Does it exist?
 

Does this exist?

If not, can it be built for a reasonable cost on an existing truck/toter?

Looking for a toter, or equally suitable truck, that can have a smallish lounge/head space accessed from the cab and has a 12' or larger garage area on the rear. Can be a rear-hitch only type tow vehicle.

We are going to use it to attend events all over in 2013 and intend to take our two choppers everywhere we go. Need the ability to relax, sleep and keep rolling without extra stops for restroom, beverages,etc. It needs to be short enough to haul at least a 38-40' boat on trailer(maybe driveguard) and still be under max length restrictions. Has to qualify for RV status for licensing issues and drivability.

GEICO team has a truck that sort fits the description and was built on an older platform and for a reasonable budget.

Thanks for any ideas or leads.

What if you modified a box truck, they use the same chassis on rv's maybe there would be a way to register some how

Sounds like the old OSO toterhome. Call Steve.

http://powerhousecoach.com/

If you go to their site and look under their "Floor Plan" section, you can see if any of their designs catch your eye.

They are not small nor cheap, but they look very interesting.
Good luck!

convert a box ambulance

holly badass!

Waayyyy toooo looooong. 65' max in California with a 40' trailer leaves 25'......Saw my 40' american dream in half?

my bad, skipped over the bike area. too much eggnog....

They actually made some of these with walk through and garages, friend uses one to haul dirt bikes to races.

OP, I like your idea and hope you figure something out. They do make them, and they do cost a lot of money!

Good luck

There is a reason why conversion vans lost interest. They are about as comfortable a driving position as a UPS truck. Same goes with the van front anythings. I got my fill of them driving ambulances and USAF vehicles for years.

I'd look for an older cabover semi that has been re-everything'd to be a garage/camper/toter. I've seen a few of them, and they are sweet. I recommend the cabover as they tend to have decent turning radiuses and the cabover design will save you length vs. anything with the engine out in front.

Plus, then you can get yourself a Monkey and call yourselves BJ & the Bear. :D :drink:

Or...
Something like Tom A's or Kenny's trucks would probably work if fully fitted with enclosed garage vs. open deck auto transport. You might also look into something custom that carries the bikes at a 45* angle up a ramp to save length. With a full height "box", you might could also have the bikes down low and bunks overhead.

fixx
 

we have a renegade for the race cars,,tandom axle but the toter is a lounge with a double slide 15 kv onan quiet diesel gen,,2 ac and heat,with a 50'' flat screen with a bas azz stero to boot..

your gonna pay big bucks for one to! around 200k..if it were me i would look for a diesel pusher and get the hyd hitch/platform to put them on and be done with it...we pulled my 33 formuls with my dads monoco caymen with a 5.9 isb 325 cummins..i did not even know it was back their and still got 9mpg ...

pretty cool but a little long maybe only gas powered http://outlawrv.com/

Someone WILL build you exactly what you want for a price

If your looking for used it will be hard to find, most Toter Homes with a garage instead of a fifth wheel are LONG

Pony express is one of the smallest toter homes I have seen but no garage, not enough power to pull a heavy boat either, but might be a good base to build off of, or use the living quarters, add a garage and a stronger chassis.

dig through www.racingjunk.com under their toterhome section. Those guys always have some crazy looking rigs and I've seen some identical to what you're looking for.

check renegade toters, then on the rear deck drop a roll up door box truck body on it.... could even find one with a lift gate fairly cheap.. have a trailer shop match the door from toter to garage so you can pass thru.. the 12' toters would be nice.. optima also makes the same, just instead of the bed do a box....

Thanks for the ideas. Been on racingjunk.com a LOT. Trying to keep the hauler to 25-30' MAX. I've seen toters with a long enough box/deck. It may be the way we have to go.

Sydwayz, I already considered the 45degree option. Even as far as doing them 45 from side-to-side. The biggest thing is being able to take the toys and roll. It's a nonstop month on the road from Sturgis-Destin-LOTO.

Plus, Yvonne has a crazy plan to hit Havasu/Vegas/Laughlin for the bike week and Desert Storm. Lots of time on the road needs fuel range and comfort.

How about just going with a serious hauler truck, and a custom trailer for bikes? When you buy a boat, have custom bike racks added to the trailer.

I cannot leave the choppers exposed. Plus, the "when" is closer than ever. :party-smiley-004:

Keep the overall length under 75'

Just FYI, I emailed Doug at Powerhouse Coach and he sent me back 8 examples and pricing within an hour. The numbers don't work for me but he was a fine example of someone who understands customer service and follow up. Their site also shows the quality of workmanship. Wow !!

The big problem is length. I just went through all this... here's how it works.

Any tow vehicle that can be classified as a tractor unit with single trailer falls under federal law (revised in 1982) which basically says no state can ping you for being to long - within reason. Safe to say though that 75 feet is safe.
The Federal law gives minimum lengths to trailers under this format, saying that states must allow a minimum of a 48ft trailer, with no overall length restriction. Yeah, it actually says that. It also says that no state can ping you for over length, even if the trailer is longer than 48ft.
Being that Federal law trumps State law (unless you are growing weed in CA) and if you have a "semi-tractor" trailer type set-up, you're pretty much safe to build whatever you want.

The problems arrive for length when the tow vehicle is what's regarded as a "straight truck". This is a truck that has a cargo area separate from the cab. Trucks like Duallys, cargo vans and trucks etc fall under this umbrella.
If you have a straight truck as a tow vehicle, there is no Federal law for length and the State law takes over. Some states are really short - My home state of North Carolina only allows 60ft overall length - truck and trailer combined.

I went and purchased a Schwalbe conversion Perterbilt for this very reason. It is classified as a semi tractor and trailer because of the hitch arrangement and no rear "truck bed".
But its essentially an oversize crew cab with electric rear bench seat that folds out into a bed, DVD, etc etc. Plenty of room for cross country trips, me and a buddy just did CA to NC in it almost non-stop.
Cummins 8.3 Turbo, Allison trans etc - they tow almost anything well and we averaged 8mpg towing a 15k lb trailer at 70 -75mph the whole way.

I have buddys who have had their stuff parked up roadside and not been able to move it due to over length state laws.
For the length of the boat, it might be worth building a custom fifth wheel boat trailer with a box on the front for your bikes and looking at a similar truck? Do a Google search for Schwalbe Peterbilt 335 and see what turns up.

Hope that helps a little. It was the only solution I could find that was legal and still comfortable.

We have considered the box on the trailer route. We will see how it unfolds or I have to revise my boat plan to a 32' Skater or 34' Doug Wright. :evilb:

Some questions. If the tow vehicle can be registered as an RV does it fall under the "Straight truck" length rules?

If the tow vehicle can be registered as an RV and the whole rig is over 26,000 lbs and the trailer is over 10,000 lbs, do you have to have a Class A drivers license?

Go 40 and just tuck them under the tunnel.

From what I could see, RV's fall under State law length for the State you are travelling in. Some States claim they have reciprocity, meaning if you're legal in your home state you are legal elsewhere. Try convincing the state trooper of that when you're travelling out of State - there's a gamble that I know hasn't worked in the past.

Another issue is the Feds are cracking down on commercial vs personal use. If you race at all - or even have your own company name on your gear - its getting tougher to not be considered commercial. Rule of thumb we're seeing is if the cop thinks you have any way of being reimbursed in any way, such as contingency stickers or a tax write off, people I know have been called commercial. At that pont, even a Class A license isn't legal.

I think pretty much everywhere says if you are over 26k RATED all up - no matter what load you have - you either need a Class A or full CDL dependent on use. Except RV's for personal use. That might even be Federal.

Sorry to go off topic Cash.

No problem. All good info ansd stuff to consider. I am not gonna let this probelm beat me. I WILL figure out a solution.

As long as you aren't overweight, or stick out like a sore thumb, being a little long shouldn't be an issue. A toter with a bunk above the bike and tool storage area, and possibly another bunk above the cab should work, a tommy lift might be needed to load/ unload the bikes depending on your situation. Plaster the Not for Hire stickers on the toter, run with a Class A license just to be safe, and fly under the radar, at night if needed, you should be fine. The wilder the paint and graphics on the boat (and toter) the more likely you are to be inspected.

Greg any updates on truck or boat?

Pat

Stuff happening but I'll give you updates when you arrive in S Fla. :whistle:

Nice truck but still a bit too long. We found the G3 truck to be the perfect basis for our model.

It will have a box where the 5th wheel deck is and the overall length should come in right between 30-32 feet. It will only roll a tag trailer but that works for our plan. Having the slideout is a huge plus as well.

Who makes this truck?

You done sturgis before? The rides aren't suited to customs.

Love the bikes though.

I've done sturgis many times. True, our longer choppers will not be too much fun on the pigtails, they will be just fine on the run to Devils Tower or to Deadwood.

We have a FatBoy and Softail Custom but there is no way I'm haukling 6 bikes(2 are friends) out and back just to have riding options.

Hauled a custom and a RoadKing out in 2000 and road over 1500 miles on the chopper and 800 miles on the roadking in just 6 days.

Will be in town this Friday the 8th for the weekend, leave Monday night.

Nothing wrong with long bikes Cash as long as you ride them. Now the guys who trailer them to Sturgis and Daytona and put 15 miles on 'em between bars on Main street in 5 days... that's another story.

That's the difference between wannabe poser's and riders. Seems like you're a rider. My opinion.

You could also keep the costs down and try it on an old ambulance chassis. www.fostercoachsales.com. I repair an entire fleet of ambulances and they send the units to these guys and have the rear cubes taken off the chassis and installed on a new chassis. then they sell these chassis cab units that are sprung for ambulance use (almost all diesels) for cheeeeep.