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Bought my first HDT, feel excited


Storx

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Good luck with that too. They simplify their definition by saying "no fifth wheel hitches" but what their law says is the trailer can not rest ON the vehicle...just like a gooseneck does also. Florida is real plain, look at the photo examples. Bumper pull yes, fifthwheel and gooseneck no. You may run for years and not get caught, but as HDT's get more popular and more common, enforcement is going to become more frequent.

 

So Storx........Big5er just may have a "solution" or a "work-around" for your desire to tow a 5th trailer in FL AND remain legal........how about just converting your fifth-wheel trailer to a dolly hitched trailer or as Big5er refers to them as "haywagon-rig-trailer" ..........

 

With a properly constructed dolly you simply have the weight of the dolly-hitch-stinger bearing "Z-axis- loads" on the hitch and NO actual "trailer-Z-axis-loads" are carried by the truck whatsoever.

 

With a "haywagon it seems likely that you would NOT be a "enforcement-target" in the future since you are complying with the current laws of FL with a non-load-bearing-dolly-rig........

 

Dolly rigs are not perfect and backing one up takes a bit of practice but if "Grumps" could back-up a dolly with a cig-dangling-and-a-Stanley-stainless-coffee-cup in one hand........you could to.....with a bit of practice.

 

Dolly-rig-trailers are nicknamed "wiggle-wagons" but they do not have to "wiggle" IF the hitch is tight and the joints are tight as well.

 

Big5er can be a bit "grumpy" (me to, thats why we get along so.......oh well) at times....... but he is "full-in" in the truck /trailer game so he has some valid points to consider.

 

Just a few points to ponder..........

 

Drive on........(Wiggle just a ......little)

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About the only instance I can see for recommending one of these. Of course, the original poster could be planning to only "ghost" reside in FL, as many full-timers "reside" in TX, FL, or SD. In this case, it's pretty much a moot point.

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About the only instance I can see for recommending one of these. Of course, the original poster could be planning to only "ghost" reside in FL, as many full-timers "reside" in TX, FL, or SD. In this case, it's pretty much a moot point.

Well i am not sure where i will be going honestly, im getting into this as im planning to become a Travel Nurse once i meet the experince that all the agencies i have talked to thus far wanted me to have under my belt, so i bought the truck first so i could convert it and get the headache of registering and running an HDT out of the way, because i read a few people it took months to finalize it all out.. and this would give me to time to mod the truck to my likings, as i plan to attempt an gear ratio change myself, ive done it lots of times on normal axles, figured it would be similar, just bigger parts.. as well i wanted to convert it to run on veggie oil, based on the located on the back of the truck in front of the RV, i would easily put a flat tank that would hold a couple hundred gallons of veggie oil at once, i may even install a 2 tank system as we have simplified our filtering and cleaning of veggie oil on my dads truck so he can add oil on the road since he is a construction worker who works all over the country.. he has the large 125 gallon tank flat against the front of his truck bed, then under the truck in the frame rail we have a smaller tank that holds like 40 gallons that has a fill hose quick connection mounted on the rear bumper, the engine coolant from the motor is extended so it flows through both veggie oil tanks to heat the oil so its easier to filter, then a centrifuge filter is pressurized by a pump to separate the oil from the garbage in the oil as the truck is on... once the oil is clean enough to place in the clean veggie tank, he has an small 12v pump he keeps in his toolbox that he just pumps from one container to the other with, but he doesnt use this setup very often, as he typically is able to drive to the site and back home on a full tank of veggie oil in the past and when he got home and just tops it off with clean oil from home..

 

I am thinking the veggie oil setup would work out beautiful, because after talking with many travel nurses, they typically work out of florida during the hotter months, then in the winter months they take a contract down in florida or texas or cali..... so i figured i would fill the big oil tank, if i ran 200gallons i could have a 2000 mile range roughly to travel with the semi before it needed a fill up, by that time i would imagine i would be back in florida to swing by my parents and get a fill up on the oil....

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So Storx........Big5er just may have a "solution" or a "work-around" for your desire to tow a 5th trailer in FL AND remain legal........how about just converting your fifth-wheel trailer to a dolly hitched trailer or as Big5er refers to them as "haywagon-rig-trailer" ..........

 

With a properly constructed dolly you simply have the weight of the dolly-hitch-stinger bearing "Z-axis- loads" on the hitch and NO actual "trailer-Z-axis-loads" are carried by the truck whatsoever.

 

With a "haywagon it seems likely that you would NOT be a "enforcement-target" in the future since you are complying with the current laws of FL with a non-load-bearing-dolly-rig........

 

Dolly rigs are not perfect and backing one up takes a bit of practice but if "Grumps" could back-up a dolly with a cig-dangling-and-a-Stanley-stainless-coffee-cup in one hand........you could to.....with a bit of practice.

 

Dolly-rig-trailers are nicknamed "wiggle-wagons" but they do not have to "wiggle" IF the hitch is tight and the joints are tight as well.

 

Big5er can be a bit "grumpy" (me to, thats why we get along so.......oh well) at times....... but he is "full-in" in the truck /trailer game so he has some valid points to consider.

 

Just a few points to ponder..........

 

Drive on........(Wiggle just a ......little)

This is an option, but i was thinking today, i am curious what the state constitutes as a bumper? because i found a goose neck hitch for pickup trucks that attaches UNDER the truck to the trucks frame rails that places the ball directly behind the truck's bumper, the ball height is adjustable, so you can remove it during times of no use to allow full access to the truck bed and tailgate..

 

This would be a gooseneck setup that is NOT resting ON the truck, it would be resting OFF the truck just like a bumper/class 1,2,3 hitch would....

 

My logic based off this setup would allow me to clear a hole in the frame rails of the semi, instead of mounting the RV towing device on top of the frame making the load ON the truck, i could take some thick metal and have it bolted to the frame from under the frame rails at the end of the truck frame for clearance, then place the gooseneck ball in the middle of bolted metal to the bottom of the truck, maybe extending a few inches of the setup hanging off the rear of the truck frame, so the gooseneck would be placing the load of the RV ON the gooseneck hitch, which is transferring the load under the truck, resulting in the load being supported OFF the frame rails UNDER the truck...

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I don't see your predicament as very complicated. In your bigger picture, I would just domicile in Texas and be done with it. All registered and legal by any definition and you work where you want...period.

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I don't see your predicament as very complicated. In your bigger picture, I would just domicile in Texas and be done with it. All registered and legal by any definition and you work where you want...period.

I should look into the Colorado rules, i have a rental house in Colorado i rent out...

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Off the wall but take the fifth wheel box off, put an A frame with a Pintle hitch on it hook to back of truck, looks like a fifth wheel rig but hooks on bumper!

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Off the wall but take the fifth wheel box off, put an A frame with a Pintle hitch on it hook to back of truck, looks like a fifth wheel rig but hooks on bumper!

My old Excel had a conversion like this, it was small at 28' but, it towed fine. It also had an enormous storage area in the gooseneck area.

 

Steve

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Colorado is very easy to register a HDT but Colorado is a little pricy. Our HDT is registered as a recreational truck in Colorado. The truck doesn't need to be modified in any way as long as it is not used for commercial purposes it is good to go. A CDL is not required. A regular drivers license without any additional provisions is all that is needed. Any hitch is acceptable.

Randy

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Storx,

 

Why not just get a large travel trailer? The new ones have almost as much room as a 5ver and are just as luxurious. Are you stuck on a 5th wheel?

 

Curt

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Storx,

 

Besides with a travel trailer, it leaves your bed open for a car or toys.

 

My 2 cents. ....

 

Curt

2001 Freightliner Century, 500hp Series 60, Gen 2 autoshift, 3.42 singled rear locker.

2004 Keystone Sprinter 299RLS (TT)

2 & 4 Wheelers!

2013 Polaris Ranger 800 midsize LE

Our motto "4 wheels move the body, 2 wheels move the soul!"

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