earlyapex

I thought I would post this here since I want to use a class A RV to pull my trailer/car to the track and avoid the nasty hotels. The RV would allow my wife and son to enjoy the events and will also be used to explore CA and the surrounding states. I've looked at several brands and so far Monaco and Newmar have impressed me. The driving position is better in the Newmar. Anyone want to give me advice?

mooty

ok, eric, you have gone off the DEEP end now.
whatever you get, get a big one with big AC and Bar. and keep extra room for me too, LOL.

Kevin M.

Eric, having a coach at the track makes the weekend very enjoyable. Prior to having one my wife didn't care to much about going, now my parents the dogs and my wife and I make the trip. We usually spend a few days after the race for a little R&R at some RV resorts. Depending where the track is, we usually go to Malibu, Newport Beach, San Diego, Vegas, and Phoenix. We have a 2005 Fleetwood Southwind, its perfect size for us 32 foot, with 2 slides. It has the bigger workhorse engine, which has plenty of power. Towing the car and trailer we can average about 45 going up the grapevine. Many say get a diesel because of the power, only downside to the gas is a little noisy when she's reving at 4500 up hill, other then that we average about 7 MPG. It really depends on what your budget is, you can spend $100k or $900K+. One thing to be aware of is if go bigger then a 32 foot you will be much heavier with the same engine. So a 38 foot with workhorse is close to maxing out on Gross Vehicle Weight. Also a Inverter is a must for the track as some tracks don't have full hook ups, therefore you will runnning the Genset all day long for power. Also in-motion satelite system is the best money spent
FYI there is about a 30% mark up on these so do some tuff negotiating

Bull

I only rent them, but three track friends have the top end Monaco Coaches, all from 40-42 ft, with three slides and the big diesel engine....1500lb/ft TQ! They pull 28ft enclosed trailers with no problem. They seem very nice to me.

gt3skea

we also wanted one for the whole family to be able to come to the track as well as for vacation. i back what is said about the mobile satellite - MUST with kids! inverter is a great idea too.

i went with one of the freightliner chassis motorhomes, i believe also called toterhomes. its just as nice as any of the "regular" rv's, but can pull up to 30k (so you are never near the limit, do not need to worry about load leveling or dist etc), which ended up being nice as my wife is involved with her own car and sometimes we take an extra car to be able to run around the area as well (race cars only have 2 seats and we have 2 kids). we now have a 3 car stacker - but still kept the smaller trailer too. you can only pull about 10k with a bus style, a provost can get you 15k, but thats the top and a prevost will set you back a pretty penny or 2.

we looked at a lot of the bus style rv's, heard some negative things such as noise etc on the front engine diesels, and we found it perfecty fitting for us. after a 6 mo search we also found the resale to be better. no matter where you go get the big engine, another plus of the freighliner/volvo chassis rv's, they come with the 430-500hp engines and TONS of torque without having to upgrade to and elite coach (prevost) - i maintain about any speed i want with the smaller trailer and even with the big one and large uphills, do not dip below the speed limit. ours ins a 34 with 1 slide - although it is a huge slide. they are automatic too. they also tend to have larger gray and black as well as freshwater and even teh generator was larger than about any bus we found.

here is a link to where i got mine (no affiliattion, but the delivered from il to nc and were very easy to deal with) i got a great deal on a demo with 25k miles, they regualr have some of those as they are involved with pro drag racing and are able to send some as demo's and not have to put them into service for warranty work. http://gebhardtstrailersales.com/home.html

feel free to pm with any q's - ask for jason or jacklyn.

and before i forget, one of the kickers for me was being able to shut an oak door between me driving and the living compartment to concentrate on driving and not get distracted. my kids are younger and want to come up with me all the time, for them as well, out of sight - outta mind.

gt3skea

with small trailer

earlyapex

Yes, I have fallen off the deep end. I want to get my family involved in my my track adventures and get out of the house as much as possible. I have not so fond memories of sharing the back of a station wagon with my two brothers as we explored all of the parks in CA. A good sized RV will make such trips fun.

Newmar is built on a Freightliner chassis and has a 300 hp (33') or 330 (36' - 40') diesel motor. I don't know the torque rating right now. I'm looking at the 33' model.

Any other brands to look at?

seege

Whatever model you're looking at you'll need to find the CVGWR - this # will give you your total weight rating including all fluids and gear upfront plus total loaded trailer weight. Then take the motorhome to the scales and find your base weight - add X amount for gear, food, fuel etc. My National RV is rated at 24,500 and weighs 15,000 with a medium load of water and fuel. This leaves about 9000 lbs towing capacity.I started with a 20 ft enclosed trailer and upgraded to a 28, now I'm right at the limit in both weight and length(65 ft)
Also, many motorhomes come with a light hitch so you'll need an upgrade there(too long a chassis will not support a heavy trailer) and motorhome trailers need a longer tongue for clearance when making tight turns. When you get all properly set-up these things are a blast. Good Luck

Bull

I agree that Toters are an ecellent choice. We have theree of them, at least, in our region. Generally they are used by those towing stackers and other heavy trailers (workshops, etc.).

gt3skea

some other nice coach builders i found were optima (probably the nicest, but don't seem to negotiate much), united specialties (what i have), haulmark (have a great name with trailers anyway), and renegade (which i see a lot of on the east coast and i was going to get until i found the deal i did).

for what its worth, i own a few transportation co's and talked to several drivers of my trucking co about the engines out there. those that have been driving for quite some time remember the day they had the 300 hp engine and could not say enough about how much better they are now, easier to drive etc. they also made several comments about how the only people that really get in their way are the motorhomes... so i had to go with the larger engine!

there seem to be roughly 2 choices in diesel, which for pulling is the only way to go, resale and longevity aside (which also point highly in that direction): the 300-350 range which is adequate, but i like to move on down the road and knew i would buy a larger trailer in time so i went with the 430-500 range. please not that the basic engine for these 2 ranges is the same for anywhere in the range depending on the builder (cat, mercedes, detroit, cummins etc) and there is no difference in torque between the 300 and the 350 and thus really no difference in towing - same goes for the 430-500 hp range - so don't take the bait on the "we can bump this up to x hp for y thousands of dollars fo ya no prob!".

kary993

I have a Country Coach Inspire 2005. Really like it now that we have all the learnings and trailer stuff all set up. I take the wife and two kids along to races and it is very comfortable (36' four slides). Provide great room for the family.

We looked at many brands including those that you mentioned, Newmar, Monaco, etc. But thought the Country Coach had much better quality and features overall. We are very pleased with the function.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, you need at least a 400 HP 1000+ ft/lbs of torgue desiel motor to comfortably handle towing a trailer of around 6000 to 8000 lbs. Watch your tongue weight and overall rear axle weight as legally speaking, even though the rear axles are rated to 22 and 23,000 lbs the federal single axle limit is 20,000 lbs. It adds up fast with water, fuel, people, trailer tongue weight and stuff. If you really want to make sure get a tag axle like the Country Coach Allure....we just could not make the step up in cost but ours works well we just have to watch the weight for track trips. For other trips it is no issue.

chas911

I can vouch for the Optima Unit which is owned by Pace American. It is an all aluminum coach with the best fit and finish that I witnessed and they incllude the real nice stuff as standard (real wood cabinets, leather interior etc.). Also, they are more than willing to customize your coach. Besides, the owner happens to be a Porsche owner who runs in the IMSA Cup Series.

Charlie

earlyapex

Thanks for everyones' input. So far the class A diesel pushers seem to come with 300 - 330hp motors up to about 36' and 400 hp motors for more than 39" long models. The longer models of course weigh more so they all tow about 10,000 lbs. The toterhomes are interesting and have bigger engines, which is attractive.

kary993

That is why I suggested Country Coach, they come with 400 HP 1100 ft/lbs torgue Cat C9 motorsports and go up from there. Others use Cummins but you will need to add on to those motors to get above 350 HP.

GUMBALL

Just a caution, and an FYI....before buying, leasing, or renting an RV...check on your state's drivers license requirements. Some states require a Non-Commercial Class B to drive an RV that weighs more than 26001 lbs, and towing a trailer of more than 10001 lbs.

Normally, the DOT do not require RV's to cross scales, or be subject to inspections....BUT, they can stop and check ANY vehicle for safety, weight, and license.