Advice On Towing A Trailer With 43' Allegro Bus

[Showinoff]

I have a 43 foot Allegro bus that can tow up to 10,000 #'s, I would like to be able to load my full dress Harley Davidson that's just over 8' long and right at 1000#'s plus my wife's car that is just over 15' long and 4500#'s.

I have been looking at USA cargo trailers out of Douglas GA. They have a V nose trailer that I can spec out the way I want.

What is the best tongue length to keep from getting into the back of the motor home?

Has anyone trailered a combination like this?

If you have towed a combination like this what size of trailer did you use was it a V nose or a flat nose ( I think I can gain some useful space in the V to shorten the needed length of the trailer by getting the front wheel of the bike in the V).

I have calculated the weight and should be fine. Any thoughts?

I would like to be able to load the bike sideways but it is to long to do that so it will have to be loaded straight in with the car behind it. Selling the bike for a smaller one is not an option.

I am not concerned with parking issues as I have been pulling my 5th wheel with a semi tractor combination that was over 75 feet long and had no problems with parking.

Is there anything that I am not considering here?

Any suggestions on this subject would be very helpful.

[nctox]

Re-check your Bus manual. I think it can tow up to 15,000 lbs.

[Showinoff]

I checked and I can tow 10,000 #. I think only the big engines (500 + hp) can tow 15,000#'s.

[dickandlois]

Showinoff,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

The are a number of variables when determining the turning radius of coaches and then add a trailer with a different stile front (Square or "V" shaped) and things get interesting. One main item is the cut in degrees of the front wheels and then the stile of trailer being pulled in combination.

Always felt that it is best to get real numbers, from some practice in an empty parking lot.

Hear are some links to information that might help get a close figure on the required radius. Reading them is a little like watching grass grow, but some good information hidden in the pages.

http://design.transportation.org/Documents/TurnRadii,GreenBook2004.pdf

http://www.ktc.uky.edu/files/2012/09/1991-Development-of-Turning-Templates-for-Various-Design-Vehicles-KTC-91-2.pdf

http://nacto.org/docs/usdg/design_vehicles_turning_radii_washburn.pdf

Rich.

[kaypsmith]

The bike can be loaded sideways if total length is 102" (8.5')or less. Be careful of the maximum length of the rig plus trailer. In most states 65', is maximum total length, some are less, and some are more.

Remember the length's are stem to stern, ie., measured from front bumper to rear of the trailer, so if you pull a 19' car hauler, and it has 3' tongue, that will be 22" plus the motorhome is 43', total.

Here is another helpful site, http://www.rvsafely.com/rvroadlaws.htm.

Whether v-nose or flat should be one's personal choice.

Welcome to the forum, and happy trails,

Kay

[dickandlois]

Thanks Kay, Good point and information !

I took the time to read the length information and put together a list for the link.

Combined length of a Coach and Trailer by state.

New Jersey—Combined length=50 feet.

Mississippi----Combined Length=53 feet

Maryland------Combined length=55 feet

Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Road Island, Wisconsin------Combined Length=60 feet.

Utah------------Combined Length=61 feet

New Hampshire and South Carolina—Combined Length=Not Specified

Indiana---------Combined Length is a little gray, but 60 to 65 feet is listed.(single and double haul involved)

The rest of the states are greater than 65 feet.

Rich.

[hermanmullins]

Rich, I think we might go back over the list. There are many trucks on the road going through the listed state pulling trailers that are 51' with out the tractor.

Herman

[dickandlois]

Herman, IF? I'm reading the information correctly. The Length is for RV pulling a trailer are listed. Not the larger 18 wheelers. They fall under different rules?

Rich.

[hermanmullins]

Rich,

I just checked Woodall's Report. District of Columbia, 55' (of course we are talking about DC), Missouri 65" (55' if more then 10 miles from a primary or designated Highway) and Maryland 55'. There a few as short as 60', but the rest are 65'+. One state Minnesota 75/70' with 3 states with no Max.

Several states allow triples with some restrictions.

Woodall's also had Canada listed but I didn't go that far.

Herman

[Showinoff]

So what I am reading here is that in most states your not legal even towing your car! I see 45' busses with a suburban or similar vehicle in tow, the suburban is at least 20 or more feet long plus the tow bar of at least 3 feet. Then to top that off the put a rack on the back for extras or bikes and so on. So what gives?

[Showinoff]

I also see busses with 30' or larger stacker trailers or some other style of trailer whether it is a cargo trailer or a big pontoon or speed boat. I'm sure some of these combos are well over 75' long. Are they getting permits? Or are they just flying by the seat of there pants? I have not found any information that pertains to a motor home towing anything so where are you guys getting all of this information?

[Showinoff]

The bike can be loaded sideways if total length is 102" (8.5')or less. Be careful of the maximum length of the rig plus trailer. In most states 65', is maximum total length, some are less,and some are more. Remember the length's are stem to stern, ie., measured from front bumper to rear of the trailer, so if you pull a 19' car hauler, and it has 3' tongue, that will be 22"plus the motorhome is 43', totalHere is another helpful site, http://www.rvsafely.com/rvroadlaws.htm.Whether v-nose or flat should be one's personal choice.Welcome to the forum, and happy trails, Kay

Thanks for the reply but I cannot find where this site is accredited with anyone also the last update for the site was over 9 years ago I have looked at some of the individual states through their dot sites and found that the site you are quoting is using some out dated information and most of it is for commercial motor vehicles. I just thought I'd share this with you in case you are using this site for personal reference.

[dickandlois]

Just took the time to see if AAA has any information and this is what I found, now need to take some time to look at there information and compare it.

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/trailer-dimensions/

Rich.

A quick review and there are some miner differences between the sights, but over all total lenghts look very close !

Maybe this is an area for FMCA office to look into just what state regulations are. This could have an impact on state bottom lines regarding the Campground industry and travel.

Then throw in this and other information from AAA and things really are interesting.

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/trailer-speed-limits/

[Showinoff]

As an example I looked at Iowa and Florida for some broad spectrum of information and found that Iowa has a maximum length of 45' for the motorhome and a combination length of 65' as to Florida having a maximum length of 50' for the motorhome and a combination of 65' long. Either way if you tow a car or trailer over 17' for the 45'er or 12' for the 50'er (excluding the hitch at an average of 3' long) you are in violation of the law, and yet we see it every day in every state. It forces us to utilize a smaller motorhome to be legal. I wish I could tell them that there home is to big and they can't have a motorcycle and a car.

[nctox]

I checked and I can tow 10,000 #. I think only the big engines (500 + hp) can tow 15,000#'s.

I apologize for doubting your info. I went back to the Tiffin archives and your Bus does indeed have a 10,000# towing capacity. It went up to 15,000 the next year.

[hermanmullins]

My bet is that 90% of the city police, county sheriffs and hwy. patrol officer have no idea of what combined length is allowed in their state.

Herman

[wolfe10]

My bet is that 90% of the city police, county sheriffs and hwy. patrol officer have no idea of what combined length is allowed in their state.

Herman

Yup, but it only takes one to send the trailer to the impound lot!

I can tell you that my brother was towing his Nimble 32' sailboat (triple axle trailer) with his Dodge/Cummins PU to Lake Mead. Utah Highway Patrol pulled him over and spend almost an hour measuring length and more critically width. Had he been a mm over, they would have impounded the boat (and told him so-- along with a hefty fine). Then he would have had to drive to an office where he would have had to get an oversized permit, then bail the boat out of the impound lot. Luckily (actually well-planned) though 32' long is just met the maximum width requirement without a permit.

Before some sailboat races where oversized boats are trailered in FL, it is well known that FL officials would stake out the roads leading to the event to add to the state coffers.

[kaypsmith]

Many law enforcement officers will actually turn their head the other way and letting it pass because of gray areas. Triple towing is one of those areas, but the state D.O.T. officers are well versed on the laws, they are the dreaded ones that will get you. They have the same authority as a state trooper, and usually love to prove you wrong. I do contract work for state and county government in Alabama, and know a lot of the guys out there, and knowing them doesn't help in case of an infraction.

Good luck motoring, Kay.