Towed vehicle odometers (motorhomes, standard, mileage, motor)

[Redraven]

What are your thoughts about odometers on vehicles towed behind motorhomes?
When the vehicle is sold, should the odometer certification be checked that the miles shown are not the actual miles on the vehicle? If the seller DID certify that the odometer mileage was the actual mileage, would he be liable for fraud?
In other words, should the towed mileage that is not shown on the odometer be reported to any future buyer?

[Sage of Sagle]

If I bought a car to be towed behind a motor home, I would put an hour meter on the engine and have it done by a mechanic and witnessed/documented. When I sold the car, I could easily refer to the hour meter...

[ferretkona]

I would maintain the mileage is accurate, wear and tear is there.

[Swampmonster]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

I would maintain the mileage is accurate, wear and tear is there.

I agree with you and I'm 99.9% sure the DMV does too.Miles on the odometer cannot be changed for ANY reason and still be claimed as actual mileage legally regardless of the circumstances.If I'm wrong,please post a link to the info.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

I would maintain the mileage is accurate, wear and tear is there.

I think you kind of have it backwards here. For cars with mechanical odometers, the mileage racks up when you're towing it (if the drive wheels are on the ground anyway). In those cases, I don't see any other way to report the mileage except at it shows up on the odometer. The wear-and-tear is on the suspension parts only; the crucial driveline parts would have less wear than the odometer indicates.

However, most modern cars have electronic odometers that do not register the mileage unless the ignition is turned on. In those cases, the suspension components will have thousands more miles of wear and tear on them than the odometer would indicate. That's where the possible issue of misrepresentation comes in.

That said, IMO this is really only an issue for someone who RVs basically full time. For someone who takes a their RV from Philadelphia to Florida once a year and tows their car behind them, then there would only be a few thousand miles' difference between the odometer reading and the actual wear on the suspension, which I would argue is within standard range of variation. It would be no worse than a car primarily driven around a pothole-addled city: it may read low mileage but the suspension has taken far more of a beating than the odometer would let on.

[Swampmonster]

Originally Posted by Drover

I think you kind of have it backwards here. For cars with mechanical odometers, the mileage racks up when you're towing it (if the drive wheels are on the ground anyway). In those cases, I don't see any other way to report the mileage except at it shows up on the odometer. The wear-and-tear is on the suspension parts only; the crucial driveline parts would have less wear than the odometer indicates.

However, most modern cars have electronic odometers that do not register the mileage unless the ignition is turned on. In those cases, the suspension components will have thousands more miles of wear and tear on them than the odometer would indicate. That's where the possible issue of misrepresentation comes in.

That said, IMO this is really only an issue for someone who RVs basically full time. For someone who takes a their RV from Philadelphia to Florida once a year and tows their car behind them, then there would only be a few thousand miles' difference between the odometer reading and the actual wear on the suspension, which I would argue is within standard range of variation. It would be no worse than a car primarily driven around a pothole-addled city: it may read low mileage but the suspension has taken far more of a beating than the odometer would let on.