Fixing to do doubles towing

[EricBu12]

Got a hitch made for the rear of my 36' 5th toy-hauler. I bought one of those combination pintle/Ball and removed the latch lever so it can bolt right to a steel bracket I made. The inside of the bumper has a angle Iron at the top and that is connected to some structural supports. . The bumper is made to take 2500# of weight as toys are rolled off so just supporting the crush force of the bolts is all I needed.



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The trailer I will be hauling is a 14' Utility trailer. In the Pic is a Rhino but that will be in the 5th. I bought a used Sand Rail and that will be going on the trailer when we go to the dunes.



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All total I think I will be about 70' Long. That is a little longer than legal I think but utah I think measures cargo length like they do for commercial triples. I have a Commercial license with doubles and triples endorsement... My total weight will be like 25K and have 7 axles.



The utility trailer has a brake on one axle, and I think I figured out a way to use that without locking them up from the harder brake force of the 5th. . I buy a regular brake controller with a regular boost and wire it up under the rear connector. Have it receive signal from brake lights and make a new mild brake voltage to the rear trailer brakes... That should work.



Anyway. We are going to Moab on the 1st of may and towing the utility empty. we are going to use the trailer to tow the rhino to the various trail-heads without moving the 5th.



What do you all think about this?



Eric

 

[jelag]

Your phrase ""but utah I think"" worries me... .

You understand that this is not legal in some states that allow triple commercial vehicles... ... and might not be legal in UT... . I'd ask before I went on the road and put my CDL at risk.....

 

[EricBu12]

I t is legal in Utah and Idaho... I was comparing how they measure it. . I would use it only in those states. . Dune buggy is getting fixed up and will be yellow and blue.

 

[BimmerAgent]

Tandem

I tandem pretty often in the Summer through Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, and have had no problems. I do get nervous, though, when occasionally wind or draft makes my single axle boat trailer sway some, but I've learned what to watch for and how to control it for the most part. I have a couple buddies that tandem also, and they have less of a challenge with their double axle boat trailers. Never had an issue with length from the State Patrol. Just gotta be careful and anticipate those folks who for some reason think you can manuever like they can. Bruce

 

[EricBu12]

Thanks bruce. .



My double axle trailer is pretty stable even when empty. it will be about 2000# when the buggy is on it and I forgot to mention the nose of the trailer(utility) will be sorta nose high. I guess I will have to put more weight forward... . maybe back the buggy on... . Boy, the things we have to do to haul our toys!... lol

 

[Okie-Go]

My new travel trailer does not have a bumper. Sure wish I could figure how to put a hitch on it to take teh motorcycle camping with me.

 

[EricBu12]

You would probably have to have a custom weld up job brought down from your frame. crawl under there and see if you think that might be viable. a place called "Discount ramps" online has a carrier called "versahaul" and it goes into a reciever hitch to haul a motorcycle.

 

[WAckerman]

Heck of a setup Eric! Looks like a nice job.



I take it you got your block problems all worked out?



Whats powering the buggy? VW?

 

[drtrox]

Got a hitch made for the rear of my 36' 5th toy-hauler. I bought one of those combination pintle/Ball and removed the latch lever so it can bolt right to a steel bracket I made. The inside of the bumper has a angle Iron at the top and that is connected to some structural supports. . The bumper is made to take 2500# of weight as toys are rolled off so just supporting the crush force of the bolts is all I needed.



What do you all think about this?



Eric

Hi Eric, If that toy hauler bumper isn't solid steel and you don't have any spacers inside the bumper to keep it from crushing, I wouldn't tow anything with that hitch mount. When you pull it is going to collapse the front side of the bumper and when you stop it is going to push in the back side of the bumper. That hitch mount is going to be flopping around on those bolts before you travel 10 miles. Now if you can access the inside of the bumper from one of the ends and put a spacer block in there and run the bolts through the spacer, you might be OK. Then you need to watch for metal fatigue around the mount and spacer. Also if you are not going to use self locking nuts, I would suggest that you double nut or jam nut those hitch mount bolts. The problem is that it is back there out of sight and kind of tough to keep an eye on it while you are going down the road.



Don

 

[EricBu12]

Yes my block problems are all gone with a mexican 01 block and it is bored out to . 020 over and about 8000 miles on it so far.



Don. No way to access the inside of the bumper for a spacer. it did crush a little but I had to torque the bolts pretty hard to do it. I think I will do the double nut. . thanks. . . the plate that is around the bumper is 1/4" thick and pretty stout. the trailer itself weighs 1000# if it don't do what you say it will, then Ill try it with the buggy on it.



the bumper is thicker than a regular bumper as it needs to take 2500# for the toys. . with the extra plate around the bumper, it spreads out the stress on it.

 

[Fireman]

Okie-Go,



Check out Vari Hitch, it's a class II made for RVs, avalable at RV stores. It is a variable width mount, must be welded in place.



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click on image to enlarge

 

[Fireman]

Okie-Go,



Check out Vari Hitch, it's a class II made for RVs, avalable at RV stores. It is a variable width mount, must be welded in place.



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click on image to enlarge

 

[EricBu12]

That hitch looks pretty flimsy to me just welded on the end with no center support. 50 to 69" of adjustable width? the only good thin I see in that I can use my drop hitch from the truck to get the trailer more level. I'm still not sure of the height of this hitch. I might have to get the vari hitch... the cost of this was not much, just the pintle and some steel... looks good though... still might have to take it off and plug the holes with JB weld and paint over... will be trying ou the hitch on the 29th. . that's the empty run to Moab. If it is not too nose high, I will probably try it. One thing I can do is hook my Yamaha Rhinos winch to the ball and tug on it and see if the mount moves at all.

 

[EricBu12]

Well I just looked at that hitch and it says it can go to 69 3/8" wide... . My I-beam frame rails are 72-76" wide depending on where you measure from.

I jumped up on the ball of my setup, I weigh 210, and bounced up and down on it. no Movement. That vari hitch would work for lowering the trailer nose for level but so far, no other makers make one about 77" wide.

 

[nps]

I've got a part number 82201 from Hidden Hitch on the back of my 5er to pull my boat with - boat weighs about 2K lbs. The specs say that it is good for rails up to 71". The hitch is rated at 3500 Gross/300 tounge.



This one bolts to the frame rails - no welding involved. My Jayco has I-beam frame rails, so bolting it to the bottom of the beam was a piece of cake. They include fish wire (to fish in the bolts) and reinforcing spacers (to prevent frame crushing/distortion under torque) for boxed frame rails along with the kit. The tube is 2" square and about 1/4" thick so it is pretty beefy between the end brackets. I've been happy with it - when the boat is not back there then the bike carrier is. Here is a crappy picture - can't really see it that good but it is the bar across the rear under the bumper.



I ran a 4 wire flat plug under the RV with a connector at the front. Since the 3rd gens have both a 4 pin and 7 pin connector on them, I have about a 5' extension cord that I plug into the 4 pin connector on my truck when something is back there.



http://hiddenhitch.com

 

[Grizzly]

I t is legal in Utah and Idaho... I was comparing how they measure it. . I would use it only in those states. . Dune buggy is getting fixed up and will be yellow and blue.

Well, I guess I won't be going through Utah and Idaho anymore. It doesn't sound safe. Besides Utah had the highest prices for diesel last summer when we drove through there on our way back from Alaska.

 

[nps]

Well, I guess I won't be going through Utah and Idaho anymore.

Oo. Oo. The sound of clapping and rejoicing!!!Oo. Oo.



:-laf :-laf



JK Grizzly. But you always have a way of raining on any parade that isn't to your taste.

 

[EricBu12]

NPS

The INSIDE edge of the frame rail is 71. 5" I would need at least 74-75" to have a bolt up kit. The weld up would be good if it was 72"...

I am going to see if running empty is not too high and able to take the stress. . Going to go like 20 miles and evaluate the mount.

Grizzly? We have some of the lowest prices and just recently went a up a bit. 2. 75 gas and 2. 95 Diesel. If you want an unsafe road to go on, get on highway 6 over soldier summit... One of the deadliest roads in America. .
I have over 1 million accident free road miles in the last 10 years... how many do you have in that time? ... . Oh and I tow tripples in rain and sometimes snow!!

 

[Grizzly]

Oo. Oo. The sound of clapping and rejoicing!!!Oo. Oo.



:-laf :-laf



JK Grizzly. But you always have a way of raining on any parade that isn't to your taste.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I don't believe it's safe to double tow.

 

[Grizzly]

We have some of the lowest prices and just recently went a up a bit. 2. 75 gas and 2. 95 Diesel. If you want an unsafe road to go on, get on highway 6 over soldier summit... One of the deadliest roads in America. .

I have over 1 million accident free road miles in the last 10 years... how many do you have in that time? ... . Oh and I tow tripples in rain and sometimes snow!!

Last summer, mid September, diesel was $3,499 in Washington and a bit higher in Salt Lake. I don't know if I'm over a million miles or not, but I have made many trips to Oregon/Washington, Alaska and Alabama/Georgia and so far, no mishaps. I will never double or triple tow. We also avoid night driving as much as possible. As far as Solders Summit on Hwy 6, I have drove it so many times I know every turn and hill, but I didn't know it was that deadly. I have never seen a crash on it. It's a nice short cut, but I'll take your word for it and stay off it from now on.

Seriously Eric, double and triple towing is asking for trouble, no matter how safe you think you are. I know it's all about your toys, but can't you just take one toy at a time instead of all of them.