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CARLnJANIS · 01-22-2018, 03:16 PM

Saw a truck and trailer parked in the Walmart parking lot in Burleson, TX last night. Sorry, no pictures, too dark. Now the trailer looked like a 35' or so typical 5th wheel. However, the truck was a modified long nose 18 wheeler tractor. The large 5th wheel hitch had been removed and a heavy duty deck attached to the top of the tractor frame. A sign on the back of the truck cab said something about Jeep parking. A loading ramp was laying on the deck. A standard RV 5th wheel hitch was mounted to the very back of the truck frame.

At first glance you would think that it was overkill. Who needs that much truck. But then I noticed the parking space on the truck.
Don't know the actual modifications to the truck hitch, but the trailer looked like it was trailering close to level.
This setup answers the 'How to haul a toad with a 5th wheel trailer question.'
Driving this setup would be a little different than a typical 5th wheel trailer. With the hitch behind the tandem axles, turning and backing would be comparable to a bumper hitch.
I would be surprised if the total length of the setup was within the state limits.

PopBeavers · 01-22-2018, 03:32 PM

A friend of mine has a similar setup. He has a hoist that lifts a Smart Car into the space between the cab and the trailer.

rockintom · 01-22-2018, 09:05 PM

Carl,
You are describing many HDT tractor setup that we've see over the years. A couple of Exceling friends do this and have Smart Cars that sit sideways behind the cab. I had considered a HDT but Donna said NO...she ain't climbing up into that thing. She wasn't nuts about learning to drive it also. So that went out the window! Here "Big Bit and Lil Bit" I don't have a pic of the little one on the back of the truck though. Notice that this Volvo is still a class 8 (not singled out).

CARLnJANIS · 01-22-2018, 09:45 PM

Rockin', I have seen pictures of a similar setup with the Smart car. The one I saw last night had a deck big enough for a Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep would be loaded and unloaded over the back of the truck. Which means they have to disconnect the trailer to get the Jeep off.