The title is changed from bus to motor home, so anyone can drive it with absolutely no training. When I drove it home, I should have had a CDL-B with a P endorsement since it was still a bus. Once I filed the correct paperwork, it is now legal for me to drive. Makes sense right? Oh and it weighs 23,000 lbs.

 

The check or the tow rig?

 

 

I believe if it is for personal use then no you do not. At least in VA you did not. I had actually looked into buying a bus about 6-7 years ago. Not for towing, just because it was cheap and would have been fun.

 

I can't speak for outside of Texas, but you have to change it to a motor home on it's title or you have to have a CDL-B with Passenger endorsement to drive it. To change it over to a motor home there was a list of things that needs to be done that seems to be pretty universal in most states:

Must be a self-propelled vehicle and must have at least four of the following facilities:

1) A cooking appliance with on-board power source.
2) A Gas or electric refrigerator.
3) A toilet with exterior evacuation.
4) Heating or air conditioner or both from an on-board power source separate from the vehicle engine.
5) A potable water supply system.
6) A 110-125 volt power supply separate from the vehicle engine.
7) A bed or sleeping area.

Bring the following to the DMV:
Liability Insurance
Bus Title
Certified weight from CAT type scale
Pictures inside and out to show meeting the above requirements
"Green Sheet" inspection form

This is for TX, but the requirements are pretty universal.

 

Damn, I might grab a van as well...would also work well for Karts.

 

So reading through this and the other tow threads on the board, here is my plan and situation, please feel free to denigrate me accordingly. Due to space constraints at my house, there is no room for a cheap DD + old cheap tow rig + racecar + trailer. So the tow rig also needs to be my DD.

I'm about 30 miles east of Hallett...in OK. I suspect any time into the foreseeable future I will likely only be towing to tracks in the NASA TX and NASA Central regions, so no mountains or anything.

Plan is to pickup a newish Tacoma (factory tow package has an oil and trans cooler), pull the car on a 14-16' aluminum trailer with electric brakes. Add Firestone airbags and a weight distribution hitch.

I figure the car and trailer will be in the 3300-3400lb range, even if you added another 1000lb in gear/tires/tools/spares........I'm still 2000 under the 6500 towing capacity.

I really don't want to drive a full-size truck on a daily basis, and I'll realistically tow 7-8 times a year......10 max.

 

I don't believe you need a WD Hitch if you are putting helper bags in the rear. I know, at least in my Touareg, that I'm not supposed to use a WD with my air suspension.

Antisway bars are still good for short wheel bases, depending on which Truck you get. However, finding just an antisway and not Antisway + WD is tricky. You may be better off forgoing the air bags all together and just use WD+Antisway. If you are going with an aluminum open 4 wheel trailer, I doubt you will have a lot of weight on the tongue.

 

not a bad idea really. Not sure you really need the weight distribution hitch, at least if I was on a budget that's probably where I would save money. Although the aluminum trailers are usually really expensive.

 

^I'm OK with spending 2x on a trailer so I'm not saddled with a full-size truck on a daily basis.

I realize I won't be able to tow 80 down the interstate like my buddies with crew cab diesels do, but I'm not that concerned since most of the tracks I'll visit are within 350 miles of my house.


Thanks for the note on airbags vs WD......I'll look into that more.

 

A Tacoma should be able to pull an open trailer steel or aluminum without any problem. AL trailers aren't twice as much. You can pick up a used Steelie for $1000. The cheapest I see AL go for are $3k used. I doubt you'll even need a WD hitch pulling your miata unless you load up the tongue with a box full of tools and **** or weigh down the bed with a lot.

EDIT: Assumption is we are talking the newer v6 tacomas.
EDIT2: Don't be jealous of your friends towing at 80. That's irresponsible and negligent. I don't care how many people post they do it all the time. If equipment failure or other emergency maneuver situation arises, they will be rolling their rig.

Adam

 

^Yes, I'll likely bite the bullet and just buy a 2014 if I can get a decent deal on one.

I have no interest in doing anything other than fluid and pad changes on a tow vehicle for the next 100k. Dealing with the track car is enough of a PITA.

 

I do not object to this plan overmuch. I would substitute a Porsche Macan Turbo for the Tacoma, but otherwise it seems quite reasonable.

 

I'd save some money on the trailer and skip the aluminum (note don't get a Big Tex, they are heavy) trailer, steel trailers aren't that much heavier and are much cheaper. The red Uhaul trailers are 22-2300lbs and it towed fantastic behind my Frontier. Little slow off the line but it had no problems with the Missouri Ozark hills and I was never worried about stopping even with the lackluster, unmaintained brakes. I saw 13-14MPG towing from St Louis to Hallett and back, 14MPG from St Louis to Chicago and back. My daily commute nets 20.5MPG pretty consistently as long as I drive it sane.



The Tacomas are really nice trucks but ridiculously priced, I paid $21.5k for my Frontier with 7k miles. Around here anyway, that would be a 100k+ mile Tacoma.

 

My only issue with the idea is that used Tacoma's can end up costing more than than a full sized truck. If MPG is your major concern, you might want to look at the payoff time on how far you have to drive before it makes finical sense. Myself I'm looking to sell off my 97 F150 and look into one of the new Ecoboost V6 models..

 

I actually had a 2011 Pro-4X Frontier for awhile (not sure I'd want to tow with the off-road suspension setup though, thoughts? Would be nice to get some occasional mild wheeling in with my buddies as well). Ended up ditching because we never used it as a truck, now that I'm wanting to get serious with the track car stuff, I wish I'd kept it. I remember my only real complaint was the cheap leather used in the interior.

But you're right, they are much cheaper I should probably just go that route. I think when I bought mine MSRP was $33,500 and I got it for just under $27k new.

 

In a 112" wheelbase Touareg, yes. In an 8000lb 153" wheelbase 3/4 ton diesel, no. 80mph is safe and even legal in some states - you just need the right tool for the job.

 

I thought the only suspension difference was the off-road package had Bilsteins? I have the SV with 4x4. Still need to get my own trailer, and somewhere to store it, along with a WD hitch. So far I have no regrets with the mid-size truck but I have thought many times that a turbo would make it quite a bit more fun to drive.

 

I know with how I would drive a long wheelbase, crew cab SV should be plenty to do what I'm going to do.......but I have this nagging feeling I'm going to regret it.

 

I upgraded my tow rig a few weeks ago.