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Coachmen 24FS towing a travel trailer?

lss177
Explorer
Explorer
Hi, looking to (occasionally) tow a travel trailer (5K UVW, 27 feet long) with a 2018 E450 gas Coachmen 24FS... anyone have experience towing a travel trailer with a Class C?

Will have WDH and sway control on travel trailer, the Coachmen is 26' long, with 7500 lb. tow rating and 750 lb. tongue weight rating.

All the weights look good with the E450 chassis, so mostly looking for "real-world" towing experiences.

Thanks!
3 REPLIES 3

Stim
Explorer
Explorer
I have seen hitches that have arms that connect to the rear axle.
That would take the load off of the frame and suspension and increase towable weight.
I don't know where you would look for them. ??

DrewE
Explorer
Explorer
A weight distributing hitch is not going to be anywhere near as effective as on a pickup or normal van because of the long rear overhang of a class C motorhome. You would have to put a lot of torque on the hitch to get much weight redistribution, and along with it a lot of extra weight on the trailer tires/axle. Not all motorhome trailer hitches are designed or constructed to take the extra strains and torques of a weight distributing hitch, either.

Payload capacity of the motorhome, and particularly the rear axle, would be a concern; it may be adequate, but you would doubtless be cutting into your cargo carrying capacity by a good bit...probably between 600 to 1000 pounds in many cases.

bobndot
Explorer II
Explorer II
I towed 5k enclosed snowmo trailer behind a 22 ft truck camper.
I did not like the feel, felt like a strain on the drivetrain and it was a very slow go. It seemed like the crosswinds and bow waves were pushing me around too much.
If I was going to do it again or tow a 5k box behind my E450 24 ft class c, I would prefer more torque of a diesel over a v-10 gasser.

My experience owning many TT's, get it weighed before you think about towing one, go to a scale and weigh it. There is no industry standard for a dry weight of a TT. You do not want to exceed the combined weight rating of your MH.

My last 27' TT had dry wts of 4650# with 475# on the tongue.
On a cat scale my real weights were 6500# and 900# on the tongue and that I would not tow with a E450 24' class c .

Just my opinion: I would look into the distance from the rear axle to the hitch ball on the MH. That combined with the short wheelbase might be the deal breaker for poor handling.