Who makes 40ft DP w/tag axle rated to tow 15k?

[baja-chris]

Name all the 40ft DP you know that are factory rated to tow 15k or more. Pretty sure it will have to have a tag axle to do this.
And would really be nice to find one with 500 or 600hp but those engines seem to only come on 41-45 footers.

The 40 ft Newmar Dutch Star qualifies but its "only" 450hp and "only" has the Allison 3000.
The 41 ft Mountain Aire has 500hp and the Allison 4000 but is only rated to tow 7500. Seems odd. And its a foot too long.
And to get the big boy X15 engine you need to get into the 45 footers at least with Newmar. I need to look at other brands, suggestions?

Trying to stay legal, my open stacker truck/boat project looks like it will be 25ft hitch to back and come in around 13k pounds.
So if I can find a 40 ft DP rated to tow 15k then I can stay under or darn close to the 65 ft overall length law most states use.

Plan B is to just drive around with 70 ft and hope I don't get measured if stopped. I don't like that idea. And could be a problem if in an accident.

 

[Done-it-again]

Fleetwood DP do.

 

[Singleton]

Renegade Motorhomes | Toterhomes, Motor Coaches & Sportdecks | RV

Designed for your life with Renegade RV’s lineup of motorhomes, toterhomes and stacker trailers. Renegade also builds specialty vehicles.

www.renegaderv.com

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

All fleetwood revolutions are 15k, with or without tag.

 

[LowRiver2]

42’ but $129k ready to go

 

[FROGMAN524]

What did you end up buying?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

View attachment 934748
42’ but $129k ready to go

42k is a awesome floorplan, comes with an office / desk, we looked all over the country for one when we upgraded a few months ago. Spartan chassis is hands down the best riding DP we ever had. We only considered Spartan chassis when we bought our DP a few months ago.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

View attachment 934748
42’ but $129k ready to go

this is where people go wrong... I could put a 15k hitch on my fiat 500

 

[2FORCEFULL]

 

[2FORCEFULL]

All fleetwood revolutions are 15k, with or without tag.

this is very true,..


GCWR ....49,000 lbs

gvwr .......... 34,000 lbs

leaves 15k tow capacity...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

View attachment 934748
42’ but $129k ready to go

this coach has a 44,600 lb chassis,.. thet don't give a GCWR, but state that it has a tow capacity 15,000 lbs,,.. that means you can roll down the road at 60k..... and not even have to know how to drive one...lol...

 

[baja-chris]

I ended up buying a new (2020) Newmar Dutch Star on a Spartan K2-450 chassis. It has the 4081 floorplan with theater seating instead of third pull out bed.
It has most of the options available including a slide out basement fridge/freezer. I added 1800watts of solar and upgraded the house Lithium batteries (4x200Amp-Hr). Also added an auto setup HD Directv dish. Not in-motion but push a button and it rises up and aligns itself and another push of a button and it stows for travel.

21k miles on it this year and overall happy with the layout. I wanted more engine power but did not want a 45 footer. Surprisingly the 450hp Cummins is adequate even with a 14,000 lb trailer. My biggest gripe is the basement door alignment. Have had trouble with them latching and it looks poor because they are not all in alignment. Will complain to dealer about that. It's still under it's 1 yr warrantee.

 

[STV_Keith]

Foretravel Phenix/Nimbus models fit these requirements I believe.

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

I ended up buying a new (2020) Newmar Dutch Star on a Spartan K2-450 chassis. It has the 4081 floorplan with theater seating instead of third pull out bed.
It has most of the options available including a slide out basement fridge/freezer. I added 1800watts of solar and upgraded the house Lithium batteries (4x200Amp-Hr). Also added an auto setup HD Directv dish. Not in-motion but push a button and it rises up and aligns itself and another push of a button and it stows for travel.

21k miles on it this year and overall happy with the layout. I wanted more engine power but did not want a 45 footer. Surprisingly the 450hp Cummins is adequate even with a 14,000 lb trailer. My biggest gripe is the basement door alignment. Have had trouble with them latching and it looks poor because they are not all in alignment. Will complain to dealer about that. It's still under it's 1 yr warrantee.

The doors are easy to align in / out or up / down, ours are couple phillips screws to loosen up and adjust. Cool trailer, I am assuming the top deck lowers down after you take the truck off?

 

[fmo24]

Man I would be ducking under every questionable bridge and expect to lose that outboard. In photo it appears higher than moho.
very nice setup though

 

[baja-chris]

Motorhome and top of OB both 13' 6". Hyd jack plate lets motor drop once on trailer. BTW, I'm going to sell both the stacker trailer and the Baker tunnel hull.

It was fun and worked great but that was kind of a one and done trip for us. If I want to go boating in Florida again, I'll rent a center console.
And for boating in the SW, we love our Pontoon boat. The stacker trailer would also work great for a pair of SxS plus some PWC's.

The top deck goes up and down with a hydric ram and cables so you can launch the boat direct from the trailer (using the pickup truck that was under it).
When all the way down it's about the same height off the ground as a normal boat trailer would have it so easy to launch.

 

[fmo24]

With a Jeep Wrangler below would a golf cart be too tall on top ?

 

[baja-chris]

You would probably need a collapsible top on the golf cart. Just guessing. If the jeep is a 2 door they might both fit the lower deck.
There is about 4 feet of space ahead of my crewcab Raptor on the first deck. That space has a side ramp to load a motorcycle.

 

[fmo24]

It’s a 4 door. I was looking at a flat bed and thinking of putting golf cart sideways in front. We currently flat tow the wrangler but would be nice to have GC travel with us next problem is storing trailer when at a campground

 

[E4L]

Bad ass set up you have.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Skinny Tire AH]

Name all the 40ft DP you know that are factory rated to tow 15k or more. Pretty sure it will have to have a tag axle to do this.
And would really be nice to find one with 500 or 600hp but those engines seem to only come on 41-45 footers.

The 40 ft Newmar Dutch Star qualifies but its "only" 450hp and "only" has the Allison 3000.
The 41 ft Mountain Aire has 500hp and the Allison 4000 but is only rated to tow 7500. Seems odd. And its a foot too long.
And to get the big boy X15 engine you need to get into the 45 footers at least with Newmar. I need to look at other brands, suggestions?

Trying to stay legal, my open stacker truck/boat project looks like it will be 25ft hitch to back and come in around 13k pounds.
So if I can find a 40 ft DP rated to tow 15k then I can stay under or darn close to the 65 ft overall length law most states use.

Plan B is to just drive around with 70 ft and hope I don't get measured if stopped. I don't like that idea. And could be a problem if in an accident.

I am not saying this is legal. BUT.....Gary College pulls his 388 with motorhome as pictured. He INSISTS its legal and hes 99' long. Just thought it was a cool rig.

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

I am not saying this is legal. BUT.....Gary College pulls his 388 with motorhome as pictured. He INSISTS its legal and hes 99' long. Just thought it was a cool rig. View attachment 1048974

What many do is get a motorsports exemption, I think that is the loophole. I have towed at 80 with no issues and was passed by CHP.

 

[Skinny Tire AH]

What many do is get a motorsports exemption, I think that is the loophole. I have towed at 80 with no issues and was passed by CHP.

I was pretty committed to get a CDL. I do business with many Drillers, Miners and the such. They all have safety/permitting departments. Every single one of them told me not to bother. With private ownership of; Truck, Boat and Trailer and not being used for commercial purpose, its not necessary.

I know that statement will probably start a firestorm of differing opinions but that's the exemption I am claiming and carry supportive documentation to support.

That was the same exemption Gary College claims.

 

[LakeMead Boater]

I was pretty committed to get a CDL. I do business with many Drillers, Miners and the such. They all have safety/permitting departments. Every single one of them told me not to bother. With private ownership of; Truck, Boat and Trailer and not being used for commercial purpose, its not necessary.

I know that statement will probably start a firestorm of differing opinions but that's the exemption I am claiming and carry supportive documentation to support.

That was the same exemption Gary College claims.

Just curious, was the CDL for towing the boat based on weight? Or was it for the motorhome?

 

[Skinny Tire AH]

In my case, it was for towing the boat which is about 20K boat/trailer together. The tow vehicle is the problem. Its a Freightliner, Sport Chassis. Its both over 26001# and air brake equipped. I have zero interest in towing the boat with my Motorhome, which is 42 feet.

IIRC, you need a class B CDL to drive a 26,001# tractor and can tow up to 10,000#. But I could be off.

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

In my case, it was for towing the boat which is about 20K boat/trailer together. The tow vehicle is the problem. Its a Freightliner, Sport Chassis. Its both over 26001# and air brake equipped. I have zero interest in towing the boat with my Motorhome, which is 42 feet.

IIRC, you need a class B CDL to drive a 26,001# tractor and can tow up to 10,000#. But I could be off.

Isn’t it more than 40’ rv you need the non Commercial class A? I got mine years ago, has to take a road test with the rv and a written exam up at Victorville DMV

 

[Skinny Tire AH]

Isn’t it more than 40’ rv you need the non Commercial class A? I got mine years ago, has to take a road test with the rv and a written exam up at Victorville DMV

Not familiar with Ca regulations. I have a 42' Dynasty and no special license for it or my Sport Chassis. It does seem odd at times, a 75 year old guy that never drove anything bigger than a Buick can buy a 45 foot 50.000# air brake chassis motorhome, toss him the keys and wish him luck.

 

[LakeMead Boater]

In my case, it was for towing the boat which is about 20K boat/trailer together. The tow vehicle is the problem. Its a Freightliner, Sport Chassis. Its both over 26001# and air brake equipped. I have zero interest in towing the boat with my Motorhome, which is 42 feet.

IIRC, you need a class B CDL to drive a 26,001# tractor and can tow up to 10,000#. But I could be off.

Gotcha. There’s a huge grey area on it from what I understand. I know that any trailer over 10k GVWR needs a CDL and fifth wheels up to 15,000 can utilize a non commercial class A. Motorhomes over 40’ need a non-commercial class B with air brake. But with boats, there’s no description and if you talk to different CHP, they don’t really know what is what lol.

I guess it’s just a matter of “keeping your nose clean” when it comes to towing.

 

[Singleton]

Gotcha. There’s a huge grey area on it from what I understand. I know that any trailer over 10k GVWR needs a CDL and fifth wheels up to 15,000 can utilize a non commercial class A. Motorhomes over 40’ need a non-commercial class B with air brake. But with boats, there’s no description and if you talk to different CHP, they don’t really know what is what lol.

I guess it’s just a matter of “keeping your nose clean” when it comes to towing.

your speaking CA DL requirements.
Nganga calls AZ home, so he gets to avoid the CA BS

 

[Skinny Tire AH]

Gotcha. There’s a huge grey area on it from what I understand. I know that any trailer over 10k GVWR needs a CDL and fifth wheels up to 15,000 can utilize a non commercial class A. Motorhomes over 40’ need a non-commercial class B with air brake. But with boats, there’s no description and if you talk to different CHP, they don’t really know what is what lol.

I guess it’s just a matter of “keeping your nose clean” when it comes to towing.

Exactly my position. I found favorable FMCSA exemptions, printed them out and keep them with me. But lots of grey area's

 

[LakeMead Boater]

Exactly my position. I found favorable FMCSA exemptions, printed them out and keep them with me. But lots of grey area's

All of that said, we towed a 28’ box trailer weighing 12000 behind a 40’ motorhome all over and no one ever blinked an eye. Shoot, I was 16 and cut my teeth on that set up.

But on a better note, beautiful boat and I hope you have years of enjoyment out of it. Your thread on the build was awesome!

 

[Skinny Tire AH]

your speaking CA DL requirements.
Nganga calls AZ home, so he gets to avoid the CA BS

Yes but not the Federal CDL stuff. I did find the private property exemptions, believe they apply and am going with that.

I did have a Texas State Trooper pull up on me while I was taking a "nature stop" on the way home from Skater in April. He was super friendly and simply asked me If I owned everything. Told him "yes sir, would you like to see any documents?" Told me nope, enjoy your trip.

 

[Skinny Tire AH]

Copied from FMCSA regulations.


Non-Business Related Transportation of Personal Property
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has previously provided guidance regarding an exception to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) for non-business related transportation of personal property, including the transportation of animals and vehicles to shows or other events. To qualify for this exception, there can be no compensation for the transportation, and the driver cannot be engaged in business related to the transportation (e.g., a professional racing operation transporting horses or cars to a race).

In such non-business related transportation of personal property, the FMCSRs do not apply, even if prize or scholarship money is offered. This exception includes the Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations and requirements for Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs). As previously noted in the Agency’s guidance relating to the transportation of horses, the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) regulations do not apply to transportation of personal property when the vehicle is used strictly for non-business purposes unless a CDL is required by the driver’s home state.


As for the last sentence, Arizona defers to the Federal law. So I read it as no.

 

[Blackmagic94]

I ended up buying a new (2020) Newmar Dutch Star on a Spartan K2-450 chassis. It has the 4081 floorplan with theater seating instead of third pull out bed.
It has most of the options available including a slide out basement fridge/freezer. I added 1800watts of solar and upgraded the house Lithium batteries (4x200Amp-Hr). Also added an auto setup HD Directv dish. Not in-motion but push a button and it rises up and aligns itself and another push of a button and it stows for travel.

21k miles on it this year and overall happy with the layout. I wanted more engine power but did not want a 45 footer. Surprisingly the 450hp Cummins is adequate even with a 14,000 lb trailer. My biggest gripe is the basement door alignment. Have had trouble with them latching and it looks poor because they are not all in alignment. Will complain to dealer about that. It's still under it's 1 yr warrantee.

Who built this

 

[amberkiza]

The tow vehicle is the problem. Its a Freightliner, Sport Chassis. Its both over 26001# and air brake equipped. I have zero interest in towing the boat with my Motorhome, which is 42 feet.

Speed Test​