motorhomes as tow vehicles

[Todd & Toni Jones <tjones@coinet.com>]

While I personally have no
experience with towing a horse
trailer with a motorhome, I have
friends who do. My parents are
snowbirds and have had a variety of
motorhomes through the years, all
big and very long, and tow a small
car behind them. While most people
have posted as to the dangers of
hauling the trailer and not seeing
the possible dangers behind them,
there is one thing that my dad
discovered while talking to other
snowbirds down in Arizona.

He was warned to never buy a used
motorhome that had hauled a horse
trailer or other large, heavy
trailer for any length of time. We
are talking the bigger, longer
motorhomes (but not greyhound bus
conversions). In talking with the
different full-time RVers, many of
whom use to sell RV's or fix them,
etc., they've found that when
pulling a heavy trailer (like a
loaded horse trailer) of size that
the extra weight on the rear end of
the motorhome caused frame damage,
sometimes severe, sometimes only a
tweak. And that using an easy-lift
could even make it worse as it would
cause the whole frame to sometimes
"torque" and have problems,
especially when driving over uneven
ground or roads, where the trailer
tilts one way and the motorhome the
other. They weren't talking the
chassis so much as  they were about
the aluminum frame and fiberglass
that make up the walls, roof, etc.
These people said they had seen some
doozies where, though no wreck
occurred, the motorhomes simply
started coming apart at the seams,
literally, and had to be "totalled".
It doesn't happen right away, it's
the constant towing that causes it.

While the motorhomes might be touted
as being able to haul trailers and
the like, the type the full-time
RVers buy just aren't made to do it
(with large trailers) over the long
haul. Maybe someone who has
first-hand experience or knows an RV
dealer can shed more light or be
more technical. For the record, my
dad is a jack of all trades and has
rebuilt a couple of motorhomes
through the years, was a body and
fenderman for over 30 years, and
also built houses. He says the newer
RV's although more luxurious, use
less steel than the older ones do.

Anyway, not to discourage you from a
motorhome, but something to
consider. My 2 cents worth. I
personally like the gooseneck/pickup
idea anyway. :)

Toni Jones
Shagya Stallion O'Biwon
Prineville, Oregon




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