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canadian_driver
08-22-2006, 12:59 AM
im looking into getting something to tow 1-2 jeeps at a time with. well technically its my dad whos looking, and he was thinking of getting an old fedex or uhaul type van and sticking a sleeper from a 18 wheelers on the back as well as a 5th wheel, now my question is how much could thoes types of vans tow? would it be enough for two jeeps?

RDBillsJr
08-22-2006, 01:13 PM
im looking into getting something to tow 1-2 jeeps at a time . . . old fedex or uhaul type van . . . how much could thoes types of vans tow? would it be enough for two jeeps?

My guestimate of your 2-jeep load, assuming trail ready jeeps packed with gear and fuel, is about 9,000 lbs. Add the weight of your trailer and you are at or above 12,000 lbs. The tongue weight for a ball hitch would be somewhere between 1,200-1,800 lbs, which far exceeds the capacity of any Class III or IV hitch and will severely overload the axle and rear springs of a Step Van or Chevy C-30 based delivery van even if the tow rig is run empty. Add gear and you will be in big trouble. I haven't been able to find tow ratings for the vehicles you mentioned, but I would seriously doubt it could be any more than 5,000 lbs, 7,500 at the very most.

You need to consider the tow rig axle ratings and suspension ratings and the load rating of the hitch in addition to the "towing capacity" the manufacturer gives the tow rig. If your load exceeds any of those rating categories you are overloaded and a fatal accident waiting to happen.

Thus, you might be able to tow one jeep on a trailer (my loaded CJ-7 on a double axle 18' car hauler trailer weighs between 6,700-7,000 lbs depending on what else I carry on the trailer with the jeep), but the rigs you mentioned cannot tow two (safely or otherwise).

The best setup for the situation you describe would be a one-ton diesel pickup (or larger, such as a Ford F550) with a 5th wheel car hauler trailer. There was a recent episode of "Extreme 4x4" on Spike TV where they built such a trailer with a big rig sleeper at the front. If you can find the episode information someplace on the Internet, I suspect you can track down the company that supplied the engineered plans for the trailer.

I think they built a one-rig trailer on the show but I would bet the company supplying the plans could spec a two-rig trailer as well. It would be a long sucker though, and heavy. (28 feet for the jeeps plus dimensions of the sleeper plus the overhang for the 5th wheel hitch.)

canadian_driver
08-22-2006, 02:33 PM
well the load rating of the van is 9,000lbs, and i know i wouldnt be able to do this with a ball hitch, but a 5th wheel (goose neck?) should be able to tow alot more than a ball hitch, but how does the load rating traslate into towable weight?

whowey
09-15-2006, 09:49 PM
IIRC, the trailer plans company was: www.trailerplans.com (http://www.trailerplans.com)

They sell their plans in the Northern Tool catalog also.

The big 32 foot Fed-Ex Ground trucks, may provide the base you are looking for. They are powered by a Navistar diesel, and have Allison trannys. The main problem though is they are literally beaten into the ground before they are gotten rid of.

The largest U-haul truck is built on a commerical truck chassis, either a GM, or a little older they were Internationals. Attach a 60" or 72" stand-up sleeper directly behind the cab. Then put a hauler frame on the truck and pull a regular bumper hitch for the second Jeep. You would be set. This is the truck I am talking about.
http://www.photovault.com/Link/Vehicles/Commercial/Trucking/show.asp?tg=VCTVolume05/VCTV05P03_09

ATL ZJ
09-15-2006, 09:55 PM
2 5/16" Ball hitch limit is 10k.

The hitch is what you need to be worried about. Use a weight dist. hitch and run a trailer long enough that you can put your load far enough back to minimize tongue weight (not too much more than 1k lbs.)..

A newish CTD (3500) would more than take care of what you're trying to do.. :D or any modern one ton diesel for that matter.

Zero
09-15-2006, 10:08 PM
Not much technical info here, but I thought I'd throw this out there....

I just drove an e-series (the van style cab) ford uhaul (gasser) with the 17ft box, from Los Angeles to Maine, towing a car trailer with my jeep on it. Even with all the crap I own and my tank of a jeep, it did really well. I was very surprised. No problem holding speed, except the uphill mountain passes where I was stuck to running 45mph with the big rigs..... oh, and the 3 tires that melted through the 118 degree mojave desert. :rolleyes:

Weight-wise, I had at LEAST a jeeps weight worth of junk in the back. It all comes down to how you're hooking the trailer up, and the added weight of a two-vehicle trailer, and your sleeper cab. In my situation, the truck did great though. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Good luck!

chadjans
09-15-2006, 10:27 PM
IIRC, the trailer plans company was:
The big 32 foot Fed-Ex Ground trucks, may provide the base you are looking for. They are powered by a Navistar diesel, and have Allison trannys. The main problem though is they are literally beaten into the ground before they are gotten rid of.



Good luck finding them. I have NEVER seen one for sale for I think quite obvious liability reasons.

Chad

Skyline
09-15-2006, 11:04 PM
You might want to look into one of those FUSO trucks. I have never driven a more comfortable truck. I rented a new FUSO stake truck recently, and loaded it with more than 10,000lbs of lumber (an entire small timber frame building). I needed to pick the stuff up from the timber framer 300 miles away. I went virtually all the way there, and all the way back flat out. Empty, 80mph. Full, 75 to 80. You didn't even feel the load, except the truck was very slightly slower on top end. I think the capacity is something like 20,000 lbs. These things drive like minivans. VERY nice for a long trip. You could easily pull a big trailer, run another rig on top of the bed; and still have plenty of room for a sleeper cab. The bed is a bit high though....you'd need some long ramps.

People have mentioned the ~10,000 weight limit for a ball hitch...what about the loop style hitches; can't those pull much more weight than 10k??? I see bulldozers on those kind of trailers.

Another crazy idea....look for a used fire engine. Generally VERY beefy underneath. Cut off whatever part of the body you don't want, to make room for your sleeper. For example, my FD just ordered a new pumper. The old Mack it is replacing (23 yrs old) still runs great, and has maybe 30,000 miles on it. It will probably be sold for somewhere around $7,000, (the replacment will cost $629,000!) This thing could pull a house. The rear axle is as big as your whole Jeep. Tops out at 55 though, so you'd need to change the rear axle ratio. And think of the man-made mud holes you could make with the 500 gallons of water.

CurtP
09-16-2006, 08:54 AM
People have mentioned the ~10,000 weight limit for a ball hitch...what about the loop style hitches; can't those pull much more weight than 10k??? I see bulldozers on those kind of trailers.

Pintle hitch. Biggest I've seen is 90,000lb capacity. That ought to about do it :rolleyes:

As for the tow rig - well, it all depends on budget. I don't think there's going to be a "cheap" solution though.

Alaska ZJ
09-16-2006, 09:38 AM
Am I the only one that actually read the original post? He never said he was going to bumper pull 2 jeeps.
the back as well as a 5th wheel. Well I'll be damned. Amazing what reading can do for you.

Yes you will be just fine.

RDBillsjr is basically talking out of his ass. He is telling you to go get a F550 when the used vehicle your looking at is actually rated higher than a 550. Everything he said is basically "inside the box" and "momma said" BS.

I hope that helped clear some things up for you. Take some pictures I love these types of build ups.

canadian_driver
09-16-2006, 09:46 AM
im actually really liking the idea of a firetruck, because that is style, when you show up to an event or a trail in a firetruck towing two jeep no body is going to mess with you.:smt068 skyline was also right about the price, they're pretty cheap just looking on ebay

whowey
09-16-2006, 02:04 PM
Good luck finding them. I have NEVER seen one for sale for I think quite obvious liability reasons.

Chad

Fed-Exer's? They are all over here in the muddy Midwest. You can pick-up your basic freebie Car & Truck Trader and will find them in there.

UPS is the one that absolutely mandates they be cut up when they go to be recycled. Any company that has a UPS contract won't take a chance of violating it either. Too many trucks to take a chance on selling a couple here or there.

whowey
09-16-2006, 02:13 PM
im actually really liking the idea of a firetruck, because that is style, when you show up to an event or a trail in a firetruck towing two jeep no body is going to mess with you.:smt068 skyline was also right about the price, they're pretty cheap just looking on ebay

They are relatively cheap. Make absolutely sure though, that you can get replacement parts for all the systems on the truck. My local FD had to replace a tanker truck recently as we could no longer get replacement parts for the tranny in it. The old truck sold to the scrap yard for $500. The new replacement was $195k.

But like was already stated, you can haul a damn house with it. Just a little thing to think of, water weighs roughly 8 lbs per gallon. You find a truck with a decent body and 1000gal tank, You have a chance at selling the body to a small rural dept, that needs a new truck but can't afford one, and a truck that routinely carried 10k of weight.