Fifth Wheels with left side or rear door
G'day Mates, I'm Rod Williams from Brisbane, Australia. I was wondering if anyone knows any of the RV Manufacturers or any RV Makes or models that are built with either left side or rear entry doors? ...
Forum Discussion
Hi Rod
We are now in Spain and I have a little more time to go through some information I had.
Its great you have the background and contacts to convert your trailer. I spent most of my working life in offices and but have a strong DIY approach but this may be beyond me.
I have spent most of my time this week looking at tow vehicles. I am not quite finished but the cost to import and convert is slightly lower than buying one in Australia when I return - not really a surprise when I consider the sales yard has to make a profit and go through much the same process - there are kits but they seem few and far between for the model I am interested in - maybe when we are ready the world may change.
However, when I add the loss I will make on sale of the US vehicle before returning to Australia it becomes a no brainer - buy, keep and convert is the cheapest option. I will let you know where I end up.
One thing I will look for is a shorter trailer with some Aussie standards incorporated - this may also mean I can get away with a smaller tow vehicle - It seems the 3500 4WD Silverado is a light truck (which I do have a licence for and Joanne can get a learners for and drive under my "instruction"????) but then that means I will be selling to a small market when we finally settle down.
You were correct about air brakes - over 4.5 tonne is going to require them. I have seen a Fifth Wheelers Australia U tube on their installation on a trailer (including suspension upgrade) but I am left wondering what is required on the tow vehicle (at the end there are 2 air hoses at the hitch that must connect to the tow vehicle in some way). Do you know what is required and approximate cost?
It also appears the hitch has to be changed to an Australian Standard - an air ride pin box has been recommended and I found them on the net but without pricing. I need to do more research.
One thing that keeps coming up is width - this definition came from our government friends - link (which is fairly useful) is:
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/vsb1/vsb_01_b.aspx
"A trailer must not exceed 2.5 metres in overall width. The maximum distance is measured across the body including wheel guards, but excluding signalling devices and side-mounted lamps."
2.5 metres was 98.43 inches when I went to school. so an 8 foot (96 inch) wide trailer only has about 2.5 inches left. From my reading it seems awnings and handles (I assume folding ones are available) are the most common offenders. Recessed awnings seem to overcome this problem
The one thing I am still confused about is the cost differences - even without the additional cost of converting a trailer with greater than a 3.7 metre overhang I have been given a price of $100,000AUD. This included from drop of in the US to registered to be picked up in Australia. Obviously this included shipping (say $11k), GST (say $7K) and customs clearance and travel to their workshop from the port (say $4K) and rego (say $3K) - that's $25K.
That leaves $75K to put in a door, rewire (including possibly new exterior lights and power points), new gas lines, clean tanks, new hitch, air brakes and a suspension upgrade (and the certifications). Obviously this is the area I need to do more research but it seems high compared to your thoughts. I will let you know how I go.
In the meantime if you find anything let me know.
I did send you a private message so it you could respond to that at least we would know it works should we need to exchange non public thoughts
cheers
Paul
We are now in Spain and I have a little more time to go through some information I had.
Its great you have the background and contacts to convert your trailer. I spent most of my working life in offices and but have a strong DIY approach but this may be beyond me.
I have spent most of my time this week looking at tow vehicles. I am not quite finished but the cost to import and convert is slightly lower than buying one in Australia when I return - not really a surprise when I consider the sales yard has to make a profit and go through much the same process - there are kits but they seem few and far between for the model I am interested in - maybe when we are ready the world may change.
However, when I add the loss I will make on sale of the US vehicle before returning to Australia it becomes a no brainer - buy, keep and convert is the cheapest option. I will let you know where I end up.
One thing I will look for is a shorter trailer with some Aussie standards incorporated - this may also mean I can get away with a smaller tow vehicle - It seems the 3500 4WD Silverado is a light truck (which I do have a licence for and Joanne can get a learners for and drive under my "instruction"????) but then that means I will be selling to a small market when we finally settle down.
You were correct about air brakes - over 4.5 tonne is going to require them. I have seen a Fifth Wheelers Australia U tube on their installation on a trailer (including suspension upgrade) but I am left wondering what is required on the tow vehicle (at the end there are 2 air hoses at the hitch that must connect to the tow vehicle in some way). Do you know what is required and approximate cost?
It also appears the hitch has to be changed to an Australian Standard - an air ride pin box has been recommended and I found them on the net but without pricing. I need to do more research.
One thing that keeps coming up is width - this definition came from our government friends - link (which is fairly useful) is:
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/vsb1/vsb_01_b.aspx
"A trailer must not exceed 2.5 metres in overall width. The maximum distance is measured across the body including wheel guards, but excluding signalling devices and side-mounted lamps."
2.5 metres was 98.43 inches when I went to school. so an 8 foot (96 inch) wide trailer only has about 2.5 inches left. From my reading it seems awnings and handles (I assume folding ones are available) are the most common offenders. Recessed awnings seem to overcome this problem
The one thing I am still confused about is the cost differences - even without the additional cost of converting a trailer with greater than a 3.7 metre overhang I have been given a price of $100,000AUD. This included from drop of in the US to registered to be picked up in Australia. Obviously this included shipping (say $11k), GST (say $7K) and customs clearance and travel to their workshop from the port (say $4K) and rego (say $3K) - that's $25K.
That leaves $75K to put in a door, rewire (including possibly new exterior lights and power points), new gas lines, clean tanks, new hitch, air brakes and a suspension upgrade (and the certifications). Obviously this is the area I need to do more research but it seems high compared to your thoughts. I will let you know how I go.
In the meantime if you find anything let me know.
I did send you a private message so it you could respond to that at least we would know it works should we need to exchange non public thoughts
cheers
Paul
