How many tow a 4000 pound dingy behind a class c with V 10

[T18skyguy]

I have a 2011 Lincoln MKZ hybrid that can be flat towed behind my 2017 Jayco 31FS. The issue for me is should I ? The rig is not far off gross at 14,500, the MKZ is about 3800 pounds. The GCWR is 22,000 pounds, but I'm hung up thinking that I should get something lighter, even though the numbers fit. I'm worried about the extra stress on the transmission. Perhaps you guys could give me a talking too that's it's OK. I've been eyeing up 2300 pound cars thinking that would be better, but maybe I'm just trying to baby it too much. Thanks in advance.

[blownstang01]

carringb wrote:

blownstang01 wrote:

Interesting. I have a 31' Winnebago and with our 4,300lb Exlporer I have never felt this. Only on long hills do I have any indication it's back there. Curiously, I do have Hellwig bars and Koni shocks, I wonder if that's the difference.

Likely its a function of wheelbase ratio. Most the "29-foot" models have a 202-208" wheelbase it seems. The 31-footers have a 220"+ wheelbase, so the longer coaches gain it mostly in wheelbase, making them more stable, especially if something is pushing on the hitch. But things like steering caster (both the RV and the toad) and even tire pressure affect it.

Ahh, that makes sense.

[rjstractor]

Wow, that's a lot of overhang! (and tailswing) The C I used to have was about the same length but had a 206" wheelbase. I didn't feel a toad or trailer but the flip side was a longer turning radius.

[tatest]

carringb wrote:

blownstang01 wrote:

Interesting. I have a 31' Winnebago and with our 4,300lb Exlporer I have never felt this. Only on long hills do I have any indication it's back there. Curiously, I do have Hellwig bars and Koni shocks, I wonder if that's the difference.

Likely its a function of wheelbase ratio. Most the "29-foot" models have a 202-208" wheelbase it seems. The 31-footers have a 220"+ wheelbase, so the longer coaches gain it mostly in wheelbase, making them more stable, especially if something is pushing on the hitch. But things like steering caster (both the RV and the toad) and even tire pressure affect it.

My 29 footer is 29'8" with 190 inch wheelbase, so anything attached to the hitch has lots of leverage.

[carringb]

blownstang01 wrote:

Interesting. I have a 31' Winnebago and with our 4,300lb Exlporer I have never felt this. Only on long hills do I have any indication it's back there. Curiously, I do have Hellwig bars and Koni shocks, I wonder if that's the difference.

Likely its a function of wheelbase ratio. Most the "29-foot" models have a 202-208" wheelbase it seems. The 31-footers have a 220"+ wheelbase, so the longer coaches gain it mostly in wheelbase, making them more stable, especially if something is pushing on the hitch. But things like steering caster (both the RV and the toad) and even tire pressure affect it.

[blownstang01]

tatest wrote:
For a couple years I towed 3600 pounds of mid-size pickup truck. The combined rig, even with the motorhome over 13,000 pounds, was still within GCWR (20,000 in my case, 2003 E-450 chassis). Transmission handled it just fine, but I do make sure to do transmission fluid changes at 30,000 mile intervals.

You will notice the extra weight on acceleration and hill climbing. I definitely notice it because immediately on pulling out of my street I have three blocks going uphill on 8% grade, and it takes most of the first block to get up to 30 mph speed limit.

The other thing I notice is that the tow pushes me around if I am too fast on sharp curves, like those marked for 15 mph. There is a transition, first pushing the rear of the motorhome to the outside of the curve, then pulling it toward the inside as the tow gets around the curve.

I'm now down to a 2600 pound Honda Fit as my tow. I like it better, but it still slows me down, and can push me around on tight turns.

Interesting. I have a 31' Winnebago and with our 4,300lb Exlporer I have never felt this. Only on long hills do I have any indication it's back there. Curiously, I do have Hellwig bars and Koni shocks, I wonder if that's the difference.

[tatest]

For a couple years I towed 3600 pounds of mid-size pickup truck. The combined rig, even with the motorhome over 13,000 pounds, was still within GCWR (20,000 in my case, 2003 E-450 chassis). Transmission handled it just fine, but I do make sure to do transmission fluid changes at 30,000 mile intervals.

You will notice the extra weight on acceleration and hill climbing. I definitely notice it because immediately on pulling out of my street I have three blocks going uphill on 8% grade, and it takes most of the first block to get up to 30 mph speed limit.

The other thing I notice is that the tow pushes me around if I am too fast on sharp curves, like those marked for 15 mph. There is a transition, first pushing the rear of the motorhome to the outside of the curve, then pulling it toward the inside as the tow gets around the curve.

I'm now down to a 2600 pound Honda Fit as my tow. I like it better, but it still slows me down, and can push me around on tight turns.

[blownstang01]

I have towed our 2015 Explorer thousands of miles without issue with our 31' Winnebago class C. I'm pretty close to max GVWR, but have not had any issue. Even the brake buddy has only "activated" a few times when I had to slow down rather quickly.

[DouglasC]

We have pulled a MKZ hybrid for over 5,000 miles with no issues. Previously we pulled a Fusion hybrid for at least 20,000 miles with no issues. The MKZ is only about 150 lbs heavier than the Fusion. As others have stated, the combination of the Ford E450 chassis and the MKZ is well within the GCWR rating.

[rjstractor]

T18skyguy wrote:

phil-t wrote:
Don't see an issue with what you are planning. Make sure the hitch and tow systems are rated appropriately.
We dingy-tow a '14 Cadillac SRX (~4000lbs) behind our rig with no problems, and we are closer to GCWR than you. It's a class A with the V10, but shouldn't matter.
What chassis is your rig on?

It's the standard Ford cutaway. It seems that once they get 40-50 thousand on them they start pinging and knocking, and the extra weight seems to make it that much worse. We have a lot of mountains here in in western Oregon, and it's a laborious climb even without a toad. Maybe I'll give the MKZ a shot. If I don't like it I'm only out a base plate. I can use the hitch on a lighter vehicle if I decide to go that way. Thanks for all the perspective you guys give me.

Being an aviation guy, you know that more of your hp is being used to push air, not move weight. Of course this changes on hills, but even then the toad won't make a lot of difference. I used to have a 1998 C with less horsepower and fewer gears, towing toads from 2400 to 3400 pounds. I was hard pressed to feel the difference from light to heavy, and the difference between towing and not was pretty subtle.

[mowermech]

Years ago, we had a 29 ft. Class C, with the Ford 460 engine. We towed a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited with it, over the mountains and through the woods, no problems.
When we got the current coach (see sig.), we towed the same Jeep for a while, then the PT Cruiser on a dolly, and a Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab Short box pickup.
You should be fine.

[overdrive75]

You will be fine......Behind our 2003 Winnebago 29B on the E450 with V-10 we flat tow a 2003 Ford Explore and about 50% of the time a SeaDoo GTi behind the explorer behind the motorhome.

[WillT]

carringb wrote:
You can't over work your engine or transmission. Worst case, if you're severely overloaded, a larger transmission cooler may be useful, but you won't hurt anything.

Keep in mind the V10 with the 6-speed TorqueShift is used in Medium Duty Trucks up to 37,000 gross combined.

I regularly run at 22,000 combined, sometimes as high as 25,000 combined, and I have over 450,000 miles and engine and transmission are original, except for some PM items (coils, injectors, timing chain, radiator) and my transmission is the old 4R100, which is not near as capable as the 6R140 that you have.

Thanks! This is really good to know. I am sometimes close to 17,000 combined. I did put the biggest transmission cooler on a while ago. I have worried a bit about pulling up long mountain passes. I know the V-10 does not mind high rpms but it does get loud once it gets anywhere over 3500. I tend to back off a bit to keep the rpms under that point but then I end up climbing the passes at 35 to 40 mph. I have the 3.73 gears and wish I had different, but mainly I think I just need to get used to letting it run at higher rpms when pulling up long passes.

[Steeljag]

We pulled our 4200 lb Jeep JK Rubicon 1400 miles six months ago thru N. Ga and Ala without issues. The six speed and tow haul mode worked well. Headed to the Keys soon, and then back to N.Ga in June !

[carringb]

T18skyguy wrote:


It's the standard Ford cutaway. It seems that once they get 40-50 thousand on them they start pinging and knocking, and the extra weight seems to make it that much worse.

If you ever get pinging, clean the MAF. If you get knock, you're using the wrong oil.