I expect that this will get shipped off to another section but I wanted it to get a little exposure first. I think it will be of interest to some. I don't have a dog in the fight.
John
Go to: http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=66184a12e1&view=att&th=1259f56f6a3ff66f&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw (http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=66184a12e1&view=att&th=1259f56f6a3ff66f&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw)
Links didn't work for me, FWIW.
God bless,
John
Links sent me to a Gmail sign in page?? Jack
I too was unable to achieve a satisfying conclusion...Cable
sorry,
I just copied this from my email and pasted it into my post. I guess you need an email acct to view it. That is pretty eassy to get but I will try to "fix" that tonight. I think it is worth seeing.
John
I'm intrigued by the title so am keen to see this as well.
You will have to extract the image from the email and post it on here directly, or via a photo hosting service of some kind. Other people cannot access your Gmail account to view the image directly even if they are a Gmail user themselves
Jeremy
maybe this time :P
aand this. The boat pulls forward till the engines are over the tail gate.
This doesn't look all that stable to me BUT.....I am told that the boat weighs less than the heavierst camper shell by more than 1,000 pounds. Side wind sail area is much less than a camper. For my money I never thought a camper was all that safe. The boat comes down at the press of a button so you shouldn't have to drive it far loaded. Ron says they load the boat and pull a camp trailer or pull the truck loaded behind the bus. Oh well, I am sure he saw it with his own eyes and he is a friend.
HTH John
Sounds like a salesman's line...carefully neglecting to mention how heavy camper shells can be. And I'm guessing the ramps, rails, and winch add up to 500 lbs or so. More importantly, that mass is being elevated much higher in the air than a camper shell, changing the vehicles center of gravity for the worse.
I'm trying to figure out what the point is. You can't haul another trailer with that setup. It maybe lighter than a camper, but the center of gravity is wrong in this case. A camper has a lower center of gravity with most of the weight in the box. Wonder how many he has sold and what the reviews are.
Paul
I've got a full sized dodge 4x4 pickup and I hauled libby's golf cart in the box of it behind the bus and I could feel a big difference driving the bus with the golf cart in the back of the truck as opposed to driving the bus with the truck with just the topper on it, was very much more unstable, I'm not sure I'd like it but I'm thinking the engineering is probably there but personally I'm not sure I'd tackle it.
N, Paul and Cody,
I couldn't be in more sympathy with your reservations. My first thought was "You have got to be kidding. That can't be safe." I still feel that if the numbers were crunched that design would not look so attractive as it first appears...if you follow that. I have always felt that way about campers in general, however, and that industry seems to be doing just fine and I am certain beyond doubt that Tort Law would have resolved any real danger to the public. That is how this system works.
As to the "salesman" angle: he is definitely NOT one of those. Having known him for 15 years and worked around and with him as a friend, I can say with full confidence that he is conservative in his approach, expert in his craft and honest to his own detriment. That is not to mention that he would get up at 2 AM and come pull me out of a ditch, as he would for any one else he knows. He is a metal fabricator and he is copying that design. He "believes" that the thing is safe for its intended purpose but that doesn't include driving it down a dirt road. I think I might tow that truck behind my bus to avoid being a "triple" or drive it across the parking lot but high winds in the desert would have me holed up somewhere else, toad or not.
Now don't think "I" am the sales man here cause I don't have a dog in the fight. Neither does he, actually. He built this thing for a guy that brought it back after only a few months. All that steel that goes in the truck bed weighs 300 pounds, I am told, and it gets loaded like a camper shell from its own jacks. The ramps must weigh 100 pounds each and they were what defeated the original owner. He couldn't handle them alone and he had visions of a hernia. Ron weighs 160 pounds and he literally throws the ramps around. Now Ron was not asked for a refund but he did agree to take the rig back on consignment cause he builds one or two a year....some years. He doesn't make anything on these type sales and does it as a favor but that thing, as with all others, takes up space. I think that concerns me more than it does him.
Just to nail down the "full disclosure" rule, No! You cannot slalom the truck with the boat loaded.. ??? :o ;D ;D ;D
Each of these things are made for the specific truck and model so it might need modified for the new rig and I imagine he would do that for next to nothing....that kind of guy.
Hope this sets the record straight, 8)
John
Like I said, I'm sure the engineering is probably there but my personal feelings would be to be hesitant to give it a go, I even am reluctant to have libbys golf cart in the back of the truck, my truck is kinda high up being 4x4 with the heavy suspension package and over size tires (it's set up for plowing snow) and the golfcart adds not only some weight but also height, I was told by one guy to remove the roof as that catches a lot of crosswinds and that could very well be the heart of my problem with it.
I saw this in action once with a dargel boat over the truck pulled by a bus. This guy had it going on and was clipping down the road with no care in the world. I considered the same but I have and Excursion and it is not what I want. I am going with the double decker trailer and be done with it.
We do want to take a lot of toys with us on the road so far we've gotten by with either the jeep or the truck, both are set up with towbars, but now if libby gets a small car that can't be towed we may end up with a car trailer either open or enclosed I don't know, but we're looking at maybe something that could hold a dinky little car, the harley and who knows what else lol, she is feeling way to good for my likeing, now the "I wanna" is starting lol. I think we'll start looking like the beverly hillbillies on vacation before we're done lol.
Cody,
I have towed all my cars with all 4 down and had no problems. I start the engine and let it idle in neutral and that protects the trans. Curiously, my Ranger 4X4 CANNOT be towed without a special control chip that puts the transfer in a neutral mode that isn't available without mods. Talked to the service mgr and the mech and learned that it is the output shaft bearing that fries BUT! BUT! idling that rig in neutral resolves the issue there also. Buy her whatever she wants and disregard the towing issue.
I have heard people say that under no circumstances would they tow a rig that had it's engine running. Oh well!
John
John, I often wondered how we would tow our 2WD silverado with out the exspense of a pricey disconect contraption .I guess that disconnecting the drive shaft is a possibility,but I heard you mention that idling routine once before, would that work on our truck? how is it done? and at what additional expense in fuel?
Thanks :)
Maybe White-Eagle will chime in. He tows a full size van that has an automatic transmission. He has towed from Ohio to Florida several times a swell as to Texas, all with the engine idling. Never any problems and I don't think he used very much gas. Jack
We tow 4 down now, thats not a problem, the problem is the chain we would have pulling down the road lol, the car, the golfcart behind that, the harley tailing behind lol.
as Jack said, we pull a Chevy Express van loaded with my tools, my boards for getting the bus up a foot and some other gear. probably 1200 lbs of gear. 10k lb blue ox tow bar. maybe 6000 lb vehicle gross?
we did the drive shaft disconnect and tied it up underneath. worked ok, but i pulled into flying j and found myself in front of a roped off pump. had to reconnect, disconnect, then drive off in the van in order to get back in line. then, couldn't make a turn at a campground to get into the "pull-thru", so had to spend the time hookin' it up. imagine a rainstorm.
someone suggested leaving it in nuetral with the engine running. we tried it, then further, no problems.
We've been to florida and back twice, around some other places, maybe 10,000 miles so far. no leaks, no damage, no problems (knock on wood ;D). We use maybe 6 gal of fuel for a day's driving at idle. our day is ~400 mi give or take. mostly interstate, at 65-70.
no, i wouldn't tow a truck/boat that way. looks unstable, probably feels like it also. i agree with Cody that someone probably did check it out, but it wouldn't work for me, just like some of you may not like towing a running toad.
hope that helps.
Van,
This all started for me when I needed to tow my Daddy's Olds Toronado. Really didn't want a dolly but saw no choice. I called two trans shops and got a thumbs down from both. Two Olds dealers got me the same. After brooding a couple days I had a brain storm.....let it run. Called all four back and asked how much trans oil pressure I had at idle and was told that the trans had "full oil pressure" at idle in neutral. Yahoo! And can do.
I pondered the chance of it stopping all by itself and concluded that if it had never quit in 10 years of him driving it it probably never would. Made one round trip from Pa to Fla that way. No problemo.
Still had that "feeling" so I installed some "stuff". I put a connection in that strapped the oil and water temp idiot light senders through diodes and let that drive a relay through a toggle switch. The relay powered common air horns. Procedure is : get in and turn the emergency switch off, start the car and switch the emerg sys on, the horn is silent at that point. Release brake and you are good to go. I have this same system mounted on my RV and along with the back up alarm I have a bright red light on the panel. Who was ever looking at the gauges when one of them bounced off the bottom? I augmented my senders with idiot light switches and if it ever looses oil pressure or overheats while i am going down the road it will wake me up. All the race cars got this system and you know how I like to "keep up with the racers". 8)
My Ranger is a stick and the modern trans need the input shaft to pump the trans fluid around inside the trans and prevent the output shaft bearing from freezing. Then you will disconnect the drive shaft to get going again after you replace both rear wheels.....puke! >:(
Good luck Buddy,
John