Class C Wannabe with a Jeep

[FootSoldier]

My wife and I are finally getting close enough to the perverbial finishline and both being retired, that we are begining the research for how we want to travel.

I would love to go class C and tow my Jeep Wrangler behind the coach, then head out and go wherever we want, for as long as we want.

The Jayco Seneca has always caught my eye, but I don't really know anything about this class of coach/vehicle.

Our Jeep is built and weighs around 5k lbs. I'd really rather not tow it on the ground, but thinking about the future (I'm 64 now) I want to keep things as physically easy as possible. So I probably wouldn't want to have to load/unload the Jeep from a trailer all the time.

We've been doing all of our camping out of a Rockwood Roo 23SS and love it, but I want to bring the Jeep along. This forum helped me find the Roo and I'm hoping for some help to make this switch as good as the first one was.

Who makes class C coaches that would tow 5k lbs and get in the 30' size area, that we should be looking at?

Thanks,

Steve

[Solo]

We towed our 2005 TJ over much of the Rockies with our former coach, a 2005 Winnebago Aspect on a E450 chassis. Our TJ weighed in at approximately 4000 lbs and the gas V10 did OK but, it was a load. I really did not like how much I had to push the V10 to make it go but, it certainly did the job.

If you are spending considerable amount of time at altitude towing, the ability of a turbo diesel at higher elevations will be MUCH appreciated.

We don't have much of a problem now with our new coach.

[GeeWillakers]

We tow my TJ behind our MH with 8.1 Chevy with no problems and did so with camper too. My wife's JK is not set up for towing. It is heavier (about 4600 dry) so close to our 5k rating but legal. Others with same set up say they have no problem towing the JK which is about the same weight as your built Jeep. Your Class C with a V10 would be about the same power as ours with less weight to move so I think you'd be fine. If worried look for rating for 6500 or more. Flat towing is easy. Not sure why you want to use a trailer or dolly.

[pauldub]

If your Jeep is driveable at highway speed, then flat towing it is the easiest way to go.

[bobthegod]

Most Ford (E350 and up) and Chevy (Workhorse) motorhome chassis have a 5000 lb. tow rating. I have a Chevy Workhorse and tow my '99 Jeep wrangler behind with NO issues. Check your year Jeep as most don't come close to 5000 lbs. My '99 weighs in at 3600 lbs.

I also tow it with all four wheels down. I have a road master brake controller as most states require a brakes on towing anything over 1500 lbs. Why use a trailer when you can just unhook and go where ever you are. Then you'd have to find a place to park the tow vehicles trailer. Jeep Wranglers are the best vehicle setup for toad towing.

[amberfiretj02]

Congratulations on the next big move!
We have a Thor Four Winds 31L class C and tow our 2004 Wrangler Rubicon. It's built for wheeling with a suspension lift and 33" mud tires. We flat tow it, using a brake-assist system.
With the Ford F450 V10 the motorhome pulls the Jeep well, even on steeper (by east coast standards) grades on I40 and I77 in North Carolina and Virginia. It's a pretty quick set-up to flat tow.
Good luck!

[Racine96]

A Seneca would have no problems towing it. Also, 4500 Leprechaun come with 7,500 hitch

[Steeljag]

Forest River makes both the Forester, and Sunseeker brands in the 30' length with 7500 lb rated hitches. We have the Forester 3011DS on order, and plan to flat tow our JK !

......as soon as I get over the flat towing equipment needed sticker shock anyway....LOL !

[crasster]

I would totally look at the Seneca C's. They are very good coaches and have a great ride on the road. Let us know what you decide!

[WayneLee]

Like you, I tow a heavy vehicle. My Hummer comes in at about 5K. We decided to downsize from a large diesel Class A to a Class C.

For the towing problem, we chose the Forest River Sunseeker Class C. FR uses the Fords E450 chassis with the larger V10 engine. The hitch is rated at 7500 lbs, which gives me a lot of leeway with the Hummer. I do not have any problems towing.

[sullivanclan]

Footsoldier, Congrats on your next big move. We look forward to a similar set up when we retire as well. I recently looked at the 2016 and 2017 Class C Jayco Redhawk and Greyhawk and where pleased with the new towing abilities and ratings. Keep in mind when you go from a standard Class C, to what they call a Super C, like the Seneca you are getting into a true motorhome that comes with the additional costs. (RV tires versus light duty truck tires). I love the Super C, and have friends with them who really like them, but they are a lot of truck/motorhome versus the standard class C. I'm sure there are others here that can give much better details.

We continue to flat two two of our jeeps depending on what we are doing for the trip. I have also trailered my jeeps as well when doing cross country travels. Both have their pros and cons, including four more tires to maintain, storage and maintenance. (I have not trailered with the class C, but I have friends who do)

[ronfisherman]

Pulling a Jeep with a Seneca will not be a problem. Some of the Super C models on the Chevy C5500 do very well with heavier tows. I have towed over 6k lbs with no problems. Best to check weight on a scale to determine what can be towed. Some of Seneca's came with a 22k lbs chassis. This limits how much can be towed with a 26k lbs max load chassis even with a 10k lbs hitch.

[pconroy328]

Since I have a 2016 Jayco Greyhawk - I spend a lot of time of the Jayco Owners forum. A few people over there tow Wranglers behind their V-10 Ford based Class C's. There's quite a few Seneca owners over there too.

Yes, it's Jayco specific but you might get some answers from people who own the RVs you're looking into.