Suggestions on a hitch to pull a stacker??

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

How in the world would a person ruin the looks of there bus with something like that???? If you can buy the bus I bet a few pennys a gallon isn't going to break you.
Sid & Judy Tuls
2007 Thompson XL11 D/S

Now Sid, don't be so harsh on one of our good members. He worked long and hard on that mount for his Smart Car.

Gary S.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Along with the consideration of cost is wear and tear on your bus.


I thought that was a good example of a very light alternative solution.

You definatly would not have liked my other examples.
oldRV.jpg

[Sid Tuls]

O.K. I'll take back my personel thoughts. Hope iI didn't tick off to many but don't you just love driving down the Hwy. in you bus and come up to another Prevost and admire it? If forgiven Gary and if you still have that back camera lens I would like to buy it. Let me know.








Sid & Judy Tuls
2007 Thompson XL11 D/S

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Rick

A more direct reply to your question would be I would use the info you already know with your 20 as baseline then how much more room you would need for 1 more bike and how much different is the SUV from the 9-11? Add that to 20? Maybe 24 or 26 just barely???

What do you think about maximum length laws? Max legal trlr length would be 25 if you are driving a 45r. A couple of states are 65 ft overall limit but have found them easy to avoid and the lions share of states is 70ft max overall. A few are greater. IMO 70 ft is the max comfortable legal length.

Doesn't Bill&Jody pull a small SUV with a bike enclosed? Good time to call and bug him.

Equalizer hitches have the capacity of lowering tongue weight on a trailer that weighs 10000gross by 1000 lbs

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Don't worry about it too hard Sid maybe it will motivate him to finally get it painted and finished

Besides, you got a Thompson.

[Petervs]

OK now Joe ans Sid.

I have been travelling on my boat in the wilds of British Columbia, and only now have found the internet connection to respond to this thread.

1. If I was to build a lift like this for someone else then I could afford to buy a brand spanking new Marathon after the bill gets paid. If someone wants to copy my design I would be flattered and it would only cost a few beers.

2. I do plan to finish the darn thing this summer. Really!

3. The biggest PRO to this approach is no towing so you can drive the speed limit for cars, and easy backing up.

Sorry about the delay, but it turns out that life spent travelling at 10 mph on the waterways of North America has a certain appeal too.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

That sounds great Peter and we will be here waiting for you when you get back.

May the wind be at your back wherever you go.

[merle&louise]

Hey Peter, what kind of boat do you have? Pictures?

[tdelorme]

Hey Peter, what kind of boat do you have? Pictures?

Settle down, Tuga. I promise you it's not a Pirogue.

[Jeff Bayley]

Rick-

I was comtemplating a smaller 20' stacker at one time and it was more reasonable in weight and all and I wouldn't rule that out. I'm not sure what the dry weight of that would be but if your putting a light car like a 911 and some bikes it probabey is under 12,000 pounds loaded I'm guessing if it's alluminum instead of the stainless "companion trailers" that match our buses. I've been traveling for 4 years and never once towed a car and never once have a regreted not havng a car but I'm about to convert my bus to run on waste vegatable oil and put the dirty and clean tanks and the filtration system all self contained in the back of a pick up truck to use A) as my pull behind fuel supply and B) as the runner to retrieve 250 gallons of waste oil from several restaurtants so I dont' have to hunt it up with the bus and C) as general transportaion which I've never missed but if it's there, I'll probabley use it.

I think the toad and/or a trailer or lack of one all depends on your "style of traveling". If you dry camp a lot and stay on city streets like I like to do then even the toad becomes impractacle, especially when your getting lost and making lots of u-turns down small side streets. If you stay for a week at a time in an RV park then I guess the toad/trailer makes sense. I've always just found it easy to drive the bus where I need to go if I don't want to take a cab and if there isn't anything dragging behind me, then manuevering the bus is siimple and easy to do it that way. I'll probabley hang a scooter or some bikes on the back of the pick up truck and keep a surfboard or windsurfer on the roof of the truck cap. I've always wished our buses had ladders and were more practiacle to store things llike that on the roof but even with a ladder, the roof airs get in the way unless you have cruise airs.