Differences - Pulling trailer vs. flat tow car? - Luxury Coach Lifestyles
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Old 02-15-2012, 05:16 PM   #1
MarkofSJC
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Default Differences - Pulling trailer vs. flat tow car?

These are "newbie" questions, for sure.

I know that you can't back up when you are flat towing a car...but does the same hold true if you're pulling a trailer (specifically a 3 axial/6 wheel stacker)?

How difficult is it to get vehicles secured inside the stacker so they don't move/bounce around (or fall out!)?

I know the total length needs to be under 65 feet (coach & trailer), and that may be another challenge...not sure there are stackers that come in at 20' long. Are these around?

Any comments or insight appreciated!

Mark
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Old 02-15-2012, 08:52 PM   #2
Richard and Rhonda
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The reason you can't back up when flat towing a car is that the front wheels will turn on their own and get sideways to the direction of travel. If you have a good mate, they can crank the car to get power steering and gently guide the car during the backup.

You can back trailers with the coach. It's different for sure, but can be done.
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Old 02-15-2012, 10:50 PM   #3
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Mark,

I don't know if you are considering buying a trailer or not. They have advantages and disadvantages as have been discussed on this site before. But, I can count on one hand the number of times I have had to disconnect the tow car in order to back up or turn around. If you carefully plan ahead you can avoid having to turn around.

I have pulled a horse trailer (it held 2 horses). It was difficult to back up because it had a short tongue. If you are thinking about buying a trailer the longer the tongue the easier it will be to back up in a straight line.

Hope this has helped!
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Old 02-16-2012, 01:56 AM   #4
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Mark,
To my knowledge the shortest stacker made is 22'.
To back what Richard said, If you have a good copilot than you can back a flat-tow in emergency situations. I was on 30a (2 lane, small beach road) in Florida and missed my turn. I felt like that the road was wide enough to swing out and make a U-turn across the road...well i miss judged that one for sure, I was about 3 feet short. After a moment of panic My son quickly ran out and tried to undo the Hummer, but do to the angle of the road, it was in a bind. (Traffic was starting to back up now) The only thing to do was try to back the coach and the Hummer together...He started the Hummer and put it into gear and slowly backed it as i backed the coach and thankfully the tow bar is fine. By the time it was all said and down I had traffic backed up for about 4 blocks or so each way.... SO like Richard said, it can be done.
My friend who has a 28' stacker that he pulls behind his 07' said that you can back, but its not the easiest thing to do. I think the steer-able tag helps a lot though.
Goodluck!
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Old 02-16-2012, 12:10 PM   #5
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Mark: I have pulled our 26' long 13'h X 8 1/2w (12 ton loaded) for more than 200,000 miles and have never had a problem backing it up or into any tight spot. I believe the type of trailer and hitch set-up needs to be given serious consideration. Our trailer has no axles and uses a heavy duty pindle hitch. The 8 1/2' width allows me to keep the trailer sides aligned with the side of the coach when backing up.
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Old 02-16-2012, 01:35 PM   #6
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The trailer we got has a four foot tongue, which does make it much easier to back up. The interior compartment is 22' long, but it is not a stacker, obviously. The prior owner had the trailer custom made with the longer tongue for precisely that reason....easier to back, plus 10,000 lb axles. I have backed ours up into some pretty tight places for several hundred feet without too much difficulty, so I can testify to the benefit of a longer tongue....plus you then have room for a tool box!!!

As for securing the vehicle inside the trailer, as long as you have your tie down rings positioned in the proper spots in relation to the vehicle being secured it is not too difficult. We've towed the T'Bird a few thousand miles without incident using 4 heavy duty cargo straps rated at 3,300 lbs each X 2" wide....nothing moves when they are cranked down!
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Old 02-17-2012, 01:43 AM   #7
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Dear Richard, Tuga, Clarke, Larry & Tom,

You guys are great! I hadn't even thought about implications of a long vs. short tongue. Originally, I was planning on flat towing...but then I starting thinking (always dangerous!)
  • I'm a "car-guy" and the idea of what my towed car would be put through (and look like at the end of a trip!) was a concern (Mini windshields are $$$)
  • With a trailer, we could bring our 4x4, which can't be towed
  • I just know I'm going to end up needing to back up more than I think, and I'm fine doing it with a trailer (I was already thinking of similar "U-Turn" experiences)
  • We can easily haul things not easily put into a basement (tables, mtn bikes, motorcycle or jet ski, etc.
  • With the longer tongue, I'm probably less likely to turn so tightly I hit the trailer with the coach (and I'd rather hit the trailer than my car!)
I don't think we'd ever need two cars, so a stacker would probably be overkill

Thanks very much for all your insights!

Mark
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Old 02-17-2012, 12:21 PM   #8
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One thing to consider is you might not have room for the trailer at your site. Then you would need to unhook and park it where?
Larry might have thOughts on this.
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Old 02-17-2012, 01:12 PM   #9
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A couple of years ago when we we traveling we ran into a couple of guys towing trailers. Both of them needed to pay for two spaces, one for the coach and one for the stackers. I looked into this when were at Emerald Cove and there was space to put the trailers for the weekend buy anymore than a few days then I need a storage space. Most parks we have been to have pull through spaces that should be able to handle the coach and trailer but then you have to work out where you are going to park the car when it isn't in the trailer.
It depends on where you are going but towing the CRV or CJ7 is for me.
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Old 02-17-2012, 01:16 PM   #10
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Default Quick check when making a U turn

Mark,

Here is a quick check that you can do when trying to determine if you have enough room to make a U turn. As a test you can do the following:

1. Put a brick next to your p/s front tire.
2. Turn your wheels to make a left turn.
3. Complete the U turn and place another brick next to your p/s front tire.
4. Step off the distance between the 2 bricks

I have done this; my coach needs about 88 feet to make a complete U turn. After a while you can get pretty good at guessing whether or not you can "make the turn" or not.

The newer Newells turn in a 37' radius which means that it takes 74' to make a U turn.
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Old 02-18-2012, 02:53 AM   #11
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Forest is correct about the dropping off a trailer when getting into a campsite. I don't have much experience there since we are usually on our way from track to track and spend 95% of our "rest" time in Rest stops or Truck stops. but on those few other occasions where we did, we did have to pay a little extra and there are some places you can't take a 45' coach with a trailer. Some good planning should eliminate most undesirable situations.
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