These people were camped down a bit from us. We watched them load the Smartcar using ramps and a winch. I thought they should just drive it on, but I guess they didn't have faith in themselves. This pic shows them all jammed up trying to leave. They had the whole campground out watching them try to negotiate this corner.

After about a half hour a rather rotund stranger offered to get it around for them and they gladly accepted. He backed way up and got a different line and drove it around missing every obstical by a good half inch!

After much thanking and hand shaking the old Texas couple were on their way, probably hoping to find another friendly trucker at their next stop.

WOW, thanks a huge rig to bring along just to have the smart car with them! The 5th-wheel looks about standard sized. I've seen bigger ones being towed by heavy-duty diesel pickups.

And I thought *I* had trouble getting my rig into certain spots...

The 5th wasn't huge, only 2 axles, but it had slides all over, and really was big until you compared it to the tow vehicle.
I wonder who engineered and designed this rig.

There are tons of 5th wheels being towed by MDT & HDT (medium & heavy duty truck). I would much rather see this than a way overloaded 3/4 or 1 ton pickup. Another benefit is mileage. That Volvo he is towing with, has all the HP and torque to drive that rig comfortably anywhere. The rig is used to pulling up to 80K lbs. It is barely working to pull a 17K lb 5th wheel. People on Escapees have reported upwards of 12-13 mpg, as good or better than a pickup. These rigs can also turn circles inside any dually. Unfortuately some people don't take the time to learn to drive them correctly. Using a HDT like this one is more like towing a trailer rather than the usual 5th wheel as the pivot point is further back. If I was goig to full time in a 5th wheel, this is the way I would want to go. BTW, they usually purchase these rigs used and have them outfitted by an aftermarket company to pull fifth wheels. The upside is you could have a rig like this one for under $40K, far less than a new diesel dually will cost you, plus with preventive maintenace, it will be the last TV you will ever need.

Looking back at my previous post I realized it came off as dissing the design of the rig. Nothing could be further from the truth. We were all drooling at how cool it was. You could go up and down any hill anywhere and not even blink an eye, and cruise down the highway up high and smooth. This rig was very new and very nice, definately a custom rig where everything matched. We were doing the guessing game and I said 5-6 for the tractor, 2+ for the 5th, and about 50g for the Smartcar and ramp setup. So 800+ or- for the setup? Close?

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Z:
I said 5-6 for the tractor, 2+ for the 5th, and about 50g for the Smartcar and ramp setup. So 800+ or- for the setup? Close?

Are you saying $800,000? I'm thinking much, MUCH less than that. If the rig sells for $40k, the Smart Car $12k-17k, even with a $100k 5th wheel (that's on the high end of a dual axle), that still leaves over $50k for customizing before exceeding $200k. Unless the 5th-wheel is equipped with granite countertops and solid gold fixtures, but luxury interiors like that are usually reserved for rock star buses (Class A's) for whatever reason.

Boy, am I red in the face! I never realized what could be had for 40 grand until I went on Ebay and checked Volvo rigs. You're absolutely right and maybe these Texas folks weren't so super rich after all. Still a nice rig though!

In response to Scott's info., I too learned something, I thought that all the luxury interiors were reserved for Barth's!

Tina

I think it was around 1990 and I think it was at the Texas Star Party (lots of lost cells since then) someone came with a Texas Pick-up. It was fire engine red, had a few yards of concrete over the rear axles in the pick-up bed,just to give a solid platform for the telescope.


Oh, forgot to tell you, it was a conventional KW.

If you were going to buy a new Volvo and have it done up, you could easily spend $100K. But most of these people are buying used with about 500K on the odometer and then spending as little as $5k on a conversion to upwards of $20K for a sleeper equipped like a mini-motorhome. I investigated this throughly and would love to have one, just don't have a place to put it. You can go out and buy any 5th wheel you desire because you can't possible overload the truck with weight.
Here's one I thought about going to look at. It is a 2007 Doubletree ($105K with options, so the invoice says) and a nice MDT with provisions for a smart car. Sorry for the small picture, hard to see. That is a smart car behind the extended cab. It is a Mountain Master Freightliner. Company in Phoenix converts them, pretty plush on the inside. New is about $96K.

This setup confounds me a little. A major reason to tow a 5th wheel is the ability to drop the house and have an around town vehicle. What you give up is the convenience of access to all the amenities.

Towing the 5th and a car seems like total overkill, a bike yes, car - silly. I think this is a case of doing something just because no one else thought of it.

I don't know if anyone has seen the mid engine class As out now that have a rear garage. They fit a Smart car in the back on a hydraulic floor that comes out to allow easy loading. Now that's pretty cool!

In some ways it's a shame the market died when it did. Elkhart and others were just starting to get creative....hot tubs.....sky decks.....garages....what next?

Personally, I'm looking for a Class A with a Heli Pad......need to save up for the chopper first though!

Corey