Can you tow the Boat & a popup Camper?

[Vicseek]

The dealer once told me they pull new tiges "tandem" from Abilene (factory)
My question is could you pull a small popup camper behind the Tige?

I'm looking at possible camper options. A full up 5th wheel rig is out of the question, and a slid in truck bed camper doesn't give you the flexibility especially if you camp and have to use the slip twice/three times a day out on the lake.

Doesn't anybody have any ideas or have you seen some sort of contraption a guy could use to tow a small camper behind the boat trailer?

Thanks!

[Vicseek]

I saw this on a centurion Website

I think this could work!!
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[boardman74]

In most(all that I know of) It is only legal to tandem tow off of a 5th wheel. Check your local laws. There is always a length limit also.

[Ruger761]

I think it could be done. Thing you have to watch out for is overstressing the hitch on the boat trailer itself. I know a pop up isnt that heavy but a lot of boat trailers are built for the weight of the boat and gear. Adding an additional trailer could cause it to fail. One other word of caution. Tongue weight of the pop up could throw the weight balance off on the boat trailer, causing it to be too light in the front which can cause it to fishtail down the hwy, so watch out for that or put gear in bow of boat vs the back. In the case of a 5th wheel they wont do it due to the weight and where the are hitched to the truck vs bumper.

The way the pic is done isnt too bad, but I would add additional supports going forward towards the brace infront of the prop. But if it was me I would buy a receiver tube and make the hitch removable plus gives you the ability to adjust the ball height.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/reese-r...-6-in--1890987

[boardman74]

Pop ups are more than heavy enough that I would never recommend doing this. Most boat trailers are made for the weight of the boat plus a little gear. A lot of people over weight their trailers just with gear. No way it's designed for another 2500-4000 lbs. Pop ups start in the 2000 dry weight range and go up to close to 5000. There are some older lighter ones around 1700-1800, so unless you can find one of those I'd say no way.

A boat trailer is just not designed for this and I don't think it would be safe and probably not legal in most states.

[NICKYPOO]

Why don't you want a truck camper? They are not hard to take on and off. If you're going to camp for several days, just take it off when you get there and put it back .on when you leave.

[jbort]

would boat trailer maker be able to spec up for heavier load?

[Ruger761]

By the time you paid for a custom boat trailer that could handle the additional load, you could have bought a decently new/used camper that could handle the boat behind it vs a pop up. Assuming your truck can pull it all that is. Or go with the truck camper as the easiest solution.

[boardman74]

Ruger is right there. Your current stock trailer will not handle it. You would need a custom trailer with a spine that runs all the way to the back where the 2nd hitch would be. I did check here and in Minnesota you have to use a 5th wheel to Tandem tow. States do vary but years ago we looked at doing a camper with jet skis and every state we check required 5th wheel first trailer. Plus the allowed total length wasn't that long.

The 5th wheels that are made for this have a rear bumper and receiver just like a truck. Theres not much under an inboard trailer in the back except the prop guard and that is well under the boat.

[sandm]

5th wheel is correct. length should not be an issue. here, it's 75ft then you need a trip permit.

[Dave S]

All interesting comments, I have been researching this for a few years. Haven't pulled the trigger for financial reasons and a very sick newborn. I could type a book on this subject but some minor points are:

Slide-in
1st-verify the weight your truck can handle - slide-in + gear + tongue weight of boat trailer-if you are overweight and get pulled over by DOT and get weighed=hefty fines Do the math and research on weight.

2nd look for ligthweight slide-in - check http://livinlite.com/ lightest that I found - model 6.8 looks good. All aluminum and will never rust or rot. Maybe also try Palomino pop-up slide-ins http://www.palominorv.com/

3rd-consider sway- what truck? 1/2 3/4 ton? may need rear airbags

Towing doubles - very possible-see it here in Texas all the time. Seems to be legal in southern states and illegal in northern states so that limits your travels. Texas overall length has to be less then 65' but have talked to people that tow 68-70' and have not been bothered. Some states require first trailer to be fifth wheel-which means make a fifth wheel trailer for boat and tow camper first.

1st-as mentioned above, have a quality fab shop make a hitch for the back of your boat trailer-needs to be a steel trailer, aluminum may be to weak. May also have a structural engineer design and/or inspect hitch design.

2nd-double axle pop-up will help eliminate to much tongue weight on boat trailer.

Personally-I wanted the slide-in but my F-150 would be overweight by 500 lbs. I don't want to risk the fine. My truck is rated to tow 11,200 - doesn't mean I would ever tow that much but I know my Ecoboost could handle it. So, I may be looking at a pop-up or small travel trailer to tow behind the boat (less then 3,000 lbs.) legally weight wise-I can tow doubles and be under weight and be overweight with a slide-in.

The boss (wife) says it has to have a bathroom/shower which makes anything I get not be small. I also contemplated an RV but then I have maint. reg. insurance etc.

[Dave S]

At a quick glance the hitch above looks inferior. The hitch design that I may use would've had the main supports go across to the two main beams that run front to back with a pin on each side so the hitch could be removed when launching the boat, make sense?

[Dave S]

When dealerships are preparing for the Houston boat show, I see them towing doubles across town all the time, and doubles being big boats. However, I have no idea how secure their hitches are.

[boardman74]

I found this online. So as far as I can tell my prior post and a few others are correct. It is only legal with the first trailer as a 5th wheel(5th wheel plate in the bed) and IS NOT legal towed off the bumper hitch. As Dave stated the fines are hefty and vary by state. So putting a hitch on the back of the boat trailer is not an option, not safe or legal.

According to TowingWorld.COM, the some 30 states do allow you to pull a trailer behind your fifth wheel. There are some "fine print" details on the matter, so we urge you to check out the full list before you hitch up and go. Here's the list of states allowing "triple tows:"

Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Wisconsin
Wyoming

[Ruger761]

Thats a nice website.