Triple towing anyone doing it ?

[jarwiebe]

My Concern would be the base plate on the Jeep. I would suspect it was only designed for the weight of the Jeep and not for nearly double that weight. Even if you have a 10K tow bar, the base plate where it is mounts to the Jeep would be the weak link.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by jarwiebe

My Concern would be the base plate on the Jeep. I would suspect it was only designed for the weight of the Jeep and not for nearly double that weight. Even if you have a 10K tow bar, the base plate where it is mounts to the Jeep would be the weak link.

When I bought the jeep last winter Towmaster did not have a kit yet, so we drew up a cad drawing that included shear cut plates ( for welding together new angled bumper ) base plates out of 1/4 in plate thru bolted to frame with grade 8 3/4 in bolts , and a 10,000 winch in the center. We then powdered coated everything with " Desert Sunset Orange" ,same color as Jeep body.all this work was done in Tucson at a off road buggy fab shop. Road master had made the ball hitch to 2 5/8 dia. Ball with thick shank, rated for 20,000. The assembly on the coach shows 15,000 rating. Anything can break , even Piintle hooks.I had one on a F350 dump/plow truck. It was bolted to a 1/2 in. Plate. After a few years we had to replace , stress cracks in the hook. Actually it was rated 16,000 ,not a lot more than my coach set up.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Our CC has a GVWR of 57,000#'s and GCVWR of 72,000#'s but I wouldn't try what the OP wants to do.

OOPS ours is only 54,000 and 69,000!
Front 20,000, drive 20,000 and tag 14,000 but still has the 15,000# tow rating.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

Yup they use the pintle hitch because it allows them to haul an extra car on the truck. Again a different beast than the ball hitch. Gravel truckers with box and wagons use the same pintle hookup.

Difference between long and triple is one of exposure. I have seen triple hauling fairly often. Mostly 5er with boat or something else behind.

It is always a crap shoot. Lots of fellows do all kinds of things that they seem to get away with. If you get stopped in the middle of a vacation do you have a plan that would enable you to continue? It seems to me like you do. Just unhook the toad and continue. You drive one unit and DW the other.

Too add , as I recall the fifth wheel trailers use a very small fifth wheel , often with an extension so they can use a shorter p/u. Can't help but think there maybe a weak point somewhere .

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

OOPS ours is only 54,000 and 69,000!
Front 20,000, drive 20,000 and tag 14,000 but still has the 15,000# tow rating.

You make me jellious with that 650 Cummins. Are they still painted red ? I have heard of some putting out 750 or more...Trans must be weak point., or , maybe you don't even need a Trans.....

[NevadaNick]

I have seen a few mh's pulling a pickup with a boat behind the pickup. I pulled doubles for many years that was a bumper pull tt with enclosed trlr behind the tt. If the law allows where your going i would do it.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by NevadaNick

I have seen a few mh's pulling a pickup with a boat behind the pickup. I pulled doubles for many years that was a bumper pull tt with enclosed trlr behind the tt. If the law allows where your going i would do it.

Thank you !

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by darstar

Too add , as I recall the fifth wheel trailers use a very small fifth wheel , often with an extension so they can use a shorter p/u. Can't help but think there maybe a weak point somewhere .

The plate size is smaller because of the much lower weight on the plate than an OTR truck will carry. Our pin weight is just over 2500 lbs. The pin diameter is the same.

We have a 24,000 lb hitch installed. Our 5er is 18,000.

The weak spot IMO is the maintenance. Once we get stuff mounted we never look at the system, checking for loose bolts, cracks, etc.

[Scarab0088]

Originally Posted by NevadaNick

I have seen a few mh's pulling a pickup with a boat behind the pickup. I pulled doubles for many years that was a bumper pull tt with enclosed trlr behind the tt. If the law allows where your going i would do it.

Originally Posted by darstar

Thank you !

Isn't the federal max for non commercial (or non-permitted/oversized loads) 65' total?

Then, what about the route? MI to AZ crosses 6 or more states depending on route selected. State laws should be checked in advance for allowance of bumper pulled double towing.

At a minimum, I see the route crosses: IN, IL, MO, OK, TX, and NM.
This listing shows some problems along the way - like in MI, IL, and AZ for bumper pulled doubles and several more for total length(?):
http://towingworld.com/towinglaws.cfm

I guess you can always drop the double for crossing each state where prohibited(?)...but Towing World's listing seems to read there's issues for the entire route .

If the OP does it, best luck for safe travels.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

Isn't the federal max for non commercial (or non-permitted/oversized loads) 65' total?

Then, what about the route? MI to AZ crosses 6 or more states depending on route selected. State laws should be checked in advance for allowance of bumper pulled double towing.

At a minimum, I see the route crosses: IN, IL, MO, OK, TX, and NM.
This listing shows some problems along the way - like in MI, IL, and AZ for bumper pulled doubles and several more for total length(?):
Towing World Official Website

I guess you can always drop the double for crossing each state where prohibited(?)...but Towing World's listing seems to read there's issues for the entire route .

If the OP does it, best luck for safe travels.

As far as I know there is no federal law for how long you can be. I ran a Monaco 38' with a 30' trailer for at lest 12 years, every state and all Canadian provinces .i think I was 71 ft long . Had a Tri axle V nose trailer. ( bumper pull ? ) , now that would be illegal. There are thousands of rigs on the highways with trailers , many matching colors with the coach. The reason a fifth wheel works well is centering the weight over the axle. My trailer wt. maxed out around 11,000, that was the reason I used a tri axle set up. . I custom ordered from Featherlite extra spacing to reduce wt on the rear of the coach, mostly because I carried 500 lb vintage Mullins in the V .it was a sweet set up with my 38 Packard su 8 convo coupe behind the Mullins. That was a 2 axle coach. Now with my CC pusher axle there is little overhang. No tong wt. needed. All the rules changed when interstate/intra State travel became the same . There are some very long rigs out there with huge sleepers and long nose extended WBs I was one of the first carriers to run 53 ft. Flats and step decks. Back then New England was our only problem. There is a 45' rule for single unit vehicles, however I know of several Newells that are 47' ...no one ever gets caught, cause we never cross a scale ! The problems usually only surfaces if a fatality axcedent involved. There are many thousands of MHs out there that are overweight on the drive ( over 20,000) that was my case with the Monaco, where full of water and fuel axle wr. Came in around 23,000. Ohio Turnpike was a problem as toll booths had axle scales. Usually it was the steer wt that kept these long Newells off the road. ....Advice, if I were to double up is stay on the Interstate/ Truck stops, no one will stop you as long as the combo looks safe and meets hitch capacities, safety chains. I think the States you refer to are fine if the trailer has an ATV - UTV on the trailer.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

The plate size is smaller because of the much lower weight on the plate than an OTR truck will carry. Our pin weight is just over 2500 lbs. The pin diameter is the same.

We have a 24,000 lb hitch installed. Our 5er is 18,000.

The weak spot IMO is the maintenance. Once we get stuff mounted we never look at the system, checking for loose bolts, cracks, etc.

The weak point in the RV fifth wheel set up is the tow vehicle. Many p/us were not designed to pull so much weight, especially the longer tri axle units. Evidences out there are the use of a class 7 truck with a fifth wheel to pull these high profile RVs. Even a 3500 Dodge w/ Cummins power has a lot of weak points other than the engine, like brakes, frame flex , and under rated tires and wheels.I have always looked at trucks and trailers, all kinds, that it is best to " overbuild" than under build. The industry problem is when you buy a decked out class 7 truck to pull these RVs makes the cost advantage go away compared to A class A pusher.....we are getting off topic here A bit , and the pros and cons are cussed and discussed on a daily basis I am sure.

[Idahoboy]

So I have tripled towed with a 5th wheel. But sold it and ended up with a trailer. I started looking if I could still triple tow a small trailer. But as I started looking found several things only several states allow triple towing without the primary towed vehicle being a 5th wheel 2nd there are length restrictions in all states. Anywere from 65 feet to 80feet total length for none commercial vehicles I have owned semis even in semi truck all states have restrictions on max length. You may do it like some have said with a longer trailer. Hope you get it figured out.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Idahoboy

So I have tripled towed with a 5th wheel. But sold it and ended up with a trailer. I started looking if I could still triple tow a small trailer. But as I started looking found several things only several states allow triple towing without the primary towed vehicle being a 5th wheel 2nd there are length restrictions in all states. Anywere from 65 feet to 80feet total length for none commercial vehicles I have owned semis even in semi truck all states have restrictions on max length. You may do it like some have said with a longer trailer. Hope you get it figured out.

Currently there are no overall length rules on Interstates. , that's Federal rules that apply in all states. Oversize height and width, including weight do vary between states. The quest for uniformity between states still has a long way to go. All laws apply to commercial as well as non commercial. If you are say 12 ft. Wide does not matter who you are, same laws apply.

[CampDaven]

I sense you had made up your mind before you started this thread. You also seem to be quite knowledgeable on all of the laws and the physics of the task, and how to make it work. Please report back how it all goes.
Happy trails.