Having taken the recently acquired Lance out a couple of times in the recently acquired Dualie... and now about to acquire another gooseneck trailer... I've decided to put the camper on the goose. I've seen a few photos but no real details on creating this setup.

Trailer is a 32ft lowboy, steeldeck. Camper is a 9.5ft Lance with a drop down bumper on the rear.

Pros: Much easier to hookup to the gooseneck verses removing truck tailgate and jacking the camper umpteen feet in the air to manuever big-assed dualie underneath for loading, free up tow rig for going out to eat etc. while on trips, Camper will actually sit the same or lower on trailer than in bed, still have more room to haul rig or ATVs with this combo than camper in bed and current 13ft utility trailer or an 18ft car hauler. Nice elevated porch while camping or flat spot for buddies to pitch their tent, more storage for trips(truck bed, on trailer around camper etc.) And... tricked out bling-factor as always!

Issues... due to the drop on the end of the camper... I'll have to build something for it to sit on while on the trailer... storage opportunity as well. Most likely I'll weld some d-rings on the trailer and secure it with the turnbuckles as I did on the truck. This is where I'm soliciting ideas from you fellers??? Also... I'm thinking of adding secondary black and gray water holding tanks since the camper's are really small. We haven't used the black so much yet... but the gray water tank always fills up quick.

Anyways... all suggestions appreciated... I'll post up a webpage and photos on the project once it gets underway.

how would you get it on the trailer?
TTT for ya.

Been discussin' this via email today (slow work day) with some of my wheelin' crew... looked it over at lunch... assuming distance from the deck to the top of the gooseneck is less than that of the camper floor to the overhang.... it shouldn't be too hard... I checked and all the tanks are actually flush with the camper bottom... only the bumper makes up the overy-hang and it's just bolted on... so the camper will sit flat without having to build something for it to sit on.

I'll either find someone with a couple of forklifts to hold it up while I back the trailer under it... or we'll come up with some redneck method like... some boards and a come-a-long... winch cable etc. to set the camper on the end of the trailer and slide it forward.

If you've got the space, some kind of a-frame to lift it up while you move the trailer underneath would be easy. A couple of lifting straps rated at 10000 would be more than enough to hold it for a short duration lift.

sounds like a great project. I have wanted to do something like it for about a year. lack of funds is really slowing me down... no camper and no goose:(

be sure to keep us posted on progress.

i have a couple of fork lift here at work, it would take all of ten minutes.

I'll keep that in mind Mike... got the trailer home last night... gotta get if repaired first... one of the jacks has been smacked good... it still cranks up and down... but the release pin is bent back so it's stuck in the shortest position. That's some pretty thick steel... not sure if I can get it un-bent myself... lookin' into just getting that portion swapped out if possible? Surely it is... I'd hate to have to cut off the whole thing and weld on a new jack.

Also, measured it out... camper's gonna fit just fine.

When I use to run that set up we just picked the camper up with a fork lift. Had a set of fork extensions so that the forks went all the way underneath the camper. I set the camper on some 4x4's. Then just fastened it down with some chain and the camper tie downs. Never had a problem in the 4 or so years I ran it. I have since switched to an enclosed trailer but I always liked the camper- gooseneck trailer set up. If I hadn't found a smokin deal on an enclosed trailer I would still run it.

Well... I got ansy-pants... couldn't wait so... after much contemplation and red-neck ingenuity... we got the thing transferred to the trailer yesterday...

Teaser photo:
http://www.thefrontyard.org/tribemimi/projects/2003-12-StabinCabin/Cabin08.jpg

Full Write-up HERE (http://www.thefrontyard.org/tribemimi/projects/2003-12-StabinCabin/StabinCabinPage.htm)

I'm gonna give it a test run this weekend... haulin' some ATVs for a weekend of riding.

this is gonna be soooooo coooooool:D

very nice!!! I like it, and want one!

Looks good nice job

Yall must have seen these pics I posted????

Here


http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=196158

I can't post a picture, but here is the address where my rig can be seen! I built this about a year ago and it works nicely! I don't know if this will work! http://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayimage.php?&photoid=6249&width=0

This sweet setup belongs to Killer59. How long is that camper and the deck on the trailer?

The camper is about 9 foot floor plus the 50" overhang over the neck. It is a Capri Rodeo model. The trailer is 32 foot floor length which leaves roughly 22 foot load space. Pulls like a dream with my 4 Runner buggy and a few four wheelers. I built storage under each side for air compressor/ welder, and other gear.

The test run was a success this weekend... took 4 ATVs to Muenster. Trailer pulled well... camper stayed put. It's time to start making storage enclosures on each side. Right now, I've just got chain and camper turnbuckles holding it down on the trailer. Any other suggestions? Since it's not coming off any time soon... I'm thinking the turnbuckle setup could be substituted for something that doesn't block the sides as much so I can enclose them and have doors etc.

btw, easily held 4 ATVs... could have put one more on and still opened the camper door... if we didn't need to get in the camper afterward.... probably hold 6.

here's another photo with illustration... tie-downs will kinda be in the way of storage doors....

How do you hook up to the dump connector ?? Mine points
straight down just in front of the rear bumper on the camper.
If the bed of the trailer is underneath it there'd be no room
to attach the dump hose.

Originally posted by thump93yj
here's another photo with illustration... tie-downs will kinda be in the way of storage doors....

Could we (you) hook the tie-downs to the brackets that the jacks used to mounted to and hook to the trailer straight down? Or do you need some angle on them to help stabilize it?

SDCJ, on my Lance, the holding tank dump valve is just left of the door on the back... it points straight back... so it's not an issue on this setup.


Les, I reckon... on the truck the tie-downs were positioned \ and / to minimize any movement.... I'm thinking of welding or bolting some angle iron around the base of the camper on the trailer to prevent it from sliding in any direction... then the tie-downs would simply be preventing any movement up off the trailer deck (tipping etc)... surely that would keep it in place... ? Seems like those jack mount surfaces are beefier anyway... the eyes for the tie-downs look to be simply screwed into the wood frame of the camper.

What about just changing the ties from

\ / to / \

Still have the angle for stability and they will be clear of the proposed doors

I bought my camper new from the manufacturer and they recomended bolting the camper down through the floor of the camper and the trailer floor with long carriage bolts. It has been like this for a year and no problems. It leaves room for the storage on the side. Just a thought! Jeremy.

How's the wind resistance vs. having the camper on the truck?

Any change in mileage?

I'll think some more on that bolting the floor down to the trailer K59... only hang-up I can think of is it's an older camper and the under side has seen some use... I'm not sure how sturdy that construction is for securing on my older camper. I screwed in 3 2x10s the length of the underside to lift it up some and reinforce it when I put it in the truck bed (didn't want it hitting the cab on my new truck).

As for wind-resistance/mileage... couldn't tell ya. New truck and only a couple of trips with the camper in the truck and one on the trailer. The deck of the low boy is considerably lower than my truck bed... so I have more clearance... therefore... it should have less... but I've added towing weight with the larger size trailer verses pulling a much lighter 18ft car-hauler or atv trailer. It's more stable... that thing is heavy and raised the COG on my truck so I had to watch uneven turns etc... like parking lot entrances, driveways etc... it would start rocking the truck side to side pretty good... even with the dualie.

Like I care... it's a CTD HO 6spd... it'll go no matter what.

Hey, I just stumbled upon this thread and this is the exact idea I had. I wasn't sure how well it would work but now that I see it in pics I think I'll have to find myself a gooseneck flatdeck (already have a 10ft slide-in).

My question is do you think a 2004 F-250 SuperDuty would be able to handle this load with a LWB Samurai on it? Or should I be kicking myself for not getting the F-350 dually?

Originally posted by RgdL
Hey, I just stumbled upon this thread and this is the exact idea I had. I wasn't sure how well it would work but now that I see it in pics I think I'll have to find myself a gooseneck flatdeck (already have a 10ft slide-in).

My question is do you think a 2004 F-250 SuperDuty would be able to handle this load with a LWB Samurai on it? Or should I be kicking myself for not getting the F-350 dually?

It will handle it fine, but you should still kick yourself just for shit and giggles.