Heavy towing?

[ism minerals]

I have been reading on here some exporters flat tow two busses together.
Has anyone set up their RE bus for towing loads around 20-22Klbs and would it be legal?

[s2mikon]

65 feet is the length limit. Many rear engine buses have a rear sub frame bolted to the rear after the axle and could be a weak point.

[ism minerals]

Originally Posted by s2mikon

65 feet is the length limit. Many rear engine buses have a rear sub frame bolted to the rear after the axle and could be a weak point.

Yes think mine also has the Engine cradle bolted to the frame.


I occasionally need to move my tractor 30-40 miles est( 18K lbs) and have used my truck Chevy 2500HD duramax, which gets a little scary as the towing weight is in excess of 20K lbs. The trailer brakes went out going down hill once, lucky I was only going 5mph, all the brakes were smoking after about a mile or so.looking for something not so scary for the move

[La Camioneta]

IMO towing that heavy with a school bus is far outside its engineering design specs. Probably worse so than your 2500.

Maybe an old single axle heavy duty gasser for a dedicated tractor-hauling rig would be a safer way for infrequent moves.

[s2mikon]

Another thing to think of is the tongue weight on the sub frame bolts. Mine is over 6 foot long so the shear force is going to be very high. I just wouldn't do it.

[ism minerals]

Thank you Mikon for your response. I though it would be worth asking here. Guess the bus would be out of the question.

[TaliaDPerkins]

I anticipate a 37' Thomas, RE, can tow a Subaru Legacy on a trailer, and even a Chevy Trailblazer EXT? Worst case scenario is the Chevy and trailer weighing 3 tons total.

[ewo1]

I put a receiver hitch on my 2006 RE Amtran and towed a 2010 Chrysler Sebring using a Uhaul tow dolly from Miami to central Texas, no issues at all.

The hitch guy told me that what you need to pay attention to is the tongue weight.

So if I were to have used a car trailer that would have put much more tongue weight on the hitch as compared to the tow dolly.

On a flat level and at moderate speed, I myself would go ahead and tow your tractor on a flat tow. High speed, most likely not.

[jimmy649]

That's a subjective question that depends on your tranny. I have an AT545 in a 36 passenger size. It's perfect for my size of bus, the fluid stays new color and when I had the inyternal filters changed ther was no clutch material in the pan. It is rated for...28 to 30 000 lbs I think. My bus weighs 26 000lbs give or take(from what I remember at the truck scales). That gives me 4 000 lbs towing capacity before I start to overload my tranny. That means I can safely tow a car or truck...not an extra 36 passenger bus. Of course, you may have a beefier tranny, but I highly doubt they put a double capacity tranny in your super bus.

[vintageracer]

By using the term FLAT TOW do you mean pulling a LOADED trailer OR flat towing a vehicle on it's own wheels?

Two totally different situations.

Flat tow a heavy loaded trailer gets into tongue weight issues quickly.

Flat towing a vehicle on its wheels is typically limited by the vehicle being towed. The limiting factor there is the design of the vehicle transmission which will allow may or may not allow a flat tow OR the installation of a driveshaft disconnect system on the flat towed vehicle. Tongue weight is small in this flat tow situation.

In either situation having trailer brakes or a flat towed vehicle brake accuator system is important.

[s2mikon]

Don't forget to stay within the limits of your drivers licence when towing a trailer. Some states limit your licence to 6000 pounds. Most tickets would buy a few gallons of diesel.

[Ronnie]

I have towed a number of times up to 18,000lbs with my bus. I do have an air ride hitch, and have a two speed rear, plus real good trailer brakes.



I have just gotten a Thomas rear engine bus, and put a hitch on it. I do not feel it would have the power for big loads, at least not at high speeds. Slow speeds and short distance would be different. It does have the stability, and real nice brakes though. I see no issues with the frame being able to hold it. Nice thing about a bus is the weight, the heavier the tow vehicle the less it gets pushed around by the trailer.


Must say 20,000lbs plus trailer weight is really pushing it. Really getting into a 5th wheel setup with that kind of weight.

[The lazy farmer]

I was wondering the same about towing. I am looking a a 2010 Thomas with the Cummins engine and Allison trans. I will be pulling a 30 ft. enclosed trailer with all our boy scout troops gear in it. I have never weighed it, If I had to guess its in the 10,000 lb. range.

I would have to install a hitch and run electric breaks. The bus has air brakes.

I was wondering if it needed an extra tranny cooler.

Sorry I didn't want to hijack your thread but I didn't see any reason to make a second thread on the same topic.

[Ronnie]

Originally Posted by The lazy farmer

I was wondering the same about towing. I am looking a a 2010 Thomas with the Cummins engine and Allison trans. I will be pulling a 30 ft. enclosed trailer with all our boy scout troops gear in it. I have never weighed it, If I had to guess its in the 10,000 lb. range.

I would have to install a hitch and run electric breaks. The bus has air brakes.

I was wondering if it needed an extra tranny cooler.

Sorry I didn't want to hijack your thread but I didn't see any reason to make a second thread on the same topic.

What transmission do you have? Thet sll are Allison, so specific model. Likely a 2000 or 3000 series. Both should handle it but the 3060 is a heavier duty trans. What hp?

My Thomas will pull a 6000lb trailer ok, 10,000 lbs for short trips should be ok. Better engine cooling seems to be needed. Thinking of splitting off the egr cooler lines to a separate radiator. Although it does better to use 5th gear and stay out of 6th, unless towing real light. I have the 210hp Mercedes engine. And 3060 trans.

[jimmy649]

Lazy farmer, you can look up your specs on Wikipedia, usually. It has all my info for my drive train, just start with your make, chassis and engine….and you can find the tranny listed with your engine. For example, I have an international 3800 with a t444e. That engine came with an at545, a 6 speed, or a 10 speed with air. I got the auto. I would definitely have a tranny cooler for pulling a 10 000lb trailer. I bet the wreckers will have some nice ones now that semies are mostly auto

[jimmy649]

You could definitely call up the dealership and give them your vin and find out your tranny and specs…that way you know

[The lazy farmer]

Thanks guys I will do some more research.

[Dbacks2k4]

Originally Posted by jimmy649

You could definitely call up the dealership and give them your vin and find out your tranny and specs…that way you know

You can also pull your own build sheet for International as well using repairlinkshop.com

https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f37/n...ase-38729.html

[Ronnie]

On a Thomas, all the info is right above the windshield, engine model, and serial, trans model and serial, etc.

[The lazy farmer]

Unfortunately I did not got that one bought. It sold for more than I cold come up with.