I need to tow a car on a 4 wheel u-haul trailer with my 2013 Winnebago/Itasca Navion 24G. The total weight of car and trailer will right at 5000# with a tongue weight of 250#. Right at the Navion spec towing limit. Distance 1000 miles with no mountains all freeway. Can this be safely done? Any and all advice requested. I do not have a tranny cooler or any other add on towing stuff.
We have the same situation with our 2018 View. We are moving about 850 miles from Florida to North Carolina and wanted to rent a U-haul tow dolly to pull a Honda Civic. Our Sprinter manual says we should not pull a load of more than 1635 pounds without a separate braking system on the trailer (or tow dolly.) Otherwise, if there was resulting Sprinter brake damage, we could possibly void the warranty because we did not use a brake controller in the Sprinter. Unfortunately, U-haul does not have tow dollies with a separate braking system. Also, many state laws require a separate braking system on the trailer (or tow dolly). As a result, my wife will be driving the Honda. We plan to buy a tow bar, brake controller and a small toad when we get settled in North Carolina so we don't face this situation in the future. We are resisting the urge to give it a try with the U-haul tow dolly, but are worried about the legal, warranty, and safety factors even on this short move. Looking forward to replies from anyone who has used U-haul tow dollies for short moves.
Your tow limit on the Sprinter chassis is 4400 lbs, not 5000 lbs. Tow rating is calculated by subtracting the actual vehicle gross weight from your GCWR which is 16400 lbs or so.
You can cheat this a bit if your motorhome is well below your GVWR on the motorhome. Your target would be 11,030 lbs less about 700 lbs or a gross weight on the Sprinter of about 10,300 lbs. So with nothing in you Sprinter except yourselves and some fuel you could do it and not overload the Sprinter.
Your best bet is to load your motorhome up for the trip and drive the car separately. That way you can take your time and camp along the way.
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Roger & Mary
2017 Winnebago Navion 24V
2014 Tiffin Phaeton 36GH (Sold)
I'm finding a GCWR or 15,250, and a GVWR of 11,030 and a hitch rating of 5000 pounds in the 2013 Navion Brochure. I don't think the OP was questioning that. It is right at the limit, assuming the motorhome is not at GVWR. I think it comes down to what you are comfortable with. I'd do it, but have towed many trailers over the years. I'd be the guy in the right lane taking it easy, and making it to my destination. Not the guy who went into the ditch at 75 MPH.
I have a 2017 View and tow a Prius on a Kar Kaddy dolly. The dolly has hydraulic disk brakes. No issues towing and that includes many mountain grades in Arizona.