Need to move Truck Camper without truck

[LonandLaura]

I bought a Lance model 1030 slide in, over the cab camper and I need to move it to my home about 75 miles away. My truck is 500 miles away, any suggestions on a cheap, easy and SAFE way to move it with a trailer?

[whem2fish]

it will cost over a dollar a mile because the have to have insurance i have done this

[Scarab0088]

How about a U-haul car carrier behind U-Haul's smallest truck, or a buddy's pick-up?

Enterprise and Alamo rent a car advertise pick-up rentals...

Or, many bigbox hardware stores like Home Depot rent flat bed pick-ups by the hour.

Best luck

[LonandLaura]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

How about a U-haul car carrier behind U-Haul's smallest truck, or a buddy's pick-up?

Enterprise and Alamo rent a car advertise pick-up rentals...

Or, many bigbox hardware stores like Home Depot rent flat bed pick-ups by the hour.

Best luck

I think any truck or trailer would need to be narrow enough to go netween the jacks, and it would need to go far enough forward to balance the load a little ahead of the axle, what trailer would work for that? And, do I need to support the over the cab part?

Thanks for all the responses so far. I have a pick up I can use to tow, but the camper won't fit on it. So, I need some kinf of trailer, I think.

[Scarab0088]

Originally Posted by LonandLaura

I think any truck or trailer would need to be narrow enough to go netween the jacks, and it would need to go far enough forward to balance the load a little ahead of the axle, what trailer would work for that? And, do I need to support the over the cab part?

Thanks for all the responses so far. I have a pick up I can use to tow, but the camper won't fit on it. So, I need some kinf of trailer, I think.

So, then several of U-Hauls utility trailers (open top) will work. They are only as wide as a standard pick-up and range from 7'-12' long, just pick the one that will carry the camper and allow you to prop-up the cab-over (2×4's or what ever you pick).
See: U-Haul rentals: Cargo, utility and car trailer rentals

They have side railings to tie the camper down.

Safe travels

[dubob]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

. . .pick the one that will carry the camper and allow you to prop-up the cab-over (2×4's or what ever you pick).

Sorry, I don't see the logic here; if you don't need to prop the cab over on a truck, why would you want or need to do it on a trailer?

[LonandLaura]

Originally Posted by dubob

Sorry, I don't see the logic here; if you don't need to prop the cab over on a truck, why would you want or need to do it on a trailer?

Bob, good point. I just thought that because we use stabilizer bars on the front of the cab over down to the truck, that it might be necessary to do something to stabilize the front cabover if on a trailer.

So, I guess I just need to make sure I find a trailer that will haul the 3,000#, is wide enough for the camper to slide into and not so wide but what it can be backed up between the jacks, and is long enough that the weight will be far enough forward to properly distribute the load in the trailer. Is that the consensus?

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, I truly appreciate it.

[Scarab0088]

Originally Posted by dubob

Sorry, I don't see the logic here; if you don't need to prop the cab over on a truck, why would you want or need to do it on a trailer?

Same here...thought is was required to support the cab-over, like with those struts seen on many slide-in's. But, I have never owned a truck camper.

Are you saying they are not needed? In the interest of safety, I think I would prop-it up anyway...but I am just that kind of careful.

Best luck to LonandLaura

[dubob]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

Are you saying they are not needed?

Pretty much! They don't make the unit any safer to speak of, but what they do for you is cut down on the amount of bounce generated by wind/air flow lifting the cab over section and causing the truck bed to rock a little front to back and causing a little bounce in the truck over all. The struts/shocks dampen that motion and that's about it. To the best of my knowledge, they do not contribute any support to the cab over section of the camper. And trying to support the cab over on a trailer would be a waste of time IMHO. But that's just one man's opinion.

[rickf]

Everyone is overlooking the weight of the camper. I see 3,000 lbs. thrown out there but if that is the camper I am thinking it is you are looking closer to 4,000 lbs. plus! Do NOT go by what the manufacturer says it weighs, They are notorious for under rating the real weight of truck campers. I think you will find that any trailer capable of carrying the weight is not going to fit between the jacks. Your best bet is to find someone near you that has a truck set up for a camper. Where are you located?
You may also want to check out this site for people near you.

http://www.truckcamperforums.com/

[myredracer]

I would do it the safest way. Ask the dealer if they can deliver or ask them if they have the names of private persons that will do it. Phone a bunch of dealers if needed. There's often local truck owners around that do it on a part-time basis for extra income. I think you will find it doesn't cost that much. Did this once to have a used 5th wheel moved to our acreage. I doubt 75 miles would be a problem for some of them.

[Franka548]

Is your truck a dually? If so the suggestion to a uhaul car trailer will back under it just fine. As far as the cabover part, waste of time to block it up.

The important thing is to make sure the camper is tied down to the trailer securely. Another thing to remember is if you have to block the camper up to clear any sewer or water lines that hang down in the rear of the unit, if you do would use railroad ties run crossways on the trailer, at least 4 if not 6 (better).

I would position the unit so the middle of the floor of the unit is right in the middle of the 2 axles, this should be really close for your hitch weight, if it isn't then move forward to raise hitch weight and rearward to decrease hitch weight.

Frank

[Scarab0088]

Originally Posted by Franka548

Is your truck a dually? If so the suggestion to a uhaul car trailer will back under it just fine. As far as the cabover part, waste of time to block it up.

The important thing is to make sure the camper is tied down to the trailer securely. Another thing to remember is if you have to block the camper up to clear any sewer or water lines that hang down in the rear of the unit, if you do would use railroad ties run crossways on the trailer, at least 4 if not 6 (better).

I would position the unit so the middle of the floor of the unit is right in the middle of the 2 axles, this should be really close for your hitch weight, if it isn't then move forward to raise hitch weight and rearward to decrease hitch weight.

Frank

Back to my original suggestion. The car carrier (auto transport) is rated at 5,290lb capacity, has brakes, and is very stout: U-Haul: Auto Transport Rental
I have rented these many times moving every 2-3 years for the military.

I didn't think these things weighed SO MUCH...none of the utility trailers are rated for loads that high.

Best luck

[rickf]

I do not remember for sure the length of that camper but I believe it is around 11 feet. Three of those feet are probably going to be dropped down below the floor surface of the camper so a lot of rigging will need to be done. You will have to have swing out jacks on the front of the camper which it may already have since these are generally too heavy for single rear wheel trucks. The problem being that you will have to back the trailer far enough under the camper to set it in the middle of the trailer, I can assure you that it will not fit between the rear jacks. The rear jacks never have swing outs because on a pick-up the rear of the truck never gets near the rear jacks. All this to go 75 miles?! There has got to be someone with a dually that is setup to haul a camper that would do it for the price of lunch and fuel. I am off for two weeks over Christmas and I would be willing to do it if you are near me. This time of year a lot of truck campers are packed away for winter so the trucks are available.

Rick