Camper trailer

[rrman61]

I have a 30 foot fifth wheel camper frame.my son wants to make a atv hauler out of it.has anyone here successfully braced/strengthened one without adding too much weight to it?he will probably use 2x6 boards for the decking .

 

[Janicholson]

The camper probably provided 60% of the rigidity of the frame. particularly in twist. cross members that tie the top of one rail to the top of the other, and bottom to bottom are one thought. Depending on the length needed, and the method chosen to load, shortening and moving wheels to a new center may be the best idea. Jim

 

[DoubleO7]

I have a 30 foot fifth wheel camper frame.my son wants to make a atv hauler out of it.has anyone here successfully braced/strengthened one without adding too much weight to it?he will probably use 2x6 boards for the decking .

Gut it and convert the rear wall to a ramp door!

 

[MN valley man]

About a year ago my son bought an old fifth wheel camper and we went through the work of converting it to a long trailer for transporting cars, small tractors, etc. as you described. After using it several times he sold it because it simply was not strong and pulled very wickedly down the road.

 

[showcrop]

Gut it and convert the rear wall to a ramp door!

From what rrman61 told us there is nothing to gut. All he has is the frame. It could perhaps work if it were shortened so that it could hold no more than two.

 

[jon f mn]

Thse frames are not strong enough for any type flatbed trailer. A camper is designed so the body is the frame and does the work, the steel frame is just to attach the wheels and hitch to the body. You could save the axles, but it would be best to start from scratch on the frame.

 

[plattman]

I have a 30 foot fifth wheel camper frame.my son wants to make a atv hauler out of it.has anyone here successfully braced/strengthened one without adding too much weight to it?he will probably use 2x6 boards for the decking .

I have a good friend that tried that conversion. He ended up with an oddball trailer he couldn't give away. If you value your time I would go shopping for a used trailer. I bought a 14 ft bumper pull used livestock trailer years ago. tough as nails and have hauled everything under the sun including livestock. Im sure i can get back what i paid for it any time I'm ready.

 

[1948CaseVAI]

I have a 30 foot fifth wheel camper frame.my son wants to make a atv hauler out of it.has anyone here successfully braced/strengthened one without adding too much weight to it?he will probably use 2x6 boards for the decking .

You will probably spend a lot of time, a bit of money, and have junk at the end.

 

[rrman61]

You will probably spend a lot of time, a bit of money, and have junk at the end.

Pretty much what I told him but he’s looking at what he thinks is the money he’ll save

 

[Brown David]

Has anyone mentioned that it's a bad idea yet?

 

[JLMac]

Has anyone mentioned that it's a bad idea yet?

And what does this have to do with tractors?

 

[Janicholson]

And what does this have to do with tractors?

Hauling them behind the camper! Seems OK to me. Jim

 

[showcrop]

Has anyone mentioned that it's a bad idea yet?

Yes, FIVE, LOL!!!

 

[cjunrau]

I have a 30 foot fifth wheel camper frame.my son wants to make an atv hauler out of it.has anyone here successfully braced/strengthened one without adding too much weight to it?he will probably use 2x6 boards for the decking .

Make 3 ft walls out of 1.5-2 inch tubing on both sides. This is now the new frame and it does work well for quads but not cars and tractors.

 

[da.bees]

I've built 2 trailers from 5th wheel frames and been pleased with both. One was from a Jaco and had a double frame near axles. I never hauled more than 8k axle rating and it pulled fine. The other which I still have is from 27 ft Fleetwood Prowler on 3.5k axles. 5' ramps will hook on rub rails making 4 wheeler loading quick and simple. It has been used extensively for UTV,RTV and hay without any problem. I'm sure I could mess it up hauling my 4020 w/loader and batwing or crawler but I have HD trailers for things like that. I can buy a set of tires for the little trailer for what one tire costs on the heavy duty trailers. None of the kids have hitches in 1/2 ton beds but if they did they wouldn't have a problem pulling the trailer. Everyone likes the ease of hooking up 5th wheel with 4 door trucks compared to goose hitch. People think the trailer is pron to break when they see how much it flexes but 1 ton trucks flex as much or more and don't crack. I recommend moving axles back for better handling. .

 

[MJMJ]

It will work fine for an ATV trailer.