I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a towed vehicle. There is a local one for sale, 1991 Honda Civic setup with a stow master 5000 tow bar. Any comments about this setup? One of my concerns has been what happens when you're alone and you run into a dead end. No wife to jump out and move the car. Is that ever a problem?
Gayland,
You worry too much. Look at the bright side...if it's a dead end, there wont be too much traffic to back up. :-X
Even with a wife, I still had to get out and unhook, more than once too.
You will unhook the car, move the stuff around, rehook and be on your way. Being alone doesn't change the procedure much, though it may add five minutes to a ten minute procedure.
My experience will likely top anything you will ever experience:
We tried to pull up a street that was just too steep. The threaded portion of the hitch ball dug into the asphalt to where we could not go forward or backward. I tried to remove the towbar from the ball, but the incline prevented it from being released. I had to start the car, drive it forward pretty forcefully, and set the parking brake. Got the car loose.
I then tried to pull the hitch ball mount from the receiver, but it was wedged with the weight of the coach. I then tried to remove the ball, but I could not get my pipe wrench under the mount. Being industrious, crafty and pretty exasperated by this point, I did figure out the puzzle. I set the coach parking brake really tight, chocked the wheels, and used the leveling jacks to raise the back enough to get the ball and mount off. Then, I backed the coach up, which left another gouge from the receiver, but the coach did back out. THEN, I put the whole mess back together and was on my way. Total time was about fifteen minutes and I was done before a car needed to go up the street.
Elsewhere, I told the story about backing up the coach about 1/2 mile, in the dark, down a one-lane road, following the taillights of my wife in the towd.
Get the car if our forum friends approve of the setup, and worry not.
oldMattB
PS One trick I learned for the quick disconnects with a conventional (not motorhome mounted) bar. Keep a couple bungee cords handy, one to wrap around the cables and wires, and the other to hook the end of the towbar up in the air and to the car, and avoid having to fold and unfold it, and avoid fully disconnecting the wires and cables.
Easier than a tow dolly and dead end road, been there, done that. Simple, just do what is needed and smile, continue down the other way. ;D
Thanks all for the encouragement. It would appear that I also need a bike, so after I drive the car a half mile to safety, I have something to ride to get back to the coach ;D
Wow, I never thought about doing that with a dolly.
Isn't there an apocryphal story about a man who needed to transport two cars across several states, and would drive one car a couple of miles, walk back and drive the other car a couple of miles, and etc.
oldMattB
oldmattb, I think I know who that idiot is :(
I got trapped twice in 7 years of RV'ing. Once with a tow dolly at the Jackson MS Flying J, and once 4 down trying to make a sharp turn coming out of an RV campground outside of Cherokee NC. Both times, no real drama. I don't pull into anywhere I can't see my way out of w/o walking it.
Always a chance of getting surprised, but there is no shame in taking the dog for a walk and surveying the way out. I have gotten pretty good at planning a way out when I come into a fuel stop, shopping center, etc.
oldMattB
Great, now I have to get a dog >:( Nice to know though that I wouldn't be the first if I were ever to get into one of those situations.
Gayland,
Indeed, you are not alone, there are many brilliant souls who had a wake up moment. :)
Grandkids can work, too. You will just need a stronger leash and collar.
oldMattB
My last such event was in Susanville, CA. If you leave the RV park and turn right onto what looks like a nice big main street, you are now in deep trouble with NO WAY OUT. The road takes a curve a couple blocks up, and you see that you have two choices: The fairgrounds on the left, which is gated, or a mobile home park straight ahead that has a sign "No RVs." Having no choice to turn around, I chose to enter the mobile home park anyway.
Well, several folks came out to try to stop me, as there is no exit, no loop in the park, no nothing. It was unhook time. Frustrating, as I got no clue of my impending doom until it was directly upon me.
Gayland, One advantage to not having a wife with you when yoiu do something stupid is that she will not be offended or shocked by the languge in use in the situation. :)
In the dark in S MO I missed the CG turn, had to unhook toad, turned around to find CG, DW got out of CB range and I ended up in yard of trailer house with loud dogs and had to back out again, when we finally found CG and got back together there was very little lite conversation for the balance of the evening. :'( :'(
We do cat and birds. Don't have to walk either, and there is nothing like a bird for an alarm. They flip out if the curtain flutters...
I agree with the rest of them. I didn't buy a towed originally. Man what a difference having one. The convenience far outweighs the possibility of having to occasionally disconnect when you get in a bad place. What's really strange is that after a very short time towing, you won't even know that the towed is behind you. It really makes very little difference in you turn clearance.
Also, I have the Road Master 5000 car mounted hitch. When we first got the towed, it took us up to 20 minutes to get things hitched up. After a few trips its down to under a minute. The first thing to do it lube up the sliders on the hitch including the cross bar and the buttons. If things don't move smoothly, hooking up is a real pain. When you hooking up by yourself, you may have to mover the car several times to get it the correct distance from the hitch ball. The good thing about the 5000 is that by pressing the arm buttons you can move the hitch basket right or left and in and out about 6" so you don't have to be exact on the distance of the car from the coach.
Buy the towed. It is well worth the investment.
I found instructions for our hitch that suggested using a silicone spray lubricant to lube the sliders and cross bar. I have found the lubing at each disconnect has made the hitch/unhitch process easier.
Our coach came with the Jeep attached. The Jeep is a "beater" and has little resale value, but was a great bonus for us. Vehicle, hitch, brakes, and light were all hooked up and ready to go. It has provided a lot of freedom, and some comfort that we have an alternative mode of transportation in case of a failure on the coach.
I backed up a couple of feet one time to get into a tight pump lane at Flying J. I would recommend against backing up at all, but I did it once in a pinch.
Blue Ox system allows about 15 inch leeway.
Dave,
Have your birds memorized any of your vocabulary?
Good choice for a toad. Our RAV4 is a easy tow so your Honda should be even easier at 2400 lbs or so (just guessing). We don't use brakes (have Jake) and just throw a magnetic set of LED lights (harbor freight) on when we set off. Yes, nice to have something to hold the coupler end up in the air when you disconnect. I use tractor hitch pins to hold the towbar to the baseplate. Fast and strong. I close the door on the cable and route it under the hood on the way to the front. Makes for light removal in a minute. Big zip lock to stuff lights/wires in. Bungees also good to have. Check online to see if you have to stop every several hundred miles to start engine for transaxle lube. Check baseplate attachment points fairly often especially before first tow. Use checklist, especially at first to make sure the steering is unlocked, parking brake off, key accessory position before moving. Remember to take key out, lock Honda when stopping at restaurants, etc., but make sure it gets back in.
Pierce & Gaylie
'93 U300/36
Pierce, FWIW I had always towed without brakes since I was towing a Saturn SC1 first and then a Subaru Outback. One could hardly notice either one behind both my U255 and the U300. However, we had a couple of close calls where I had to jam on the brakes to avoid hitting someone. After the second one, Peg and I decided to pay attention to these little cheap warnings so we had an air brake installed, just in case we needed it. The new air brake was a pleasant surprise in that it makes coming to a complete stop much smoother all of the time. I didn't realize how much effort I was expending trying to stop smoothly every time we came to a complete stop. I highly recommend an air brake for the towed.
We've towed our Honda CRV for about a year (14K miles) and have only had to disconnect it once because we needed to back up and that was in an RV park. I used to worry about this too, but it just takes minutes to do (we have a Roadmaster unit). We also have a system that connects to the coach air brakes (M and G) and we like them a lot. The "toad" only weighs about 1/10 of the coach, but we had the system installed mainly for liability reasons. It works great.
I'm absolutely no expert on individual state laws, but have been told by a long-time full-timer friend that many states "require" the tow'd have brakes and (again, I'm told) several want break-away braking systems as well. Not something a LEO would be likely stop you for, but were you stopped for another reason, or in an accident, no tow'd brakes could be a liability in more ways than one.
Towing Laws | BrakeBuddy - Braking systems for motorhomes towing a vehicle (http://www.brakebuddy.com/Towing-Laws)
I have read elsewhere that there is some confusion about whether or not a towd fits the law as a trailer, and enforcement varies. I read enough stories about rampaging towds to get me to buy a brake system.
oldMattB
George and Kent,
Thanks for the tip on brakes. Had never even thought about it with the RAV so light but after reading your posts, I went to Roadmaster Inc. - Tow Bars, Braking Systems & RV Accessories (http://www.roadmasterinc.com/) (great home page photo) and looked up the requirement for each state. Looks like I need to put brakes on! I went to George's M&G site and checked it out. Kent, what brand did you end up with? Thanks again G & K for the tips.
Pierce & Gaylie
'93 U300/36
Not for the faint of heart, but you can back up by starting the tow, put it in reverse and pull the FT ;o)
best, paul
Pierce, M-G was my brand also. It appeared to be the most basic and purely mechanical system that I could find. There is nothing to move around. It stays under the hood and hooking up is one air line and a cable. It was also about $400 less expensive than the Air Force One.
I had it installed by the manufacturer when I was in Texas this spring. They are near the Dallas area. It took less than 2 hours to install and the cost was about $800. They attend several of the major RV Rallies and do installations at the rallies. I think this is the same system that Barry has and several other of the "smart guys" from the forum have on their toweds.
/
I have backed up the U225 plus towed as far a 50 ft in pretty much a straight line without unhooking. Its tedious but it can be done by playing close attention to the back camera. I like that better than pulling the coach with my Subaru.
Kent,
I checked ebay, did a lot of quick reading and bought a Add a Brake by Roadmaster. Legal in all states for supplemental braking systems. It just came up for one fifth the Camping World price. Lucky day. You guys saved me $$$.
Paid for my membership for a year in the forum. What can I say?
Thanks again,
Pierce and Gaylie
'93 U300/36
Let us know how it works out when you get it. I always thought an air system would offer better proportional braking. I'm curious if an electrical system will help with smooth stops like the air has done for me.
Luckily, no...
Romeo (female Moluccan Cockatoo) sez 'We love you', and 'Where were you?', and about 25 more words.
Sugar (mini Macaw) knows about 15. He's dumb as a brick.
Local dealer had a US map showing each state's requirements for supplemental braking. North Dakota is the only one that has no requirement, many are anything over 1500 lbs. Guess I could confine my trips to town and back, or bit that bullet too and get a braking system. I'm passing on the Honda, no air. I'm to old to have to rough it that much. So now I have a bare slate. The local RV dealer quoted $1800 ball park (no braking) to set up what ever i get, don't know exactly what model that was, but is it a reasonable amount for a reasonable setup?
Some friends of ours have a Honda Cube with stick shift which they tow behind there big SOB coach. Seems like a nice, cheap car with lots of room. Our Honda CRV is OK, but the seats are very uncomfortable, at least for we.
Methinks you mean a Nissan Cube...
-M (shopping for the future towed)
As much as we like our Honda CR-V, Sandy hates the seats. For me they are not too bad, but they could be better.
We love our 2003 Jeep Wrangler toad, but it is not for the faint of heart. If you've ever heard the term "rides like a Jeep", you will know how it originated as soon as you ride in one. Not particularly good on gas, either, but it has a certain charm. And, when the weather's nice, and the top is down, it's just a hoot to drive.
Gayland,
Just had system installed at MOT. $1,500.00-1,800.00 is what everything should cost. This is for the hitch, not the braking system. Air Force One was $1,900.00
Supplemental brakes are a touchy subject. In fact many of the supposed charts are talking about a trailer. In VA it has a trailer at 1500 but for motorhomes it has a second section and it says you have to be able to stop in 40 feet from 20 mph. It is performance based. I will not argue the physic of it. More brakes means more stopping but how much more is the question. I know I can pick up the jeep and put it in my coach and still have room left. I have about 7K carrying capacity. I have also seen a number of people burn up their tows with issues with the brakes. I was at MOT when a guy came back. He had the air force one installed and by the time he got from Dallas to Nac. his rotors and brakes were fried and it all had to be replaced. The good thing is that they sent a guy out to look at it and to check it out. It happened again after they got it fixed and then they finally got it figured out.
I have another friend whose car caught on fire on the way to a Rally. It was serious. We have an issue with our coaches and these systems. They require brake lights to come on before they work. Well, if you used your retarder your brake lights come on and you will be trying to stop your coach with you towed car.
Also many states have a performance requirement for towed vehicles. The reason is not only for motorhomes but it is for the tow truck. They have to tow a vehicle and they do not have to put on supplemental brakes. It is the reason they make a difference between a trailer and a tow that has an engine and can operate on its own power.
Folks will differ and I know if I tow my jeep with my Born Free then I will use a brake system. I have put on almost 300K miles on my FT and almost all of them are with the jeep behind me. I have decided not to use a brake do to the issues that can come up and I have not had an issue stopping yet. In fact just monday I had to stand on the brakes and I stopped well before the truck next to me and he was smoking his trailer wheels. We came around a blind curve and they were stopped in front of us putting out the wires to count the traffic. Stupid place to do it....
FWIW. We have the Air Force One supplemental brake activation system. We were one of the first installs of AF1 done by MOT in late 2008. They have worked flawlessly.
In our U295/Jeep we have a tow brake system called VIP Tow Brake from Tow Brake International. It appears to be activated by an inertial switch in the coach. The brake only activates on a hard stop or a breakaway. The sensitivity is adjustable. The brake lights on the coach trigger the brake lights on the Jeep, but are not hooked to the Tow Brake system.
The brake pedal in the Jeep is operated by a shaft and bracket driven by an electric motor. The action is binary, it is either on or off. The maximum pressure on the brake pedal is adjustable. The brake pedal actuator is attached with a couple of steel pins. There is one connector inside the car to attach the actuator. Our system has two cables between the coach and Jeep, one for the brakes, and another to operate lights.
The system works well with the coach's braking and retarder system. It normally provides no braking action from the Jeep, but will apply the brakes in case of a hard stop or breakaway.
Here is one of the better toad brake law lists that I have seen: Toad Brake Requirements (http://home.roadrunner.com/~morodat/toad-brakes-by-state.html). One of the few that gives links to the actual state laws.
As to brake systems, I use one of the supplemental brake systems with a mechanical design. No electronics to worry about. Operates by aircraft cable activated by a shock absorber type setup attached to receiver, a KIS type operation. It is called ReadyBrake. ReadyBrake Supplemental Brake System for Towed Vehicles - NSA RV Products (http://www.readybrake.com/brake-systems.html), Night Shift Auto RV Products, Inc., Iola, Kansas 66749.
Since I've towed 4 different vehicles and knew at the outset that I would have multiple vehicles, I bought a Brake Buddy for easy portability.
HOWEVER, I do not operate it as it is designed in order to prevent any "overbraking" issue as others have described. After I plug it in, energize the compressor, test and set it as instructed, then I UNPLUG the 12 volt power cord. I have found that over a day, that if not energized, it does not lose the air pressure at all...thus leaving me with one good braking event available (whether inertial or breakaway). With no power to recharge the compressor, I have no possibility of a lengthy, accidental application of the brakes. If I did have to apply a panic stop (I had had one of those in Fresno over the last 11 years), then I could pull over later and recharge the compressor by plugging it back in. (If you have to hit the FT's brakes hard enough to activate the Brake Buddy, you generally have had a memorable event!)
YMMV, but that has worked for me and the legal and liability issue is addressed as well as allaying the fear of an unwanted application that could cause a fire.
I have M&G braking system which works off the air I assume simular to air Force One. I have always been able to stop . Is it working?? I hope so. Dan Stansel
Are the tow brake laws enforced according to your home state laws and are treated much like the DL or CHL, is this a reciprocity situation? thanks jc
Law enforcement likely has much better things to do than check your toad for tow brakes...until you have an accident. But it is an equipment issue, not a driver issue, so just like some states will allow you to pull 2 or even 3 trailers at a time, some will not...if the cop takes the time to pull you over and show you his/her interpretation of the vehicle code. The response that "It was legal in North Dakota" to a CHP in CA will likely just get you a comment that "you are now in California." No sense of humor.
The biggest issue regarding toad braking is the liability question after an accident, not the actual braking. My FT with its GCWR doesn't really need any trailer braking to safely stop the extra 4400 lbs being towed and neither did my old 1990 U280. I spent my $900 knowing it was just an insurance policy against a potential problem in a court...
Brad,
Very well said. But, a Foretravel pulling a car that is equipped with auxiliary brakes will stop in a shorter distance than the same identical setup without aux brakes. I, too, think of the aux brakes as an insurance policy but also as a safety enhancement.
It actually works with reciprocity in the various states as to legality. You have to be legal in your own state. That is different than weight or federal highway laws and or double or triple towing. I did run a test though to see and I had no difference in stopping distance with a friends coach with an M and G at 20 MPH stopping on a passing a cone. In fact he stopped faster without the tow brake hooked up. Now I know having extra brakes is good but I also know that we can pull our tows behind us till they burn up and never know it. So, to each their own. And for the record, I had a small accident in NC with a kid who pulled out in front of me. The tow brake was never looked at or looked for by the state trooper. THis is one of those things that people will just disagree on. Also for the record it was an Air Force One brake that caused the issues when I was at MOT and I saw them install the first one they ever did too. It was not the first one and it was not installed by MOT but rather by Air Force one themselves. I saw an M and G burn up a Mercedes and I saw more brake buddies cause problems than I can shake a stick at. These are serious burned up rotors and wheels ruined issues. I pulled my Jeep one time down the road and forgot to take the brake off. It squealed but I could not hear it but saw the black marks when I turned and stopped and released the brake. Taught me I do not want one after only going 50 yards with it locked up.
I understand if your violating an equipment law requiring a toad brake you would be in trouble since your insurance carrier might decide not to cover you because you were breaking(no pun intended) a law, let alone a ticket violation.
I'm not clear on how it affects your liability if a toad brake is not required in your state. Lets imagine your on the interstate and there's a traffic back up and you rear-end someone, aren't you fully liable anyway?
I agree that having the toad brake should improve your braking (basic physics) and would help prevent the accident in the first place.
Get you a jeep wrangler, and M&G air brake. We have towed the jeep over 20K miles no issue jeep has 60K on it with the oem brakes still in good shape. Brackets are easy to find, jeeps are easy to find, they tow good, have great resale value, and most of all fun. The other thing about jeeps just put the T/case neutral, trans in gear or park, key in proper position, takes about 5 min to hook and go by myself. As far as backing up time you have to unhook a couple of times you'll figure where you can go and not go. A brake system is a must with any towed for safety's sake from time to time I forget to plug in the air line for the brakes, I can tell the difference with the first stop. Also if you are not in a hurry with a little time on the computer you can find all the parts tow bar, brackets, and so on, For a WHOLE bunch less than $1800-$2000 bucks. I found a nearly new 5000lb blue ox tow bar the other day for $200.00.
I must agree with Bruce, I bought a brand new Road Master base plate or as some call it brackets for less than $300, I think for PP&L, for my Subaru and a used Road Master hitch for $175. I did my own wiring on the car with diodes I bought at Radio Shack for under $20 and wiring supplies from an auto parts store for another $25, total spent, $520. This is probably about a low as one can go unless the car is already equipped for towing. I did all installation myself in about 6 hours.
But I still recommend getting breaks installed. I wouldn't have said this 6 months ago before I got my M&G brake system but I am a believer now.
I agree with Kent and Bruce, I bought a 10,000 lb Blue OX hitch I found on craigslist in Plano Tx, for $175, the man told me he was selling it for his Dad, I ask about setting up a time and place to pick it up he ask were I lived and I told him Southeast OK, he said were in Southeast OK, I told him Idabel, he said you want believe this but I will be coming to Idabel tomorrow going to see my Dad who lives on the AR, OK, State Line I will bring the hitch you can pick it up there about 25 miles from my house. When I got there to pick the hitch up the man said I got a few more items you can have he gave me a complete M&G braking system for a Ford Explorer and a few other items, I needed one for a Chevy Pickup bought one(rebuilt same warranty as new I think $475) used all the other parts he gave me and installed it myself . Bought the base plates off of ebay for $125 and like Kent did all the wiring on the truck. Sorry a long story but I guess I have about $850 invested and it works like a charm. Still have the M&G Cylinder for the Ford if anyone has a need for it.
It would be great to find stuff used, but chances of it happening here in North Dakota are slim and none. Since I intend to replace my daily driver with this new toad, I'm thinking I want to stick with the Honda/Toyota/Saturn options. Actually, my wife has a Jeep, but its the full size variety, and will need replacing soon so wouldn't make sense to set it up.
Gayland, do your research before you buy your towed. While some vehicles can be towed, the installation of the brackets can be pricey. A Friend if mine has a late model Saturn ( the SUV what ever model that is), to install the brackets on it you have to remove the grill, bumper cover, and so on. A couple of local hitch shops have quoted him $1000.00 labor only just for the bracket install, ouch!
Good tip if you can't do the install yourself. Many of the newer models require quite a bit of disassembly to install the base plate.
Very true. We bought a 2011 GMC Terrain and it seems that MOT had to take the whole front off the car to attach base plate. Why our cost was so high.
Also, FMCA has a yearly list of towable autos and trucks, plus any modifications you have to do to be able to tow.- Pull fuse, run through gears, stop and run engine every 250 miles, etc.
Good luck
THe Roadmaster installation instructions are so detailed, it took my wife and I just 6 hours to put the baseplate on our 2004 Acura MDX. We did have to remove nearly everything in front of the radiator, including the bumper fascia, the headlights and even the windshield washer bottle on one side and the airbox on the other! Most of the manuals are available online for the baseplates, so it might be a good idea just to look at the instructions and then decide if you can/want to install them yourself.
I generally always add extra lightbulbs instead of using diodes for the lighting. Both my last toad (2003 Chevy S-10) and this MDX had plenty of room in the taillight to use a dremel tool and drill out a place to install a new socket ($6 for 2 on ebay). Then it is a simple matter to use a trailer wiring kit (about $12) to run the wires underneath to the front of the car and terminate them in either a flat 4 or a round 4 connector. I know there can be no diode failure with this method, and I don't have ugly mag-mount lights that could come loose.
I, of course, jumped the gun and bought the second car I looked at. Fortunately, it's a very nice Honda CR-V, which I note others have. From a dealer so paid way to much, but also worked in the installation of the tow stuff so anyway it will all be done and I can quit worrying about it. I've just got to much going on right now to try to do it myself. Thanks everybody for your suggestions and experience.
We just bought a used Foretravel that has an ISL02 400 hp cummins engine. What is a safe toad weight to pull with this vehicle? I owned a smaller class C, so I have very limited experience.....this is our first DP and am not familiar with such engines or their good and bad qualities, and especially what the limits are on towing. Thanks for any insights.
Your tow rating will be determined by your hitch rating for FT. The newer ones have 18K the older ones are 10K. I am only going back as far as 99 as that is the oldest I have owned but I think all the Unihomes are the same. The Nimbus and Phenix are the higher ones. I have a U 320 and do not know the tow is behind me and never new it on my 350 either. For the record, I can feel the jeep push me when I take my foot off the throttle in the Born Free so I understand what you are saying.
Quite a few of the spec sheets on this website. You can probably look yours up on the following page (it's year/model dependent).
Foretravel Specifications, Floor Plans, Photos & Brochures by Year (https://wiki.foreforums.com/doku.php?id=through_the_years:specs)
Michelle
Welcome Nutrvlr. There are many of us here that are relatively new DP owners. I bought my first motorhome three years ago and knew Zero about a Foretravel. Its amazing what you can learn by reading posts on this forum and asking questions if there is anything you want to know.
The reference by Michelle to Barry's web site will provide you with the answers to almost anything you want to know about your Foretravel if it was published by anyone. There are dozens of other little questions that will come up like what is this knob or where is that valve. If you can't easily find the info, just ask on the forum. Good answers are usually forthcoming right away.
You will want to let others know what year, model and roughly your geographical location so that they can provide you with the best answers possible.
The link above can be very helpful. I just reviewed (again) the specifications for our 1997 U295 with Cummins C8.3 325 engine. The specifications don't give hitch capacity, but they do list GCWR (Gross Combination Weight Rating) at 36,000#. We have weighed our coach when loaded at about 28,000#. That means we could safely tow up to 8,000# if the hitch and towing gear have sufficient capacity. We usually tow a Jeep Grand Cherokee that weighs 4,260#. Towing the Jeep imposes a slight penalty in acceleration, but is worth it. We have a brake installation on the Jeep that will activate the brakes on a hard stop, or on a breakaway.
Get your specifications, weigh your coach, and calculate what is safe to tow. Get the specifications for your towed vehicle, or weigh it to see if it is suitable. If the combination is within safety specifications, the coach will handle the load.
Welcome, and best wishes on your new adventure.
I'll make an assumption that the "ISL02" you are referring to is a 2002 Foretravel with a Cummins 400 ISL. Ergo, a U270 or a U295. My 2002 U270 has a 10,000 lb hitch (1,000 lb tongue weight) and has a gross weight rating of 33,000 lbs. The gross COMBINED weight rating is 43,000 lbs, allowing for a 10,000 lb toad/trailer.
JD,
When I purchased my coach I left very confused. Some at the Tennessee store told me the hitch rating was 6,000 lbs. per the specs. Yet others told me that I could tow a greater amount up to 10,000 lbs (that's the hitch rating and not necessarily whay you could tow safely.
Look on your plate by the drivers seat. It will tell you there. You will have to have it to register your coach anyway. What you need is your GVW (gross vehicle weight) and CGVW (Combined Gross Vehicle Weight). THe difference is what you are allowed to tow.
The first is what the vehicle can carry with all of its tires and axles. The second is what it can tow and stop. It also must be noted if you have a trailer you will add to the GVW we call it tongue weight but it will load up the coach. If you tow four down there is no extra weight placed on the coach so you have the total amount to play with.
If you still do not understand it. Take a picture of the plate and post it, we can figure it out for you from there.
Least strong component determines the towing capacity of any rig.
That could be the hitch, brakes, transmission, etc.
So, check both GCWR minus coach loaded weight AND the rating on the hitch-- lesser determines capacity.
Brett