RV Newbies

[CPaz]

Hi, I'm Cheryl in Oklahoma. Full transparency... we have not actually purchased the RV yet. We are trying to do our full research before writing a check. Our biggest dilemma is towing our vehicle. We want to tow a 2010 Lexus RX 350 2wd, but it cannot be "flat towed". What do most people do? Is it feasible to purchase a flatbed trailer to haul it? The RV We want to purchase is a 35 ft Class A.

 

["EZ"]

Is the 35 foot Class A a gas or diesel powered motorhome? If it's a gas unit I would think twice. I think most gas powered Class A RV's are underpowered. Then if you put a 16-20' trailer behind it with your Lexus on top it will be even more underpowered. I don't think this set up would be any fun in the mountains or even in rolling hills. If buying a diesel Class A is out of the question, I would buy a smaller, lighter Class C with a V10 gas engine. This would leave more power for towing. The class C will have the same gas engine as the Class A.

 

[CPaz]

Yes, it's a gas engine. I am thinking we need to replace that Lexus with a vehicle we can flat tow. Problem is, it's almost 12 yrs old with 30k miles on it, in pristine condition. So my husband doesn't want to let it go. It's our 3rd car (only me & hubby). We have a Ford Expedition we could replace with an F150. We keep the Expedition for bad weather & hauling mulch & stuff for the yard.

 

["EZ"]

Yes, it's a gas engine. I am thinking we need to replace that Lexus with a vehicle we can flat tow. Problem is, it's almost 12 yrs old with 30k miles on it, in pristine condition. So my husband doesn't want to let it go. It's our 3rd car (only me & hubby). We have a Ford Expedition we could replace with an F150. We keep the Expedition for bad weather & hauling mulch & stuff for the yard.

Flat towing would only eliminate the weight of the trailer and the difference of the weight of the Lexus and whatever you bought. If you buy an F150 the weight difference is negligible so you're almost back where you started. The problem is that gas Class A RV's are pretty heavy on their own and over all are just under powered. I've driven two of them. It was enough to tell me I wanted a diesel Class A if I was going to pull a car around so we would have something to drive. WE flat tow a Jeep Grand Cherokee and used to flat tow a Ram 1500 pickup. We literally can't tell they are back there. This will NOT be the case with a gas powered unit. I'm not one of these diesel pusher snobs either. I understand there are a lot of reasons to buy a gas powered RV. But I also hate to see you spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a gas powered Class A and then be sick of it after the first couple of trips because it doesn't tow very well. The trade in would be a killer financially.

 

[CPaz]

Flat towing would only eliminate the weight of the trailer and the difference of the weight of the Lexus and whatever you bought. If you buy an F150 the weight difference is negligible so you're almost back where you started. The problem is that gas Class A RV's are pretty heavy on their own and over all are just under powered. I've driven two of them. It was enough to tell me I wanted a diesel Class A if I was going to pull a car around so we would have something to drive. WE flat tow a Jeep Grand Cherokee and used to flat tow a Ram 1500 pickup. We literally can't tell they are back there. This will NOT be the case with a gas powered unit. I'm not one of these diesel pusher snobs either. I understand there are a lot of reasons to buy a gas powered RV. But I also hate to see you spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a gas powered Class A and then be sick of it after the first couple of trips because it doesn't tow very well. The trade in would be a killer financially.

I appreciate the sage advice. Since we haven't made the purchase yet, it gives us something to think about. The diesel is about $100k more, so it is a big decision. But like you said, the gas one is also a big investment, so we don't want to make a $150k mistake.

 

[osuallen]

Most gas coaches only have a 5,000 lb hitch. You have to look at the chassis rating as well. Sometimes the difference between the GVWR and the GCWR is such that you cannot actually pull all 5,000 lbs. For instance, our 2016 Newmar Canyon Star has a GVWR - Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (the weight of your MH with you and your stuff inside and a defined amount of fuel and other fluids) is 26,000. The GCWR - Gross Combined Weight Rating is 30,000 lbs. So since my MH with us and our stuff is pretty close the the GVWR, we can can only tow approximately 4,000 lbs and stay within the GCWR of 30,000 lbs.

Your Lexus is around 4,300 lbs, but if you also carry "stuff" in it, that could push it higher.

I don't know if your Lexus if dolly towable - might be worth checking. Typically FWD cars are, but definitely not AWD. Check your owners manual.

When we started out, we did not have a car that was flat towable, so we got a dolly to tow our FWD car with the intent of selling the dolly when we eventually upgraded to a flat towable vehicle. Using the dolly was ok, but can be a PITA sometimes. We made do, but now that we have a flat towable toad, we would not go back to dolly tow.

 

[CPaz]

Very good to know. You are all so helpful in this huge decision!

 

[FL-JOE]

Have you totally written off going with a 36-37' fifth wheel and a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck?

 

[CPaz]

Another question ... obviously purchasing pre-owned would be more affordable than new. It might be worth it to go that route. One disadvantage would be no warranty on the unit except for the engine & drive train(?). Do you recommend purchasing an extended warranty in that case? Have not looked into it, but thinking it might be pricey.

 

[CPaz]

Have you totally written off going with a 36-37' fifth wheel and a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck?

Yes, my husband doesn't want that configuration.

 

[FL-JOE]

Since this is your first RV, my suggestion would be to purchase late model used, maybe around the $90,000 range. Do a season or two and see if a 2-axle class A gasser is what you really want. We spent 2 years in a 37' Thor Challenger Class A and it was by far the worse RV we ever owned.

 

[Capt. Danmj]

Hi, I'm Cheryl in Oklahoma. Full transparency... we have not actually purchased the RV yet. We are trying to do our full research before writing a check. Our biggest dilemma is towing our vehicle. We want to tow a 2010 Lexus RX 350 2wd, but it cannot be "flat towed". What do most people do? Is it feasible to purchase a flatbed trailer to haul it? The RV We want to purchase is a 35 ft Class A.

 

[Capt. Danmj]

We first tried Saturn but that didn’t work well. Since then we have towed 2 different Jeep’s , first a liberty now a grand Cherokee. I feel jeep with a transfer case is by far best way to go.