To those with buses or motorhomes

Fine Elsewhere · Veteran Member

To those with buses or motorhomes

Allan Wood · Member

I can't offer any advice as I am in a similar position too. I will look on with keen interest however.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Get a 4WD motorhome, as small as you dare and you won't need to tow anything.
That way when you visit some out of the way spots, you take your comforts with you and you can leave everyone else to fight over the camp spots near the bitumen.
Not towing will allow you to go to many places that you can't go when towing, even if the MH is 2WD.

Cheers,
Peter

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

We have towed on A frame our Subaru Impreza. Didn't take it with us around last trip WA / NT . Have taken it up & down NSW coast don't even know it's behind us . Winnebago Explorer. Have option to put it on car trailer too . Just issues storing and parking trailer .

wendyv · Guru

After years of travel with offroad van and 4WD, health issues led to us selling that rig and then a bit later, buying a Coaster based motorhome. We categorically did not want to tow anything again!

We did a short shake down trip with Coaster - that was enough for us to decide we must tow a small vehicle. Even though it does not take long to make the Coaster travel ready (awning in, aerial down, things secured inside, hoses and power disconnected) when doing so is "just" to go get some groceries, find a place to run the dog, sightsee - inertia tended to dominate, and we stayed put. Also, much of the time, our camping style is to stay in one place for a few days/weeks - and explore all round.

Given the decision to tow something, much research ensued. Looked for a vehicle with higher clearance and some dirt road ability - but still within the weight restrictions that apply for flat towing. A used Daihatsu Terios was the answer for us. Ready Brute A Frame - for ease of use by one person, if needed.

It has worked really well. Flat towing a vehicle is totally different to van towing. Basically only know it is there because of the rear view camera!

Fine Elsewhere · Veteran Member

Hi everyone and thanks for the replies so far.

I guess I should have said I/we will need to be doing some kind of work on the road so were thinking it would be a way to get to work. My argument was that I could probably catch a taxi for cheaper and less hassle than towing something....then there is always the desire to leave the bus parked up and get off road and see some remote sights as mentioned by Peter.
Hmmmmm.

Fine Elsewhere · Veteran Member

Sorry Wendy, we posted at the same time. That is excellent information, exactly the kind of first-hand info we , and probably others, are looking for.
Now comes the decision between A frame and trailer as we were thinking we could fabricate some storage on the top of a trailer but if A frame is less hassle would go that way I think.

Thank you.

Tony Bev · Guru

You will have to make sure that the vehicle you are going to tow with, is capable of towing something

I have a 2006 Fiat Ducato (as per my avatar), it has a 2.8 turbo diesel diesel engine, with a 5 speed manual gearbox

The problem is that the jump from 4th to 5th gear is very long.
The newer models have a 6 speed gearbox, with their new 5th gear slotting in between my 4th and 5th gears

I would never attempt to tow anything up a hill with my vehicle, I suppose that it may be OK towing on the flat
The problem is of course, that there are a lot of hill in Australia

Hope that this info is helpful to you

dragonfly1 · Senior Member

We tow a Suzuki swift behind with a hitch and go A frame easy to hook up and never know its behind you

we have a Fiat ducato 3 litre with a auto and manual gearbox

Dragonfly1

Yuglamron · Guru

My opinion is that you need another vehicle towed behind a MotorHome.

The logic is that if you are permanently living in your motorhome, you would have something big enough to be comfortable. I know you could live in a Hi-Ace for example full time but it would be cramped. Much nicer to have the room to be comfortable.

Also if you are staying in one place you end up spreading out your "Stuff" in your motorhome. It then takes time to stack and stow if you need to go explore or to the shops.

Towing a vehicle behind you make the process much easier. A small all wheel drive or 4x4 makes the side trips much easier. There are lots of systems out there for flat towing.

My motorhome is an "A" class. Built on an engine and chassis. It weighs 8.4 tons. 4.6 Turbo diesel. 100kph comfortably on the flat but slow up hills.

I towed a Suzuki Grand Vitara for six years with no problems. Have a permanent rear view camera on all the time when towing. Find you have to keep looking at the camera because you don't know it's behind you.

No different uphill, still slow.

I had a Hitch-N-Go A frame. Their website lets you know what vehicles you can tow and the same with the other systems. I did change the tow hitch to a McHitch system. I am not a fan of Tow balls. Now I see I can convert my McHitch to their new self connecting system. Just reverse up and it self connects. All you have to do is put in a clevis pin to secure it.

The link should take you to the McHitch webpage. No connection just a satisfied customer.

http://www.mchitch.com.au/?lightbox=image_1t4b

I reckon if you are on the road permanently the Pros well outdo the Cons if you tow behind.

-- Edited by Yuglamron on Tuesday 4th of April 2017 08:30:54 AM

Foss · Member

We tow a box trailer behind our bus and have been on the road permanently for the last 10 years working . The only thing I find is that it slows your hwy speed down but I when we travel we are not in a hurry anyway. The trailer carrys our Suzuki plus a lot of other things with the added advantage of security of items being locked up in the trailer.

woolman · Guru

We decided that as a minimum we needed a motor home with an island double bed and separate toilet and shower. That added up to a 9metre vehicle, much too big to go shopping, a siteseeing , etc. Been towing a Suzuki Grand Vitara since 2005 whilst full time on the road. Nothing has told me it was a wrong decision for us. Neil

jules47 · The Happy Helper

Have a 2010 Jayco Conquest - front wheel drive - which, of course, limits your towing power, and weight to tow. We have a Nissan Micra and were towing with a dolly trailer, but have just changed to a tilt trailer, specifically made for the Micra, by a guy we know who builds bike trailers, and took on the job to expand his range.

We can tow just about anywhere, - but if we are having to go up a gravel/dirt track, we take the car off and drive it up. Just makes it easier, we find. In the first year we had the Micra, we travelled over the Nullarbor to Perth, and "did" the south section of WA - we clocked up about 10,000k in that year. Shopping, touring, visiting etc.

Fine Elsewhere · Veteran Member

Thank heaps everyone.
I'll hand the iPad over to the other half and let him digest all of that.

Fine Elsewhere · Veteran Member

dragonfly1 wrote:
We tow a Suzuki swift behind with a hitch and go A frame easy to hook up and never know its behind you
we have a Fiat ducato 3 litre with a auto and manual gearbox
Dragonfly1

Hi Dragonfly1, I had a Suzuki Swift, what a great little car! 10 years ago I drove mine from Geelong to Mt Swan Station, out the Plenty Hwy and then 80 kms up Binns Track, never missed a beat and got me there in one piece albeit a bit slowly in some patches and flat out in others. biggrin

dragonfly1 · Senior Member

Yes they are a great little car and with the back seats folded down they become a station wagon so can fit plenty in the back

We put our A frame in the back when not being used

Dragonfly1

Fine Elsewhere · Veteran Member

I always had the back seats down too, much more useful. Only thing was my struts on the hatch buggered up but that was ok, I just used a bit of wood to hold it open smile

i ended up another 200 ks down the Plenty in it and it eventually became a much loved lizard hunting motor car for the local ladies.

wendyv · Guru

For us, towing a vehicle on a trailer was too much like towing a caravan. The beauty of the A Frame is that the vehicle trundles along on its own 4 wheels. Totally different road behaviour.

We do not have to worry about storing trailer as well as vehicle and motorhome, when we stay in caravan parks - some sites are not big enough for all 3.

The cost is that we "use up" tyre wear on the Terios - but would do that on a trailer too. The Terios speedo continues to turn, even though engine not going.

With the Ready Brute hitch, when the car is off the motorhome, the hitch just folds up and hooks up at the back - so it stays on the Coaster (we have a locked hitch pin). So hitching up car is just a matter of flicking up the catch and letting the arms down - then lining up car and hooking it up. I can do that by myself in 3-5 minutes, including the electrical plugs, safety cords, brake cable. Can unhitch in about 2-3 minutes. I just think a trailer would be harder. When the hitch is off the bus altogether (e.g. at home, driving bus for a service) it takes about 3 minutes to put it back in the hitch receiver - again, I can do it alone.

Joe50 · Guru

I have been towing a Terios behind my Hino Rainbow for 15 months, with a Hitch 'n Go A-frame. Only time I notice it is climbing hills, sometimes reduced to crawling up long climbs such as Cunningham's Gap west of Brisbane or some of the hills on the outskirts of Adelaide in 2nd gear. But then the bus and car weigh close to 7 tonnes combined. As others have said, being able to set up camp and to use the car for sight-seeing and shopping runs is the biggest advantage. Unlike wendyv, my car's odo doesn't advance while under tow. I had a key cut without the immobiliser chip for the ignition and leave it in the Locked position - front wheels can still turn left or right when the rig goes around corners. Steering wheel is only locked once the key is withdrawn.

Joe

Fine Elsewhere · Veteran Member

Thank you very much for all the replies, we appreciate it. We are taking it all in and it is very helpful.

-- Edited by Fine Elsewhere on Wednesday 5th of April 2017 01:47:32 PM

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

We are checking on elect bikes etc next trip . Gotta keep fit . I don't have issues parking our motor home . Most car parks have spaces or loading zones . We just take up two spaces . Or park on outer area . Nice to have transport for a k or so tho !!