launching/recovery of X/M with Class C motorhome

[Herschel]

Does anyone on the forum have any recent experience using a small (24-25 foot) Class C motorhome to launch/recover an X/M? I did a search and found some references to same a few years ago, but I think those were before the wide use of backup cameras. I know some of you have Sprinter type vans/Class B motorhomes, but I am particularly wondering about the slightly larger/wider motorhomes. I currently have a pickup and travel trailer. The pickup does well for both the travel trailer and my Mac 26X, but as I find myself looking for easier RV systems for my late 70's and early 80's, those Class C's look very enticing. but, I would have to sell my pickup to swing that change. Nowhere near ready to give up my Mac, though. Any thoughts out there about this?

[Jimmyt]

A cheaper, used tow vehicle... Remember, Roger said anything will tow a Mac!

I see people towing all sorts of stuff here. I've seen a truck pulling a travel trailer with a boat hooked to the travel trailer. The motor home will definitely pull it, the issue will be your driving skills. A backup camera will definitely give you vision you've never had (depending on camera placement), but the motor home is not as maneuverable. But, it can be done. Lots of bass boats behind motor homes of various sizes.

My experience is limited to a 19 ft motor home which was relatively easy to launch boats with - even without a backup camera.

[Chinook]

My best suggestion is to have a towing receiver installed under the front bumper, so that you can mount a trailer hitch ball there. Then, after you've towed the boat to the ramp and rigged up, you can unhitch the boat from the rear and hitch up to the front bumper. That will allow you to push the boat down the ramp in full view, with the added benefit of having your rear drive wheels on the upper end of the ramp, where they're able to stay out of the water, with much less chance of slippage. I have such a receiver on my Silverado 3/4 ton HD pickup, and I used to use it to mount a bicycle rack out in front. However, once with my camper on the truck, I did use the front receiver and hitch ball to launch a friend's fishing boat. I can vouch to how easy it is to launch in that way.

[1st Sail]

We are considering the same move. My Yukon XL with M is sometimes to long for some of the ramps near me. We have been looking at class C and short A's MH's in the under 30ft length. I have some concerns about the turning radius with the M trailer. May be worth doing some math as the wheel base, rear axle to back bumper may actually be in our favor as the distance would result in considerable leverage when backing up. The turning radius of the MH when backing up would make the rear axle the pivot point as the rear bumper swing/levers from the swing of the front wheels. In retrospect it may not be that much different then then the distances of the shorter wheel base of my XL or any 150 pickup.

[Herschel]

We do not at this point imagine touring with the MH and the Mac. I keep my Mac at a marina slip year round and am happy with my area for boating. But, I do need to pull it out periodically for maintenance and mods which I would like to do at home 25 miles from the marina. I think with a good rearview camera, I would prefer to back it down the ramp and keep the tongue weight of the trailer mostly on the rear axle where the driving wheels are. I never take the rear wheels of my tow into the water. I have an adjustable hitch so I can manually lower the bow of the trailer and float the boat on and off pretty easily. What I typically do is to climb into my truck bed and then onto the front of the trailer to attach the strap of the winch. I guess, with no truck bed, I'd just have to get a little wet and climb onto the trailer tongue and do that piece that way. Then there is the issue of the engine pulling its own RV and the boat up the ramp. Some of these class C's only have a 188 h.p diesel. Not sure about the torque. My Dodge RAM Hemi has a bunch more HP! and it is a piece of cake with the truck. I do appreciate the idea of the front hitch, but I do wonder about the 4,800 lb.'s of my Mac and trailer. Yes, a fishing boat or a sailing dinghy, no problem, but I hesitate to play around with a "jury rig" on such an expensive-to-me rig. Especially with the driving wheels of the RV at the top of the ramp with less traction due to the weight distribution. If they didn't grab, all three of us---boat, RV, and me are going for an expensive swim. Just a bit cautious type.

[Tomfoolery]

To be honest, I think it would be easier to back the boat trailer with an RV than with something narrower. The typical Class C is 8 or 8-1/2 ft wide, and so is the boat. That puts the trailer sides, or goal posts at least, right in line with the outside of the box. Easy to tell when you’re straight. Not easy to tell with a much narrower vehicle like my Jeep GC.

The only advantage a camera gives, IMO at least, is that it makes it easy to line the ball up with the hitch.

As to power and torque, power is irrelevant (takes relatively little power to move an RV and boat up a ramp at slow speed), and torque is via 1st gear and a torque converter. That thing, having a drive line designed for its own GVWR plus some tow rating (GCWR), will be plenty robust enough to pull a light boat like the Mac up a ramp.

Have you looked at the Gross Combination Weight Rating? It’s not necessarily the GVWR plus tow rating, and is usually lower. But if your RV weighs less than the GVWR, that’s extra headroom for trailer towing, as long as you don’t exceed both the tow rating, and the GCWR.

[Herschel]

To be honest, I think it would be easier to back the boat trailer with an RV than with something narrower. The typical Class C is 8 or 8-1/2 ft wide, and so is the boat. That puts the trailer sides, or goal posts at least, right in line with the outside of the box. Easy to tell when you’re straight. Not easy to tell with a much narrower vehicle like my Jeep GC.

The only advantage a camera gives, IMO at least, is that it makes it easy to line the ball up with the hitch.

As to power and torque, power is irrelevant (takes relatively little power to move an RV and boat up a ramp at slow speed), and torque is via 1st gear and a torque converter. That thing, having a drive line designed for its own GVWR plus some tow rating (GCWR), will be plenty robust enough to pull a light boat like the Mac up a ramp.

Have you looked at the Gross Combination Weight Rating? It’s not necessarily the GVWR plus tow rating, and is usually lower. But if your RV weighs less than the GVWR, that’s extra headroom for trailer towing, as long as you don’t exceed both the tow rating, and the GCWR.

Great points. Yes, we run into the GCWR issue with our pickup and travel trailer. GCWR is the key to towing properly. I like what you said about the torque in first gear. That makes good sense. Thanks. We are moving ever so slowly toward doing something in the Class C range. It will be an adjustment not to have a pickup truck, though. Pickups are really nice to have when you need to tote home a big load of stuff from Home Depot. Its all about trade offs, as we know from our boats.

[kurz]

If you don't travel around with the Mac I can 100% follow your thinking. The more cars the more costs...If you just use the motor home for towing out the Mac for do some things at home I personally would watch that the papers of the towing vehicle are ok for the towing weight of the Mac. 
You know your home ramp. So you know if you can get the towing vehicle top to the ramp. After a test you even know if you get the boat out that way. If not I personally would not buy a second truck for this but would use an electrical winch to winch up the Mac up the ramp.Before doing this, I would test out using a front coupler at the towing car. Maybe it helps, depending on what was the problem before. I use as a front coupler the RAKO front coupler. You can put it there where you screw in the towing eyelet

RAKO front coupler:https://www.boote-forum.de/attachment.f ... 1362562265

This spring I used it here:

for a try out.

[Tomfoolery]

I like what you said about the torque in first gear.

To make you feel even better, consider that the Caterpillar RD6 tractor of the 1940’s only had a 3-cylinder engine outputting 52 rated horsepower, yet it had a top gear drawbar pull of 3100 lb. And it would do that at 4.4 mph. First gear was over 10,000 lb drawbar pull, at 1.7 mph. With 52 hp. And those weren’t even the maximum values, as the engine would lug down to 600 rpm (850 was rated) and output more torque, with 11,400 lb drawbar pull. No torque converter in those days.

As I said - at low speed and low gearing, it’s not about power. It’s about gearing and torque at the axle. You could do the same thing with a lawnmower engine if you geared it right.

[Herschel]

kurtz wrote

I use as a front coupler the RAKO front coupler. You can put it there where you screw in the towing eyelet

I am not familiar with a towing eyelet. I see huge shackles on the front of Jeeps and 4-wheel drive trucks, but have never seen anything like that on my old Chevrolet Malibu or my present Hyundai Elantra.

[kurz]

well the RAKO front tongue goes instead of these:
https://www.classicshop.porsche.com/med ... oe-s-w.jpg

So if ever you would try this out it depends if your towing car uses this system or not.

[Herschel]

I have learned from my online research that the class C motorhomes on a diesel Mercedes chassis will probably have more torque than a comparable gas engine truck chassis from Ford, Chevy, Dodge. The 188 h.p. of the MB diesel doesn't look appealing at first compared to the much higher gas truck h.p. but the better torque of the MB should make both the recovery of a Mac easier and subsequent towing. Pertinent data keeps dribbling in. Apparently there are a lot of folks thinking RV to avoid being in crowds for vacation trips who are new to RVing. I am thinking that next spring there might be some good buys available when some of those folks tire of the RV process. I have been RV-ing with my travel trailer for 10 years and love it. So, I 'll be waiting for a good deal right after Christmas.

[kurz]

your are right, modern Mercedes/VW diesel engines have very much torque, even when max hp is lower than a gas car.
The next important point is the gear and the coupler...

Don't forget: People are talking much...

Before I bought my "new" car I thought: I want a car that ist perfect for the 360 days a year when I don't tow my . BUT is has to tow/slip my well in the rest oft the 5 days a year. But not other way round: I dont want a truck that is way perfect for towing 5 days but for the rest of the 360 days of a year it is too BIG, too heavy, cannot find a parking space, eats to much gas and tax...

So I took the "new" car out of the showroom from VW, went to a small road that is as steep like a steep ramp. Then put another car in the back that hast the same weight like the Boat. Then tested out if I can run up this steep road.

Test was ok - bought the car (see pic above). Worked perfect so fare!

so maybe you will have the possibility to make 1:1 test with classC motorhome. And is has not to be at a ramp...

[Herschel]

kurtz said:

So I took the "new" car out of the showroom from VW, went to a small road that is as steep like a steep ramp. Then put another car in the back that hast the same weight like the Boat. Then tested out if I can run up this steep road.

Great idea. At least try to deal with the boat on an incline that doesn't result with everything in the water, if the test fails. Good thinking. Thanks.

[Tomfoolery]

kurtz said:

So I took the "new" car out of the showroom from VW, went to a small road that is as steep like a steep ramp. Then put another car in the back that hast the same weight like the Boat. Then tested out if I can run up this steep road.

Great idea. At least try to deal with the boat on an incline that doesn't result with everything in the water, if the test fails. Good thinking. Thanks.

At least with the typical Class C, the rear overhang is, uh, generous, so getting the rear tires wet is the least of your concern.