tgsmith4845

Hi all - For the next phase of “The Race Across America”, I’m planning to haul from CA to WI to race Road America over Labor Day weekend. (Phase 1 was racing COTA back in March. That was a blast, and such great hospitality from the TXA PCA / SPB gang.)

As a Midwesterner, I’m really looking forward to getting back and racing such a historic track. Hoping to see more SPBs there to race with. Looks like a ton of E cars, and others?

This will be my first time at RA, so looking for advice from folks who’ve raced there before. I’ll be driving a 30’ RV towing a 24’ enclosed trailer. Looks like there’s good RV spots at RA. Do you all park in the paddock or rent an RV camping spot?

Thanks,
Tim

9114609048

Tim,

What type-make of motor home do you haul with? How does it perform over the mountains towing a 24' enclosed trailer (make)? I'm trying to decide on equipment to take our car to a few events. I've never raced RA, but I hear it's a great track. Thanks.

tgsmith4845

Exactly the question i was asking last year. After doing a bunch of research, and renting RVs for a few race weekends, we bought a 2018 Thor ACE 30.4 last year, with the specific purpose of hauling to races. Ford F53 chassis with a gas 6.8 liter Triton V10 hooked to a Torqshift six speed transmission with o/d. 87 octane fuel, 360 hp, 420 lb-ft torque. 18,000 lb GVWR rating (max, fully loaded rating for the RV), and 23,000 GCWR. In RV-speak, that means your RV and trailer can weigh up to a max of 23,000 lb. 8000 lb tow hitch with 500 lb tongue weight rating. Our ATC enclosed trailer weighs 6000 lb with the car in it. We never fully load out the RV, so total weight is usually around 20,000 - 21,000 lb.

The Thor tows the trailer with no problems, you hardly know it’s back there. We wanted to stick with a med/large gas RV and not go to the large diesel pusher types, and are glad we did. Makes fueling the RV, race car and fuel jugs a one stop process. I’ve towed about 7000 miles so far and no issues. Towed from NorCal to COTA in March, no issues. Up and down hills and mountains, high winds and rain. I’ve made a few easy suspension upgrades to dial in the handling for high wind, etc. which have really helped.

Having the RV at the track is really nice, especially for my lady friend and our dog. We normally host our racer buddies also for morning coffee, lunch and dinner. Makes for great socializing and camaraderie. Oh, I forgot to mention that this model has a propane line on the outside for easy hookup to a grill.

Happy to discuss anytime,
Tim

Kein_Ersatz

RV parking at track is used by many. RV parks will probably be near the lakes not aware of any near track.

The CHI team does a good event, plan in doing the drive into town on the old road course, need working headlights, police escort...