towing with '93 cummins 190 & allison 4 spd?

[sadavis80]

I'm looking at a 34' Southwind with the B5.9 190 and allison 4 speed.  Has anyone out there towed an enclosed trailer with one of these?  Can it handle 7000 pounds behind it? My trailer does have it's own brakes, but I want to know if the MH has good brakes too.  Any MPG figures available for it?  Anything else I should know before considering it?

I know it'll be "officially overloaded", but so is my current gasser and it handles it just fine.

tks,
Steve

 

[Shayne]

Don't know what you have for an engine now, but a 190  just doesn't seem to have enough ummfph to pull the hat off your head going down hill with a breeze behind you.  At least the 3, I drove on occasion.  Perhaps they were poorly maintained, I can't verify that.  I'd certainly want to try it before indulging into it.  See if you can hitch it up to your trailer and tow to see how it performs.  You'll never know until you try.  You might get to the top of a hill and start backwards as in previous threads.  When being over you are asking for troubles,  I know I've been there done that and you have to take step[s to eliminate problems of such magnitude.  Good luck and this is just my opinion

 

[Ron]

We had a Bounder with the 190 and it worked well for us.  However, we will not endanger ourselves and others around us by exceeding the weight limits.  I worked very well for us.  It is very unlikely the hitch on the Southwind is even rated at more than 5000 lbs.  So IMHO the answer to your question is not a good idea.

 

[Shayne]

Ron  you sure said it much better than I.  But then sometimes I  write before I think.  Fingers must be too fast  LOL or Brain is slow.  More then likely the later

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You need to check the hitch rating and the GCWR and actual loaded weight of the Southwind. My guess is that neither hitch nor GCWR will be adequate for a 7000 lb trailer. Probably isn't on your current gas rig either.  The fact that you say  it's "OK" probably means you haven't ever encountered an emergency handling situation yet and I hope I'm not on the same road if you do.  You are really stretching your luck!

 

[sadavis80]

If anyone out there does have any ACTUAL EXPERIENCE towing a good sized trailer with a B5.9 and the allison 4 spd, please PM me, as it is obvious that you would get lambasted big time if you posted here about it.

tks

 

[Tom]

...please PM me....

Sorry, but PMs are currently disabled here.

....it is obvious that you would get lambasted big time if you posted here about it.

Nobody is lambasting you. They're merely trying to warn you against the very real possibility that the hitch on your Southwind can't safely tow more than 5000 lbs. If you want to stick your head in the sand, so be it, but please don't complain about the folks who are trying to help you. As has been suggested, please check the rating on your hitch in addition to the specified towing capacity (or the GCWR) of your motorhome.

If you prefer to receive an incorrect response that you want to hear, this is not the place to find it. Sorry.

 

[chuck]

We don't have a comparable rig to yours, but I'll compare what we have, a 2000 Winnebago Journey 36L 5.9 275 hp cummins with a allison 4-speed, we tow a 4400 lb toad and it pulls the grades ok, not great, but ok. The tranny is no problem, but I think that the engine size of 190 hp could be less then satisfactory.

 

[asofla]

If anyone out there does have any ACTUAL EXPERIENCE towing a good sized trailer with a B5.9 and the allison 4 spd, please PM me, as it is obvious that you would get lambasted big time if you posted here about it.

tks

I have the same combo that you are looking at. Mine is in a 92' Bounder. Before I had the engine modified by BD Performance there is NO way that it would do what you want it to do. I had the torque converter changed, the engine horsepower up'd to approx 250, exhaust brake installed, and other things. The BIG problem with the unit is the 4 speed transmission. It does NOT have a lock up converter. if you put a brick in front of the tire, it will NOT pull over it from a dead stop. Get it rolling, and it will keep on pulling. And this is even after all the modifications that I have made. I tow a 2400lb (approx) Saturn (4 wheels down) behind the unit, and on on a couple of occasions, I have had to have my wife get in the Saturn and push to get it going up a steep grade from a stop. Like I said, I love the unit, I have EVERY option that a Provost has (Including full body paint)  and I will keep it til I die. BUT, it won't do what you want it to do. That is my opinion.

 

[Carl L]

I'm looking at a 34' Southwind with the B5.9 190 and allison 4 speed. Has anyone out there towed an enclosed trailer with one of these? Can it handle 7000 pounds behind it? My trailer does have it's own brakes, but I want to know if the MH has good brakes too. Any MPG figures available for it? Anything else I should know before considering it?

I know it'll be "officially overloaded", but so is my current gasser and it handles it just fine.

tks,
Steve

Look, I am a trailer person and don't usually mix in on motorhomes, but maybe it is appropriate here to apply the analysis we do for trailer towing.

Looking at the Fleetwood 2007 specs for Southwind motorhomes,  that rig is rated for 5000 lbs towing with a 500 lbs tongue weight.  You have a 7000 lb trailer.  That trailer would grossly overload a Southwind -- any Southwind of any configuration.   Look at the specs yourself. Click HERE. 

That gross and overload will affect transmission life, braking safety, hitch security and seriously compromise lateral stability and emergency handling.  Get in a strong cross wind and be passed by a high speed motorcoach and you will be in a world of trouble.  Climb, or descend, a grade like the Cajon or Grapevine in CA, or the San Rafael Swell in UT or Lookout Pass in ID, and you are liable to be really hurting before you finish.

Most motorhomes seem designed to tow loads around that of a Saturn or Jeep as a dingy -- a 3000 to 4000 lb load.  What you want are the motorhomes built around medium duty trucks to give you the towing capacity you need for your trailer.  For an example of what I am talking about click HERE.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for posting that Carl. Using simple math (GCWR-GVWR) those specs would suggest that, in all but two cases, the towing capacity is only 4,000 lbs.

Of course, we're not giving Steve the response he wants to hear, but ....