Posted 2009-08-01 10:25 PM (#108837) Subject: Motorhome for trailering
Member
Posts: 8
Considering purchasing a used motorhome to haul my bumper pull 2 horse aluminum slant with dressing room. Weight of trailer is 3500#, one horse & tack would be an additional 1500# bringing it up to 5000#. My priorities are (1) safety, (2) smaller being better, (3) a shower, and (4) lower cost. What options do I have? Class A, class C?
If I ever decided to take a second horse that would add an additional 1800# (he's a tank). Now what are my options? Any advice is appreciated.
Posted 2009-08-04 8:49 AM (#108939 - in reply to #108841) Subject: RE: Fifth wheel with a BP attached?
Veteran
Posts: 122
Location: Grant Twp., MI
OK - here is another scenario...how about a BIG fifth wheel RV w/3 slide-outs and then attaching a bumper pull trailer....is this a towing nightmare? My husband insists he sees these rigs "all the time".... we have a BIG, LONG, hard to maneuver LQ and once you get in camp, you're stuck...he thinks with a fifth wheel, we would have more room and then we could leave it in a camp and hook up the BP and travel little distances to ride in other places. We want to be almost full-time on the road and he thinks we would have a lot more room in a fifth wheel! Any opinions? Thanks for your input!!!
Posted 2009-08-04 9:17 AM (#108941 - in reply to #108939) Subject: RE: Fifth wheel with a BP attached?
Expert
Posts: 3802
Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
Originally written by Judy K on 2009-08-04 9:49 AM
OK - here is another scenario...how about a BIG fifth wheel RV w/3 slide-outs and then attaching a bumper pull trailer....is this a towing nightmare? My husband insists he sees these rigs "all the time".... we have a BIG, LONG, hard to maneuver LQ and once you get in camp, you're stuck...he thinks with a fifth wheel, we would have more room and then we could leave it in a camp and hook up the BP and travel little distances to ride in other places. We want to be almost full-time on the road and he thinks we would have a lot more room in a fifth wheel! Any opinions? Thanks for your input!!!
What happened to your first priority...? "Safety".... Did you move that back to third of fourth?? How about your second priority, "smaller being better"? What type of tow vehicle you got in mind? Anyone in the family got combination trailer CDL's? I'd stick with the smaller class 4 or 5 Motorhome and a small two horse trailer with a little dressing room for hay and grain storage, maybe a hayrack on the trailer roof, they're nice I've been told.. I ain't dragging around a 3 slide fifth wheel RV with a horse trailer behind that with a couple horses, wedged up in a campground with no room. How do you turn all that around? How do you back all of that up the hill and around the turn??..... No thanks, rather stay home a clean my guns.
Posted 2009-08-04 10:16 AM (#108943 - in reply to #108837) Subject: RE: Motorhome for trailering
Member
Posts: 8
I'm the original poster and my priorities haven't changed however I have realized that a Class C isn't equipped to pull my 2 horse safely so I'm looking for a small Class A. Does anyone have experience pulling with a motorhome and any brands or models that would suggest.
Posted 2009-08-04 10:30 AM (#108944 - in reply to #108837) Subject: RE: Motorhome for trailering
Elite Veteran
Posts: 736
Location: Western WA
I show with a friend who pulls a very small, light aluminum BP with a class C motorhome, but they looked long and hard for a class C that had a high enough rating to tow a horse trailer. They ended up with a class C with towing capacity of 5000 lbs, therefore she has the same limitations you originally described - one horse + tack.
I doubt you will find a 5th wheel that has a towing capacity of 5000 lbs, they aren't built to tow.
I'm guessing if you ever want to haul that 2nd horse, you will need to look at a class A with higher than 5000 lb tow rating.
Posted 2009-08-04 1:22 PM (#108953 - in reply to #108837) Subject: RE: Motorhome for trailering
Expert
Posts: 1723
Location: michigan
there was a time I was looking at a small motorhome and a Bp trailer. I asked a friend whom i have shown with about her set up. She said the motor home is slow and the BP isn't fun to pull.People with trucks and GN trailers can travel much faster and easier than she can especially on the interstate. So I ditched that idea and went with the GN/LQ.
Posted 2009-08-04 3:39 PM (#108966 - in reply to #108939) Subject: RE: Fifth wheel with a BP attached?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 714
Location: Minnesota
we have a BIG, LONG, hard to maneuver LQ
And the magic question is... having TWO trailers are easier to maneuver than one?
Do like some friends of ours do. They pull their 25' bumper pull camper with their Suburban and the 4 horse gooseneck with the truck. Not as convenient but definitely safer.
This was written by the friend I mentioned previously who bought a Class C specifically for towing a two horse bumper pull trailer. It outlines the choices she faced and how she made the decision to buy what she did. Definitely worth reading if you are considering a Class C to tow a horse trailer.