Gregg from RV Haulers shows the difference between placing the rear axle in a 'MID' position, and in a 'SHORT' position. For more information on our RVHauler HDT conversions, see our website at www.rvhaulers.ca
I really enjoy watching your videos as an old truck driver and long time camping enthusiast..as an norwegian nothing apply to our conditions but still very cool to watch.
Holy cow, what a big difference in the look of the truck. Thanks for sharing this, I never given any thought to doing a short position but now that you've shown the diff? nah, wouldn't work for me. Have a great day ya'll!
I've been watching your video's (lots of them). dreaming of full timing for retirement (maybe sooner) but it will be at least 10yr. I hope you are still around when that happens so you can build me a hauler. I really like your attention to detail of your builds. Just like I do things. Your video's are very informative with very good simple explanations.
I really enjoy watching these videos and look forward to eventually needing to upgrade to a similar hauler. For now I just watch and learn. Please keep the vids coming. For those that are looking to buy a truck on their own, can you tell folks what you look at when you're evaluating a truck for purchase and what specific mechanical components to inspect or expect to repair/replace? Thanks and keep posting!
+brass289 Thanks for watching our videos. It is great to know someone is enjoying them. I have a video playlist that starts off with teaching you some of the ideas behind a good candidate RVHauler. Here is a link to the playlist. ru-vid.com/group/PLiJ8IVlm34GAF54yUkHlvGc26H0hp0EoP
that's very interesting so much difference between the mid and short position I saw a truckin my home town today that was cut short like that ,, the guy had installed a pickup box on it ,,it actually looked pretty cool , it didn't have a sleeper though I currently am working on my truck myself too ,I discovered it is a bit heavy on the rear axle ,,it has a 20K rear axle but when i have my large water tanks full and both batteries on board i am right at weight limit of the front axle ,,I discovered this while on a camping trip in nebraska ,,I got stopped at a weigh station by a DOT officer who didn't know what my vehicle is ,,it's been inspected and certified as an RV ,,the title says 1974 Chevrolet 6500 truck /RV ,, it was a trick getting the title changed in Iowa ,,,most guys would license it as a custom built modified vehicle but I decided to go through the additional certification steps to prove that it's road worthy , Safe and not an experimental vehicle RV insurance is very cheap in Iowa ,,my full coverage insurance is $250 a year with $500 deductible,, if it had been classed as a modified vehicle or home built the insurance would have been 3 or 4 times as much and also because i used such an old vehicle there no emission restrictions or equipment on it also meaning i can use whatever engine i want ,,and i tried several different engine/transmission combinations before settling on the monster i have now i am building a Tag axle for it using a 10K trailer axle that will increase the amount of braking power i have as well as increasing the weight capability i have because this truck has such a long chassis it's actually very heavy on it's front suspension ,, and this will help that
Greg if a truck is singled short. And later you want to change it up. Its not that tough, to stretch the frame. Its done everyday on OTR trucks. I know that will be our plan. To single one short, move the back axle up where it fits the profile on the rear skirt. But we also plan on using the truck as our daily driver. While on the road. I know the ride will be a little rougher when not towing.But that is one trade off. Also I know when ABS brakes first came out on Semi's. We had to be careful when bob tailing. As the brakes did not work as fast or as good without a load. Do the newer trucks still have this issue? Back when ABS was first added. You apply the foot brake and you felt like the brakes were not being applied 100% but more like 30% or so. So we had to run the jake with the brakes when bob Tailing. It was scary on the Fregihtliner Condo's back then. Would love to see a video of mounting and wiring up the Jackaloplee in the side compartment.
Ok I’m getting hooked 😊 I get my own truck. How much to extend frame and add flat bed with fifth wheel hitch? Yes a couple of tool boxes and ramps for smart car to start on a budget 🥴 Thank you in advance
These beds you make look nice but, why not just leave both axles in place and build simple steel flatbed deck, of course after removing fifth wheel. It seems that would be a lot less expensive option. True you would have one extra axle and four more tires, that you probably do not need for pulling RV.But you would have extra breaking and less chance of wheel slip because the power divider would still be useable. Plus your gonna have a much larger resale market being able to sell truck back into trucking market or RV market,just by removing bed and having an unmolested truck. As far as turning and handling yes maybe you’d lose some but I’ve been pulling a 53ft trailer with my 670 Volvo and I’ve put that trailer in some pretty tight places over the years. It seems to me that even a 40ft RV would be a walk in the park. Let me know the reasons you have for not leaving both axles in place. Thanks for all your informative videos.
Do you ever do any cab over haulers? Seems like they might be good for a tighter turning radius. Am I wrong and the cons outweigh the pros of using a cab over? I want to do do the hauler/5th wheel in a few years when we get close to retirement.
Hello Hank, yes cab-overs are certainly an attractive option as they are shorter and have the turning radius benefit. It can be a challenge to find a lower mileage unit in good condition as the cab overs are becoming more scarce in the used market. Thanks for taking the time to pose your question!
Why can you not leave the rear axle in it's original position and just extend the drive line? Wouldn't that make for a smoother ride with the longer wheelbase and benefit front axle loading by not cantilevering weight behind the rear axle?
Hello Monte. Sorry for the slow reply to your question. We find that when we single "long" it is quite easy to transfer weight to the front axle. It can easily be overloaded, beyond it's capabilities.
Why do you need to single a truck? Is there ANY way to use an RVHauler and carry a bigger car than a smart car (such as a Jeep Wrangler) and still pull a 5th wheel?
+Stuart Bush Hello and thanks for your question. Yes, we can carry other vehicles, however, if they are longer than a Smart car, we have to load them from the rear and carry them length-wise. It cam e be done!
+Noah Lee Hi, and thanks for your question. When you single long, you have a considerable risk of overloading the front (steer) axle if you put anything behind the sleeper (weight wise). Yes, you can do it, but I have a hard time thinking up reasons to do so. You have to build additional drive shafts for such a long "reach" to the long axle. You also have to install a support, and steady bearing. Singling long will also result quite a long rig overall.
Yes, we can leave the two rear axles in place. However, there are some positives and negatives to this approach. Why do we “single” an RVHauler? Some Advantage and Disadvantages. 1. Every individual state/province has their own rules, however one rear axle can often be classified as a motorhome. Titling as a motorhome results in far cheaper insurance, and registration costs. If it has two rear axles, it is sometimes considered a commercial vehicle, and the insurance is about $6000+ per year. One rear axle, the insurance is about $900-$1300 per year. This is dependent on where you live. Sometimes you can have it titled as a “personal truck” when it still has two rear axles. 2. Perhaps an even stronger reason for singling the rear is the impact it has on the required operator’s license. A single rear axle can be driven with a standard driver’s license in most locations. A three axle truck requires a commercial driver’s license in a good number of cases. Sometimes we have to take a one-day air-brake course. 3. Make it a motorhome, and you don’t have to maintain a driver’s log, annual commercial safety inspections, or stop at weigh scales ever. 4. Traction. I have proven in side by side tests that a single rear axle has superior traction in pavement, grassy and gravel conditions. I have had people with their dual axle RVHaulers here in my campground in various wet, nnowy, or icy scenarios. My yard has some very gentle undulations, lumps and bumps. They have tried to backup their trailers, and gotten horribly stuck, chewed up grass, and spun tires on ice. I have had to unhook them from their trailers in-place, and I winch them out. Then, I backup unaided to their trailer with my single rear axle RVHauler, connect, and back them up into the site, or drive out. I have done this probably 12 times in the past few years just in my yard. I have always won. In every case, the tandem axle RVHaulers had full lockers. Every tire (all 8) spinning back there. WHY? We have extremely little pin weight pushing down on the drive tires (perhaps 3000 - 5000 lbs). The coefficient of friction requires downward force. I have many more small details that I can share with you should you wish to explore this further, and I would suggest you call me to learn more if interested. 5. Limited axle articulation when we have two rear axles. The rear axles are attached with extremely stiff springs onto an extremely stiff frame. There is only 3 inches of tipping or articulation from side to side available to an individual axle. When driving over the slightest uneven bumps (or a gravel divot in a campground), the axle will tend to stay level. If you lift the one set of wheels, the opposite wheels tend to lift as well because the second unaffected axle is still on the flat. The lifting wheels that have lost much of their ground contact will spin. Again, I have proven this in side by side testing on my own driveway that leads into my shop. 6. Better fuel mileage. There is less weight, road friction, and steel rotating. 7. Singling results in a far better turning radius than your pickup. Two rear axles tend to “scrub” or grab the road surface, and it makes campground maneuverability a bit more challenging. 8. Superior trailing backing. As an aside, when we combine singling with the location of our 5th wheel hitch placed rear of the axle (not directly above it as we do with pickups), we gain amazing trailer backing characteristics. When we are backing up a trailer with the hitch placed approximately 3 feet rear of the axle we essentially have the backing characteristics of a bumper pull trailer. We start trailer "turning" sooner. 9. Singling results in less downward force carrying capacity over the rear axle. Most rear axles are engineered for 20,000 lbs of "sprung" weight. They can support 20,000 lbs of downward force. When we add to the bare frame (A) a fully outfitted bed (deck), (B) a drom box, (C) smart car, (D) and we fill all the storage with our super-heavy contents that full-timers take --- END MATH RESULT --- My "heaviest contents" customers have had 7,500 lbs left over capacity for their 5th wheel pin weight. If you plan to tow a very heavy pin weight trailer that is approaching 7500 lbs two axles might be warranted. 10. Take a Jeep or something heavier than a Smart Car? If you plan on carrying something other than a smart car on the bed, they need to be loaded length-wise. We have to be aware of weight capacity. Most small cars or Jeeps will weigh around 4700 lbs and up. This will take away from our 5th wheel pin weight allowance. On average, a 4700 lb Jeep will allow us a maximum 5th wheel pin weight of around 4,800 lbs. 11. Nicer (smoother) ride. I have enjoyed many hours and days of towing our 5th wheels with single, and dual rear axle RVHaulers. We have consistently remarked that the single rear axle is much much smoother. The dual rear axles tend to "chatter" when hitting road imperfections and cracks in the pavement. 12. Singling results in a shorter rig overall. If you leave the tandem axles, we often have an RVHauler that is 3 feet longer overall. 13. Lower maintenance and repair costs (fewer tires, brakes, etc) 14. Increases your resale value - when you are ready to sell, it REALLY increases the value when there is a single rear axle. There are many many commercial trucks available for sale. There are far fewer RVHaulers! 15. Allows for more storage boxes under the bed/deck. Those tires are almost 4 feet across! Leaving the two rear axles reduces our storage opportunities by 4 feet of width X 2 feet deep X 2 feet high X two boxes = 32 cubic feet of storage. 16. Some folks like the looks of a single rear axle. Visually it becomes more of an RV rather than a commercial truck. Some like the traditional looks of a commercial truck with two axles. We can dig into any of these points in more detail should you be interested. Call me or email me! Thanks for watching my videos, Gregg
Great Question. Why do we “single” an RVHauler? 1. Every individual state and province has their own rules, however, one rear axle can often be classified as a motorhome. Titling as a motorhome results in far cheaper insurance, and registration costs. If it has two rear axles, it is often considered a commercial vehicle, and the insurance is about $3000+ per year. One rear axle, the insurance is about $900 per year. This is dependent on where you live. Sometimes you can have it titled as a “personal truck” when it still has two rear axles. 2. Perhaps an even stronger reason for singling the rear is the impact it has on the required operator’s license. A single rear axle can be driven with a standard driver’s license in most locations. A three axle truck requires a commercial driver’s license in most cases. 3. Make it a motorhome, and you don’t have to maintain a driver’s log, annual commercial safety inspections, or stop at weigh scales ever. 4. Better fuel mileage. There is less weight, road friction, and steel rotating. 5. Far better turning radius than your pickup. Two axles tend to “scrub” or grab the road surface, and it makes campground maneuverability more challenging. 6. Nicer (smoother) ride. 7. Results in a shorter rig overall. If you leave the tandem axles, we often have an RVHauler that is 3 feet longer overall. 8. Lower maintenance and repair costs (fewer tires, brakes, etc) 9. Increases your resale value - when you are ready to sell, it REALLY increases the value when there is a single rear axle. 10. Allows for more storage boxes under the bed/deck. 11. Some folks like the looks of a single rear axle. Visually it becomes more of an RV rather than a commercial truck.
All About RVHaulers with Gregg Thanks for the reply. That makes a lot of sense. Especially the insurance and licensing, that makes a big difference. I wouldn’t think that the resale value would be more for a single axle. But it it’s registered as a motor home and that’s what someone wants it for, that makes sense also. All I know is that, if I would have seen your video’s and known about doing this to a tractor back when I bought my Chevrolet 2500 Duramax, I would have went this route instead. Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.
If you are using this for RV’g, why do you need a truck with a sleeper on it? You are towing a sleeper! Loose the sleeper (or use a ‘coffin sleeper’) and regain that frame space for your Smart car while still maintains the short wheel base. Makes turning in better while keeping the car carrier…… and using the camper towed RV for what it is intended to be used for …….sleeping.
Perhaps for easy of maneuverability in RV parks, My theory is that a single axle truck like the ones shown here will turn sharper than ones with a tandem
Hey Mr.Super. Thanks for your observation. Most folks single short for one primary reason - they want to keep their overall length as short as possible. If we leave the frame long, we can certainly add some storage on the frame rails, but we somewhat negate the benefits of making it short. If you want to keep the frame the "factory" length, it might be a nicer option to move the axle to the mid position and have storage boxes in front of the rear axle, and behind the rear axle. The turning radius will be about the same. Singling mid also provides a nicer ride experience to the passengers.
The short truck doesn't ride or handle as well especially when bob tailing in any adverse weather conditions. The mid is so much nicer looking not only in length but in height as well the shorty is almost as long as it is tall so it looks all out of whack.
+Roger Shellman Thanks for your question. My wife and I have owned 8 diesel pickups since before we were married. We have always been RVers - pulling trailers. As our family grew, and Gregg got more STUFF, we kept getting bigger and bigger trailers. Eventually, my tricked-out one ton dually was at the max. We were pushed around uncomfortably by our trailer and all of Gregg's STUFF that we take bush-camping in the remote areas of the Rocky Mountains. I knew there was a better way. I built my first RVHauler for our family, and it was AWESOME. Over time, others saw our RVHauler, asked me to build them an RVHauler too. The business was born. I still treat every custom RVHauler as though I am building it for my own family to enjoy.
+Gregg RVHaulers Gregg that is such a great attitude to have and your words show up in your work. I really like watching your videos. I would like to up grade to an RV Hauler from my 2012 Ram 3500. My truck pulls my 40 foot Fifth Wheel but being an old time truck driver (35+ Years) I would feel so much more Comfortable in the bigger Truck. What does something like your builds start at? Keep up the great work.!!!
