at the floor plans and the one that we came to like was in a 36' package. According to Texas law, with a 23' boat behind that plus truck, would exceed the max length of 65'. The max length is something you have to keep in mind. To keep cost down you can certainly go used with both the truck and camper. I was looking last night on rvtrader.com and saw a 5er that was under or right at 30' that had a queen master bedroom up front and bunks for the kids in the back next to the bathroom. It was priced around 25k for a new 2015 and was labeled an ultralight. No matter what trailer you get you will have to have a custom hitch installed for the boat.

Good luck with the search. Don't forget to have fun too! Don't hesitate to message me if you have any further questions or concerns. And by all means, post pics of whatever you end up with.

 

[utahrd]

After going to the Atlanta RV show last weekend, I convinced my wife that a Travel Trailer wasn't the right choice for our situation. At this point we've decided to go with a 5th wheel, so now I have to trade in my Ram 1500 on something larger, hopefully a 3500 4x4 drw. Growing up a Texan, I've always wanted a Cowboy Cadillac. On the plus side tandem towing may now be in my future....

There are alot of people in utah who do the "triple tow", but personally I think that our boats are a little too heavy and too nice too put behind a fifth wheeler. Most people I see doing this have lighter, more beat up fishing boats. I had a 3500 dodge ram (single rear tire setup) that was ROCK SOLID pulling my 10,000 lb bumper pull, and it was a lot of fun.

But honestly, my motorhome wasn't cheap, but also not as much as you think. a new 3500 will run you $50,000 to $60,000. A new gas motorhome with ford chassis will run you $90,000 to $110,000. you could finance motorhome over 20 years making payment around 200 bucks a month if money is tight (and when is money not tight?). A new 1 ton truck and new fifth wheeler is the same cost as a motorhome.

I like having a v8 jeep, motorhome and boat in our garage. I tow the jeep behind the MH when not boating, I tow the boat behind the MH when not needing a car, and I can tow the boat with the jeep when I dont need a MH. If I have only motorhome and boat, it is pretty dang cheap to rent cars at the destination if you need a car. most car rental companies are ~ $30 bucks a day.

What they don't tell you about Motorhome is how much MORE FUN AND PLEASURABLE the drive is than behind the full ton truck. driving the truck to camping was like driving....driving the motorhome is like relaxing and sightseeing. I sit in a LazyBoy chair 6 feet high with a panoramic picture window allowing me to see this great country.

Since I have had all these setups, I will tell you my STRONG OPINION,is that the MH/Boat setup is the superior one (IMHO).

Whatever you will end up, it will be fun. You can't go wrong.

 

[Jrash]

Has anyone or does anyone tow their boat behind a Motor home? We're looking to purchase a camper of some form or fashion (looking at a travel trailer or Ultralite 5th wheel). The challenge is I use my Ram 1500 to pull the boat, so it'll have to pull the camper. My wife has an '05 4Runner with a v-6 and I really don't trust it to pull the loaded 242. So I started thinking maybe we should consider a Motorhome, and use it to pull the boat. Just curious if anyone does this now, and do you have any tips, tricks or advice on using a Motorhome to tow a boat?


Mike

I tow with my motorhome. Best way to travel in my opinion.