# Pulling a horse trailer with an RV



## SMcGill (Apr 18, 2020)

Hello
Silly Question .. I have seen RVs towing cars / trailers with cars etc ..how about a horse trailer .
say an 29' RV with an 8.0 gas engine ..
What or why couldn't you ?


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

1. If you have pulled horses often, I won’t get preachy about the fact they are live weight and don’t pull the same as a race car or a pontoon.

2. You don’t say how big a horse trailer. 2-horse? 4-horse?

Either way you need to look at the GVW towing capacity of the motor home.

3. The motor sounds like a Chevy big block. While it is built for pulling a 29’ RV, “it depends” if it has the oomph to add a horse trailer. Again size of horse trailer and GVW rating on motor home is important.

4.. Also crucial is where are pulling? On the flatlands all the time or up in the mountains a lot. Mountain hauling takes a toll on everything from brakes to cooling system, clutch if there is one, motor if it isn’t cammed for that sort of low end work (climbing).

4.1 Also if you’re just using it to go to nearby horse shows, I would say ok fine regardless. 

I’m a retired die hard trail rider, so I think in long hauls and rough ones, thus my advice

*****
To answer your question — I moved my three horses across this United States twice, using a heavy 3/4 ton 4WD to pull an open stock 4-horse. 

Would I have done that with a 29 foot motor home? Nossir because I have driven a 29’ motor home in my younger days and I hated it - hated - IT 

If you do end up doing this, buy sway bars (aka stabilizer bars) that attach from the trailer to the motor home.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

It's nearly impossible to see the trailer from an RV. I've seen RVs pulling trailers down the road with no tires, dragging them on the rims, or with trailers on fire and they have NO idea...


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

A friend of mine has done it a few times but they got to where they preferred to pull the truck and drive the camper separately. it was two drivers in two vehicles but it worked better...


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Can it be done...yes.
But...
You need to check the frame strength of the camper at the very rear where that trailer will be hanging out.
Proper class hitch and slide in.
You might need a custom made hitch adapter to give extra length for turning.
I've seen to many campers towing enclosed trailers whack the trailer front because they turned to sharp, or just turned. There is a lot of rear overhang on many campers with ladders, sewer line storage, under camper storage, etc..
Much will depend upon the camper you refer to and that campers design specific.
You should have installed a fulltime camera system so your companion can keep watch on that trailer behind you cause you sort of have a very large blind spot.
This is a delicate trailer to tow not because of any other issue but it contains live cargo...and needs special considerations to safeguard them.
People travel the country from coast to coast doing what you asked about...
But...
They are very experienced drivers in skill levels, driving well within their capability and the capability of their tow vehicle and within strict parameters of what the trailer can handle weight wise.
A lot to think about, investigate to find facts not myths and to consider the what ifs of doing this and having breakdown with not just a camper but now camper and horse trailer loaded...:think:
:runninghorse2:


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## QueenofFrance08 (May 16, 2017)

There's a lot of discussion on this from endurance riders (especially those who are aging and don't want to climb in a gooseneck to get to bed).

The long story short is you need a very expensive RV to adequately pull a horse trailer (likely a diesel) and you're still much better suited with a truck and LQ trailer (money and safety wise).


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

Too many bad things can happen when you can't see the trailer and only one good thing. Even with a camera mounted on the back you can't see all the things you need to see. My horses mean way too much to me to put them back in the blind. Our RV tongue hitch is good only for 300# and although I've never weighed the hitch when loaded but I bet it exceeds the 300#.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

Motorhomes vary in their tow ratings all the way from 0 to 15,000 pound capacities. Doesn't matter whether it's a class A, B, or C, you still need to find the rating of a particular unit.


Besides the risks of towing blind, another consideration is rear overhang. The longer the distance between the rear axle and the hitch, the more every up and down movement of the tow vehicle's rear suspension will be magnified at the tongue of the trailer. That's one reason many motorhomes are limited to towing 5,000 lbs.


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

My friend does this with her RV when we do overnighter's. It is not something I would honestly do as you can't see a darned thing back there. Their RV is a gas engine (no idea on specs, etc), but when they are hauling their 3 horse trailer behind, they sure do burn a TON of fuel. 

I am not a seasoned hauler, so the thought of driving that set up makes me want to vomit a little bit. I have a fairly long GN trailer and would much prefer going the truck/trailer route (or even truck w/ truck camper and trailer).

It also wasn't super convenient camping, as they have no vehicle to go collect water/firewood with. Since their RV has a slide, they'd have to take everything down in order to go run an errand. 

Just my 2 cents.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

I've seen it done a few times at Big South Fork.


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