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5th wheel trailer frame... into a k5 hauler?
- Thread starter jekbrown
- Start date
big83chevy4x4
3/4 ton status
you mean a 5th wheel camper tailer? don't see why not, as long as the axles are rated for the k5, and the frame is properly supported.
im currently converting a 79 chevy motor home to a flat bed to haul my k20.
im currently converting a 79 chevy motor home to a flat bed to haul my k20.
yeah, I'd definitely add some gusseting to the thing to firm it up. Guy only wants $300 for it, and I'd like a cheap trailer. 5th-wheel type hitch'd trailers are supposed to be purdy steady on the highway, which is good cause I'm a trailering newb! The frame is 31' long... I'd definitely shorten it some... if it was 21' it'd be plenty for my uses.
j
j
you will most likely need to beef up the frame some the camper was part of the structure. I helped a friend do one that he put a 8foot camper on the nose and his bronco on behind. We moved the axles back 4 feet and ran some 2x4x .188 wall under the I-beam. I have some pictures somewhere.
JEBSR
1/2 ton status
jekbrown said:
Just keep in one thing in mind. I constantly hear people saying they wish their trailer was longer but can't recall to many (if any) complaining about one being too long. If your going to mount a good size tool box or tire rack I would think more towards a 25 to 27' myself. But that's just my oppinion. I'd deffinately do something with it for that price though.
merace19
1/2 ton status
Only issue i had when i done mine was the wheels where to far back. Seems most of the weight of a camper is located in the rear. I relocated the wheels closer to the front to help take the load off my truck. I only wacked a few feet off rear. Then used that material to strenghten the frame. I'm cheap. Most of the 5th wheel and some of the reg trailers are super heavy duty. If it has 6 lug axles you have the 7000lb each axles. 5 lug i believe is 5000lb
TWISTEDJACK said:
I have seen guys do this at Paragon. The next trailer I buy is going to be long enough to put my pop up camper body on the front and still load my truck behind it. I'm going to build it so I can take the camper off if I ever need a longer trailer or I just want to pull the camper and not a huge trailer.
go measure a crewcab longbed truck. you might ever own, but you never know when you will have to tow something long.
I have an 18' deck and it is too short. its just enough for my short bed. I driver it on, fold up the ramps and then back up the truck till it touches the ramps. I hauled my dads van and had to load it backwards to get it to fit. just picked up a regular cab longbed and it just fit. you can see how its hanging over the tongue.
yeah, at my next pad I will probably have limited space... so a 30' trailer prolly isn't the best option. My truggy is also the longest truck I will ever own (other than the tow rig itself!). Next project is a single seat buggy... that thing would fit on a trailer built for a riding lawn mower. 
25' would prolly be more than enough.
The final length would prolly depend on how difficult it was to move the axles around. Here is a pic of what the guy has. Some of the members up by the hitch part look kinda spindley... I dunno though, maybe its just the scale of the pic. That sucker is 31' long...
I asked the guy how wide it was, and he said the frame rails were about 5'8"... but the distance to the edges of those little support thingies is about 7'6". If I got this thing, I would prolly remove those cheesy/weeny edge support things and replace them with some beefy c-channel.. tie them together front-to-back and then have drive over, bent-tube fenders. Add in some gusseting for the rest of the frame, add a deck (prolly wood on the sides, expanded steel in the center) and call it good.
This is pretty ghetto... but I am a cheap ass so maybe its appropriate! lol!
j
25' would prolly be more than enough.The final length would prolly depend on how difficult it was to move the axles around. Here is a pic of what the guy has. Some of the members up by the hitch part look kinda spindley... I dunno though, maybe its just the scale of the pic. That sucker is 31' long...
I asked the guy how wide it was, and he said the frame rails were about 5'8"... but the distance to the edges of those little support thingies is about 7'6". If I got this thing, I would prolly remove those cheesy/weeny edge support things and replace them with some beefy c-channel.. tie them together front-to-back and then have drive over, bent-tube fenders. Add in some gusseting for the rest of the frame, add a deck (prolly wood on the sides, expanded steel in the center) and call it good.
This is pretty ghetto... but I am a cheap ass so maybe its appropriate! lol!j
big83chevy4x4
3/4 ton status
after seeing the pics, it reminds me alot of what a friend started with on his trailer. but his started out a bumper pull camper trailer.
he built a "C" channel frame on top of the original frame out of 4" C channel. the run 4 the length of it, 2 on the outsides and 2 spaced 3' (maybe) apart over the middle. then he run cross braces every 2 foot, with every other one running the full width. so it would start with a 7'6" peice then a 2' in between each of the two outside rails then another 7'6" and so on to the back. he stiched welded it to the main frame every 6-8" or so, even to the cheesy/weeny edge support things.
he then took 1/8" diamond plate (i think it was 1/8") and run it between the two outside rails the full length leaving the center open. he also made drive over fender for it, but he made it 45* sides and found it to be too hard to drive over it (front tires hit the fenders as the rear tires hit the ramps (had to bump it most of the time which was sometimes scary, that was untill he got a winch for it)
it was a sweet trailer, but the problem he had was he only built it 18' with a 1' beaver tail for a longbed truck which is 18' long. he didn't really plan that part out. it was very strong. not really sure how you would tie it into the 5th wheel hitch with out looking at it in person.
he built a "C" channel frame on top of the original frame out of 4" C channel. the run 4 the length of it, 2 on the outsides and 2 spaced 3' (maybe) apart over the middle. then he run cross braces every 2 foot, with every other one running the full width. so it would start with a 7'6" peice then a 2' in between each of the two outside rails then another 7'6" and so on to the back. he stiched welded it to the main frame every 6-8" or so, even to the cheesy/weeny edge support things.
he then took 1/8" diamond plate (i think it was 1/8") and run it between the two outside rails the full length leaving the center open. he also made drive over fender for it, but he made it 45* sides and found it to be too hard to drive over it (front tires hit the fenders as the rear tires hit the ramps (had to bump it most of the time which was sometimes scary, that was untill he got a winch for it)
it was a sweet trailer, but the problem he had was he only built it 18' with a 1' beaver tail for a longbed truck which is 18' long. he didn't really plan that part out. it was very strong. not really sure how you would tie it into the 5th wheel hitch with out looking at it in person.
