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ogite...
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 4:58 pm: | |
Several days ago, I spotted an Eagle conversion on the interstate pulling an enclosed, vehicle trailer. The trailer had tandem axles, but I don't know what type of vehicle or other stuff was inside.
What kind of precautions should be taken if a person towed such a trailer? Reinforcing of the hitch or frame, trailer brake controller or what other concerns/issues?
Thanks for the info. |
Nick Badame Refrigeration Co. (Dnick85)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 7:35 pm: | |
Yes Ogite,
All that you mentioned. Also knowing the weight of trailer and whats inside are important.
The one advantage of a trailer is , you can back up!!
My uncle has a car, 2 motorcycles, and lots of other toys in his 28ft featherlite!
I know my uncle has a weight dist. setup on the hitch!
One Major Problem, Where to put the trailer when you park at a C.G. |
Bob Wies (Ncbob)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 7:38 pm: | |
Arriving at a decision as to whether or not to haul a trailer has been bouncing back and forth in my mind for some weeks. I've weighed the advantage of having the Toad out of the weather and having the extra storage space as well as considered the disadvantages
of having, not just one...but two additional peices of equipment to license, insure and maintain. Then the thought of having to unload the toad, find a place for both the trailer and the toad in some, at times, pretty confined spaces, brought me to the conclusion that towing, 4 down, would be the most practical solution for me.
This is where the difference lies. Consider where you plan to overnight, or stay for periods of time and think about how the facilities where you stay can cope with your situation.
It'll take some pondering but you'll arive at a decision which is best for you.
Bob |
Frank Mooney
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 8:10 pm: | |
Some Thoughts....Concerning the transport of your toad only,you could go with a tow dolly,no license plate required in most states,doesn't weigh very much,and your able to push it under your RV to some degree after your parked...Frank. |
ogite...
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 8:23 pm: | |
Thanks for the info guys. Was thinking about a small, 4WD for the toad, mt. bike or two and maybe an off-road cycle. Don't mean to sound greedy, but like to have a backup vehicle (or two) in case of mech. problems in another. Thot they might all fit into a trailer. Would not be changing camp sites every day or two. |
Jim Shepherd (Rv_safetyman)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 9:55 pm: | |
Ogite. It does not sound like you are going to go overboard on your trailer weight, but if you do get carried away, you could be into a very gray area as far as overloading the bus structure.
The subject of towing large trailers has been discussed a huge number of times on this board. If you do a search using “heavy trailer” you will get a huge number of hits. One of the best threads can be found by inserting “Towing a large trailer behind a scenicruiser” and you will get a thread that has some meat to it.
The basic issue is that most buses were not designed to handle large vertical (down force) loads of a large trailer. Some suggest that 500 pounds of vertical load is pushing it on some buses and that equates to a trailer that is in the 5,000 pound range.
Jim Shepherd
Evergreen, CO
’85 Eagle 10
http://rvsafetysystems.com Toll Free: 1**888**349**0704
Bus Project details: http://www.rvsafetysystems.com/busproject.htm (updated 2/9/06) |
Brent Coursey (Busboy)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 11:24 pm: | |
We're also in this quandry of either towing a Land Rover Discovery 4-down but then I might have to buy a thousand dollar bionic leg...er brake buddy or buying a tow dolly which I can get one for 500 dollars but will have to spend another thousand to get one with brakes and if they are electric brakes running wiring, break controller etc. I have looked at the archives but the best I could decipher was that towing 4 down was ok because it's all horizontal load. Towing with a tow dolly is ok because you will only have about 150lb of vertical load with the majority being horizontal load. Towing a car on or in a trailer can be bad because it has too much vertical load. What I did not find is what is safe for my Eagle. The previous owner welded a sturdy reciever hitch between the two rails at the back of the bus. I have had several folks look at it and think I can tow with it...then I had my mechanic tell me if it s too much it'll pull the motor out of the bus.
I'm all ears!
Brent |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 11:45 pm: | |
Yeeeeah... I'd have to agree with Jim.
I've driven buses with 53 passenger capacity, that allowed
for standees (one per seat row), plus an abundance of
luggage in the bays, as well the racks... All that would far
outweigh any amount of loading we busnuts will try to load...
The "downward" weight on the rear sector, may be of
much more concern, than the pulling (or stopping) weight
against the structure and design of the bus.
Towing with a tow dolly (UGH), or four down (yes), is
100% better than using a trailer. And I wouldn't worry
about yanking a one ton engine off it's mountings..... but
I would listen carefully to my mechanic's thoughts and
findings. You're paying him to watch out for you. Listen
closely to what he's trying to tell you. He may have found
something that isn't safe. |
Jim Shepherd (Rv_safetyman)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 04, 2006 - 12:05 am: | |
Hi Brent.
I have not heard of any issue with a bus hitch/frame when pulling four down or using a tow dolly.
Obviously, none of us can judge the installation of your specific hitch. The described approach is typical of Eagle hitch installations. The possible exception is that most hitches use the large bolts to attach the hitch engine rails rather than welding. Welding is OK if done properly. I would find a local hitch fabricator, or good welding shop and have them take a look at both the design and the quality of welding. The engine cradle rails on an Eagle are pretty heavy material and making good welds should not be a problem for a qualified person. One issue is to make sure the load is spread over several inches of the engine rails rather than just a short connection.
The biggest issue with an Eagle is the condition of the down tubes that tie the horizontal engine rails into the structure. If your Eagle has any appreciable rust, test the down tubes by trying to pierce them (close to the engine rails since the rust will be most prevalent towards the bottom of the tubes) with a small hammer and sharp awl. A couple of mine were a bit suspect. If they are rusted, you should have them double tubed (weld another tube beside each of the major tubes – I have some photos of the procedure on my project pages - see earlier post in this thread) for the link. Gary LaBombard also has some photos of his frame reinforcement at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/converter101
I need to present a balanced post here. I prefer to make sure that the frame is beefed up – especially because I want to be able to pull a big trailer in the future. But, having said that, there are Eagle owners who pull big trailers with no frame modification.
If your hitch is properly built and installed, and the down tubes are not rotten, you will have no problem pulling most any vehicle 4 down or on a tow dolly. You will also be able to consider pulling a small trailer. For a big trailer, a lot more thought should be given to frame modifications and very strong hitch design/installation.
Jim |
JW Smythe (Jwsmythe)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 04, 2006 - 1:12 am: | |
I'm in the same position. I'm taking my car ('00 TransAm WS/6) on the road with me. I want to protect it from the elements and the wear and tear of keeping any wheels on the road.
The WS/6 was a special edition, and they stopped making the F-body entirely after '03. Even the tires are expensive to replace, typically more than the bus tires cost.
It's damned fun to drive, so I want to keep it close by for when I'm stopped anywhere.
I'm planning on being on the road full time, so "home" will be where the bus is. I'm planning for the enclosed trailer for both the car, and my tools. It's not a huge collection, but it's enough to fix just about anything.
If I put it on an open trailer, I'd risk getting it all dinged up from road debris, plus sun damage. It doesn't need the paint to fade from being towed around the country. When we're parked, it'll be our primary transporation locally, which is what I use it for now. I have another TransAm, that I'm selling before hitting the road. The other one is a regular TransAm, and it just isn't as much fun to drive.
Geoff has one behind his RTS. You can see his pictures here:
http://busrv.com/geoff/
I asked him about it, and here's what he said.
"On the hitch, it is relatively easy to install a receiver. Don't put one under the bumper-- it will drag on driveways. To install a receiver remove the bumper and attach the receiver to the top of the 'Z' bar, take pains so when the bumper goes back on it is flush, then weld gussets around it (along with one bolt through the top). The more gussets the better, the heavier the metal the better. I have some pics of my updated receiver and the removable bar that connects the bottom to the inside channel of the engine cradle. If all you are doing is pulling a car it doesn't take much to make a good hitch. The trailer I have is a car hauler trailer and you can see by the pictures that it has a LOT of tongue weight, so I had to add a lot of support. Anyway, once you get the receiver in place *carefully* figure out where to cut the bumper hole out so you remove the least amount of material and the receiver and bumper should be flush. The retaining pin goes in from the inside. I'll have some pics suitable for posting soon." |
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