Mounting Hawk on utility trailer

[BlueRidge]

I'm selling my truck and would like to mount my 2015 Hawk on a utility trailer and tow it with a mid-size car.

Can you recommend a make and model trailer, or considerations and features I should look for.

One idea I had (feel free to critique) is to mount the camper backwards (door in front) and have a utility trailer long enough to store items underneath the bed overhang in the rear.

Items like a lockable storage box or bikes and such.

 

[idahoron]

I have thought of the same thing my self. I own a Echo trailer that is 14 foot long. I carry my boats and ATV's on that trailer. It is a straight axle trailer with springs, no shocks.
I have pulled this trailer for many years. One thing that I have learned is this type of trailer is hard on the things it carries. I have seen the racks on the ATV's break. I used to tie them down with ratchet straps to the racks of the ATV. When I am on washboard roads the bouncing compresses the shocks on the bikes and then they thrust back up. This causes the racks to break. I started to tie them to the frame to be more sturdy and so far have not seen anything break. I hope it doesn't. I have also had one inflatable pontoon boat do the same thing and break the frame. I drive slow but some roads are very rough.
When the camper is on the truck the truck suspension is there to quiet down the bumps. And does a good job of not transferring the jarring to the camper.

In my opinion if My camper was on My trailer the camper would not last very long and it would be rattled to death. I have seen too many things on these trailers destroyed to trust my camper on one.
Now if I had a trailer with a full suspension I might think about it. But for now I am not going to try it.

 

[BlueRidge]

Would a torsion axle trailer be better?

Are straight axle trailers harder on equipment because the load is so light?

If the trailer is designed to carry 3500lbs but I only carry 1500lbs is that the reason it's so rough? If I reduced the size or number of springs would this smooth out the ride for a lighter load (can you add shocks to straight axle trailers to help)?

thanks

 

[idahoron]

Those are all good questions. The only one I can somewhat answer is my trailer is a 3500 pound trailer. And yes I do believe it is rougher because I am not loading it heavy. I am at maybe 300 pounds on a 3500 pond trailer when I have my boats on, and about 800 pounds when I have my ATV's on. I wish I knew is the torsion axle trailers would be better but I don't have any first hand knowledge of them. But a guy would have another axle to maintain and it would also reduce fuel mileage to some degree.
I thought about putting my camper on backwards on my trailer and I would still have room for my boat I think. Or at least one ATV or motorcycle. I am just too worried that the trailer will destroy the camper.

 

[abqbw]

Towing a trailer with something as heavy as a FWC camper with a mid-size car sounds dangerous. You are going to have a hard time stopping and controlling the trailer around turns and if you have to swerve. I wouldn't do it. Car aren't designed to tow. You will probably fry you transmission too.

My utility trailer that only has leaf springs rides very rough too. I would be reluctant to subject a FWC camper to that harsh ride too.

 

[Central Toast]

I bought my Hawk bolted to a trailer with leaf springs. Many of the welds on the camper frame were broken. I fixed those that I could get to and had to replace the front wall skin entirely because it was so torn. The cabinetry just doesn't line up to this day even with the repairs and now having it on a truck. My guess is that on the trailer, the suspension was poor compared to a good truck; the wood 2x trailer bed flexed much more than a truck bed, which means the flex transferred straight to the camper; and bolting through the floor provided no support for the camper walls, so while it was secure to to the trailer bed, everything above that was getting wagged around.

For the money that you could get out of a FWC you could buy a nice used camping trailer that has a bigger fridge and requires no roof lifting!

 

[Squatch]

It amazes me they still make straight axle trailers. They are pretty much self destructive. Only the tires for suspension.

I have a little experience with this question. When I bought my camper (A used 2012 Eagle shell) I didn't have a pickup on the road. So I used my boat trailer. it normally carries a 17' flat bottom bass boat so it's pretty much a flat bed trailer. The boat weighs more than the camper for sure.

I drove the empty trailer from the Mid Atlantic to Florida to buy my Camper then hauled it home.

Loading up at the dealer.


I used the stock turnbuckles and some chain to secure it to the trailer. Then used 4 1,000lb ratchet straps on the jack brackets as back up insurance. They were not needed.


The camper rode fine and I towed it with my 4 cylinder old Isuzu Trooper. The only real issue is that on this trailer it sits a ways from the truck. So the overhang of the camper tend to catch air. Noticeable in a headwind. Doesn't affect handling just acts as a brake.


We have used the camper on this trailer several times as a tag along camper. It works well if a bit Jed Clampet. We have done several multi state trips pulling it this way without issue.


When using it this way I bolted some old roof mount bike racks to the deck to carry the bikes under the overhang. Great addition.


One thing to remember is that trailers are wide/ Often 80". So you will need extension brackets for the jack to load or unload it.

 

[Squatch]

So to continue this saga. A friend was moving recently and I bought his old drop gate utility trailer for cheap. Just like this one but 4x7 not 4x6.
https://www.carry-ontrailer.com/utility-trailers/4x6g/

The plan was to possibly use it for the camper. Maybe for the road but mainly for storage on my property. The weight rating will handle it and the center of gravity is low. But I have one small problem. The width between the rails of the trailer is 49". The width of the camper at the rear behind the wheel wells is 51". I'll need to do a little fab work to widen the rear section of the rails a couple of inches on each side to accommodate the camper.



Bear in mind I have an Eagle which is made for compact trucks. A Hawk will be wider still. So I'm thinking at least a 5' wide trailer bed for one of those. I don't know the measurements of a Hawk. That may or may not cause extension bracket issues to clear the trailer fenders with the jacks.

One of the pros I see of this trailer for me if used on the road is the shorter length. This would put the camper much closer to the rear of my truck and close that air gap caused by the overhang.

So yes these can be used on a trailer very well. I think a good used boat trailer could be shortened and would work well. Around here they can be had cheaply. Mine rides smoothly as it has springs.

As far as the tow vehicle to use I'll stay away from that. Just make sure you have enough vehicle to not only tow but stop the trailer.

I'll also say that I feel the trailer option will require some head scratching and possibly some mods to make it work well. So I would only recommend this to someone is is fairly handy and has some towing experience.

Hope this helps.

 

[BlueRidge]

I backed into this situation.

I'm traveling 1500 miles round trip once a month, plus normal travel, and it costs too much in the truck - I don't want to own two vehicles.

I intended to build a dolly and store the camper in the garage for now, and looked at dolly posts here.

I realized for a little more money I could buy a used utility trailer, use it instead of a dolly to store the Hawk in the garage, but also use a car to tow the camper.

Someone suggested selling my Hawk and buying an RV trailer, but I converted my Hawk shell with a great interior ... I have a great layout, I have more storage than campers twice my size and hate to give it up. An FWC is teardrop camper sized for towing but opens into a full size camper when stopped.

I think towing it backwards would eliminate the "trapping air" problem, while creating an opportunity to create lockable exterior storage beneath the bed overhang. A quick trip to Lowe's with a tape measure, and it's looks like welding in the sides to meet / match the tailgate ramp in the back - filling in the gap between the camper and the tailgate, on the sides of the trailer, will create "lockable" area for bikes, grill, extra propane, etc ...

 

[Squatch]

The air trap is more of a function of the distance from my tow rig than anything else. Just getting it closer to the camper would clean up the air stream a lot.

My concern with mounting the camper backwards would be balance. Just like the truck you want the weight fairly centered over the axle. Most trailer tow best with a 60/40 weight distribution. Also consider driving in a rain storm might force water past the door and top seals. FWC designed them to be facing the wind forward.

I think on a rectangular trailer it would be easy to box in the space under the overhang with a light weight material. Maybe even angle it some.

 

[ntsqd]

Typical trailer leaf springs are stiff by design. The idea is that the trailer not change ride height by much when fully loaded vs. empty. This also means that the mfg. rarely needs to supply dampers (shock absorbers) or even make provisions to mount them. They do this by making the leaves short and thick.

To stay leaf-sprung and achieve some compliance the springs will need to get longer and each leaf will need to be thinner; along with there being more leaves in the spring-pack. AND you will need to add dampers!

For washboard roads I would add dampers to a torsion axle as well. Adventure Trailers claims to have had a Dexter torsion axle come apart in testing or early use and cause a big problem. No one in recent history has seen the pics taken and they vanished from the forum that they were posted on. AT stated that grit got in between the rubber and the steel and worked it all loose. Which is a valid conclusion except that the rubber is vulcanized to both the axle and the housing on our similar rubber torsion axle. So something else started the process. I contend that it was most likely heat from rapid suspension motion of the Baja washboard that they were on that caused the rubber's bond to one or the other, or both, the axle and the housing to break loose. Which then allowed the grit in. Assuming that my analysis is correct adding a damper to each side would or should cure that problem. As it happens I own a sample trailer set-up exactly like this and it happens to have more Baja miles on it that I do, by a large factor. Torsion axle is still intact.

I think that no matter what you're looking at some customization of the trailer's suspension to work correctly in your proposed use.

I too would caution about mounting it backwards. Mostly for the reasons stated, but also because if you have to err on where to put the extra weight on a trailer you rarely can go wrong putting it forward of the axle and rarely can get away with putting behind the axle.

Taken in "Top Gun" pit of the 2009 BitD Vegas to Reno race:

 

[fireball]

We love our setup. The trailer and hawk probably weigh 2500# when all loaded up so it is not super lightweight but it works well for us.

 

[BlueRidge]

Fireball can you give some details about the setup you love?

Which suspension are you using and is it set up for lighter loads?



NTSQD could you offer details of your setup? Brands etc ..?

A welding class at my community college may take this on as a project if I accept responsibility
For the design of it.

Thanks

 

[ntsqd]

BlueRidge,
The rig in that pic isn't mine, just something that caught my eye. What you do depends on if you have a trailer already or not.

If you have one and it is leaf-sprung then I would stay with leaves. Just go with longer ones and add mounts for dampers. The rear's off of a late 90's GM pick-up are 63" long, about the longest easily available leaf out there. Might be able to score some for free to cheap from a shop that installs lift kits. Then it's just a matter of cutting off the old mounts and welding on the new ones. WFO Concepts & Ruff Stuff are the two that come immediately to mind as sources for the mounts & related bits. I got the parts to put these springs under the rear of my '84 Yota Xcab from WFO. You may or may not need to remove a leaf or two to get the rate agreeable. On the Mini-truck I removed the two shortest leaves. The shorter the leaf length, the stiffer it is so start with removing the shortest first.
A long time ago an employee of Deaver Spring, mfg of desert racing and other uses leaf springs, told me to set the shackle hanger so that the shackle points to about "4:00" More vertical than that and the ride is stiff, more laid over than that and the ride is too soft.

If you don't have a trailer and plan to buy one I'd buy it with the torsion axles and specifically ask for the trailer brakes with the parking brake function. It will likely be an extra cost option, but will pay off when you park it unattached to the tow rig in a camp spot. Come to think of it, I'd add this to an existing trailer too. Then have the mounts for dampers added.
It should be noted that torsion axles come in a couple different ride height indexes. I'm not sure of exactly what they are so research this before buying.

If you are going to design one and have someone build it who doesn't normally do that sort of work I strongly suggest M.M. Smith's "How to Design and Build Trailers, vol. II". It is out of print and getting expensive but is worth it. I've not found an in-print book that is as good. Volume I is up to you, personally I didn't get much out of it. Unfortunately they are self-published, so check Amazon. This book goes over every aspect of designing a trailer so that it works as planned and does so without bad behavior.

These are how the lower damper mounts were added to the torsion axle under our Rubicon Trail ready camp trailer:

 

[BlueRidge]

NTSQD thanks for the book title.

 

[buckland]

I decided I need a trailer...4x6...or something small to get through the barn door. All I am trying to do is for on the property moving it around with the tractor ... so I can store it and pull it out...right now I have a platform... can't use it much longer its killing me... dirt driveway and ..... so I'd like to find either something old to be used or is there a kit .... I am a yankee skin flint and want to make it the cheapest way possible.

 

[97grandby]

I used an old pick up bed trailer and it works great for 10 years. Ugly as it gets but function before fashion and this was my high school/college camping rig

 

[buckland]

Lucky you in high school!... I think it looks pretty good... anyway function before form! All I need is to be able to move it around the property.