Class 1 to pull a travel trailer?

brian h

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Alberta is the only place that calls a "slide in the back of the truck camper" a camper.In Manitoba, and most other provinces(I'm sure I'll get corrected if I'm wrong here) pretty much anything you pull around to go camping in is referred to as a camper.
i believe you are right from what i could find and thought
it is frustrating watching and or waiting for people to back a trailer into camp stalls while blocking the road or at the boat launch, they should have some type of training,but it is worse to see small vehicles pulling a trailer that is way out from being safe and people having no clue
something should be done for safety but its been going on for so long that it is hard to start enforcing things
 

S.W.A.T.

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Will a 2004 Toyota Tacoma with a 4 cyl, bald all seasons all around, clapped out brakes and one tire fire diff pull a 30ft bumper pull trailer ok??

Only if the family is in the trailer not the truck and its b training a Malibu wake boat
 

ABMax24

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i believe you are right from what i could find and thought
it is frustrating watching and or waiting for people to back a trailer into camp stalls while blocking the road or at the boat launch, they should have some type of training,but it is worse to see small vehicles pulling a trailer that is way out from being safe and people having no clue
something should be done for safety but its been going on for so long that it is hard to start enforcing things

On that topic we seen an older couple in Jasper 2 years ago from Quebec that had rented a small trailer to pull behind their Ford Escape. As they went to pull out of there stall I noticed the hitch latch was still up, apparently they couldn't get it to go down because the trailer was pushing forward on the hitch, they were headed off to Banff and were going to leave the latch open. In their broken English we managed to get the point across that they just needed to pull ahead to get the latch to go down.
 

Mike270412

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Having a class 1 license doesn't necessarily mean you're any better of a driver. Most 14 year old farm girls can back up a trailer around a corner through a gate. You'd be surprised how many "professional drivers" can't back a trailer in a straight line. But I agree; there should be at least a little bit of training before you get out of your Honda civic and into a 40 foot diesel pusher.
 

LennyR

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From all evidence I’ve seen over the years in most staging areas, there are a hell of a lot of snowmobilers , with and without trailers, that need some lessons on how to back up , park and drive. And I don’t see many old farts with diesel pushers at boat launches, but some days it might be better if there were. Seen a lot of experienced truck drivers in both these areas, and I believe entitlement and selfishness is a far bigger problem than lack of skill.
 

Stompin Tom

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Having a class 1 license doesn't necessarily mean you're any better of a driver. Most 14 year old farm girls can back up a trailer around a corner through a gate. You'd be surprised how many "professional drivers" can't back a trailer in a straight line. But I agree; there should be at least a little bit of training before you get out of your Honda civic and into a 40 foot diesel pusher.


the one criteria with big motorhomes is if it has air brakes. If you have air brakes you must get an air ticket. Virtually all diesel chassis class 1 motorhomes have air brakes.
 

Mike270412

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the one criteria with big motorhomes is if it has air brakes. If you have air brakes you must get an air ticket. Virtually all diesel chassis class 1 motorhomes have air brakes.
How many actually go get their air ticket?
 

rsaruk

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Getting your air endorsement doesn't teach you how to drive or back up though. I have mine and the only thing we did in the truck was a walk around and drain the tanks.
 

Hoehand79

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Driving a vehicle with air brakes and no air ticket I would say you d be playing with fire if you got into a wreck . I can hop behind the wheel of 100000 pound payload and be legal but if I'm riding my 800 pound harley by myself I'm not legal. Just saying because I never do that nor do I ever break the law
 

Stompin Tom

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How many actually go get their air ticket?


I have traveled allot with my class A motorhome and in talking to others on the road and is camp sites pretty much everyone has. If you dont have an air ticket, your insurance is void. Lots of the old timers bitch and moan about having to get it, but they do.
 

brian h

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Don't know if it's true or not but heard the other year a rv dealer last summer was making new owners of trailers hook onto trailers and back them into a stall and if person couldn't do it gave them some instructions of what and how to do. That is good on them but how many people still left there with no clue? How many vehicles are under rated for the trailer ? Watch on the hi-way and you see little suv with a family in it with a trailer that you know is oversize for there vehicle and no-way they can see behind themselves yet alone stop in a emergency. maybe they need to start pulling some into weight scales and doing random checks
 

Bogger

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I also don't trust Manufacturers capacities on many vehicles.

Our 4runner was rated for 5000lbs.... our little 16' trailer was #1750 dry with a GVW of #3200-ish, the 4runner hauled it nicely but not sure I'd have wanted to throw another 1800lbs behind there... that's like 6 additional fat chicks...

My Tundra is rated for #10,300 and my new trailer is still under #6000 lbs loaded, tows nice, my boat is #8500 on the trailer and again not sure I'd want another #1800 on there, even with my airbags.
 

BEL

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What's the one thing in the world that worse than a trucker turned poet?



A poet pulling a camper!
 

Cyle

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I also don't trust Manufacturers capacities on many vehicles.

Our 4runner was rated for 5000lbs.... our little 16' trailer was #1750 dry with a GVW of #3200-ish, the 4runner hauled it nicely but not sure I'd have wanted to throw another 1800lbs behind there... that's like 6 additional fat chicks...

My Tundra is rated for #10,300 and my new trailer is still under #6000 lbs loaded, tows nice, my boat is #8500 on the trailer and again not sure I'd want another #1800 on there, even with my airbags.

Those ratings are way too high. I haven't towed with a half ton in years before yesterday, towed another 1500 so with trailer I was near 8,000lbs and it was fine on the highway without airbags but the wind throws the truck around and I definitely wouldn't pull any heavier with a 1500, and I wouldn't pull that heavy in the winter with any risk of snow/ice on the roads, it's asking for trouble. I don't know what it is about 1500s towing and why they don't feel great. I can put 16,000lbs on a bumper pull behind a 3500 and it feels way better then 8,000lbs behind a 1500 and the 3500 is outweighed by the trailer a lot worse.
 

sirkdev

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Having a class 1 license doesn't necessarily mean you're any better of a driver. Most 14 year old farm girls can back up a trailer around a corner through a gate. You'd be surprised how many "professional drivers" can't back a trailer in a straight line. But I agree; there should be at least a little bit of training before you get out of your Honda civic and into a 40 foot diesel pusher.

Ha.. I just put 2 pylons in the yard hooked up the trailer and and gave my girl the keys, said let me know when you are ready take your time and learn your limits. 3 hrs later she came in and said lets do it where do you want it.
 

Med1ogre

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Woodys, they put that chit on everything
 

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