Neil and Connie - Dale just towed our DRV with our F450 from Elk City OK to Seattle WA and had no issues with the grades over the mountains.

We've considered The Highway Man hauler body but it's a bit out of our budget for now, given that we just bought the truck and 5th wheel. Highway Man also makes 5th wheel boxes that accomodate the hitch http://www.800toolbox.com/5thwheel/5thwheel.htm.

We'll probably go with the 5th Wheel boxes for now. We need the extra storage room in the bed of the truck for work related items so storage is important to us. We just got our rig home, now it's at a repair shop to get the fridge fixed. We're hoping to start packing it this weekend so we can determine what we'll need for storage in the truck.

Edit by moderator: Activated link.  Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Monday 29th of April 2013 11:41:32 AM

Jack Mayer wrote:

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OR - I can sell you a really nice hauler bed. And include a FREE Volvo with it.  :)

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 I thought you might suggest that…but I don't think we're ready to get a HDT at this point. OTOH, we are spending the spring/summer/fall in the west and will be in UT, CO, WY, and all those other states with all the big hills…so I imagine that by the time we get back to Fort Myers for the winter we will either have concluded that the 450 is plenty or else we (atually, just me since Connie doesn't drive the rig at all) will have decided that I don't feel safe and we'll get a bigger truck. That's why this is sort of a long range question…I figure that we'll either get a hauler bed or a bigger truck depending on how things work out. Still though; will take a note for the recommendation and will talk to them if it becomes the right answer.

Thanks. You mentioned you might be at the NH rally one day this week…that work out or are you busy with other stuff?

Neil and Connie,

 

My trucker builder, Wayland Long at 2L Custom Trucks also does duellies and such along with the MDT and HDT's. I have never been treated better by ANY vendor than I have by WL. Give him a call to see what he can hook you up with...

http://www.2lcustomtrucks.com/home.cfm

Good Luck,

 

Les

 

 

We went with a Chariot hauler body this past March for many of the same reasons you are considering it. I had the pickup body removed and the hauler installed in a 2 week period in Elkhart, IN. More storage and more clearance makes a very useable truck. The fuel tank holds 65 gallons. I went with a pickup truck instead of a cab and chassis because the C&C have less power than the pickups.

 

 

 

I have owned three Trucks with the hauler beds, the Freightliner M2 had a custom hauler bed, and the Chevy 4500 had a Chariot Vans hauler bed. We were in Elkhart, Ind. and was invited to Chariot Vans, custom shop. And we seen the Chevy 4500 being customized, interior, exterior, etc. Wife sat in the Air ride seat and said I what one, we found out who was having the Truck up-fitted and called and bought the Truck on the phone. The Chariot Vans. hauler bed is the best hauler bed we owned, pricey but excellent product. The last hauler bed we went for a cheaper hauler bed. It was built by CM Truck beds, ($6,500) installed with 45 Gal. in-bed tank, all steel. I highly recommend the hauler beds. Happy Trails...

Or you could keep the configuration you have and maybe save some money by considering the Automated Safety Hitch System. Excellent product!

Neal and Connie, we did 25,000 miles from Michigan to Seattle, Idaho, California, Tahoe, Denver to North Carolina last summer/fall pulling a17K 5er with a 2008 Ford F-450. I am very satisfied with the performance and the only time we had any real slowdown was on I-70 on the 11,000 foot pass just before Denver. There we were right in line with the semis doing about 30 mph. I selected the 450 because I wanted a margin of safety with weight, and we weighed in at 27k with the truck rated at 33K. I also found that, even though I don't have the engine compression brakes, by putting it in tow haul mode the truck would maintain the downhill speed I set in the cruise control by downshifting if necessary. It also downshifts when step on the brake. I would not want to go any heavier for safety reasons without going to a larger tow vehicle. As far as the hauler bed, I'd love to have one and if I was a 100% full timer I probably would get one, but since 6 months I live on a lake in Michigan and 6 months I live in the RV, it's nice to have a pickup bed to haul stuff in, just watch the tailgate when you are towing! :)

Well, it is just me, but $20,000 would pay for a LOT of fuel and campground/rv park spaces.

That said, and with the danger or repeating myself from another thread, a hauler bed with side storage places would be easier for hitching up and retrieving things that are stored in the compartments. 

Terry

NWescapee wrote:

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Another option to consider would be the cargo box and partner boxes that are offered by the company I mentioned above. You buy one that basically fills the area between the hitch and the front of the bed and then the partner box provides storage behind the hitch. Both boxes cost about $1400 based on the quote I got this week. That's an option we're considering for all our art show "stuff", just trying to figure out where to store the generator if we go with that option.

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 You're probably right; the boxes would be much cheaper than the hauler bed and would not increase the truck weight as much as the hauler body would…and likely have close to the same additional storage space as the hauler. Once we get back down in Fort Myers for the winter we'll make a decision on those. For now I've got the space forward of the hitch filled up with one of those Walmart Jumbo storage boxes that has my Honda genset and gas can in it and 2 5 gallon cans of emergency diesel fuel. Got a 6 foot ladder sitting next to the hitch and the rear area has my 2x8 lumber jack pads and sitting in it. I would have to find places for that stuff if we go to the boxes but we'll figure all that out before spending the money.

 

Dave,

I've read your article, and I must say that for the most part, it was well written.  However, I now have questions that still leave me hesitant to endorse such a product as the ASHS.

Regardless of what the ASHS is supposed to do, it is still going to be additional weight that the tow vehicle is going to have to pull.  While your article listed the "capacities" of the ASHS, it didn't specify what the ASHS system, including the hitch system that goes on the truck, is going to weigh.  Without knowing more of how the hitch system attaches and the dynamics of that "hook-up," I wonder about how the tow vehicle is going to handle the extra weight.

When I went to look at a brochure for my truck, it has a "towing weight" for conventional towing of 16,000 lbs.  By comparison, the "towing weight" for fifth wheel towing is 24,600 lbs for my 2008 Ford F450.  That is a bit over 8,000 lbs difference between conventional versus fifth wheel towing, and one would be adding the extra weight of the ASHS, so the actual "towing weight" of conventional towing would be even less..  Plus,  I'm concerned that adding extra weight to a smaller truck might be a bit much to feel safe with.

Your article also stated that the towing capacity and braking capacity would both be increased by 50% with the use of the ASHS device.  I'm really curious as to how the addition of only two extra wheels and their brakes can increase the braking capacity by that much.  Plus, since I firmly believe in NOT going by a manufacturer's "published" towing weights instead of GAWR and GCVW, adding 50% to towing weight almost just sounds like hype from the manufacturer.

Then in my estimation, the idea of spending $10,000 to $11,000 to the cost of one's RV rig doesn't seem logical, especially when one could apply that money to buying a better and safer handling truck or a trailer with much better brakes of its own.

Terry