*Revived and updated* Enclosed trailer / camper idea - thoughts?

[ajhostetter]

Huh. Maybe if I got a 26' truck I could rig a shower up in that bitch... maybe. One of those outdoor showers would probably be more reasonable/doable though.

I like this. If you can avoid plumbing the truck, it's going to be so much less headache. I've used those solar showers and they really work pretty well.

[jalopi]

The shower I can honestly do without... yea I'm sleezy like that.

Shitter, on the other hand, is something I'd really have to be concerned about. I piss quite often, lack of toilet would be an issue.... too many "public indecency" laws these days to risk it.

[ajhostetter]

The shower I can honestly do without... yea I'm sleezy like that.

Shitter, on the other hand, is something I'd really have to be concerned about. I piss quite often, lack of toilet would be an issue.... too many "public indecency" laws these days to risk it.

I'm with you dude. I don't mind going au naturel myself. What about these: http://www.westmarine.com/toilets

A fancy groover and you can spend as little as $30.00. If it's gonna be in the truck for a weekend though, I'd go with that electric portable. It'll probably help keep the smell down.

[jalopi]

Hm. Good links. Damn those toilets get expensive real fast though. And yeah, smell would be important, since I'll probably have some sort of cutout leading from the bunk area to the cab. Either that or next to the toolbox into the cab.

[lgb240]

Jalopi,

Interesting thread you've started here ... I started vintage racing a '56 MGA last year and have had many of the same transportation issues that you've noted, and the thought of converting a straight truck into a car hauler crossed my mind. I passed on the idea due to the expense. Some things to consider ...

Don't buy a used U-Haul regardless of the price. Even the new rigs on the road are used up POS's. I've read studies where consumer magazines have randomly rented u-hauls across Canada - over 80% of the trucks they looked at (that could be rented) wouldn't pass a safety. Stay away from them.

What size Ranger do you have? I use a 2000 Ranger 4x4 with the 4.0 V6. It's rated at 5000 lbs towing capacity. It was my father's. He bought it new. He passed away 5 years ago, so my mom keeps it at her place and I / my brothers use it whenever we need a truck. I've towed all over with it (probably 30,000+ km) without issues. I think the key is getting the right trailer - the lighter the better, less strain on the truck, better MPG's. I first had a single axle, aluminum trailer, but have since upgraded to a duel axle Trailex, bought used.

The trailex is one of the best aluminum trailers around. It's 845lbs empty, brakes on both axles and very long ramps for low cars. I have a tire rack, but took it off. They are expensive, even used, but are considered lifetime trailers. The trailex with an e30 would weigh in at about 3700lbs +/-

Also, have you considered a conversion van? Last year, I experimented with a Roadtrek. Rated at 7500lbs towing capacity,(probably a little optimistic) has all the comforts of home (fridge, stove, micro, AC, shower, sh1tter, ect) It worked very well for for a weekend at the track. I sold it off at the end of last season and am currently looking for a class C (more room, more pulling power, but more fuel consumption).

[jalopi]

Mine's a 97 with the 2.3... so no, towing with a trailer is kinda out of the question - thing hardly gets out of its own way.

Personally I'm not a fan of vans at all - my time as a mechanic taught me that most of them are big ol' pieces of junk AND it's hard to get to a lot of stuff in the engine bay. Besides, I don't have room for a trailer at my house and I wouldn't trust leaving a $3-5k trailer where I plan on parking the truck.

Aside from maybe tires, balljoints, tie rods & the gear box going out I can't really think of anything that'd need immediate attention on a rental truck. The kind I plan on getting typically uses a very solid driveline combo. Everything else is general maintenance stuff, things that (you'd expect anyway) a rental agency would kind of ignore until it was practically falling off [insert previously mentioned parts here].

I know I'm gonna have to throw a few grand on top of the vehicle after purchasing it - but - I'm sure I'd have to do some things to any other tow vehicle as well. Might end up going a different route though, as I only plan on getting this vehicle after I sell my other house (some time next year)

Time will tell what the end vehicle will be, though for what I want the uhaul seems to be the way to go.

By the way - if anyone knows of any other rental companies that built bodies as low as uhaul's I'd be interested to know about em.

[lgb240]

Hahaha wow, this idea got a much better reaction than what I was expecting, lol

Already figured the ramps out based on a thread I saw on some volkswagen forum - I need a 12' ramp for ground clearance (figured out I need roughly a 12.5* ramp). Unfortunately, the only ramps I've found in that length are like, $1k for the ramps + mounting hardware :(

I have 10' ramps on my Trailex that has a deck height that is only 18" off the ground. Your sketch shows a deck height of 34" +/-. You will need WAY longer than 12.5' ramps ... the rockers will drag as the front wheels go deeper in the van while the rear wheels are still on the ramps with such a steep approach. . You may want to sketch this out properly using the ground clearance of your car and wheel base. I have a feeling that your ramps will need to be VERY long ... with a whole new engineering problem to overcome.

I saw an open wheel formula vee come out of the back of a cube van at a race track once... their ramps were VERY long ... think multiple piece trusses. I couldn't stand to watch as it was slowly rolled down to the pavement with the help of a winch. I thought it would drop off the edges and come crashing down.

[lgb240]

Best of luck with whatever you end up building ... keep us posted.

I'm constantly drooling at the toy haulers / toter-homes and giant RV's at the track pitted around me wishing that one day I could live in such luxury at the track. Until then, it's my trusty air mattress and sleeping bag.

Cheers,lgb

[kid8]

I really like this idea a lot. If you plan on the grandma's attic as your sleeping area, would you add in a camper like vent/pop up function? I think that would be pretty nice to have to get some airflow up in your sleeping quarters! It could also aid in adding light to the box. Some of the newerish U-Hauls probably have the translucent roofs too. Keep us posted on this project and good luck!

[jalopi]

Found a thread about making ramps for slammed vw's here:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5420860-DIY-Build-your-own-low-profile-car-ramp

The lowest point of my front suspension is 4" and the center of my front wheel is 18" from that point. Using the formula from that page, it's tan-1(y/x). In my case that's tan-1(4/18 ) or tan-1(.22222222222).

Found a tan calculator online here:

http://www.rapidtables.com/calc/math/Tan_Calculator.htm

According to this site, the critical/approach angle of my car is 12.5*, just like the VW (my car is not slammed by any means; the low point is the crossover part of my Y pipe. I also don't have a front "spoiler", just the valence. probably the same amount of ground clearance as the shown VW) shown on that vwvortex thread.

I then found this chart on a wheelchair ramp guide:



The deck height on the 24-26' uhauls is apparently 33", so I think a 12' ramp will do just fine. But ya, I can believe you on the formula vee car - for a regular box truck (just like a uhaul but with a 40-42" deck) you need 20' ramps... and yes, the thought of that is scary as hell (add in that it's like, $2400 for the set :O )

camper like vent/pop up

Yeah, if not in the mom's attic then somewhere in the box. Maybe some side "slidey" windows too. I've read that the main reason (aside from lack of proper tie downs) that rental companies don't want vehicles in the back of their trucks is the potential for fuel vapors in a sealed room.... know what I mean? In addition to comfort (that area's probably the hottest) it'll be for safety too.

[e30_302]

Don't buy a used U-Haul regardless of the price. Even the new rigs on the road are used up POS's. I've read studies where consumer magazines have randomly rented u-hauls across Canada - over 80% of the trucks they looked at (that could be rented) wouldn't pass a safety. Stay away from them.

^ This. My dad owns a self-storage business and sees a lot of the various rental trucks. U-Hauls are absolute garbage. Penske's are the best.

[jalopi]

So does anyone else have full size box trucks with the low decks like uhaul does? As much as I'd like to get an International 4X00 truck, I'd just be too paranoid about going up and down a ramp with a four foot potential drop if something goes wrong. 12 inches is kind of a big deal

[ajhostetter]

Maybe have a chat with these guys...http://www.penskeusedtrucks.com/search-inventory.html

[kid8]

The Penske trucks have a much higher distance from the box floor to the ground than the U-hauls. This is because they build the box over the wheels to eliminate wheel arches where the U-hauls just leave them exposed inside.

[LuckyHenriksen]

I like this idea a lot, seen it done a few different times. I would suggest using a school bus as your base vehicle. Buses are built on medium/heavy duty truck chassis, and have an incredibly stout body. You can build the back door to open up and then set ramps out. Plus you can get a good (older) 25-30 foot bus with an international 7.3 diesel for $2500-4500 all day long, and you know they have been well maintained by school districts