YoDude9999
Omak, WA.
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Hi folks,
Ok, here's the dealie (might get long).
First a touch of history. When I moved to WA from CA, I had rented a U-haul and dual axle trailer to tow my car on. They gave me the smallest size "truck" they could to tow the trailer and car. I wanted something a little cheaper, but I was told there was a weight ratio between the TV and the towed trailer (with car weight)and what they gave me was the minimum size (weight) of the TV that should to the job. I don't remember what they stated this ratio between vehicles was.
When I got settled in WA, I bought a 19' Melmar class c rig for $2k and since then I've been in it fulltiming for 5 years now. It's been a pretty good home to me. Well now, 6 years later.....
A job opportunity has become available to me back in my home state (CA.) The pay will be good, but my present rig isn't worth keeping due to several problems that make it not worth holding on to, other than just to live in it. Water damage from a previous owner, cracked windshield, bald tires, running only barely on 7 cylinders, you get the picture.
The current idea is to buy another rig about the same vintage (1976ish) that's in better shape than this one and use it as my "U-Haul" to make the move back to CA. Now that I know a considerable amount of information and knowledge about class c rigs and most all the aspects about them, I find myself in a place that I have no knowledge of them, concerning, towing capacity and safety.
I've been looking for rigs in the range of my budget (about $1600.00) and I'm finding rigs that are in the 20-23 foot lengths. They all look to be 1.5 ton chassis with engines in the 350-360 cid range.
Will a rig of this size safely tow a dual axle trailer with a standard size car (1985 Firebird) on it? I'll be going over at least one or (likely) more mountain passes to get back to San Jose.
TIA,
Yo-
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zed1k
NS, Canada
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my chev 350 21' Class c use to haul a racecar with a enclosed carhauler, with no problems at all
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Hurricaner
Hurricane Utah
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Dude the problem you are going to run into is the hitch rating. Even the newer Cs only have a 3500 pound rating and you will probably be closer to 4500 pounds.
You could put a hitch on the firebird and haul a small trailer. My feelings are you might be able to get a better rig in California as the older Washington rigs usually have worse water damage. You can also by beer in California so how much could you need to haul.
Sam
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Rollincool
Always Rollin
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So let me understand this,
You want to buy a 197-ish vintage motorhome in the price range of $1,600.00 and then hook a lets say 5000 lbs trailer (car and trailer) to it and stuff all your belongings inside the motorhome, then take it through the mountains to California?? 
Son,... you're on your own. 
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tatest
Oklahoma
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Class C motorhomes were not built on 1 1/2 ton (DOT class 4) chassis in the 1970s. The smaller sizes prevalent then were built on DRW 1-ton (DOT class 3), with GVWR around 10,000-11,000 pounds. The heavier chassis didn't show up until the '90s, and in the interim some larger C's got aftermarket tag axles.
A one-ton dually pickup, stake truck, or cab chassis is designed to pull or carry the load you are talking about. A type C motorhome in that size uses uses up that capacity to carry around the house.
On U-Haul's weight of tow vehicle vs. weight of tow standard, you may be marginal. You will be in better shape than someone towing that load with a 3/4 ton pickup, and that is done all the time.
Whether or not you can find a $1600 motorhome, with a drivetrain up to the rigors of the trip, that's a different story. When you say "safely" are you thinking about rig control, or survival of the truck?
Tom Test
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hemlox
Western Illinois
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I'm still debating if this is a joke or if he is serious. If you are serious, I would seriously rethink your plans. You are wanting to drive across the country in a 30 year old rig that is in the $1600 range, loaded with all of your belongings, towing a trailer and car. I would make sure your roadside assistance is paid up. I don't see this happening. I do wish you luck though...
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tatest
Oklahoma
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hemlox wrote:I'm still debating if this is a joke or if he is serious. If you are serious, I would seriously rethink your plans. You are wanting to drive across the country in a 30 year old rig that is in the $1600 range, loaded with all of your belongings, towing a trailer and car. I would make sure my roadside assistance is paid up. I don't see this happening. I do wish you luck though...
If you think about it, sometimes that's what you are doing if you rent a U-Haul. But they provide roadside assistance. Eventually.
To make this trip without renting, I would consider buying an old 21' to 24' U-Haul, rather than a motorhome. You don't have the extra weight of the house, nor problems with chassis extensions of questionable strength. And you know the U-Haul has had maintenance at some minimal level.
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YoDude9999
Omak, WA.
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Rollincool wrote:So let me understand this,
You want to buy a 197-ish vintage motorhome in the price range of $1,600.00 and then hook a lets say 5000 lbs trailer (car and trailer) to it and stuff all your belongings inside the motorhome, then take it through the mountains to California??
Son,... you're on your own.
Hahahaha...well, in all honesty, yes that was the plan, though I don't really have a full load of stuff to fill the MH (just enough to cover the floor more or less). But, this is exactly why I posted this question here. I need some REAL answers to questions I have none for and it's MUCH better to get some answers here! than it is to find out these things from experience, ya think?
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YoDude9999
Omak, WA.
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tatest wrote:
A one-ton dually pickup, stake truck, or cab chassis is designed to pull or carry the load you are talking about. A type C motorhome in that size uses up that capacity to carry around the house.
This is something I thought of and is as I had expected. So, it sounds as though this won't be doable in a safe manner (after all, this isn't something I want to try dieing about). With the weight of the house already taking up most of the load capacity of the rig's chassis, there's really not much leftover to deal with....A small fishing boat on a trailer, small car as a toad or bike trailer would consume the rest of the coach's capacity.
Thank you for your honest input, it's well appreciated.
Yo-
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YoDude9999
Omak, WA.
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tatest wrote:hemlox wrote:I'm still debating if this is a joke or if he is serious. If you are serious, I would seriously rethink your plans. You are wanting to drive across the country in a 30 year old rig that is in the $1600 range, loaded with all of your belongings, towing a trailer and car. I would make sure my roadside assistance is paid up. I don't see this happening. I do wish you luck though...
If you think about it, sometimes that's what you are doing if you rent a U-Haul. But they provide roadside assistance. Eventually.
To make this trip without renting, I would consider buying an old 21' to 24' U-Haul, rather than a motorhome. You don't have the extra weight of the house, nor problems with chassis extensions of questionable strength. And you know the U-Haul has had maintenance at some minimal level.
This is something else I have also considered. People do convert "retired" u-hauls into motorhomes and I do happen to know of one that had a sale price of $2500.00 on it about one month ago. It's a GMC and pretty large. I don't know if it has a hitch on it or not but it is probably 25'+ , not the really big one, but it's large indeed.
The problem I have with going that route isn't so much the money, but finding an RV park, or anywhere, where I could work on it to do the conversion, which would take a long time. I mean, I could live in it and work on it at the same time, but, is that fun or not? The nice part is, I could make it any way I want to inside. It's a thought!
Yo-
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