Jeep hauler recommendations?

I sold the motorhome I had, moved to the mountains, and got a three quarter ton Suburban in addition to my Jeep. Therefore I am always at my "destination", the Jeep is ready for day trips, and the Suburban is ready for camping out, way out, when that becomes necessary. Oh yeah, I quit my job too, before I did all this. It was just getting in the way.

If I had it to do all over again, I would probably have stayed in motels. Everything you are talking about, is a big chunk of money, and there are motels everywhere. They have TV, air conditioning and some of them even have kitchens. How long of a vacation are we talking about here? If we are talking about two weeks or so in a year, then purchasing a hundred thousand dollars of so of iron, that is going to depreciate faster than nobody's business, does not seem cost-effective to me.

If you are going to live in it for three or four months, like some of the summer help that come up here from Phoenix do, then it might be a good investment.

Earle

You didn't like the suggestions that were posted when you previously asked this question? Or are you just having an Alzheimers Moment?

What about a back-of-the-truck camper and flat tow the the Jeep?

Alternatively, you could swap the truck bed for a flat bed and put the Jeep on the bed of the truck and then pull a class V trailer.

You could also attach the Jeep to the 5th wheel with the front end in the air so that it is fixed to the rear of the trailer, thus eliminating the need to detach the Jeep before backing.

You could also just learn to back up doubles..

Carl

If the bed of that pickup is big enough, ramp that Jeep right up into the bed, then hook up the trailer and off you go. I've seen it done. Seriously. One guy I know bought a big Ford pickup with a flatbed instead of a boxed-bed, put a VW on it and hitched up a trailer behind it. He had to park and unhook the trailer before he could unload the car, but it allowed him to back up whenever he wanted to.

Earle, you are my hero.

I never got them. Sometimes that happens with my isp.

Ralph

Thanks for the response.

A truck camper lacks the storage space we need when extended camping, otherwise, done that, works well. Could do that and also tow an enclosed car hauler for extra storage. Have to think on that.

Don't want to modify the truck. I've seen the ramps for the bed but that puts my load weight/center of gravity too high.

Re: towing Jeeps. Jeep says don't tow with the front wheels on a dolly, either use a trailer or tow with all 4 wheels on the ground. Don't know why but it they say so .

Re: backing doubles. When towing another vehicle with 4 wheels down, you cannot back up or the front wheels of the toad will crank sideways causing undue stress to the hitch components/tow bar. Otherwise, backing doubles isn't too bad for short distances (a few feet, done that). I have great admiration for those pros who can back doubles, including turns. I don't think there are more than a couple dozen of them out there.

There are more than you might think. Work Ag for a few seasons and you will become very good at it. The secret is being able to SEE the drawbar and turntable of the 2nd trailer, otherwise you have no idea where it's going. This is why it's generally easier to back up in a left-hand turn than straight-on: you can spot everything from the LH mirror.

Here's something for you to think about. If you have the Jeep hitched on as the last vehicle and you absolutely HAVE to back up, just fire up that TJ, put everything else in neutral, and use the Jeep to 'pull' everything backward anywhere you want it to go. You can easily 'pull' the whole thing in a circle if need be.

-JD

Hmmmm. Excellent idea about pulling the whole rig with the Jeep.

I've pulled doubles before (milk tanks) but never needed to back up other than a few feet to hit the nozzle. I friend used to be a mechanic for Lucky Market and he told about one trucker who was in and out of the loading dock far quicker than any other double puller because he would just back his back trailer up to the dock, unhook it, and then back the first trailer in alongside it. My friend said that whenever this guy pulled into the lot, everyone would come out and watch him back up. Sounded a lot like going to a truck rodeo!

I knew a gal who could back 28-ft. doubles in a circle. Watched her do it, in fact, she showed off a bit and backed them around a circle TWICE. True story. I was astonished, and still am to this day. I wish I had a videocamera with me.

Yes, if you have all 4 wheels of the Jeep on the ground, you can use it to 'pull' everything back out of whatever you've gotten yourself into if need be. Easier if you have someone put the pickup in reverse, steer it around corners and modulate the brakes. I run bottom dumps these days, and if we get in a jam, we chain up another tractor to the stinger, lock the axle and pull the whole thing backward, turns and all with no problem.

Food for thought.

-JD

Agreed. I still have trouble believing what I saw, let alone fathom that it was humanly possible. After earning my A-TX and working the road for a few years, I don't joke about "woman drivers" anymore; I have worked with gals who could easily run circles around the both of us.