"Redneck RV" idea/questions...

[Eskimo]

I had in mind for the future a 32' or so goose with a slide-in truck camper on the front of it.. we've all seen the pictures of that.. But..

The floorspace is nearly non-existant (a bath mat is your wall-to-wall carpeting)
they can be VERY pricy, even used.

But.. a 16' travel trailer..
MUCH more floor space
More complete amenities
More inexpensive used as families outgrow them..

Downside is - stripping the axles off them and cleanly removing the tongue, and how to get it onto the goose and secure it.

Anyone done it?

[RodeoRob]

there's been a few dicussions about doing similar things with popup campers. and of course you've seen the slide-ins. Can't say i've seen anyone thats done this exact thing though.

would it be a permanent fixture to your trailer? or do you need a way of removing it? (the latter could get combersome).

My only real concern would be, with 32' of trailer, and half of that taken up with the TT, leaves you about 16' to position your rig. I don't know the going weight for a TT of that size, but you might wanna contrast that to the weight/length of your rig and make sure you'll have enough room to position things for adequet tongue weight.

-Rob

[weps]

Both good points. I mainly put the slide in on mine to have a warm, dry place to sleep after a day of wheelin'. at 1st it seemed tiny, but actually the boys and I can get around in it ok. I really like just having a dry place to sit and eat, turn on the water to wash up, and can fire up the gas stove in the am for coffee and hot coco (boys). I built tool boxes under mine, and have loaded up probably 1,000 lbs of parts and spares. but when we get there, we wheel, and fix, and wheel some more. I did make mine so that I can (and have) remove all of it , and still utilize hauling 2 rigs. Actually the trailer is in Moab right now as a buddy is borrowing it, he hauled 2 Jeeps out there.

[BigDan]

some people just use a short 5er, best of both worlds. There's pics floatin around here

[thump93yj]

Yep, seen it done... acquaintance of mine did one like that after seeing the slide in versions. I think he's still running it that way. If ya look at mine (search this forum for Stabbin'Cabin) I have an RV built onto a gooseneck that also "had" an enclosed trailer on the back of it... where they had removed the axles from the frame (including the hangers) as well as the tongue. Just cut 'em off. Since whatever your putting on probably has a frame under it... just spot weld it to the crossmembers of your trailer's crossmembers (that's how the box was done on mine.)

For mounting yours... do like we did... jack it up high enough to back the other trailer under it once the axles are removed and build some wide saw-horse style stands to set it on. We jacked up the box off the trailer, welded up some pipe stands, set it down on those and pulle the trailer out from under it... then put another trailer under it to transfer to my backyard where said box is a storage shed for now.

[weedwacker]

I have done it also. I have a 17ft Jayco with the drop out bunk sides and a gooseneck with 28 foot deck. I mounted a winch in the upper goose (great for loading any thing that rolls) and pulled the camper up with that. I weldedr a hitch on the in front of the goose neck that my camper would hitch to. Pulled the wheels off the camper after it was loaded and secured it. One thing that made loading easier is that I dig to holes that the gooseneck trailer could roll in and out of to lower the deck. My camper is 3k and my rig is a samurai so it wasn't overweight.

[BenMara]

how about some pics weedwacker? haha gota give ya hell

[Eskimo]

Thump - the Stappin Cabin is PERFECT!! That's exactly what I was thinking of. The stand-up shower is a BIG thing for me..

As for the weight, I'm betting it'll be OK. My FJ is pretty light, certainly under 4k, and these TT's aren't light... Length of the rig is right around 12' from end to end.

Weedwacker, i'd love to see pics!

[Kaiser5]

Heres whata friend of mine did. He permanently mounted the pop-up to the front of the trailer and his Scrambler fits behind it. Works pretty well for him and his wife. He added AC to it and it kept up with the heat in Hot Springs earlier this year.

[thump93yj]

GOOD GRIEF!!! that's some WT there... but I like it :D

btw, 16ft is what I have on the back of mine... plenty of room for my Jeep which is currently 2" longer than stock. I'm planning another 4-6" stretch on my wheelbase soon and will still have plenty of room for it. My junk is heavy... trailer/truck/camper loaded are a bit over 22k. I drive the speed limit or less pretty much.

[yager]

rich - you gonna park this in the street like the bus ?

[BigDan]

Heres whata friend of mine did. He permanently mounted the pop-up to the front of the trailer and his Scrambler fits behind it. Works pretty well for him and his wife. He added AC to it and it kept up with the heat in Hot Springs earlier this year.


How many feet is that deck???? I wonder if I could do that w/ a 20ft steel deck bumper pull. If so do ya think it would be safe. Big axles and dual brakes of course.

[cactuscj]

i think that would be way too much tongue weight for a bumper tow. what are you using as a tow rig?

[Kaiser5]

How many feet is that deck???? I wonder if I could do that w/ a 20ft steel deck bumper pull. If so do ya think it would be safe. Big axles and dual brakes of course.
I'm guessing his deck is about 24', maybe 26'. The pop-up will be just over 7' wide so that will leave him with a minimum loading area of 17'.
On your 20' deck that would only leave 13' for your rig, kinda tight.
The tonque weight would probably be an issue too with the bumper pull, although load balance and axle placement could make it doable.
I can find out more from my bud if you want.
Mike

[pmurf1]

Unless you had a moon buggy with no front overhang at all, there's no way you'd get a popup on a 20' trailer deck. My trailer has a true 20' deck, and even if I moved my buggy back to the rear edge, I would only have about 5-6' to play with. At that point, I'd have so much rear weight bias off the bumper that I wouldn't want to tow it. I would consider a 24' to be minimum and it would still be tight for most bodied trucks, some buggies. 26' would give you a reasonable amount of space for both and spares, water, coolers, etc.. The trailer in the pic looks like a 26' deck to me. He has about three dividers up front that I don't have, and they look about 18" or so apart.

[RockwelledToyota]

those are damn cool trailers----what 'bout the one that Soni Honniger built? The one he pulls with a 20 ton rig....

[GRMhick]

I'm guessing his deck is about 24', maybe 26'. The pop-up will be just over 7' wide so that will leave him with a minimum loading area of 17'.
On your 20' deck that would only leave 13' for your rig, kinda tight.
The tonque weight would probably be an issue too with the bumper pull, although load balance and axle placement could make it doable.
I can find out more from my bud if you want.
Mike

Its possible. I have been thinking of the same thing, just couldnt find a small enough pop up to fit on the trailer. I currently have a 12' deck with my fullbody 4runner, and its tight, but it works. If I did something like that, I would put ramps under the front tires so I could put the tires all the way upto the pop up, and the front bumper would go over it. I think I could pull it off with a 24' deck trailer, if you moved the axles to make up for the wierd weight distribution.

[saf-t scissors]

rich - you gonna park this in the street like the bus ?

Nah, I have a buck says it's going to end up in Rob's yard. :flipoff2:

[1GreenJeep]

My current set-up. It's a bit "light weight" for the job at hand... It does the job and it carries my two bikes to track days but I'd go for a stronger unit with more room in a heartbeat. http://www.otisace.com/jon/Pak%20Rat/JeepnRat.jpg
http://www.otisace.com/jon/Pak%20Rat/JeepnRat2.jpg

J

[crashnzuk]

Greenjeep, those are cool. A guy I work with bought one a while back. What is the max weight you can put on it. His is a little shorter, set up for motorcycles and less weight.
Travis..

[1GreenJeep]

Max is like 7200#s...I'm pretty much maxxed with the Jeep as pictured...to keep things legal and safe...I carry several "Jeep" items...spare, tools, etc...in the truck and run with zero fresh water on board while towing. The Pak Rat is really pretty lightweight but I work within it's it's capabilities.

J

[randii]

Unless you had a moon buggy with no front overhang at all, there's no way you'd get a popup on a 20' trailer deck.
Too lazy to retype it, but I saw a fold-and-tumble setup done with a pop-up at the front of a tent trailer, with room for a trail rig to the rear when the pop-up is folded compact and then pivoted up on end. The 'hinge' looked booty, but it did look do-able...

Randii

[Eskimo]

Nah, I have a buck says it's going to end up in Rob's yard. :flipoff2:

Pay up, bitch.. :flipoff2:

I think by the time I can swing something like this, I won't be living in this house. We'll have land.

[Kyron]

http://www.otisace.com/jon/Pak%20Rat/JeepnRat.jpg

Whats the wood for??? better floor suport?

[1GreenJeep]

The trailer wasn't exactly built to haul a Jeep...the deck is lightweight expanded metal sheeting the 2x12s help disperse the weight more evenly.

J