Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 11, 2025 ...

Grand Villa Towing

October 01, 2022, 09:34:35 am

Hello all, my family is getting tired of the rv lifestyle I think but I still want to have a motorhome for racing.  I've always wanted an older grand villa.  I see them advertised for $15k-$20k here and there.  Always a U240 or some lower weight capacity variant, not a U300 which I see advertised very rarely. 

Has anyone towed larger loads with these older motorhomes?  Like 1991-1993 model year.  I have an enclosed trailer that I load to about 6000 pounds.  My current rig of course tows it like it doesn't exist.  (1999 U320 42')

Basically I'm looking for discussion on which grand villas can tow a 6000 pound trailer for cheap

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Re: Grand Villa Towing

Reply #1 – October 01, 2022, 12:12:42 pm

Many (most?) who change coaches to older or newer, for whatever reason, often wish they had their original or previous coach back.

And moving from known vehicle to unknown has many fighting the same old issues again.

Changing coaches will likely give the family more reasons to not like RVing.

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Re: Grand Villa Towing

Reply #2 – October 01, 2022, 12:20:27 pm

Depends on if you want to stay legal or not. I've seen a U300 tow a long construction trailer with a Case 580 and lots of other building material on it. It must have weighed as much as the U300. You do have to remember that they have a four speed with a tall first gear so starting on a grade can take a while. The ECU is set for no smoke so it does not fuel much until there is boost.  The four speed locks up part way through second gear and it really takes off then.

I was following a U320 with a M11 and when the stop light went green, the U320 was long gone by the time we crossed the intersection. Once up to speed, it was a different story.

The 102" U300s all have Jake brakes so no worries about overheating the retarder.

You will need a sharp eye to pick a winner in any older motorhome!!

Pierce

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Re: Grand Villa Towing

Reply #3 – October 01, 2022, 12:22:15 pm

Mark,

U225 Cummins B 230 HP and Allison 4 speed.

U240 Caterpillar 3116 250 HP and Allison 6 speed starting in late 1992. Earlier ones Cat 3208 and Allison 4 speed.

U280 Cummins 8.3/C engine with 300 HP or more and 6 speed Allison starting in late 1992 when the 6 speed was made available. Earlier models same engine, 4 speed Allison.

U300 All but a handful in 1995 had the Detroit Diesel 6V92 and HD Allison 4 speed.

What weight trailer are you wanting to tow.?

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Re: Grand Villa Towing

Reply #4 – October 01, 2022, 12:23:50 pm

For the older coaches , look at the ORED for towing.  I avoided the unit chassis as my primary mission is towing.  I tow 3-8000 often.
  There are a few racers towing box trailers with the early 3208 in the ORED .
 The chassis is well under it's rating, disregard the posted GVW  .IMHO. 

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Re: Grand Villa Towing

Reply #5 – October 01, 2022, 12:37:28 pm

Link below to supposedly factory chassis specs on early coaches.  I say "supposedly" because some of the numbers seem suspiciously low to me.  In particular, for the 1992 through 1995 GV models, the difference between GVWR and GCWR is very small - like around 2000 pounds - for all but the U300 which shows a 6000 pound difference.  Based on the numbers in the chart, the U300 would be the only choice if you need decent tow capacity.

By the way, our long time Forum member Andy 2 may have a very nice U300 that may be available in the not-too-distant future.  Watch the Forum classified section! 

Foretravel Vehicle Weight

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Re: Grand Villa Towing

Reply #6 – October 01, 2022, 01:13:47 pm

We would pull a trailer with the race car, a quad, tools and fuel to the strip with no problem. Lots of hills between Boulder and Morrison where the drag strip is located.

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