Flat Towing a Jeep behind a fifth wheel

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alpinhi

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Has anyone here pulled a Jeep or other vehicle behind a fifth wheel? I have seen numerous big fifth wheels flat towing Jeeps in Colorado. I thought this might be the way to go for us as we spend most summers in CO Jeeping.
Travis
 
Before you get too caught up in the excitement, check the states where you plan on going - most require you have a commercial drivers license to triple tow. Also, it most states I've looked at for triple tow, require the last vehicle be a water craft. Another thought, is your 5W capable of towing something behind it (frame strong enough for the added stress, etc)?

Larry
 
alpinhi said:
Has anyone here pulled a Jeep or other vehicle behind a fifth wheel? I have seen numerous big fifth wheels flat towing Jeeps in Colorado. I thought this might be the way to go for us as we spend most summers in CO Jeeping.
Travis
IMHO it is not a good idea.  Just because you see others doing it does not make it legal, Safe, or a smart thing to do.  Very likely too much weight.  Check the regulations you may find it is not even legal.  Do you have enough weight capacity or will you be exceeding the GCVWR?  Like mentioned earlier most the few states in which triple towing is ok the last vehicl is limited to watercraft only.  What about brakes on the jeep?  Are you willing to jepardize the safety of you, your family, and anybody else on the road near you?

Like I said NOT A GOOD IDEA.
 
alpinhi said:
Has anyone here pulled a Jeep or other vehicle behind a fifth wheel? I have seen numerous big fifth wheels flat towing Jeeps in Colorado. I thought this might be the way to go for us as we spend most summers in CO Jeeping.
Travis

I will make it easy.  Many states, Michigan included, allow you to tow a BOAT on a trailer behind a 5th wheel.  I know, I checked the Michigan Vehicle Code.  I'm not sure that all states allow this (in fact I suspect not all do)

However I know of no state that will let you tow another car, van, suv, jeep or vehicle OTHER THAN A BOAT ON A TRAILER behind a 5th wheel. 

Yes, folks do it.  And I thank them for doing so, because you see if it were not for folks like them (Criminals) then we would not need police, and if we did not have police then we would not need police dispatchers to tell them where to go. And if we did not need police dispatchers to tell them where to go I'd not have worked as a police dispatcher for over 25 years, I'd not have met my wife, I'd not have the lovely daughter I have, I'd not now be retired and I most likely would not have a nice class A sitting out in back of the house for me to drive to where the snow don't blow come the end of the month.

Cause snow is blowing here now (not much and it's not sticking around)
 
John  Not only that but it's for darn sure  there isn't a rear bumper out there that came from the factory on a TT or 5ver that is capable of handing a motorized 4 wheel  vehicle for a tow.  Might turn out to be a quite complicatedly brakeing system./  But Short Answer. NO  it shouldn't be done.  Yet it is done, but not safely.  Probably not legally either.  IL it is Illegal.
 
According to the Trailer Life guide, 28 states allow triple towing. Most have some restrictions of some kind. Most common is a total length restriction. No were on the chart though can I find a restriction that limits the second tow to a water craft. For MI the only note is "Maximum combined length 60 ft. on selected highways."

From our house here in Arizona we watch the weekend off roaders going from I-17 up to the National Forest every weekend. I see triple tows all the time. I can't say I see a lot of 5ers towing a jeep, but it's not unusual. We see a lot of flat bed trailers behind 5ers with 4 to 6 ATVs on board.

Travis,

If it is legal where you're at and you want to triple tow, go for it.
 
You are right re Michigan, they changed the law since I last checked that paragraph.

Here is hte current sub section

(5) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a pickup truck with a towing rating equal to, or greater than, the weight
being towed, equipped with a fifth wheel assembly that conforms with the standards prescribed in the motor
carrier safety act of 1963, 1963 PA 181, MCL 480.11 to 480.22, towing attached with a semitrailer designed
for recreational living purposes may tow an additional trailer or semitrailer under the following conditions:
(a) The additional trailer or semitrailer shall be attached pursuant to subsection (3). The safety chains
described in subsection (3) shall be securely attached at the extreme outer edge of the attached trailer or
semitrailer with a locking mechanism. The towing vehicle hitch shall be of substantial material and shall be
attached in a proper and skillful manner to the frame of the towing vehicle.
(b) The total length of the pickup truck, semitrailer designed for recreational living purposes, and
additional trailer or semitrailer, and load, shall not exceed 65 feet on any highways in this state.

Rendered Tuesday, March 07, 2006 Page 231 Michigan Compiled Laws Complete Through PA through Public
Act 32 of 2006
 
Shayne said:
.....  IL it is Illegal.  .....

Shayne,

In IL it IS legal to triple tow with the following restrictions.

1.  "Maximum combined length 60 ft. on selected highways."

2.  "Only with fifth-wheel trailer"
 
Then they've changed it  casue a about 4 yrs ago is wasn't.  Their was a wreck on I-70 near our house and a pickup / 5vr / jeep was involved and only minorly, yet he got a ticket for the triple and diconnected and his wife drove the jeep away from the spot.  Tha'ts as much as I know about it.  The wreck was the other guys fault.
 
The triple tow issue is a bit complex I fear.? Let me bring up a few points.

1.? Tow vehicles have a specific tow rating which should never? be exceeded.? ?That tow rating includes all the trailers hauled.? You haul a jeep, you add some 4000 lbs to the payload of your 5th wheel.? Now if your tow rating exceeds the GVWR of the 5er plus the 4000 lbs of jeep and by a comfortable margin fine.? (For Colorado that margin should be 20%.)? However if it does not you are compromising your truck, your saftey, and the safety of every one riding with you and near you.? ?Frankly, most of the folks buying 5th wheels who come here for advice seem have a hard time find trailers that they can safely haul -- even without tacking 2 tons of payload on to the back of a loaded trailer.

2.? The laws of the states vary wildly on this subject and the tables are to put it as kindly as possible, inaccurate.? ?For example, California is shown on many as approving triple tows.? So fine, right?? Not really -- there are a few little bitty stipulations.? ?First of all, no passenger vehicle is permitted to triple tow.? ?A pickup is a passenger vehicle.? So that means you better be pulling with a medium duty truck.? ?And then there is the matter of a drivers licence.? To tow more than a single trailer, you must have a commercial Class A license with a special endorsement for multiple tows.? ?In short, not every big rig driver is licensed to tow more than one trailer.? No non-commercial license holder, A, B, or C, is permitted to.

Nevertheless, the bloody tables say that California permits multiple tows!  They just leave out a few details.

Look, the sensible way to haul a jeep is with a motor home of the proper tow rating, not a trailer.
 
>>?For example, California is shown on many as approving triple tows.
====
Actually, I believe "triple" tows are illegal in CA -- other than as approved by local governments for special circumstances. OTOH, your thread covers "double" tows very well in CA.

Another item I recall reading in the CVC some time ago was that a non resident can double tow in CA using their home state license "if" their home state allows double towing with that license. Howver, additionally, they need a health certificate issued by any CA licensed practitioner -- if I recall correctly.
 
I've got my Class liscense and wouldn't think of triple towing.  And never a motorized vehicle in the back thatais strickly a NO NO Even tho I've seen it done.  To me it's not smart. but then Oh well who knows with todays  ways.
 
Bob Buchanan said:
>>?For example, California is shown on many as approving triple tows.
====
Actually, I believe "triple" tows are illegal in CA -- other than as approved by local governments for special circumstances. OTOH, your thread covers "double" tows very well in CA.

Another item I recall reading in the CVC some time ago was that a non resident can double tow in CA using their home state license "if" their home state allows double towing with that license. Howver, additionally, they need a health certificate issued by any CA licensed practitioner -- if I recall correctly.

There is a bit of confusion of terms here.  Folks around here refer to a triple tow when they mean truck + trailer + trailer.  The DMV site refers to double trailers  when referring to that situation.  I suspect that the state does NOT allow double tows by non-commercial license holders, period.  They may well do so for commercial truckers with proper state licensing.
 
I have checked with the Highway Patrol and it IS perfectly legal to double tow. Im not going to have 2 trailers just the fifth wheel and the Jeep with at tow bar rolling behind it. The combined weight of the trailer and the Jeep are 2000 lbs. less then the tow capacity of the truck. Thanks for all the info guys.
Travis
 
You may be legal in some states, but in others you will not be.  Be careful where you tow.
 
alphinhi

I have posted to this subject several times.  I had thought of doing it and in investigating it found that AAA has a book covering the laws about this for all states.  I don't have the book anymore but basically the states that approved it approved it only if the first hook-up was a 5th wheel hook-up.  Check with any AAA office for thsi book
 
I have towed a jeep behind a 27 ft 5th wheel from eastern OK to New Mexico, Colorado and Utah on 3 different trips, My gross weight is within the tow limits of my truck (actually weighed the whole rig at a truck stop. Haven't had any problems even towing in the mountains. The jeep follows behind the trailer just like being pulled behind a truck. I built the tow bar for the jeep and the trailer. Be aware of the extra weight behind the trailer and you won't have any problems.
 

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