# motor homes lauching and hauling boats



## texas skiffaroo

Tried the search engine, didn't come up with any thing.
Would like to hear from motor home owners experiences hauling and launching boats.
Have one of those 17' Mako skiff's and thinking of buying a 24' class c motor home to tow it with to go down to Matagorda and POC.
Wife and I are retired and don't like the motel bit.
Thought it would be better in a motor home and then you are sort of sleeping with your fishing boat for security and not dragging suitcases up stairs. Hate living out of a suit case.
Interested in experiences launching and best places to stay over night.
Also any one that has one for sale with lower mileage.
Never drove one. Thinking of renting, but they want $700 dollars for 3 day weekend.


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## Supergas

*My Dad Did This*

My Dad did this for over 20 years...

He bought a small Winnebago and had a front receiver hitch put on it for launching the boat..

He would load up in San Antonio and drive to POC with the boat behind him and then when he got set up in his spot in the RV park, would unhook the boat, hook it to the front of the motorhome and launch it.

This worked out very well as the RV park was right next to the Fishing Center and with the front receiver hitch, he could see to launch & recover the boat very well.. Plus the drive wheels were on good dry ground..

He did this until he was in his middle 70's and many times was just him & the dog.. so he could do it all by himself... he would go for days at a time and then go back home & clean up everything until the next time..

He really enjoyed it as he had everything he needed with him and it was much more economical than renting a condo or hotel room..

BTW, moving a boat or any trailer with a front hitch is a snap.. i do it all the time with my tractor at my boat stalls.. you can park a trailer in very tight spots when you are looking at it...

Good luck,

Supergas :texasflag


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## Don Smith

It's not a problem as long as you have enough motor to pull the boat and MH up a steep ramp. Stay away from crowded ramps to show a little courtesy to the folks trying to get in and out in a hurry. Also, a few hundred dollars for a rental is a cheap investment to see if you really want to own a RV. I've been doing it for most of my life (a long time) and love it. Retired now, so I come and go as I please and stay as long as I like.
Good luck.


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## bumfisherman

I bought a 2013 Coachmen Freelander on a Chevrolet chassis. It is gas powered and 28 feet long. Sometimes I don't even use a rv park. It is fully self contained and has a generator so I stop and use large parking lots. The refrigerator runs on propane so I fish all day and crank the generator in the evening. It pulls ok and I can launch a boat. It is not as easy as my truck but once you get used to it no problem. My wife almost left me when I told her I was buying a small motorhome. Now she says it is the best thing we ever did. She drives it everywhere. Girls weekends to the beach, shopping trips, etc. It is as simple a unit as you can buy and less money than a new suv. It is big enough to be comfortable and small enough we do not need a tow vehicle. I would highly recommend one.


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## texas skiffaroo

bumfisherman said:


> I bought a 2013 Coachmen Freelander on a Chevrolet chassis. It is gas powered and 28 feet long. Sometimes I don't even use a rv park. It is fully self contained and has a generator so I stop and use large parking lots. The refrigerator runs on propane so I fish all day and crank the generator in the evening. It pulls ok and I can launch a boat. It is not as easy as my truck but once you get used to it no problem. My wife almost left me when I told her I was buying a small motorhome. Now she says it is the best thing we ever did. She drives it everywhere. Girls weekends to the beach, shopping trips, etc. It is as simple a unit as you can buy and less money than a new suv. It is big enough to be comfortable and small enough we do not need a tow vehicle. I would highly recommend one.


Did you put a hitch on the front like supergas said or back in that 28 footer?
Thanks for all the above responses, they are encouraging.
My wife's got cold feet about this too.
Likes to fish but doesn't want to spend the money and doesn't like the motels.
Sounds like more of these positive threads and I might use them to win her over to the motor home idea.


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## mas360

The front hitch on motor home to launch boat is a great idea. I cannot imagine launching boat with the rear hitch. Even with a 2WD truck, sometimes it is scary when the ramp is full of slippery green slime. Both boat and truck seem to slide down into water. 

What is it like inside a motorhome when the generator is running? I had an experience once with a micro motorhome built on a Toyota chassis. I could not sleep with the generator going. The noise and vibration were quite annoying.


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## Don Smith

mas360 said:


> The front hitch on motor home to launch boat is a great idea. I cannot imagine launching boat with the rear hitch. Even with a 2WD truck, sometimes it is scary when the ramp is full of slippery green slime. Both boat and truck seem to slide down into water.
> 
> What is it like inside a motorhome when the generator is running? I had an experience once with a micro motorhome built on a Toyota chassis. I could not sleep with the generator going. The noise and vibration were quite annoying.


My gen set is an Onan Super quiet, so I don't hear it running from inside the coach. But I also don't hear any other outside noise.
Doc


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## mas360

Is that your motorhome in your avatar? that is a first class unit...not the el cheapo micro unit built on Toyota chassis.... Is your Onan diesel or gasser? The generator on that Toyota micro motorhome I slept in was like a contractor grade unit. It was loud. I think perhaps nowadays with a super quiet inverter generator it would not be an issue.


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## Don Smith

mas360 said:


> Is that your motorhome in your avatar? that is a first class unit...not the el cheapo micro unit built on Toyota chassis.... Is your Onan diesel or gasser? The generator on that Toyota micro motorhome I slept in was like a contractor grade unit. It was loud. I think perhaps nowadays with a super quiet inverter generator it would not be an issue.


Yep. That's my little condo. 45 feet of fun. The gen set is diesel, engine 525 Cummins.


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## bumfisherman

No, I did not put a hitch on the front but it's a great idea. My rear wheels are far enough forward that I don't worry about backing down. We absolutely love our rv but it is on a 4500 chevy truck chassis so it's pretty rough riding. You can hear our generator running but it is insulated and below the rv. We have no problem sleeping.


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## redexpress

We had a class c motorhome years ago. The only issue we had with a boat was caused by the rear overhang of the motorhome. (The length from the rear axle to the trailer hitch) We had a good bit of overhang and the hitch would be level with the road when the boat was on the ramp. We would have to back way down the ramp to launch. A hitch on front would solve that. Discount Hitch will take care of that.
Go for it. Very easy to drive after the first 20 miles!
The new ones are discounted like crazy so don't pay list price.
pplmotorhomes.com


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## mas360

bumfisherman said:


> I bought a 2013 Coachmen Freelander on a Chevrolet chassis. It is gas powered and 28 feet long. Sometimes I don't even use a rv park. It is fully self contained and has a generator so I stop and use large parking lots. The refrigerator runs on propane so I fish all day and crank the generator in the evening. *It pulls ok and I can launch a boat*. It is not as easy as my truck but once you get used to it no problem. My wife almost left me when I told her I was buying a small motorhome. Now she says it is the best thing we ever did. She drives it everywhere. Girls weekends to the beach, shopping trips, etc. It is as simple a unit as you can buy and less money than a new suv. It is big enough to be comfortable and small enough we do not need a tow vehicle. I would highly recommend one.


What size and weight of the boat you launch? do you use front hitch to launch?


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## printman

Just don't try this ramp.


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## printman

I have used my class c for many ramps but just john boats and jet skis. If you are comfortable backing up it can be a great way to do it all. Here is a picture of me backing in a couple of skis. I even have a scooter on the back for campsite running around.


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## texas skiffaroo

Don't know if I would go down that ramp with anything but 4 wheel drive and maybe not, what if it was raining when I came back in. Forget it.
Where is that ramp?
Thanks for the pic's.
Has any one else got more pic's of their class c rv launching and not the bad launch pic's we have all seen.
We can start a class c forum.


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## bumfisherman

The class c coachmen you see in the pic is the exact one I have. As you can see it has good distance from the wheels to the rear end. As long as you use a large public boat ramp you should be fine. I have launched my 24 foot Keywest with mine.


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## printman

That steep ramp is at Possum Kingdom Lake. The owner of the RV park let me use his 4x4 truck to launch. The other picture of jet skis launching was Austin Lake. That was the first trip out with the 2014 Coachmen 28QB. It fits our family great and we have enjoyed many trips with the first MH and now look forward to many more miles with this one.


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## texas skiffaroo

Bumfisherman mentioned earlier his 4500 chassis rode rough.
Does it make a difference whether it is a Ford or Chevy on the better ride at 4500 or does a 3500 on a shorter coach ride smoother.
My wife and are retired and could get by with a 22-24 foot.
Only have one grandson, our older kids can buy their own motor home.
Their to big and loud to share a motel room with, or we can stick them in a tent.
We watched over them for years, time for us to get selfish.
You guys seem pretty happy with your Coachmans.


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## printman

I have been in both Ford and Chevy and prefer the softer ride of the Chevy. Mine is a 4500 but I had a 3500. They both seemed the same. One big advantage on my 4500 is the rear sway bar. MY old MH did not have it. Maybe because it was a 3500, I am not sure but the new one is great! I would look at the Motorhome Specialist website. They are close to Dallas and that is where I go mine.


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## mas360

What fuel mileage do you get with a motorhome of that size?


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## bumfisherman

I also got mine at Motorhome specialists. They were 10,000 cheaper than I could buy it for in Beaumont. Worth the drive. As far as a rough ride, for 49,000 brand new I can live with it. I did not realize how much fun it would be. At Christmas we made several day trips to the crowded malls and me, my dad and the dog watched football while the ladies shopped. Good times


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## printman

mas360 said:


> What fuel mileage do you get with a motorhome of that size?


Mine gets 9 mpg just MH or 8 pulling a Jeep Wrangler. 65 mph is highway speed.


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## texasair

We have a 24' Class C. 1984 model 350 chevy with a carb.

Bought it brand new and kept it inside. Still looks and runs like new

Pull my 24' offshore center console to Arkansas every summer and launch it by backing in on some fairly steep ramps. 

With the dual rear wheels and all the weight have never had a traction problem. The old 350 works hard, but has never failed to walk right up the ramp with the boat in tow. Even had it in New Mexico snow skiing and it would go on icy pavement even when 4 wheel drive pickups were slip sliding by us.
With the old carb motor she is a gas hog. No better than 5 pulling the boat.
and 8-9 max running solo.

But I had a problem last year, first time.

Was down to just below 1/4 tank, still could go 40 or 60 miles.

But it is a large tank, and I guess the fuel pickup was on the uphill side of the tank and the slope of the boat ramp sent the 10 or 12 gallons in the tank to the other end and unported the fuel pick up and the engine died on the ramp and would not restart.

Got a guy in a big truck to pull me out, as soon as I was on level ground it started right up. 

I guess in 30 years of boat launching we had never backed down a ramp with less than a 1/4 tank.

Bottom line is make sure you have at least 1/2 a tank before getting on a steep ramp.


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## texas skiffaroo

Thank you that is good advice.


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## JimG

I just bought the 19CB version of that Freelander. I will tow my my Sea Hunt with it... one day to the Keys!


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## redexpress

A long boat ramp would not be a problem. The short boat ramps are the ones I had trouble with. The MH would be on level ground, the trailer wheels in the water, and the trailer winch would be about eye level.
I would go with a 450/4500 chassis.


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