1993 Roadtrek 21ft Chevy 350 Towing

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joe - 18 Mar 2007 01:44 GMT

I have a 1993 Roadtrek 21ft Chevy G30 1 ton chassis with a 350CU engine.
I have the Chevy owners manual but its for the chassis not the Motorhome.
I want to buy a 6x12 single axle trailer with the GVWR of 3000lb. I the
trailer weighs approx 1100lbs empty.
I expect to load it with no more than 1500lbs.

Can someone tell me if I can tow this safely?
Has anyone put a hitch on this motorhome?
Where did you get it?

Thank you

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Will Sill - 18 Mar 2007 12:35 GMT

I see where joe <joe@here.net> contributed:

>I have a 1993 Roadtrek 21ft Chevy G30 1 ton chassis with a 350CU engine.
>I have the Chevy owners manual but its for the chassis not the Motorhome.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Can someone tell me if I can tow this safely?

Plenty of people will say so. My input: WEIGH your van. If it is
already at or close to the GWVR (probable), you're also close to or
exceeding the GCWR with a trailer hooked on.

> Has anyone put a hitch on this motorhome?

Is there a hitch on it now? [Sorry, that was too tempting!]

MOST class B's are heavy, and that makes towing risky - mainly due to
braking/handling issues.

Will Sill
The Curmudgeon of Sill Hill

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SnoMan - 18 Mar 2007 21:52 GMT

>MOST class B's are heavy, and that makes towing risky - mainly due to
>braking/handling issues.

That really depeands a lot on the chassis they are on more than
because it is a Class B. A lot of Class B's may in fact be are
marginal chassis as builders try to lomit costs but I would not condem
all of them because I have seen some properly built Class B's tow some
serious loads safely. I have seen a lot of regular motor homes built
on marginal chassis too.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

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HDinNY - 18 Mar 2007 17:30 GMT

> I have a 1993 Roadtrek 21ft Chevy G30 1 ton chassis with a 350CU engine.
> I have the Chevy owners manual but its for the chassis not the Motorhome.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Thank you

I seem to recall that GBinNC has towed a trailer like you want with his
Class B. Maybe he'll mention any problems he may have had. All you
really need to know is what your gross vehicle weight is, what the van
weighs now setup for the road, what the vans gross combined weight is
and do the math.
Hugh

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GBinNC - 18 Mar 2007 19:32 GMT

>> I have a 1993 Roadtrek 21ft Chevy G30 1 ton chassis with a 350CU engine.
>> I have the Chevy owners manual but its for the chassis not the Motorhome.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>>
>> Thank you

>I seem to recall that GBinNC has towed a trailer like you want with his
>Class B. Maybe he'll mention any problems he may have had.

And here he is now <g>:

I have a '95 Dodge (19') Class B with the 318 ci (5.2L) engine. It now
has over 174,000 miles on it.

I have a 5x8 enclosed cargo trailer that weighs 1000# empty. I've towed
it over 17,000 miles, with up to probably a little over 1500# of cargo.
The typical load is probably well under 1000#.

The heaviest trip was also the longest -- a load of new, crated
furniture from NC to Maine via Albany and NW Massachusetts, in January
(that was fun <g>). I also towed it quite a bit when we lived in the
mountains of Western NC -- on steep, winding roads lots of folks
wouldn't drive a car on, let alone a long van with a trailer. (We lived
at the end of such a road.)

I've never had any kind of trouble towing it. Granted, when it's heavy
you can feel it back there, but the van has never seemed to struggle
with it. The trailer does not have brakes, but the van brakes have
handled any stopping that needed to be done, including in the mountains.
I do tend to "think farther ahead" when I'm towing, though, just to be
on the safe side.

It costs me a mile or two per gallon, depending on how heavily loaded it
is -- but I usually tow at a maximum of about 58-60. (I don't drive much
faster than that without it.) Any more than that would cost me a lot
more. And I keep careful gas records, so that's not just a guess.

I should add that the trailer is not quite as tall as my van, so wind
resistance is probably less of a factor than it might be in some cases.

The Class III hitch was already on the van when I bought it used in '98.
But it appears to be a standard hitch -- any hitch shop should be able
to install one on your Roadtrek.

GB in NC

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GBinNC - 18 Mar 2007 19:49 GMT

I also should have added that the loaded-for-travel weight, with
passengers, of my Class B is around 7800#, FWIW.

GB in NC

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Jim - 18 Mar 2007 19:30 GMT

In alt.rv on: Sat, Mar 17, 2007, 6:44pm (EDT-2) joe@here.net (joe)
wrote:

>I have a 1993 Roadtrek 21ft Chevy G30 1 ton
> chassis with a 350CU engine. I have the
> Chevy owners manual but its for the chassis
> not the Motorhome.

> I want to buy a 6x12

single axle

> trailer with the GVWR of 3000lb. I the trailer
> weighs approx 1100lbs empty.

>I expect to load it with no more than 1500lbs.

> Can someone tell me if I can tow this

> safely? Has anyone put a hitch on this
> motorhome? Where did you get it?

>Thank you

I've owned two RT 190's, a Dodge 318 & a Chevy Express 350. Neither had
the extra power to do this satisfactorily in the SE mountains where I
live... but that's _just_ an opinion...

As stated by others, you really need to get it weighed when it's fully
loaded for travel; passengers, fuel, vittles, water, etc.. Use a Cat
Scale at a truck stop, or check the Yellow Pages under 'weighers' <$10.

There may be a sticker inside one of the kitchen cabinets with the
converter's weight figures, but this doesn't usually include options,
and won't include anything you've added or what you carry. Get front
and rear axle weights and total weight. Compare to the GM sticker on
the driver's door post or under the hood (or maybe avaialble on the
'net).

The older 210 is on ('in'?) a stretched LWB van. I don't think that GM
raised the GVWR / GCWR any over the regular and LWB G-30 vans. So
you'll likely find that the rear axle weight rating is pretty much used
up by your normal load, with no allowance for adding the hitch weight
and tongue weight.

I believe the 210 is a 'long overhang' van, so the tongue weight may
also be effectively increased by the leverage of this length...

So I suspect your answer is "No'.

Just in case the numbers are better than I think, U-Haul is one source
for hitches; the quality of their installations may very with the
franchise. Check with your local DMV for trailer brake requirements.

And as always, YMMV. Good luck!

Jim, "Scientists have discovered the missing link beteween apes and
intelligent life. It's human beings."

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joe - 20 Mar 2007 00:20 GMT

>
> In alt.rv on: Sat, Mar 17, 2007, 6:44pm (EDT-2) joe@here.net (joe)
[quoted text clipped - 52 lines]
> Jim, "Scientists have discovered the missing link beteween apes and
> intelligent life. It's human beings."

I had it weighed some years ago so when I find the tickets I will be
able to do the math. I checked out some hitches and they all look pretty
much the same. They bolt to the chassis but when I looked at the chassis
today I don't see how a one could bolt to the chassis because the trunk
storage hangs down below the bumper and the hitch would have to be
deeper. I might have to have a custome hitch made.
http://search.cartserver.com/search/search.cgi?cartid=a-9041&bool=AND&category=c
ombo_makemodel&maxhits=20&keywords=1993&keywords_2=CHEV-GMC.VANS&GO=GO%21

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