Can I turn an M35 into a family hauling, 5th wheel camper towing rig for under $12K?

[tbearatkin]

That is exactly what i would do if kid number 5 (aka oops) didn't come along. Now that we are a family of 7 we don't fit in the F350. I need to find a 7 passenger vehicle that will tow a 5th wheel.....that's not too much to ask is it?

I would beg to differ coming from a family of seven. Dad would put all seven of us in the VW super beetle to go to church on snowy days. The 72 hornet sportabout had no traction in the snow. The beetle would go just about anywhere. Sister sat behind the back seat and the other four sat in the back seat. Now the hornet was another story. All seven in it towing a shasta trailer in the summer. No A/C and I know that thing out weighed the hornet. Prob was not safe back then to do that but as kids we never gave it a thought. Dad had clamp on mirrors for both sides of the vehicles that stuck way out.

Heck if my dad had seen this
back in the day he would have put us in this and taken us on vacation.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56XL0TysIn0&feature=share[/media]

 

[furmdog]

Now what fun would that be? There'd be no green iron involved whatsoever! OMG, that reminds me of Niagra Falls,.....NIAGRA FALLS!!!!! Slowly I turned, step by step, inch by inch,......

The orange letters are a link to the build thread.

I spent some time on that thread. That was/is amazing. Have you had a chance to tow that 5th wheel much? How does it ride? Although I can manage some basic fabricating/welding I think a project of that magnitude may be beyond my abilities (I know, i should turn in my man card fo admitting that). My guess is, if I have to pay someone to do all that work I would have a hard time keeping to a $12K budget. I think my other problem is considering the resale of the 5th wheel. When that day comes, I would be limited to potential buyers who own MVs with a 5th wheel hitch.....going to have to stew on this a bit.

 

[N5MCZ]

camper

first thing you need to do is find out where babies come from & then sell the camper because you're going to need all the jingles you can scrape up to feed that bunch if we keep heading down the road we're on ...take care

 

[Seth_O]

I have 5 as well, and would not ever try to pack them into a deuce for a trip, even an extended cab. The cost to convert it to something family-friendly would absorb the $12k+ quickly - and I can do the work myself.

I would recommend selling the truck and 5th wheel and getting a diesel suburban or expedition + travel trailer. If you can really liquidate the truck for $26k + whatever you get for the 5th wheel you can easily get a used diesel SUV and trailer and would likely even have enough left over afterwards to get a small commuter.

That would give you freeway speeds, a comfortable ride, and still have another vehicle to use as a daily driver.

Just my $.02.

 

[rickf]

first thing you need to do is find out where babies come from & then sell the camper because you're going to need all the jingles you can scrape up to feed that bunch if we keep heading down the road we're on ...take care

 

[Welder Sam]

No air bags, no rollover protection, no antilock brakes, single stage brakes at that, No air conditioning, heat? No power steering.

Rick
​

Oh my... how did ANYONE survive the dark ages before all this modern safety and comfort??

Man, even i say its not very feasible but neither is 7 people in a 4 door pickup. you are between a rock and a hard place. truthfully, at this point youre looking at a van. it could be possible to add 24-30" between 2 cabs for a megacab deuce, no bed just fifth wheel, and have a center row of seats rear facing. maybe a schoolbus window between the door windows.... deuce limo if you will. you will be hot in the summer though. crotchpot cooking kind of hot. you can add fuel burning heaters for the winter. loud? definately. intercom will provide comms and hearing protection. the speed and mpg's, or lack there of, is a major killer though. if you do go this way, best of luck brave fellow.

 

[lawdog1623]

The bed is 12' long so plenty of room there, but you do realize the bed is ~4' off the ground so unless you plan on lifting the fifth wheel I don't see it working.

THIS! BUT 5TH WHEEL CAMPING IS NOT TRULY CAMPING. IF'N YOU WANT TO DO IT RIGHT GET A M109 OR JUST USE YOUR CANVAS AS YOU'R TENT.

 

[Cleptomaniac]

No one is thinking outside the box! In the back of the extended cab you only put doors on the drivers side. That makes it where you can put limo style seats in. L shaped! Then you can take a couple of the kids friends! Other wise I have a friend of the family that dose this...

 

[Kohburn]

convert a van body to a cab over - could take a passenger van like this and chop off the last row or two and have plenty of room.

http://www.jetcarlimo.com/home/img/fleep/3G.jpg

 

[quickfarms]

How about a school bus?

I know it is not military and does not have the cool factor but you could get or convert one to awd. You could convert it to an rv or shorten the body and wheel base and tow the fifth wheel.

 

[Odyssey M]

How about a school bus?

I know it is not military and does not have the cool factor but you could get or convert one to awd. You could convert it to an rv or shorten the body and wheel base and tow the fifth wheel.

You can make the bus option look cool--

 

[Ferroequinologist]

I was also thinking the cut down bus idea. you could make it seat as many as you want in the front. (I'd make it sit like 10, just in case)

Get the right bus and it will have decent power, speed, A/C, heat, and not be too uncomfortable or noisy.

I would do something just like the pic, but cut the rear frame down to right behind the axle, and mount the 5th wheel plate there. make the bus body as long as you can while clearing the trailer.

I'm sure you could build this in your budget. A good diesel bus might be 5k, but you'll get at least 1k back in scrap from it.

 

[Bighurt]

I still plan to modify a Volvo VNL760 into a hauler at some point, slightly different that anything mentioned here. But it takes the cake with ammeities and safety.

 

[silverstate55]

I am glad someone finally added that in. 40 plus year old high maintenance truck with a top SAFE speed of 50 MPH. Note I said SAFE speed, I don't care how fast some of you guy's have gone. No air bags, no rollover protection, no antilock brakes, single stage brakes at that. Hearing protection mandatory, No air conditioning, heat? No power steering, unless added, and going up a moderate hill.................35 MPH. Not family material!

Rick
​

Hey, now you're perfectly describing my childhood camping trips....how in the heck did I make it this long?!?!?!?

 

[Welder Sam]

Hey, now you're perfectly describing my childhood camping trips....how in the heck did I make it this long?!?!?!?

Just camping trips? Ha! Some of us grew up in "the family car" that would fit that criteria. More gizmos and gadgets dont make it safer. Wonder how those people that are 80+ made it to be that old? Computerized vehicles with all the junk arent very old. People just rely on and trust their vehicle to keep them safe now days..

 

[mckeeranger]

How about a school bus?

I know it is not military and does not have the cool factor but you could get or convert one to awd. You could convert it to an rv or shorten the body and wheel base and tow the fifth wheel.

Buses can be cool.

 

[dblcamaros]

you could probably buy a trailer and attach a fifth wheel to that. May have to do a little fabbing, you could even run the service and emergency air from the front of trailer out to rear also. I don't think it would run you but a few thousand including the trailer, fifth wheel and fabrication. Maybe not, just a thought.

 

[olly hondro]

A lot of guys around here run around doing errands in their 1-ton dually work trucks. You see, it makes more sense, financially, to do that rather than purchase, register, insure, and maintain another vehicle that might at first blush seem to be a better choice. Fuel economy is not the only factor to consider.

 

[OPCOM]

If the F-350 has the 6.4 powerstroke in it, get rid of it asap. My 2008 6.4 started making trouble at 100K miles. 5 "truck is dead again" towings to Ford, 8 failures of various kinds on the engine, 8 months, and $11,000 later.. I got rid of it.

 

[caliber1]

If the F-350 has the 6.4 powerstroke in it, get rid of it asap. My 2008 6.4 started making trouble at 100K miles. 5 "truck is dead again" towings to Ford, 8 failures of various kinds on the engine, 8 months, and $11,000 later.. I got rid of it.

Just what I wanted to hear, my truck is at 100,300.