Singling short, real short

[jasong-TC]

Here's the thought, the dos and don'ts sticky said that singling short leaves you at around 185"
How much shorter can you go?
The driveshaft can have the length off the sleeper shortened out of it, basically down to say cab length.
One of the big hauler battles is front axle weight, this would help that.
Having a smart car adds weight even farther forward towards the front axle.
Moving the tanks to the rear of the axle would even be doable.
I'm not looking to get crazy, as a comparison crew cab pickup trucks are 175" range for an 8' bed, 155" range for a 6' bed.

 

[bmzero]

Here's the thought, the dos and don'ts sticky said that singling short leaves you at around 185"
How much shorter can you go?
The driveshaft can have the length off the sleeper shortened out of it, basically down to say cab length.
One of the big hauler battles is front axle weight, this would help that.
Having a smart car adds weight even farther forward towards the front axle.
Moving the tanks to the rear of the axle would even be doable.
I'm not looking to get crazy, as a comparison crew cab pickup trucks are 175" range for an 8' bed, 155" range for a 6' bed.

As you move the axle forward, relieving weight from the front axle, you are adding that same amount of weight to the rear axle. By the time you move the tanks to the rear of the axle and place a Smart on the bed, you may not have much capacity left for your trailer pin weight, depending on how far back you place your hitch.

 

[jasong-TC]

As you move the axle forward, relieving weight from the front axle, you are adding that same amount of weight to the rear axle. By the time you move the tanks to the rear of the axle and place a Smart on the bed, you may not have much capacity left for your trailer pin weight, depending on how far back you place your hitch.

Thanks bmzero, 45+ views, no comments and no votes had me worried.

Tell me if my figures are off,
18k axle
-3k car
-2k bed
-3k hitch pin
-2k fuel and tanks
-5or6k from truck ?

 

[bmzero]

Thanks bmzero, 45+ views, no comments and no votes had me worried.

Tell me if my figures are off,
18k axle
-3k car
-2k bed
-3k hitch pin
-2k fuel and tanks
-5or6k from truck ?

Those numbers look fine to me, maybe even a little conservative, except maybe your hitch pin weight. That one should be easy to figure out, though, from manufacturer specs.

I don't know anything about your truck, so I can't speak to your truck weight, though. You can take it to a Cat scale at a local truck stop to find out.

Here is the weigh ticket from mine, just after the axle removal. This was with very little fuel in the tanks.

View High Resolution Photo

However, the moral of the story is don't go shorter than you need to. For me, singling mid was shorter than I wanted, but due to my neighborhood being very tight, that was the best decision. I still wish I could have singled long, but I would have still made the same decision.

They say, once you go short, you can never go back.

 

[jasong-TC]

What do you not like about being singled mid?
Your numbers look good.

 

[bmzero]

What do you not like about being singled mid?
Your numbers look good.

I don't like having to fight for inches when it comes to putting everything on the back of the truck. I had to extend the frame rails a few inches just to get the hitch pin where I wanted it. Extending the frame wasn't the problem, though, it's how much bed I'm going to have behind the rear axle when it's all said and done. I wouldn't say I don't like being singled mid, just that it has caused me to be slightly constrained with my bed setup.

View High Resolution Photo

It is also causing some problems with my options for loading the Smart onto the bed. I have scrapped several mechanical loading designs because there just isn't room for them in front of the axle. I'm still working on that plan.

 

[jasong-TC]

I don't like having to fight for inches when it comes to putting everything on the back of the truck. I had to extend the frame rails a few inches just to get the hitch pin where I wanted it. Extending the frame wasn't the problem, though, it's how much bed I'm going to have behind the rear axle when it's all said and done. I wouldn't say I don't like being singled mid, just that it has caused me to be slightly constrained with my bed setup.

View High Resolution Photo

It is also causing some problems with my options for loading the Smart onto the bed. I have scrapped several mechanical loading designs because there just isn't room for them in front of the axle. I'm still working on that plan.

Got it.
That hitch is something else !
I'm planning to drive load with winch backup so I'm not worried about below frame rail space.

 

[Gordy-TC]

That hitch is the bomb. Who designed it-way cool.

 

[hot rod]

somebody who spent too much time building road race suspensions built that hitch. Nice watts link! I presume some air bags are going under there somewhere? Where is the hitch head going? All the way on top like a reese? Or is something dropping in the center there? I see how it is located front-rear and side-side, but what keeps it from twisting front-back? Or am I only seeing the top two links on a four link? Looks good! Makes my TrailerSaver look downright primitive.

 

[hot rod]

I just saw your baby on racing junk! Somebody is going to get a steal. What happened?

 

[bmzero]

I just saw your baby on racing junk! Somebody is going to get a steal. What happened?

One of the reasons I built this truck was because I spent so much time on the road with racing and camping with the family. Next month, I'm taking a new position that comes with almost zero vacation. Rather than let the truck sit for a few years, I decided to sell it. I also have the toy hauler listed for sale.

I do expect to build another truck at some point in the future, probably 5-10 years down the road.

This truck just came off of a 5500 mile road trip with the family and performed flawlessly. It's ready to go back out.

Thanks for the compliment, hot rod.

Truck listing - 2008 Volvo VNL 730 RV Hauler for Sale in MAYLENE, AL | RacingJunk Classifieds

Trailer listing - 2014 Heartland Cyclone 4000 ELITE, Maylene AL - - RVtrader.com

 

[hot rod]

Glad you are presumably moving in a good direction, sorry the truck and lifestyle have to go in the short term. I've followed your build, and wish I was in a position to buy it. I've been wanting to start a project to replace my mdt with an hdt like yours for a while now. Unfortunately I've only got about half of that at the moment, and not something I want to finance. Some other lucky owner will be very happy with that rig.

 

[bmzero]

Glad you are presumably moving in a good direction, sorry the truck and lifestyle have to go in the short term. I've followed your build, and wish I was in a position to buy it. I've been wanting to start a project to replace my mdt with an hdt like yours for a while now. Unfortunately I've only got about half of that at the moment, and not something I want to finance. Some other lucky owner will be very happy with that rig.

Thanks, hot rod. I completely understand not wanting to finance. If anything changes, please let me know. I would love for it to go to someone on one of the forums. That way I can keep an eye on it.