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Funky Tow Train... It Should Work, But Is It Legal?
So I've got to solve the problem of moving four vehicles, two trailers, two people, and one tractor from A to B in a single drive... yeah, it'll be fun. The locations are nearly a thousand miles apart, so flying and/or driving back & forth for multiple trips is cost & time prohibitive.
The collection:
C5 Corvette
Hummer H3
4th Gen Dodge 2500
3rd Gen Tacoma
PJ 16ft utility
Karavan 12ft utility
Kubota BX2360
I've got an out-of-the-box solution that should theoretically work... just gotta make sure it's also legal for me & the wife to make a one-time drive without jumping through all the CDL hoops. To start, three of our four vehicles have trailer hitches: Class III on the H3, Class IV on the Taco, and Class V + goose on the Dodge.
Obviously, the Kubota goes on the 12ft trailer (2980lb combined). The H3's literal sports car transmission gives it a whopping 3000lb tow rating, so it's still legal to pull the tractor but would likely get hot. That & its overall length make me say the Tacoma (6400lb tow rating) should pull the tractor. The second obvious note is that the Corvette gets loaded onto the 16ft hauler. That trailer (1800lb) plus the car (3400lb) would then surprisingly hook up to the Hummer. That's because we'd actually go buy a third trailer: a 36ft 16k gooseneck. Put the Hummer in 4-low, and roll that rig up on the goose (which would naturally be towed by the Dodge).
Here's where the legality checks come in. I own all of the equipment above and am not transporting them to sell anywhere else, so that precludes DOT registration as a commercial operator (not needing a number on the truck, medical card, logs, etc). Additionally, the flow chart of FMCSA rules is clear that I also won't need a CDL because the truck's GVWR (10k) + the gooseneck's GVWR (16k) would be a combination vehicle rated for less than 26001lb.
My first question is that Dodge publishes towing charts that state my truck's GCWR is only 24300, but that's not printed anywhere on the truck itself (like GM & Ford do on their door stickers)... so does that officially use the method of adding the door sticker (10k) + trailer sticker (16k) to make my legal GCWR 26k? Assuming the derated tune & garbage factory clutch are the reasons for the lower rating on manual trucks, I've already remedied both of those limitations. (side note: my door says my axles are 6000f/6500r - not what's shown here.) The total weight is 23300, so it ain't a problem here - just curious what the legal limit is.
Second is verifying you're allowed to haul a trailer that's hauling something else. I've seen flatbeds & utilities with the tires removed stacked up & strapped to another flatbed for transport... just never seen a car on an assembled trailer being hauled in that configuration. Those should be the same in principle, but I ain't seen it expressly allowed or prohibited.
The last sanity check is in how I propose rolling across a scale with a 23300lb rig & not still getting a ticket. I found a load distribution tool (truckloadscale.com) that requires a tape measure, scale, and calculator to set up correctly but seems to provide the info I need to make this work. After inputting my Dodge & goose dimensions/weights, I started playing with where to park the H3+Corvette trailer on the goose (represented by adding loads at their axle distances/weights). I began by parking 1ft from bumper to neck risers & found that results in 15.9% pin weight (2433lb), which puts my truck > 10400 (overweight)... but if I back that up another 18in (2'6" behind the risers), the pin weight drops to 12.7% (1939lb) and leaves everything within DOT weight specs... except the tail of the 16ft bumper-pull would hang ~2ft off the back end of the gooseneck.
And before some genius chimes in with, "But won't buying the gooseneck be much more expensive than making multiple trips?"...
we'd eventually need one for farm work anyway, so may as well buy it now.
so i realized something didn't add up: the total axle weights don't match the gross combined... and it's because i forgot to count 15% pin weight of the empty trailer on the back of the truck.
i also noticed there looks to be more deck behind the rear axle of the gooseneck (~12ft) than i initially calculated for - which helps the CG. after correcting those figures, it looks pretty good with the hummer 18" from the neck risers (only leaving 1ft of the smaller trailer hanging over the back).
...granted this is all a 'best guess' without having the actual trailer to measure & weigh. i at least know the dump & scrap yards consistently tell me my truck is right at 8000 with me & daily tools in it (empty = 7750 with a 4850f/2900r split).
regarding the GVWR: a guy on another forum (who's reportedly a trucker) mentioned a weigh station would look at my axle, wheel, and tire ratings to determine my 'real' GVWR. if that's the case, the same door sticker that says my truck's gross is 10k also says the front axle is 6000 + 6500 rear. i've also upgraded wheels to 3650 each and tires to 4079 each... which shoots as high as 16.3k.
if an inspector then tries to say my 2500 pickup is now good for 16000lb + a 16000 trailer, then he's gonna cite me for driving a 32k rig without a CDL. same if even going by combined axles (6+6.5+8+8 = 28.5k). something about that don't sound right because it don't consider my stock frame, brakes, or suspension... granted the frame, brakes, & axles are all the same as a SRW 3500, but the rear coil suspension is lighter. i also understand that vehicle regulations cap class 2 trucks at 10000lb... because 10-14k is class 3 (a 3500), and 14-26k (class 4-6) have even different rules.
i've read that the only folks who can change GVWRs is the original manufacturer or a certified alterer (like a limo builder)... meaning the GVW printed on the door sticker should be the enforceable number.
Putting the vette on a trailer, then on another trailer is going to throw you so far out to lunch. If you were moving across town on 35 mph county roads, I'd say send it, but you're not.
Find a 3rd driver to take the hummer or sell the kubota and 12' trailer and buy another close to the new house.
3rd option is to hire someone with the right setup to haul a few of the vehicles for you. I think the price wouldn't be as bad as you'd expect.
considering i'd been quoted a couple grand to transport the kubota that far before, i ain't so sure about that option. the amount of money we'd lose selling & buying another tractor at today's prices is about the same, too.
and our list of friends who can drive stick is too limited. i know... we need better friends.
as for a trailer on a trailer: i've seen that a few times
...just not in the manner i'm contemplating. it won't bust any height or weight restrictions.
i think worst case: we sell the H3 before moving and throw away our goal of LS swapping it for a "#2 of 2" in existence build.
in that instance: i'd just pull the car with the dodge, and she'd pull the tractor with the taco. we'd buy the goose when we get where we're going and never have the H3 fun-buggy.
closest thing to a legal hurdle i'm seeing so far is that Dodge publishes my truck's GCWR as 24300, but that ain't annotated nowhere on the truck (like GM & Ferd have on the door sticker). despite weighing less than that, the rig would be rated for 1700lb more - which begs the question, "If I roll through a weigh station, do they look up the Dodge tow charts, or do they use my door sticker + trailer sticker to determine my max GCWR?"
if they look up dodge charts, i'd have to buy a new 16k & have them de-rate it to 14300 (less-preferred and still overweight) or just buy a used 14k... which wouldn't be up to the task of an 11k payload because a trailer light enough to carry them would be too short.
06-21-2024, 12:21 AM
Funky Tow Train... It Should Work, But Is It Legal?
