DoEs anyone have problems (parking,sites ,airesetc) towing car trailer behind 28ft mh. Thinking of doing uk and europe towing small car on trailer
Problems towing trailer with 28ft mh
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scotjimland
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- Jul 25, 2007
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I had a 36ft RV with a Lyton Loadlugger twin axle 1ton box trailer.. now that does need a bit of space to park up.. won't get that into an NCP site ..
Just plan ahead.. clearly not all places will be suitable to park , and many aires will make parking difficult .. when quiet you can unhitch and park trailer alongside.. in supermarket car parks, try to go when it's quiet and park well away from others .. otherwise you may get cars parked up close that make getting out challenging..
for sites, call ahead and make sure they have a pitch big enough and access is ok.. some sites charge extra for a trailer or ask you to park it away from your pitch.. so make sure you have good security for it..
in fuel stations it's often easier to fill up at the pump for lorries.. all depends on the station lay-out and how busy it is ..
reversing is always a challenge so always try to avoid situations that may require it.. ie in fuel stations.
Just plan ahead.. clearly not all places will be suitable to park , and many aires will make parking difficult .. when quiet you can unhitch and park trailer alongside.. in supermarket car parks, try to go when it's quiet and park well away from others .. otherwise you may get cars parked up close that make getting out challenging..
for sites, call ahead and make sure they have a pitch big enough and access is ok.. some sites charge extra for a trailer or ask you to park it away from your pitch.. so make sure you have good security for it..
in fuel stations it's often easier to fill up at the pump for lorries.. all depends on the station lay-out and how busy it is ..
reversing is always a challenge so always try to avoid situations that may require it.. ie in fuel stations.
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OP
OP
Thanks for that Badknee (hope it gets better lol) google earth and taking notes sounds like a very good idea
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OP
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45/50ft I hope not! We are 28’ 7” and if I put a small car trailer on it would probably make us about 40ft max I would think
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I think what you are saying makes a lot of sense, I did read somewhere that you would be frowned upon using up 2 spaces in an aire but I suppose as long as it’s not busy you’d get away with it.
Thanks for your reply
Bob & Lyn
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And it's not just parking. We got caught out in a French town when we didn't realise it was market day and they had closed the road straight through. We were expected to do a 90deg turn onto a narrow side road with a steel bollard on the corner. We couldn't get round with our 6.5m motorhome and 5.5m trailer so i started to unhitch when the local gendarme came and suggested we follow him. In a scene reminiscent of the days when someone with a red flag walked in front of vehicles we proceeded through the market barely clearing the stalls on either side.
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- Jul 5, 2013
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You will be over 40' by the time you include the front frame of the trailer. You will have a lot of difficulty in getting into most sites in France Spain and Portugal. You may be luckier with Aires but not all of them.
And how much practice have you had with reversing a trailer? Not easy until you get the knack. You will not be able to avoid it even in places that can take you.
And how much practice have you had with reversing a trailer? Not easy until you get the knack. You will not be able to avoid it even in places that can take you.
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dabhand
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Just do what the French do, take up 3 spaces on all the lovely small aires! Van, trailer, Motorhome! It’s a real pain, not having a pop at you, though it is very annoying. Not decrying towing a car have OFTEN thought about it, whenever I do the sums though it’s cheaper to hire a car or get taxis!
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dave newell
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You don't say what the motorhome is but if it's fiat based at 28 ft it's likely to be knocking on the door of 5tonnes so there is going to be precious little train weight left. Do you have sufficient train weight to tow a car on a trailer?
D.
D.
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soreeyes
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As said usually the 28ft tag axles only have a 1000 kg tow allowance . My outfit goes 7.5 m + 5.8 m car trailer so near 44 ft and the car trailer has mover fitted so saves unloading car to park .
Over 12 m outfit in some countries like Spain will require length marker plates .
Over 12 m outfit in some countries like Spain will require length marker plates .
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- Jan 3, 2008
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Just do what the French do, take up 3 spaces on all the lovely small aires! Van, trailer, Motorhome! It’s a real pain, not having a pop at you, though it is very annoying. Not decrying towing a car have OFTEN thought about it, whenever I do the sums though it’s cheaper to hire a car or get taxis!
I have seen that only a few times in France and on each occasion French people wanting the space went ballistic when they needed the space occupied by trailer or car. Rightly so when space it tight.
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- Dec 24, 2014
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If I thought I needed to tow a car behind a m/home and be 40' long I think I'd go for a car and caravan. But I wouldn't tow a car behind a m/home as I enjoy the flexibility and facilities of my 6.5m m/h when wandering down the paths less trod, make a brew and lunch beside a tranquil river (maybe a snooze 
) and I never stop anywhere more than 2 nights. I usually go out 'for the day', (maybe only 20 miles), spot somewhere attractive and don't return to last night's aire. The local buses and taxis know the roads into town and to places of interest far better than I could be bothered to pore over a street map or be nagged by a satnav. I don't do bicycles on principle - had to cycle 5 miles to schools and back in all weathers for maybe 7 years 
BTW- I understood that trailers and caravans were prohibited (officially) from using aires..........? 'Officially' you can't wind out an awning, put out chairs, tables etc. on an aire (yes, I know you see it being done everywhere in France).
) and I never stop anywhere more than 2 nights. I usually go out 'for the day', (maybe only 20 miles), spot somewhere attractive and don't return to last night's aire. The local buses and taxis know the roads into town and to places of interest far better than I could be bothered to pore over a street map or be nagged by a satnav. I don't do bicycles on principle - had to cycle 5 miles to schools and back in all weathers for maybe 7 years BTW- I understood that trailers and caravans were prohibited (officially) from using aires..........? 'Officially' you can't wind out an awning, put out chairs, tables etc. on an aire (yes, I know you see it being done everywhere in France
).
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OP
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I’ll have to look into getting into the sites with a trailer, not worried about reversing as I’ve been a LGV1 driver for most of my working life, driving all sorts. Also been a tugger in the past lol!
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Just do what the French do, take up 3 spaces on all the lovely small aires! Van, trailer, Motorhome! It’s a real pain, not having a pop at you, though it is very annoying. Not decrying towing a car have OFTEN thought about it, whenever I do the sums though it’s cheaper to hire a car or get taxis!
Problem with hiring a car or getting taxis is they don’t allow dogs. We have 2 springer spaniels.
Thought about getting bikes but they’d keep falling off lol!
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- Dec 24, 2014
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I'd have thought that springer spaniels would welcome a 5 mile walk into town every day
Dogs being transported in pushchairs or towed in trailers behind bikes seems more common (very common as far as I've noticed) in France.
Entering places of interest might be problematic with two dogs, but I guess you have thought of or dealt with that that already.
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- Jul 5, 2013
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The chances of getting all that on a campsite pitch in Europe are remote. So you will have to hope they have a car park with enough room in it. And, as others have said, taking up 3 spaces in a busy Aire will cause problems.
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OP
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So what do the big American RVs do? I’ve seen them traveling with a tow car and they must be a lot bigger than we would be.
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Thanks for that, was beginning to feel quite depressed lol! Yes we will do homework on it all and be careful where we go. With some of the comments I’m getting was beginning to think it was impossible
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funflair
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There will of course be plenty of Aires and Stellplatz where you could park a motorhome and trailer especially out of season BUT I can also think of loads that we have been on where it would not be possible so for sure a certain amount of planning would be required, which wouldn't work for us as we don't plan.
Martin
Martin
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funflair
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@Springer2 Your profile says that you are a "newbie" I would suggest trying to do it without the car first as you might find it a right PITA.
Martin
Martin
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scotjimland
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the bigger the outfit the fewer sites that are suitable.. it is one of the drawbacks. American RV behemoths are not designed for use in Europe.. so they have to accept these restrictions. From personal experience, it can be very difficult finding suitable sites for a large USRV with or without trailer or toad.
In the US that have 'drive-through' pitches making it very easy to park up and leave without needing to reverse.. RVs are great for going to RV and motorhome shows etc.. not so great for touring Europe.
When we downsized to our Hymer at just 6.9mt it was a breath of fresh air.. no more needing to plan where to stay, studying maps and Google Earth for what road to take.. or more importantly , avoid.. our van it can go anywhere a car can.. stress free driving.. can it on any aire or site.. no more being stared at.. with people mumbling or even complaining when we parked beside them..
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OP
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Hi Martin, thanks for your suggestion but we have tried it here in the UK a few times and have decided that having a car at our disposal is what we would prefer (not so newbie now lol).
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yes RVs do need a bit more preplanning , but that's coming to all MoHo s soon regarding access to built up areas due emissions & weight . I don't find it too onerous in Europe , and I am a rigid 40ft , with a trailer you may be as long but have a bend in the middle which makes things a lot easier in tight spaces. i am happy to do the planning , for the benefit of
having everything I need with me , and ability to be totally autonomous even down to not having to search for a laundromat
having everything I need with me , and ability to be totally autonomous even down to not having to search for a laundromat
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