Pulling doubles good or bad?.

[rock4fun]

I just want to put this out here and try to get some feed back. I just came into a 1998 26' camp trailer and it is great after 13 years of sleeping in a tent to finely own one. Now the problem it is a bumper pull and most of the time I go camping I take the crawler. I would like to know if I put a sway control bar on the trailer would I be safe to tow the flat bed with the crawler on it behind the camp trailer?. any input would be helpful as I have never owned a camp trailer before thanks.

 

[RockMonkey]

It sure doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Just the extra chance of trailer tire or bearing failure would discourage me from it, but not everyone has as much trouble as I do.

 

[mbryson]

I'd love to have the accouterments of our camp trailer while wheeling (29' bunkhouse bumper pull), however, I leave it home. It just doesn't seem like a good idea to me to pull 6000 lbs with a trailer that's barely made to support it's own weight. I'm just resigned to take the camp trailer when we camp and do the tent or motel thing when the Jeep comes. I can't have my cake and eat it too at this point.

lessee....search = "doubles"

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=54912&highlight=doubles

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=48708&highlight=doubles

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=31599&highlight=doubles

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=11055&highlight=doubles

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=47071&highlight=doubles

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=14202&highlight=towing

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=36433&highlight=towing




Check out the "Tow Rigs and Trailers" forum on PBB (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=30). There's some pretty creative solutions there.


Things I'd like.

1) a nice race trailer with some added RV stuff (www.racingjunk.com has some sometimes)

2) There are a few toy haulers equipped well enough to fit a Jeep or a 'zuk or something smallish like that. My neighbor has a nice Holiday Rambler that can handle his Jeep.

3) Step up to a class 8 or greater truck and haul your junk on the deck and tow your trailer (that's actually one of the more reasonably priced options I've found--however, I know NOTHING about maintaining a "real" truck and think you could spend a lot of money REALLY fast if you got one that was a little on the used side---you'd NEVER hit the towing capacity of that pig, though, so it would last a long time)

4) U-haul/box truck conversions --- some of those have turned out pretty cool, but there is some redneck factor there

 

[Shawn]

Unless the trailer is a fifth wheel forget about it!! Death trap.

 

[Meat_]

I like to have my hitches attached to actual frames.

 

[Herzog]

Unless the trailer is a fifth wheel forget about it!! Death trap.

Shawn speaks the truth.

 

[BroncoMama]

Unless the trailer is a fifth wheel forget about it!! Death trap.

I must agree as well. I'm not 100% sure about this, but I think it may be illegal to tow doubles with two bumper pulls..... I've been told that it is in Colorado.

 

[ATOYA4U]

Unless the trailer is a fifth wheel forget about it!! Death trap.

X2 and even with a 5er I wouldn't pull anything bigger than a small ATV trailer.

 

[Bodine]

Unless the trailer is a fifth wheel forget about it!! Death trap.

I like to have my hitches attached to actual frames.

Shawn speaks the truth.

And there you have it. I have towed doubles and it's a PITA I always hated not being able to see the 20K worth of toys I had behind the camp trailer.

 

[LT.]

I have pulled doubles before and so I think that I may be able to offer some thoughts for you. First, I would bet that it would take a fair amount of modifications to your travel trailer so that it would be able to handle the stress and weight of your flat bed. I know this because I had to do this for a friend of mine. Second, while it is legal to tow two bumper pulls in Utah (or so I was told) it is not legal in other states. Third, even with a load distrubuting hitch how much can your hitch on your tow rig really handle. If it is a class four (I will bet that it is) then it can only handle about 10,000 or 12,000 lbs max. If your trailer weighs 6,000 (again I am guessing it does empty) then you can only handle 4,000 to 6,000 more total. Flat bed trailer and crawler together.

When I hauled doubles I had to do it with a gooseneck flat bed (rated at 20,000 lbs.) and then a pop up camper behind it. Total weight was at 15,000 lbs. 7,000 for the flat bed, 5,000 for the off road toy, and 3,000 for the camp trailer (it was fully self contained). And the only way to do this is with a one ton dually, diesel or larger! I was also a little too long for the law at 68 feet in length (New Mexico states 65 feet max).

LT.

 

[DaveB]

One of the most expensive wrecks I have seen was a guy in Parleys Canyon pulling a double rig. He had a nice new Dodge Ram pulling a new fifth wheel with a medium sized boat on the back of the fifth wheel. He came off the back side of Parleys and the whole rig got going too fast. When he tried to stop it it went out of control and destroyed all three rigs. When I saw it the sides of the bed of the truck were splayed out flat and the frame was bent. The front of the fifth wheel was ripped off and the boat went into the back of the trailer.

 

[Bart]

Lots of good points here, especially the one about most camp trailers are built to hold their own weight, and that is all. Putting another 5k to 7k behind a bumper pull camp trailer sounds like an accident looking for a place to happen.

 

[ALF]

Things I'd like.


2) There are a few toy haulers equipped well enough to fit a Jeep or a 'zuk or something smallish like that. My neighbor has a nice Holiday Rambler that can handle his Jeep.

Please share more...when I asked people at the last RV show if there was this option they looked at me like I was crazy. Everyone told me they were designed with bikes and ATV's in mind...maybe a sand rail but nothing like the weight of a Jeep..:-\

 

[Bart]

Weekend Warrior makes one big enough to haul a rig in.

 

[mbryson]

Please share more...when I asked people at the last RV show if there was this option they looked at me like I was crazy. Everyone told me they were designed with bikes and ATV's in mind...maybe a sand rail but nothing like the weight of a Jeep..:-\

The nicest one I've seen personally is a 37' Holiday Rambler. It's got just enough room to work. Forest River specs some that can haul a little weight, too. I'm not sure if they cabinetry and what not will work for a Jeep, though.

I'm sure I'll have a little time later today to get some links. Good specs. I'll make a new thread so we can kinda keep this one on track a little? (I'll even link it out of here. )

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?p=547712#post547712

 

[ricsrx]

My old fith wheel weekend warrior toy hauler would handle quads and bikes inside and a buggy on the back, pulled with a one ton diesel.
no problems.
i dont think i would have put a heavy flat bed with a crawler on the back of the fifth, legal or not my gut feeling says no, mabe i know it is above the abilities of my truck/trailer or my driving.

 

[soda blaster]

I generally tow my fifth wheel with a small car hauler and my jeep behind it wih no problems but I have brakes wired back to the rear trailer also. and the fifth wheel was made to tow a load this size. I took it in to the dealer and had them check before I attempted this.

 

[rock4fun]

I want thank all who posted an answer to my question. And I am 100% positive I will not be trying to pull doubles with my current set up. I guess I can live without the luxury of a camp trailer as long as I get to go wheelin. Thanks again.

 

[Herzog]

I want thank all who posted an answer to my question. And I am 100% positive I will not be trying to pull doubles with my current set up. I guess I can live without the luxury of a camp trailer as long as I get to go wheelin. Thanks again.

I'm in the same boat.

There are some really cool 5th wheel flat beds out there that would accept some type of pop-up camper mounted onto the front end. I always thought about doing something like that, but the I'd have to move camp to every trail and you'd have to park with a really long trailer.

 

[LT.]

A good friend of mine (actually my brother in law) has an intreasting solution to this whole problem. Sprueitt bought a big gooseneck flat bed trailer and he also went out and bought a used pop up tent trailer. He then cut the axle and springs off of the pop up tent trailer and had it mounted on the gooseneck portion of his flat bed trailer. Perhaps he could take some pictures of this contraption. He only pulls the flat bed behind his truck. It is an intreasting solution to this problem. I guess the only problem that I would have with the whole rig is that pop up camper setting on the gooseneck hitch puts more weight up high. Something that I would not want to do. But, nonetheless it is a sound idea. I looked into putting the camp trailer on the flat bed section of the trailer and mount it so that the door exited out onto the flat bed. The problem with that is you would be folding your camp trailer out width wise and there is often restrictions on how wide the spaces are.

LT.