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Old 03-15-2017, 07:27 PM   #1
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FOURWHL and others that tow

We are looking at the same setup you have. Either a Force HD or DX3 and then a trailer to haul our Jeep or truck on. Was curious what the specs are on your PJ trailer and what your overall length is.

The 37BH model Is 39' 1" long and I was looking at a couple different PJ trailers. It's my understanding the legal length limit is most states is 65' truck and trailer combined (correct me if I am mistaken).

The first PJ trailer I am looking at is their 102" super-wide B6. Looking at 20' deck with 2' dovetail and the tongue length is 4' 7". With that setup I would be looking at 65' 6" overall.

The other PJ I was looking at is their L6 Med duty deck over. This trailer has a longer tongue at 5' 7" so I would be looking at an 18' deck with 2' dovetail. With this setup I would be looking at 64' 6" overall.
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Old 03-16-2017, 08:13 AM   #2
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Those two are very close to the ones I was looking at. Mine is a PJ http://www.pjtrailers.com/trailers/b5-5-inch-channel-buggy-hauler 20' deck, no dovetail.

After having towed about 10k miles last year on several trips here's my thoughts on trailer:

1. As far as length you're pretty close. I've done a lot of research and it seems to vary by state. I don't think any are under 65' though, and if there are its just a few. That said I get the impression this is RARELY enforced and not nearly as important as weight. I'd like to see the trooper get out the 100' tape to check if you're over by a foot or two. To be honest unless you're grossly abusing length I'd be very surprised if I had an issue. If the opportunity comes up to pull mine and a buddy's on a 32 footer now and then I wouldnt hesitate to do so.

2. Dovetails - Depending on how your jeep is setup a dovetail may mean the difference between using ramps and not. With the 37" tires on mine I can just barely not get on it without ramps. A dovetail wouldve been perfect. I'd guess you'll need a least 35's and a few inches of lift to make it work though. Either way I'd opt for a few feet of dovetail

3. Length - At 20' deck I've got 3' spare on the front of the trailer with it balanced. 18' should work for a 4 dr, but its also nice to have a few spare feet to work with for weight distribution. I put a 48" job box on the front of mine now for storing spare parts.

4. GVWR - I'd highly recommend 10k if you have a 4dr or pickup. When I weighed myself I was almost 8k loaded w/ the trailer but that was before I added the spare parts and box. I dont like worrying when I tow so not having to be towing with axles at or over their capacity is a no brainer for me.

5. Deckover - I did look at one of these and tbh behind these monsters you'll never notice the difference in height. The one I looked at had 7k axles (14k GVWR) but I'd never use that. The trailer was almost 1k lbs heavier too. For me the buggy hauler at 2700 lb was perfect because I can still use it behind a half ton every now and then if I want to. The deckover would really be pushing it.

6. Width - I'm exactly 83" wide with 14.50" wide tires on stock axles. If there's any chance you'll have wide tires or 1 ton axles you'll be over that and want a 102" wide deck. The drive over fenders on the car haulers are perfect, so still not forced into a deckover. If you're not going to do that you can probably stick with an 83" deck with removable fenders (for the oddball times you may be wide). The narrower deck just opens up way more possibilities in terms of inventory.

All in all I think you're on the right track. Just look at the axles on that first one I'd suggest. Other than that these things tow BEAUTIFULLY. Seriously barely even notice its back there.
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Old 03-16-2017, 09:26 AM   #3
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1. So far I've only towed a fifth wheel but I've seen a number of guys towing doubles and there is no way some of them were under 65'. One guy was admittedly 75' long and said he only been hassled about it once. I would tend to agree weight is more important but I'd rather comply fully.

2/3/4. I'm looking for a trailer that I can use for just about anything else I'd ever need. Because of that I'm looking for something with a dovetail and a 14k gvwr. I want to be able to put my Ram 3500 Mega Cab on the trailer and pull that behind the motor home if needed and then use that truck to pull the trailer when back at home for whatever reason. Only issue at this point is trailer weight starts creeping in. A 22' long super-wide weighs in at 3725 lbs leaving a ccc of 10,275.

5. My biggest reason for considering a deck over was the ground clearance. Have you had any issues with clearing driveways on your B5?

6. Winner, winner chicken dinner. I'm planning on running full width Dynatrac's so 102" width is a must.

Thanks for your feedback. One final question I had was how is the turning radius or clearance between the rig and trailer when making a sharp turn? Both trailers I'm looking at have a tongue that is 1 or 2' longer than your B5 but have you had any issues?
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Old 03-16-2017, 09:43 AM   #4
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Ah yeah with a 3500 I'd go with a 14k. Makes perfect sense and you'll have a truck that can tow a 3700lb trailer no problem. I've got to imagine 10k capacity is going to get you whatever you need.

Biggest clearance I issue I have is the hitch/tail of the RV on steep grade changes. Trailer has done fine in every case. And to be honest if you get in a tight spot that 1100 ft-lb of torque will get the trailer over whatever you need one way or another

Turning radius is actually great. The huge tail swing on these things actually helps as it swings the trailer out wide before making the turn. I was surprised at how I didnt need to turn so wide with such a long rig but it makes sense when you look at the path the trailer takes. I think these M2s also can cut their tires more than a lot of trucks. I'm always impressed when I've got it in the driveway how tight I can turn the front.

As far as tongue goes an extra 1-2' would actually be ideal. As it stands now if I jack knife it too much trying to get into a tight spot I can get the corner of the deck to contact the rear corner of the RV. Cant do it pulling forward but when jockeying around I was able to break the cover on one of the rear marker lights (in the Dynamax parking lot no less!). I think an extra foot or two on the tongue would fix this perfectly and probably give room for a toolbox.
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Old 03-16-2017, 01:05 PM   #5
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Thanks for the feedback. Looks like I'm on the right track. If ground clearance hasn't been an issue with your trailer I may pass on the deck over and go with the super wide buggy hauler. Doing that gets me a 2' longer trailer overall and pushes the trailer back a foot compared to your setup (which looks awesome btw).
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Old 03-16-2017, 01:12 PM   #6
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Fourwhl......

37's and stock axels.
You are a brave man!!
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Old 03-16-2017, 01:21 PM   #7
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Sorry stock WIDTH axles. Its a Dynatrac Prorock 44 up front w/ RCVs and all the goodies.

I'm hard on my stuff
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Old 03-16-2017, 06:55 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FOURWHL View Post
Sorry stock WIDTH axles. Its a Dynatrac Prorock 44 up front w/ RCVs and all the goodies.

I'm hard on my stuff


Oooo.. talk dirty.. [emoji12][emoji1360]
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Old 05-29-2017, 01:08 AM   #9
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Well the first part of the equation has arrived. Just took delivery of our 24' PJ B6. Its longer than I originally wanted but it was meant as a multi mission trailer. By my calculations if we are lucky enough to be able to purchase a 37BH this trailer would put us at 67' 6" not including the ball hitch assembly so slight over legal length but nothing egregious.
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Old 05-29-2017, 08:44 PM   #10
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I pulled a 26 footer this weekend. No problems at all. It turned corners great.
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Old 05-29-2017, 08:46 PM   #11
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Old 05-29-2017, 09:24 PM   #12
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Making me jealous!
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Old 05-30-2017, 08:22 AM   #13
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Nice! Had mine out this weekend. No pics of the tow setup actually.

I highly doubt you'll have any problems at that length. I just dont see the trooper getting the 100' tape out to verify.
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Old 05-30-2017, 11:53 AM   #14
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Gas-man, what are the details on that trailer - make, model, weight, tongue length? Also, what's the weight and wheelbase on each of your rigs? I'm curious to hear your impressions after pulling that sort of load...did any of your traveling include steep grades?

Sorry for all the questions...that's the exact setup we're shooting for hauling two roughly 5000lb crawlers.
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Old 05-30-2017, 03:37 PM   #15
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Are you guys using the Reese straight ball hitch that came with the coach or do you have a need to use a drop down hitch or even reversed to raise the trailer?
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Old 05-30-2017, 03:51 PM   #16
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The reese that came with mine makes for just about a perfectly level trailer for me. I suppose you could look at trailer with adjustable hitches as an option too, but I'd check to see if you have any problems first. Mine looks great to me.

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Old 05-30-2017, 04:33 PM   #17
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That does sit pretty level. I assume that's after the air bags have auto leveled the rear?
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Old 05-30-2017, 04:56 PM   #18
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Yup. That had been running for a little while. Took it right before pulling out.
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Old 05-30-2017, 05:04 PM   #19
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The trailer is a 26ft aluminum out of Michigan, a wolverine. It has a 58" tongue and was told it weighs about 2200lbs. The blue rig is 112wb and weighs 4050lbs, and the smaller sami has a 108wb and weighs about 3000 +/-. With my cooler on the front I had about 1 ft of space left behind the rear tires, but no overhang. I am impressed.
This was my first trip out in the rv, and first time to pull with it too.
It did better than I expected. It rode level with the air suspension, but I did drag a few times. I did a lot of steep hills and one hill had loose crushed granite; no problem.
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Old 05-31-2017, 07:49 PM   #20
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I was out sealing the deck on the trailer and couldn't help but measure the trailer. Low and behold my math was off. It's never been may strong suit. Deck is 24' plus little over 5' for the tongue so I'm actually close to 30' overall. Add that to a 40' 37BH and I'll be at 70'

I looked at a number of different trailer configurations so as some point I got mixed up but at the end of the day I would have been over 65' using any of the trailers I configured. Bottom line is I wanted a trailer long enough for a full size pickup.
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