Vintage VW bug 5th wheel camper

[mikea]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56XL0TysIn0

Note how the guy talks about cramped "tiny cars" like they're really weired clown cars. If he only got a view of now.

Last week I drove the neighbor's SUV with a trailer with a rented bushwacker on it. In repeated attempts I could not get it down the driveway without jackknifing no matter which way I turned the wheels. I let him do it and saw that the secret is not turning EITHER way too much. No such problem with this setup.

 

[timwinters]

The guy driving that car is a lot like me...I always wear a tie when I'm going camping!

 

[flyingcheesehead]

That is AWESOME!!! That 360-degree maneuverability would sure make it easier to get into parking spots - You'd never have to "back up" as when the trailer was backing up you could be going forward with the car. Cool!

 

[fgcason]

Now if they could modify an Everest and whatever that huge toyhauler abomination is called to do that, they'd be in business.

Sleeps 4 adults. Yea right. Whoever comes up with those numbers has never stayed the night in anything less than a 8,000-10,000 square foot house. My motorhome supposedly sleeps 9 plus two on the floor. Not happening. Two is more realistic, three tops.

the secret is not turning EITHER way too much. No such problem with this setup.

Oversteer would still cause problems. The short wheelbase would make it worse though some people might find pushing forward easier than going backward.
Try backing up a motorhome with a 5x10 flatbed trailer behind it at night in a tight location sometime. That's fun especially when you get to the point that it's a nonevent.

 

[Ted]

Backing up a trailer is an art form, and it actually gets harder as the trailer gets smaller and the truck gets bigger.

After enough practice at it, you get pretty good and know how much you can turn the wheels without the trailer becoming problematic, but it does take practice. My first trailer was 20' long, and that was actually pretty easy to back up, although its size meant you needed to pay attention to not hit anything (which did happen once or twice... oops).

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Oversteer would still cause problems. The short wheelbase would make it worse though some people might find pushing forward easier than going backward.

No, with the pivot at or in front of the tow vehicle's rear axle it doesn't react as fast unless the wheelbase of the tow vehicle is longer than the distance from the hitch point to the trailer axle(s). This setup would be very easy to back up.

 

[tiresmokindad]

I think that Vintage VW bug 5th wheel camper is good to ride. arizona rv rentals I want to try using so that we will go back to the old style of traveling and camping in different places.

 

[gismo]

No, with the pivot at or in front of the tow vehicle's rear axle it doesn't react as fast unless the wheelbase of the tow vehicle is longer than the distance from the hitch point to the trailer axle(s). This setup would be very easy to back up.

In my youth I spent a lot of time working around large boats and marinas in Michigan. For winter haul-out we used double axel trailers with wagon type steering (the trailer tongue pivoted the front wheels) The two vehicles were very similar to what you see pulling airline baggage carts at the big airports and we normally used the front hitch when maneuvering a boat into position. This can be a bit trickier than it might sound since the tug has to be driven so that the front hitch steers the trailer tongue correctly much like when pushing a tricycle gear airplane with a tug attached to the nosewheel. For example to turn the boat to the right (boat backing up) the tug has to turn right to move the tongue and turn the trailer's steerable wheels than turn back left and eventually right again to get the tug to follow the trailer's arc without changing the steering angle. If the rear hitch of the tug was used it was almost twice as complicated. There were a couple of old hands at the marinas who could slip a 40+ foot boat between two boats while turning the boat 90° or more with about 1 foot clearance on each side in one continuous movement going at least a few mph. I eventually got to the point where I could make it on one shot if I went real slow and had an experienced helper to provide a little guidance on the initial turn in. After that, backing a simple trailer with a car was a piece of cake as long as the axle to hitch distance of the trailer was at least nearly as large as the car's wheelbase and at least some part of the trailer was visible at all times. I have one trailer (caries a 200 gallon gas tank for my boat) that's the most difficult conventional trailer I've pulled to back up, primarily because the coupler to axle distance is about 4 feet and the trailer cannot be seen if it's directly behind the car. I've never jackknifed the thing but I do usually have to go forward and back a few times to back it into place.