Here is the Ford E450 Bus with a good running (but leaky) Ford 6.8L V10 that is getting the engine/trans removed for another project.
Bus has no title and 3 years back reg due, probably $2,000 in DMV fees, so I got it super cheap. The plan here is to convert the back of the bus after removing the engine and the truck cab, into a enclosed trailer. On paper, this should not be difficult. Yeah, right, everything is easy on paper.. lol
The box part of the bus is 16ft long, add another 3ft if you extend it to where the top ends, but probably won't do that, just cut it at the box end. 7ft wide inside, about 8ft to the outside. Tires are almost new in back which is nice because they are not cheap. The floor is about 32in off the ground, so ramp for a car hauler is a challenge.
The GVWR is 14,500lbs, and from what I can find the payload is 7,000lbs, leaving the bus itself at 7,500lbs, but not real confident in these numbers.
The plan is to put the hitch on the back and leave it closed up and put in a door to replace the cab after removing it all and opening it up. There is about 7.5ft to the back and 8.5ft to the front of the box from the rear wheel centerline.
Has it really been a week already? lol
Having seen a lot of camper conversions, it makes me wonder...could I make it a trailer and keep the front wheels??
I ran into this thing..
I like it , but it would be considered 2 trailers ?
Wonder if its legal in California ?
In reply to californiamilleghia :
I don't think it is considered a trailer but an extension of the truck, it does not pivot left-right like a trailer.
The wheels turn somehow.
They didn't give real specific details on their website. What I found interesting is this kind of thing would allow the truck front wheels to be used, and you could use a much lighter weight tow vehicle,
for example my explorer. :)
The steering isn't mechanically operated. It just follows the tow vehicle- like a tow dolly.
I question the lighter weight tow vehicle.
You are limited by the transmission and braking capabilities of the tow vehicle, and you've added perhaps 1000 lbs to the trailer.
You're gonna blow the GVWR out the window.
The truck has brakes sufficient to stop its 14,500lbs gvwr. And it does have a differential that could be powered to sufficiently propel its weight.
Found an example of an electric powered camp trailer, https://newatlas.com/dethleffs-electric-coco-caravan/56056/
I'm thinking, can I make the tow vehicle can be a Prius? so instead of a motorhome towing a small car, the small car tows the motor-trailer. :)
And maybe have a gooseneck hitch on the Prius roof, like that vw bug thing,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpwH9WeVEfU
I've been in some situations where it felt like the trailer was driving. Having one that is ACTUALLY capable of propulsion sounds terrifying.
Get one thing wrong and youre going to feel like a bug on the bumper just along for the ride.
In reply to nimblemotorsports :
I'm hoping you are enjoying the humor in this.
There is a lot more to towing engineering than sizing brakes.
In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :
What do you think an 18-wheeler tractor trailer is? It is a tiny truck pulling a huge massive trailer. That can't work can it?
The '18 wheeler' has 10 contact patches on the pulling vehicle, that are all braked.
Big, massive, air brakes. And jake brakes. And engine braking.
And 10+ forward gears.
The tractor part weighs quite a bit itself too.
An 18 wheeler is a dedicated trailer towing vehicle, not in any way a direct comparison. Heck most have 8 wheels for drive and trailer support. Very different animal.
Plus the amount your Explorer can tow is limited, regardless of what you do to the trailer. Bigger trailer brakes don't allow you to tow more weight. Otherwise I like your out of the box thinking on this. I do wonder how much it would end up weighing when finished.
