location of Fleet center of balance front to back

[huckfinn]

I have tried for a few years to get accustomed to having a camper on my pickup 24/7 but my wife is a big gardener and I'm a retired carpenter—

So I am converting my camper dolly into a camper trailer with a new tow bar, wheels, and axle. I had built the dolly in the hope I could use it to move the camper up onto the street using the winch on my truck. I did it once—it sorta worked—never again. Even though my street is less steep and canted than my driveway, it is still too steep and canted to load the Fleet onto my Tacoma without undue stress.

However, my driveway does have a flat spot in front of the garage door at the bottom where I can store the camper on a dolly—or on a trailer—but I can't load and unload the truck there because of a low ceiling.

So, the idea of making the trailer is so I can transport the camper a few blocks to a nearby flat spot to remove and install the camper onto my Tacoma, as needed.

With that in mind, I would like to locate the new trailer axle and wheels in relation to the Fleet's center of balance front to back, including the cantilever. I imagine an ideal location would put a small amount of weight on the hitch but not much.

The dolly I built is, of course, only about the length of the base of the camper. My idea is to haul the camper on the trailer/dolly with the cantilever in the rear. I think the urethane wheels on the dolly might be useful and stay where they are.

My Fleet is a 2014 weighing 1350 dry. Thanks for any thoughts about this.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

I would ask the factory. Email Stan Kennedy...stan@fourwh.com

 

[CougarCouple]

Hi huckfin
I think the number your looking for is 60%
Google building trailer, position the axle under the trailer, how to build a trailer. ect ect
Moving the axle forward like that gives the trailer the tongue weight it needs. When you get the measurement for the camper compare that to the trailer numbers.
Also I would like to say a better plan might be to look for a 4x8 harbor freight trailer used. I got one used for $250. They have some coupons for 20-25% off some times. I think you might be able to use the coupon if you find the trailer on sale also ,those two together make it real affordable. Don't forget the registration fees and tax.You also have something easy to sell, and might come in handy for a quick trip to the local nursery.

Russ

 

[DavidGraves]

Howdy

One winter I stored my Hawk shell on a small but adequate boat trailer....I later towed it about a mile to my home and it was all sorts of crazy balanced on that trailer....acted very wierd even at slow speeds on our bumpy rural road.

I am unsure the CG of any of the campers but the tall structure and the front overhang really make for an unusual balance.

Be careful with it.

David Graves

 

[GDinMT]

If you can weigh each corner of the dolly with the camper on it, you could easily calculate the center of gravity using some simple mechanics.

 

[klahanie]

Mine is marked but I guess FWC stopped marking the COG when they went away from cable jacks.

Could try lowering the camper onto a pipe or 2x2 running width wise to get a idea, maybe even with the camper on the truck if you attach a rope to retrieve the piece, measuring from the rear wall etc...

 

[DavidGraves]

If you can weigh each corner of the dolly with the camper on it, you could easily calculate the center of gravity using some simple mechanics.

Yes ! But. like a boat in water, an FWC camper, when mounted on any sort of lightweight trailer has all sorts of issues with "balance" on the trailer....the actual center of mass is pretty high in the box described by the camper.

Center of gravity of a flat pile of plywood might be equal to that of a camper but the the load is going to be very different.

Some of the engineers can perhaps chime in on this.

I mostly don't want Huckfinn to damage his camper.

 

[veryactivelife]

For towing even a short distance, tongue weight will make a difference. The wrong tongue weight can change a tame towing experience into a downright scary one. The general rule of thumb is 10 to 15% of the gross trailer weight.

 

[Argonaut20]

Put the axle closer to the rear of the camper body than the front. That will give you some weight on the hitch and make it more stable when towing. The body of the camper is about 77" long and I would think the axle should be about 48" to 50" from the front or 27" to 29" from the back. Putting the axle back of center also tends to make the presence of heavy items at the rear of the camper less of a problem.

 

[rubberlegs]

This website has an estimate, but not sure about options. https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/buyers-guide/pop-up-truck-campers/four-wheel-pop-up-camper/

 

[huckfinn]

Thanks all very much. I will call Stan. I will be careful. I shuuda bought a trailer but got bit by the DIY bug. Argonaut, I bet you're right.