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Crawler hauler project?

Tryloff

Tryloff

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
788
Messages
369
I need something better for hauling and camping. The wife wants a class a pusher and a 2 car trailer behind that, but we're not rich so that's out for now. I'm fine with a crawler hauler, but am concerned about the weight over the truck.

My tow rig is a 2018 chevy 2500. It pulls anything I put behind it, so no concerns over power. But it's srw. I can put bags on it to help with weight but I've never hauled something really heavy up front on the trailer.

I found a decent deal on a Kaufman 43 foot car hauler trailer:
three-car-gooseneck-trailer.jpg

And was wanting to put a larger slide out camper up front. Must have at least a wet bath and sleep 2 adults, 2 kids.

Most of these are built using a much heavier trailer with the axles farther forward. This trailer is rated at 14,200.

Is this a dumb idea?
 
My horse trailer turned crawler hauler is right at 3k pin weight empty (9k total). Axles are positioned in a spot that the toy helps start to take weight off the pin.

The 19 Ram 2500 I had when I bought it got it home ok. Current 18 Ram 3500 SRW handles it better, but I wouldn’t want a lot more pin weight.
 
RPS1030 said:
My horse trailer turned crawler hauler is right at 3k pin weight empty (9k total). Axles are positioned in a spot that the toy helps start to take weight off the pin.

The 19 Ram 2500 I had when I bought it got it home ok. Current 18 Ram 3500 SRW handles it better, but I wouldn’t want a lot more pin weight.
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Maybe if I back both rigs on there it will help take some weight off? I was also thinking about remote mounting all three water tanks a lot farther back. That would be problematic during the colder months though without line heaters.
 
my Lance cab over camper is a 9'10" floor and has a wet bath. easy two adults, and small kids ok. teens, get them a tent. its approx 2500 pounds by its self. i would block out the first 11 foot of the trailer. maybe 10 for a camper. FYI.
 
chaplinfj60 said:
my Lance cab over camper is a 9'10" floor and has a wet bath. easy two adults, and small kids ok. teens, get them a tent. its approx 2500 pounds by its self. i would block out the first 11 foot of the trailer. maybe 10 for a camper. FYI.
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Yeah I'm trying to keep the camper 11 foot or less. Thays why I'm looking for 40 foot trailers. Some of the slide outs are pretty dang big and have pop outs. Also expensive!

Is the 14,200 weight rating going to bite me? Or the axle placement on this trailer specifically?
 
My buddy grosses over 30k lbs with a srw and a 30' gooseneck. He is very anal and did his homework before buying the truck and found he was well within the ratings of a srw (22 ram 3500) I'm betting you'll be OK there.

I'd guess your camper will be 4k lbs, jeep is 5-6k? And Sami or rzr is about 2500

If you factor in gear, parts tools, ect. You're probably getting close to the 14,200, but probably just fine.

Any concerns about legality if pulling about 20k lbs in your area? Most any place this puts you well into class A cdl territory.
 
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I have a cdl and commercial insurance, so that's not a concern. The big thing is gvw of truck + gvw of trailer has to be below 26,000 to avoid cdl. But either way, I'm not concerned.
 
The trailer weight is included in that 14,200. So I'm probably going to need a bigger trailer. Which is not a big deal, I was just kinda hoping to pull this off because this one weighs about half of a normal goose
 
Then run it. Even if slightly overloaded it'll be more robust than a toyhauler.
 
Tryloff said:
I have a cdl and commercial insurance, so that's not a concern. The big thing is gvw of truck + gvw of trailer has to be below 26,000 to avoid cdl. But either way, I'm not concerned.
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Right, but a lot of states also make towing over 10k lb cdl also. Either way you'll be in class a territory, so having it already is good.

Is it not the same trailer as pictured?

Does it not have 3 7k lb axles?
 
It does have 3 7k axles. But is rated at 14,200. I'm guessing it's because of the trailer structure. I might call Kaufman tomorrow and see what they say.
 
Tryloff said:
It does have 3 7k axles. But is rated at 14,200. I'm guessing it's because of the trailer structure. I might call Kaufman tomorrow and see what they say.
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21k of axles minus 8k lb trailer, plus 2200lbs of pin wieght (or something similar) would be my guess.

Edit: this must be it?

It does say 14,800 gross wieght rating, even though it has 3 7k axles. Which is odd because the 36' 2 7k axle version has a 14k gross wieght rating.


Three Car-Two Truck Gooseneck Trailer - by Kaufman Trailers

Either way, I doubt you have an issue with a camper, sxs/Sami and jeep on it.
 
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Yeah I don't think the axles are the limiting factor. I think it's the trailer frame structure. Needs more trangles?
 
Tryloff said:
Yeah I don't think the axles are the limiting factor. I think it's the trailer frame structure. Needs more trangles?
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If he was hauling bales or pallets that might be worth considering but if all you're putting on it is a camper and a wheeling rig that have their own structure to them you probably don't need to do that.
 
It wouldnt scare me. The weight issues will show up in your suspension and tires. Both have easy fixes.
 
I do have a set of wheels I use for towing only. Stock wheels and Bridgestone Dueler tires. They seem to do a really good job. If they start to suck with extra weight, I'll buy some 19.5s and load range F tires.

For the suspension, I have the truck reverse leveled now and want to add the rear airbag kit. I plan to use a larger electric compressor and add a 15- 30 gallon air tank somewhere for whatever I need air for.
 
Tryloff said:
I do have a set of wheels I use for towing only. Stock wheels and Bridgestone Dueler tires. They seem to do a really good job. If they start to suck with extra weight, I'll buy some 19.5s and load range F tires.

For the suspension, I have the truck reverse leveled now and want to add the rear airbag kit. I plan to use a larger electric compressor and add a 15- 30 gallon air tank somewhere for whatever I need air for.
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I wouldn't bother with the 19.5s for your use. You can get lt tires that are rated for more than your rear wieght rating.

Air bags with an in cab controller or auto level sensor would be sweet.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I wouldn't bother with the 19.5s for your use. You can get lt tires that are rated for more than your rear wieght rating.

Air bags with an in cab controller or auto level sensor would be sweet.
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Auto leveling is gonna be the way I go.
 
Tryloff said:
Auto leveling is gonna be the way I go.
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My buddy I mentioned who hauls hay has a ram with the factory air bags and auto level. It's a really cool set up that I'm surprised Ford and GM haven't adopted.

It's simple also, just get an air valve that every semi truck uses and plumb it in.
 
I think that trailer is pretty perfect for your needs. No idea if you will scale out right but IMO there isn't a real need for the super heavy GVW trailer for this purpose. The camper at that length is going to be really light and well distributed across the deck.

I think a regular goose trailer is going to be made to support a full 14k+ load in one spot (oilfield apparatus etc.) not 3 similarly weighted vehicles distributed equally.
 
CarterKraft said:
I think that trailer is pretty perfect for your needs. No idea if you will scale out right but IMO there isn't a real need for the super heavy GVW trailer for this purpose. The camper at that length is going to be really light and well distributed across the deck.

I think a regular goose trailer is going to be made to support a full 14k+ load in one spot (oilfield apparatus etc.) not 3 similarly weighted vehicles distributed equally.
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That trailer is advertised as a 3 small vehicle hauler. A camper is the same foot print and wieght as a small vehicle, and the other 2 things are literally small vehicles :laughing:

It will be just fine.
 
I called Kaufman! They rate it at 12k, 14.8k, or 18k for the exact same trailer to avoid cdl weight ratings on various trucks. So the structure is actually rated at 18k, and for $35 and proof of ownership they will up rate it if I need.

Game on!
 
Tryloff said:
I called Kaufman! They rate it at 12k, 14.8k, or 18k for the exact same trailer to avoid cdl weight ratings on various trucks. So the structure is actually rated at 18k, and for $35 and proof of ownership they will up rate it if I need.

Game on!
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Don't up-rate it.

Run the scales because you're under CDL. If you do get pulled and weighted appeal the ticket, get the new weight rating and let your $500 lawyer deal with it.
 
Yeah I'll probably see what it weighs out at before doing anything.
 
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