Motorhome conversion

[LyosGeminiNorez]

Greetings all...

First of all... fair warning: I'm probably going to sound like an insane person before end of this post.



Now for a bit of background:
I am a contractor who travels a lot for IT related jobs in my state (Ohio).
I grow weary of hotels and no-tell motels, and thus I'm looking to make a change to a motorhome and/or travel trailer.

I've been looking for something in my price range... but I've noticed that TTs in my price range are far too small for my needs.

I have seen some nice older motorhomes with dead/frozen/damaged motors, and/or have been in a wreak that damaged the engine leaving the rest intact/in good shape, that fit both my price range and needs.

Seeing that these are not drivable (honestly, I wouldn't want to drive a motorhome anyway)... I'm considering obtaining one of these to modify.

I plan to rip out the motor/transmission/etc (leaving the empty compartment for additional storage), and weld a trailer hitch to the frame of the motorhome.

Now for my questions:

1.) is it possible to do this without removing the axle that's connected to the transmission?

2.) is it legal to pull such behind a truck/suv?

3.) if it's possible to keep all axles, does this make said trailer easier or harder to pull?

4.) has this been done before? are there pictures of said conversion?

5.) any further thoughts/advice?

Thanks!

--Lyos Gemini Norezel

[John___Angela]

Well, can it be done, yepir. Here's our little C being towed behind our A. It tows fine but Angela has to take the driveshaft off when being towed. In your case you could just leave it off. The thing is the little c weighs just under 10,000 pounds and the biggest tow bar capacity I am aware of is 10'000 pounds. You'll have to overcome this if you want to tow something bigger. Also, you can never back up as the wheels will caster. Just a few things to think about.

[filthy_beast]

I would also think you might have a hard time with finding a RV park that would allow you to park there might be a challenge. I have read of parks that don't allow rvs over ten years old.

[snowdance]

I did much the same as you except all over the US. Went thru much the same thoughts but after working it all out it came to two answers. Just buy a diesel pusher and tow any thing you need. A 1 or 1 1/2 ton truck is usable. Or a travel trailer. We had both but liked the older Airstream (all weather)the most as I could use it to live in and pulled with my truck. Except when working near water then we had our boats we lived on. Same life just different parking area..

[portscanner]

I am guessing why you dont want to drive a motorhome. I am guessing that as a consultant, you want/need something smaller when you go on site. I am in the same business.

If I would provide a little more information, I think readers of this forum could give you some better suggestions.

1. What are you going to use as a tow vehicle? (make/model/year/engine)

2. What are you looking for in space/amenities/features on the RV, i.e. queen size bed, dry bath, must have space for a table and chair for work area, etc

3. What hookups will you have when you park, i.e. you would park at a campground with full hookups? will you be at your customer where you only have water? or only have electricity? This will determine what sort of holding tanks, fresh water tanks, generator etc you will need.

4. What is your budget?

Although it is technically possible to tow an old motor home 4 down (i.e. on its own wheels), remove the engine and transmission, set up the drive axle to free wheel or replace it, rig up a tow bar and (VERY important) set up a braking system, you are going to need a heck of a truck to do it safely. On top of that, I would expect (and this is not an insult to LEO's out there) lots of questions and stops by the highway patrol checking to see if your rig is safe.

In addition, most all of those wrecked motorhomes out there have been sitting for extended periods of time. That means they have not been maintained, they probably have leaky roofs, and the interior is rotting.

It sounds like you are a "hands on" sort of guy and looking to save a little bit of money. Let me suggest two different options:

1. Do some shopping for a used "U-Haul" truck or school bus with a good running drive train. Build living quarters in the back and tow your daily driver behind (either 4 down, dolly, or trailer) Do a little research on school bus conversions. Lots of good information out there on how to make your own motor home. You dont have to buy the biggest truck or school bus out there. Get one that fits your size.

2. If you have a 3/4 ton or larger pickup - look at truck campers. I got mine (see picture in sig) for $7500 and it is one if the bigger/heavier ones out there. Not suggesting that you get the biggest - just showing you that a decent one can be purchased at a reasonable price. If you have a SRW pickup you can easily take that on site at your customers during the day, then park at a campground at night.

Just my $0.02

[JaxDad]

I'm with the crowd on this one.

Other than the obvious serious issues with this concept;

- a 5 to 6 ton single axle trailer with no ability to balance the load or adjust the axle position would be brutal to tow,

- if you leave the original axle, the gears & axle will add tremendous drag and making hydraulic brakes work will be a whole other challenge,

- it would require some serious engineering and a highly-skilled welder (dissimilar metals of unequal thickness) to fabricate something safe & legal,

- a truck big enough to safely drag this down the road would easily cost the price of a good used Motorhome itselff.


Given all of the above, I'd have to say if you don't want a motorhome, buying a decent used travel trailer would be your cheapest option.

[Chris_Bryant]

That is in no way practical- while it could be done, the cost of conversion, cobbling up a braking system, buying a vehicle to tow it (think medium duty truck at minimum), and winding up with a rig that you cannot back up.

[dan-nickie]

I'm no expert, but I think weight will the the issue.
Motohome weighs 10,000-12,000 lbs in stock form, so it would take a monster truck to pull it.
Probably too much for a bumper pull.

[LyosGeminiNorez]

Altern wrote:
Perhaps if you'd state your price range, more appropriate suggestions could be made.

Altern:

For the purposes of this discussion... price range is actually irrelevant.

Suffice it to say... I have my eye on a couple of Class A motorhomes... though some of the larger Class C's have potential.

I'm expressly *NOT INTERESTED* in advice on which to buy.

Thanks.

--Lyos Gemini Norezel

[Altern]

Perhaps if you'd state your price range, more appropriate suggestions could be made.

[LyosGeminiNorez]

robsouth:

Thanks for posting that. Good to know something similar has been done before.

There are two primary differences between that pic and what I intend to do:

1.) mine will be bumper pull
and
2.) I intend to keep the front axle (provided it's possible).

Thanks again!

--Lyos Gemini Norezel

[robsouth]

Here you go!