Pulling a really small camper

[rainbowwar24]

This is what I am thinking of doing. I am gonna buy a van with a 10 ft box on it. The U-Haul type, with single tires in the back. I can haul decent amount of weight, and then use the truck for whatever I need to when I am at home. Another thing I was thinking about doing was, I am going to get a "Toad" camper and pull it behind it. They only weigh 1,600 lbs or less and are 16 ft or less.. I will get mine unfinished, so it will be really light. Then when I am done for the night, or sitting at a truck stop for a few days, I will have a nice place to stay, shower, crapper, ac/heat, etc. You can even "camp out" at Wal Marts now! What are your thoughts on my idea?? I figure just the money I save on showers, will help cover cost of gas. It only takes a few mins to unhitch the camper, get loaded, and attach it again. Your thoughts???

 

[highway star]

You'll need to run that by the carriers that you're interested in signing on with. They may not want you to do that, seeing it as a potential problem. If your van breaks down, well, it happens. But, if you were 400 miles out on a tight time frame for delivery and a wheel bearing goes out on your camper, the carrier may not be happy about that.

 

[Monty]

I responded in your other thread also ... it may involve new cdl licenese, new insurance requirements, and as mentioned, it may be forbidden by the carrier.

Overall, probably not a good idea.

 

[rainbowwar24]

I also thought about wheel bearings going bad. The camper has 13" wheels on it. I was going to put 15" wheels, and keep 2 extra hubs just for spares, and put heavy duty tires on it. I was not even thinking about what the carrier would say. Heck, I was not even thinking about telling them. I am doing it for me, and for my comfort level. I am thinking about all the wait time, and layover time. I could stay out much longer, cause I have a "mini home" to stay in. Would no be couped up in a van 24/7. I am just thinking about it at this point. My brother has been a truck driver for over 30 yrs, and he is all against the idea. But I wanna break the mold, try new things. Once stopped, get out of the "work" van, hit the generator button on the tounge of the camper, and relax in comfort!

 

[zero3nine]

Most cities have an ordinance against leaving unattached trailers. On top of that, trailer theft is at an all time high. I have often thought of this same idea, but trailers will net you the lowest possible fuel mileage. In my van, its 12mpg with a trailer... regardless of size and weight.

Food for thought.

fired at you from my Droideka

 

[Brisco]

I also thought about wheel bearings going bad. The camper has 13" wheels on it. I was going to put 15" wheels, and keep 2 extra hubs just for spares, and put heavy duty tires on it.

You WILL be having major bearing problems if you plan on doing something like this. Might as well just go ahead and change out the whole axle to a higher weight capacity axle that is designed to handle 15-16' rims/wheels.

Food for thought.

 

[asjssl]

This is what I am thinking of doing. I am gonna buy a van with a 10 ft box on it. The U-Haul type, with single tires in the back. I can haul decent amount of weight, and then use the truck for whatever I need to when I am at home. Another thing I was thinking about doing was, I am going to get a "Toad" camper and pull it behind it. They only weigh 1,600 lbs or less and are 16 ft or less.. I will get mine unfinished, so it will be really light. Then when I am done for the night, or sitting at a truck stop for a few days, I will have a nice place to stay, shower, crapper, ac/heat, etc. You can even "camp out" at Wal Marts now! What are your thoughts on my idea?? I figure just the money I save on showers, will help cover cost of gas. It only takes a few mins to unhitch the camper, get loaded, and attach it again. Your thoughts???

Save money on showers?? Get frequent fueler card from pilot ....never have to.pay for a shower.....everybody is trying to re-invent the wheel.....



Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

 

[chefdennis]

Hmmm...10 box, alot of carriers are now re-thnking even putting on the 12 cubes..some just don't want cubes at all...and it is "customer driven..customers are getting in the habit of asking for sprinters and or ST's...yea there will always be CV freight, not saying that at all..just speaking to the "trends" in the business...

2nd...pull a trailer and not even tell the carrier....wow, nothng like getting off on a good foot with the carrier...oh and I hope you plan on getting your own insurance, because about the time you are in an accident, no matter if its your fault or not, the carriers insurance is going to bounce you and also the carrier will dump you...then have a good time tryin to find a carrier to take you on...

Take a look around at the CV's you see doing expediting, how many do you see pulling a small trailer or camper...there is a reason for it..don;t think you are the 1st one to think its a great idea....carriers aren't lletting it happen...so as was said in one of the above post, check with the carriers 1st...and forget about doing it and not telling them...lol..blow a wheel bearing and sit on the side of the road in the same place for an hour or 2...the carrier see's that from the QC and they call and what to know why you aren't moving...you going to lie to them again??

 

[greg334]

I have seen a panther van several times pulling a trailer behind it.

 

[highway star]

I have seen a panther van several times pulling a trailer behind it.

I've seen it a couple of times over the years. In one case I asked the guy about it and he had just bought a new house and was just moving the trailer.

 

[Jack_Berry]

a number of people have already posted this idea. maybe you could do a search to find them.

towing the trailer raises the gvrw of the van. go over that and you start logging. not tell the carrier? how many laws do you want to flaunt?

cooped up in a van? not us. places to go things to see. cooped up in a trailer or a van what is the difference?

bad idea.

 

[rainbowwar24]

How was I gonna lie to the carrier?? They want to know what kind of vehicle I am gonna use to haul their stuff. My cube van! Why would they even care what I am pulling behind my van?? Plus, showers are not free. I tried to get a rewards card at the Pilot to get free showers. They only do it with Diesel fuel, not gas, So I was told. I know you have all seen this, the guy blowing his nose juice into the sink at the truckstop, and guys taking armpit showers at the sinks. I don't even want to know what they do in the showers!! LOL!! This way here, I would have my own crapper and shower. The only reason I was going to use a cube box van was, the trailer will not be wider than the box. It will stay out of the air. It seems everyone here thinks the wheel bearings will go bad???? How so?? My friend has 350,000 miles on his car, same wheel bearings. This does not look like its what others want to do, but I think it would work out great for me. I would much rather be sitting, or standing in my camper, than holed up in a van. If and when I do this, I will take pics, and keep everyone up to date on how its working out.

 

[Monty]

Get the expediter card from either Pilot/Flying J or TA/Petro ..gas earns shower credits, but you have to ask them to MANUALLY add the points, as swiping the crad out front will not make it happen.

 

[Moot]

What are your thoughts on my idea??

This does not look like its what others want to do, but I think it would work out great for me.

If you think it will work great for you then go for it. Remember you were the one that asked for thoughts on your idea. Here's my thought: When loaded with freight chances are your camper trailer will put you over 10,000 pounds.

 

[Turtle]

How was I gonna lie to the carrier?? They want to know what kind of vehicle I am gonna use to haul their stuff. My cube van! Why would they even care what I am pulling behind my van??

That's the seminal question you really should know and understand. What you don't seem to understand is that just because you use your cube van to haul their freight, the instant you hook up a trailer it no longer is a cube van, but a combination vehicle. If you tell the carrier you're hauling their freight in a cube van but in reality are hauling it in a combination vehicle, you're not only lying to your carrier, but are also voiding your lease agreement with them in using a vehicle that doesn't have authority, as each vehicle under authority must be accurately described for that authority.

And as has also been mentioned, adding a trailer to a cube van will almost certainly put you over 10,000 pounds Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating, which makes you a Commercial Motor Vehicle and subject to logging and scaling and all the other nifty benefits of being a CMV.

 

[greg334]

I've seen it a couple of times over the years. In one case I asked the guy about it and he had just bought a new house and was just moving the trailer.

Actually I see it regularly and in different spots. A few months ago, it sat at the I80 rest stop east of 69 for a few hours.

 

[rainbowwar24]

The GVWR of the van is 8,600 lbs, fully loaded, fuel, and passengers. I am gonna find out what the truck weighs empty. The most I will be hauling will be 2,000 lbs. Give or take 500 lbs. Even if the camper weighs 1,600 lbs, which it won't, I will still be well below the 10,001 lbs. So I am not worried about the weight. I will be asking the company that I will be working for if they have a problem with me towing a SUPPORT/CAMPER behind MY truck. I do appreciate all the input on my idea, thank you. Nobody seems to like it but, oh well. I have been a Courier/Expediter here in the Charleston SC area for the last 2 yrs. If I decide to do this full time, out on the open road, I want to make it as comfortable as I can for myself. It might seem petty to some, but frankly, truckstops are disgusting.

 

[blizzard2014]

If you think truck stops are disgusting, then this is the wrong business for you. You are going to live like an animal on the road like the rest of us. Where are you going tot put your trailer when you pick up a load? If you pick up and deliver 6 loads in one week, you will have to mount and dismount your trailer 12 times. That seems to be a lot of hassle for me. You can just get a portable shower for your cube truck. They are cheap and you can find a link to them if you search the forums. You can also get a toilet seat lid that goes over a 5 dallon paint drum and use that with a plastic bag or cat litter for a crapper. Then you just dump the bag or clean the litter as needed. You don't need a trailer to be comfortable in this job. But it is what it is, this is a dirty job for hard working guys. It is not a picnic out here! I hope this helps some.

 

[Brisco]

The GVWR of the van is 8,600 lbs, fully loaded, fuel, and passengers. I am gonna find out what the truck weighs empty. The most I will be hauling will be 2,000 lbs. Give or take 500 lbs. Even if the camper weighs 1,600 lbs, which it won't, I will still be well below the 10,001 lbs. So I am not worried about the weight. I will be asking the company that I will be working for if they have a problem with me towing a SUPPORT/CAMPER behind MY truck. I do appreciate all the input on my idea, thank you. Nobody seems to like it but, oh well. I have been a Courier/Expediter here in the Charleston SC area for the last 2 yrs. If I decide to do this full time, out on the open road, I want to make it as comfortable as I can for myself. It might seem petty to some, but frankly, truckstops are disgusting.

Since you've showed your disdain towards many of the comments you asked for here, I'm going to go ahead and point out what the obvious is here.

You have no idea as to what it is you're getting into when it comes to running OTR.

First off, you spout off the 10,001 weight class that is for CDL "LICENSING", Not Vehicle weight classes.

Second clear example is what you posted above. You say your vans GVWR is 8600. In order not to be running as a combination vehicle and under 10,000 lbs, your trailer must have a total GVWR of less than 1399 lbs. There is not a Travel Trailer out there equipped with all the amenities you seek (shower-toilet-fridge-AC-Generator-etc) that is under, say, 2800 GVWR. Sure, your trailer sitting there may have a dry weight of 1600 lbs, but once you start adding your personal belongings, filling the tanks with water, adding propane tanks for the stove, generator, and heater, filling the fridge and cabinets with food, and so on, that trailer is going to hit the 2000-2200 lb range very quickly. AND, that is why the GVWR of that trailer will be set at 2800. My bet is the trailer itself probably has a 3500 GVWR. That's usually the lowest "axle" rating one can get for a TT set-up that just has a single axle.

Now, take the 8600 GVWR and add the 2800-3500 GVWR of that TT together and you will clearly see that YES, you are in the "combo vehicle" class running well over a combined weight of 10,000.

So, take a step back, edgeumacate yourself a little better when it comes to rules and regulations when it comes to running OTR, and then come back and ask questions about stuff you have little knowledge about.(or more than you do now) As of right now, you're really not worth anyones attention here. IMO of course......

 

[Brisco]

You can also get a toilet seat lid that goes over a 5 dallon paint drum and use that with a plastic bag or cat litter for a crapper. Then you just dump the bag or clean the litter as needed.

Been there, done that. The best $8.99 plus tax I ever spent at Cabellas!!!