Has anyone towed a travel trailer (not a 5th wheel) and then towed a utility trailer (w/two 4 wheelers) behind that?
What kind of experiences have you had?




1990 Ford F250 ExtCab 4X4 460 FI, 5 Spd, 2 1/2 Lift, 35" BigFoot XT's, 4:56 Gears, KN Filter,3" cat back exhaust, SuperChip, Crane adj fuel press reg.

 

I would expect that it is not legal in most states.

 

I don't know of any state that this is legal in. You can do it with a 5er and another trailer as long as you stay within the legal limits.


2000 F-250 XLT SUPERCAB 7.3 PSD 4X4 AUTO, LIGHTED VISOR, ROLL TOP COVER, BLACK AND BEAUTIFUL. I JUST LOVE A FORD TRUCK.

 

Bigblue- In michigan, the front trailer is supposed to be a fifth wheel, but I'm not sure why that matters. I've seen two guys pulling doubles like you describe, and I did not see anyone bothering them. I'm not sure the officers out there are sharp enough to know what is and is not required, or maybe they just don't care. If your setup is well constucted and all of your lights work, they (traffic cops) don't seem concerned. If you are comfortable with your hitch setup go ahead and try it. I've got two trailers made from the back half of dead trucks, I have thought about pulling them both but want to get my brakes figured out better, right know neither of the trailers has any brakes, and don't think it is safe without more braking power. DF

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 21-Feb-01 AT 00:32 AM (EST)[/font][p]You'll need to check the laws of each state your towing in because all of them are different. The cops do know, cause I've seen them pulled over. In Illinois it used to be and maybe still be totally against the law. In Indiana, you are supposed to have a Commercial Drivers License and be rated for tandem trailer towing. In Kentucky, the first one is supposed to be a fifth wheel, the total gcvwr rating is not to be exceeded and their is a total length limit. This is just a slight example of how states can differ. I've tried towing two farm trailers around off road and it is easy until the need to back up is required.

 

saw something similar to what you describe. driver said only legal if primary trailer is 5th wheel. illegal in most states.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 22-Mar-01 AT 02:33 PM (EST)[/font][p]I've done something very similar.

I was moving from Florida to Texas with a pickup, a car, a Goldwing motorcycle, and a utility trailer.

What the Florida highway patrol told me was:
No limit on how many vehicles/trailers as long as,
you stay under 60 feet from front to rear, and
working lights on the first and last, and
Safety chains at every connection, and
everything licensed.

I loaded the back of the truck. Then I connected the utility trailer to the hitch on the back of the car and loaded the Goldwing on the trailer, along with some other stuff. I then rented a tow dolly from U-Haul and drove the car front wheels up onto the tow dolly, and then loaded the car with stuff.

With a small bit of effort, I spliced together some wires and built a wiring harness to run from the back of the towing truck to the trailer, with some duct tape to keep the harness from flapping around.

I had working lights on the towing truck, the tow dolly and the utility trailer. The entire "road train" was under 60 feet (not by much), and the truck, car, motorcycle, and trailer had valid license plates. So off I went.

I covered 1,068 miles in 2 days

Allow plenty of room on the turns, plenty of room for braking, and NEVER put yourself in position that requires you to back up. Make sure that your truck can handle the load.

I would do it again if it was necessary.

I've also seen a Ford E150 van towing a camper trailer with a boat trailer behind that.

 

How fast do you (or can you) drive with this road train. What happens if one of your trailer starts fishtailing? Incidently, I have heard that in the Austrailian Outback they run semis with three or more trailers and they are called "Road Trains."

 

This isn't really related to your question, but it is the craziest towing I did. I had two 3/4 ton 4x4 ford trucks. One was broke down and I was going to go rent a tow dolly and haul it back(400 miles). The only problem is the Uhaul place said the tow dolly could not handle the big truck. So I had an idea. Both trucks had heavy duty receiver hitches. I stuck receivers in both of them and removed the *****. I then backed up and stuck a grade 8 1" bolt throught the two receiver hitches. I wrapped a tow chain around the bumpers for saftey chains. It worked great, but there was not much of a turning radius.

 

>How fast do you (or can
>you) drive with this road
>train. What happens if
>one of your trailer starts
>fishtailing? Incidently, I have
>heard that in the Austrailian
>Outback they run semis with
>three or more trailers and
>they are called "Road Trains."
>

TallPaul

I got the name "Road Train" from the Australian use of the term. It seemed applicable in this case.

For the first 100 miles I kept it at 45 MPH to see how it worked. No problems at all. After that I gradually increased speed to between 55 and 60 MPH. Keep the weight in the trailer around 55% to 60% forward of the axle to keep some weight on the hitch.

Just apply all of the common sense that should be applied to all towing setups. Check the connections often. Keep checking the mirrors.

 

A relative who works as a mechanic for a truck firm and who has his whatever rating truckers require told me a few years ago that it is legal to tow two trailers with a pickup, IF the first is a 5th wheel and the second trailer is attached with what is called a Pintle mount type hitch. It was not clear if there were any specific states but we were discussing the Pacific NorthWest, so I assume that it is legal at least up here. I am not sure if I would try it, since he also mentioned that trying to back up that kind of rig is a B*$%#.

As a side issue, he also said that it was legal to have a passenger in the 5th wheel trailer while it was being towed, but not a regular hitch and ball type trailer.

Don't rely on this as legal advice because I don't think there is a cop out there who would accept my word as legally correct. The best bet is to check your state DMV.

I wouldn't do either but I guess it is legal in some places.

Jim Henderson

 

I had heard that you can ride in the back on a 5th wheel trailer in many states. I asked one Michigan trailer store and they said you could ride in a regular trailer or 5th wheel in Michigan because there never was a law made to address it. However, he said neither is safe as these type trailers are not made to withstand a crash and there are no seat belts. Sounds like good advice. A co-worker once saw a trailer disintegrate after flipping from excessive fishtailing. It flipped and a shower of materials flew up in the air and what was left was essentially a flat bed trailer.

 

I heartily agree. In my almost 30 years of driving I have seen enough accidents with trailers to know that if there was a person inside they would stand almost no chance of survival if the trailer was at freeway speed. Most crashed trailers I have seen were either totally destroyed, ie a flatbed, or had major walls missing. Most pieces were scattered along the road and most were fairly small pieces.

I don't trust any hitch enough to risk my family, well maybe inlaws. I was once next to a truck pulling a car trailer, looked like a professional race rig, so I assume he had experience. It was kind of intersting when I saw the trailer start sliding backwards from the truck. I didn't see the final result but this poor guy was heading up the Calif Grapevine, a famous trailer tow vehicle killer, with really long, steep climbs. I have even once forgotten to lock down my hitch, fortunately something told me to stop and check before I hit the freeway. Always check, then check it again, and then check it every time you stop.

Like I said, I wouldn't do either thing, ie tow two trailers or have a passenger in one.

Jim Henderson

 

Some comments for Oklahoma & Texas sightings. Houston, TX., saw
one van pulling 2 more full sized with tow bars. Western OK today. Saw a pickup with cammper, pulling a Explorer or some-thing similar, with a 2 wheel utillity trailer on behind. They passed a couple of Highway Patrol cars, and weren't stopped. Bob

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 19-Apr-01 AT 08:58 PM (EST)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 19-Apr-01 AT 08:57 PM (EST)[/font]

The Federal regulations concerning towing, either commercial or non commercial are: The tractor, or tow vehicle has to be rated to pull the gross weight. The tractor or tow vehicle has to be equipped with either a center mounted Ball, for a goosneck type trailer, or a fifth wheel, for a king pin type trailer. The first trailer HAS GOT to be a SEMI TRAILER, that is a trailer where more than 1 third of it's weight rests upon the tractor or tow vehicle. The second vehicle has to be lighter than the first, shorter than the first, and attached to the first by an adequate tow ball or fifth wheel hitch. The combined length of the train should be no more than 60 ft for non commercial, and 85ft for commercial, unless the train is only to be operated on the west coast, where a total length of 95ft is allowed.

What this means is that a bumper hitched trailer cannot legally tow a trailer on the interstate system. The State regulations DO NOT apply to the interstate.

This I got from the Federal regulations the DOT sent to me for operating a tractor-trailer-trailer vehicle non commerce interstate usage ( our mobile church )

I hope this helps, and does not confuse the issue.

Wm

1st edit

The people that object to vehicles on the interstate are not necessarily the Highway Patrol - The DOT is the agency that concerns itself with vehicle/trailer violations, and there are very few inspecters in most states.. This means you could get a real long way before they order you off the road.

Second point:

Towing a trailer behind a bumper tow trailer gives you no stability at all!. If there is to be a problem, you WILL loose trailers and possibly life. In my many hundreds of thousands of miles driving around the US, I have seen innumerable 4 wheelers upside down with 1, 2,or even more trailers strewn around the country side. At most of these wrecks I have also seen a Coroner's truck - they ONLY go to fatalities. So as a Commercial Drivers License holder, and as a Minister, and as a human being, PLEASE think really hard before you do anything so dangerous as to tow an uncontrollable combination.

third point:

In the afformentioned travels around the US I have seen a tremendous amount of wrecks, I have assisted at many of them, and have to say that the most common involve trailers, both commercial and non commercial. The most commonly seen Big rig wreck is that of Doubles or triples, 28ft or less pup trailers where the the end one goes ape, and throws the truck off the freeway. (saw one today actually on I40 in mid Tennessee. A Fed Ex truck with two trailers, one (the end one) upside down and split open in the median)

Wm