Towing 32 ft camper with short bus

[Gnomeskillet]

Looking for some thoughts on this we have a 32ft bumper pull camper and would like to use a 30 pass or less school bus to pull it. I was trying to get a dt466 or maybe a 3126 cat. I'm just wondering if everything would hold up to this, I know some of the chassis are medium duty truck chassis but is the bus body getting close to max cap you should be able to add the weight of occupancy. Just wondering what some of you think and what you have successfully pulled. And maybe some hitch ideas. thank you

[Gnomeskillet]

Maybe something like this

[jazty]

https://flic.kr/p/UG6RjN

This is my shorty with a t444e pulling a 40 footer. A 32 foot proper camper probably weighs half of this trailer. Hell, I bet you'd hardly feel it back there!
But get a bigger engine. Probably the most powerful you'll find in a short bus is the dt466

[PNW_Steve]

Weights vary considerably between different travel trailers. You should have a placard with curb & gross weight.

How much does yours weigh?

[Gnomeskillet]

Sticker gvrw is 8600 I'm sure that's dry weight I would say a safe 10000

[Gnomeskillet]

Do you go to campgroundsleep ever I was just wondering that's why we were trying to keep it short we live in it and travel for work thanks for the reply by the way

[Gnomeskillet]

I found a nice 2006 28 1/2foot international with a wheel chair lift and really low miles and was going to get it but it had the vt365 and I'm kinda steering away from a 6.0

[BlackJohn]

Hitch wise go with a Class 5 weight distributing hitch good for 10k pounds for your tag a long trailer. Has adjustable heights and I think a 2- 5/16" ball. Should be plenty strong as it binds both the trailer and towing vehicle together as one with binder chains. Never had a problem yet.
Bus wise so many choices but am sure you can find one with lots of snot for towing.
These folks can certainly help in that respect.
6 litres usually have ample torque. What don't you like about them, certain makes?



Good luck,


John

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Gnomeskillet

Sticker gvrw is 8600 I'm sure that's dry weight I would say a safe 10000

GVWR is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, it is the maximum operating weight of the trailer. Your dry, or curb weight would be substantially lower. 10K would be overweight by 2k and not safely overweighted.

[PNW_Steve]

I would be looking for a Dt466 powered bus with an MT643, 2000 or MD3060 transmission.

With one of the International medium duty chassis based shorties with a proper hitch and drive trane you should be golden.

Where's Christopher? I bet he can speak with some authority when it comes to shorties

[Gnomeskillet]

They had a bad go in the super duty ford's I'm thinking soncredit it's Navistar in both it would have some of the problems the ford's did but it is pretty 2007 so maybe it has not been epa ed yet

[Gnomeskillet]

Originally Posted by o1marc

GVWR is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, it is the maximum operating weight of the trailer. Your dry, or curb weight would be substantially lower. 10K would be overweight by 2k and not safely overweighted.

No curb weight on plate

[Gnomeskillet]

Thanks i just got the Vin to that international the owner thinks it's a 466 but I'm going to call international on Monday and get all the info

[Gnomeskillet]

Originally Posted by Gnomeskillet

They had a bad go in the super duty ford's I'm thinking soncredit it's Navistar in both it would have some of the problems the ford's did but it is pretty 2007 so maybe it has not been epa ed yet

That it's pre 2007 u hate auto correct

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Gnomeskillet

No curb weight on plate

Curb weight is unimportant, you'll not find curb weight listed often. It will only show safe loaded capacity.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by o1marc

GVWR is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, it is the maximum operating weight of the trailer. Your dry, or curb weight would be substantially lower. 10K would be overweight by 2k and not safely overweighted.

Listen to Marc.

If it says GVWR is 8600lb then you should not weigh over 8600 FULLY LOADED.

[Gnomeskillet]

Okay I should run it across a scale to see for sure what it weighs it pulls good and straight it's a 94 and has 1 front slideout

[Gnomeskillet]

I had another question I just remembered will the bus with heavy leaf springs end up pounding the camper apart? the truck I pulled it with before was a 99 f250 it put quite a load on the leafs

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Gnomeskillet

I had another question I just remembered will the bus with heavy leaf springs end up pounding the camper apart? the truck I pulled it with before was a 99 f250 it put quite a load on the leafs

You should check the tongue weight rating for your hitch and not exceed it. If you're putting quite a load on the leaf springs you are massively over weight on the tongue.

[ak91th]

Originally Posted by Gnomeskillet

I had another question I just remembered will the bus with heavy leaf springs end up pounding the camper apart? the truck I pulled it with before was a 99 f250 it put quite a load on the leafs

Short answer, YES. The factory spec for a 99 f250 rear axle gross weight is 6084 lbs. A school bus rear axle rating will be in the neighborhood of 17,000 lbs. The bus won't even feel the tongue weight of the trailer.



All is not lost though. There are receiver mounted air ride hitches available to help with his problem. I have read on other forum's where they have been used with class 8 trucks with good results. Here is a link to some info on them. Air Ride Hitch system for all your trailer needs



Hope this helps in some way.