Trailer Struggles

[Bast]

I almost signed a loan today for a new 36ft trailer. I didn't do it but I am not sure I did the right thing. The salesman was very helpful of course. I was at a local rv show. As many of you know I am looking for a handicap trailer and the salesman kept promising that they could customize it. He was talking about taking out walls. Is that even safe. what will it do to the structural integrity of the trailer.
I did get some leads on handicap accessible trailers. Has anyone heard of a brand called HyLine.
Also one more question. What does it mean that a trailer is solar ready. Is that important.
I am so confused. Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
Bast

 

[Riverman]

A 36' trailer is not cheap, I would not pay a dime unless I could see the finished product before signing any thing.

A 36' trailer is very heavy, I would want a one ton dually to tow it.

Solar ready... two wires running from the plug outside to the battery.

 

[Technomad]

Yeah, RV salesguys tend to be willing to verbally promise anything to get the sale, but afterwards, they are only interested in the next sale. If they had an already converted one that would be one thing.

I’m not sure what you need but RVs aren’t really set up well to begin with, I would suggest you seek out a specialty manufacturer that focuses in your area.


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[Technomad]

This might be the company you were talking about- they have wheelchair lift trailers: http://www.hlenterpriseinc.com


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[Technomad]

But a lot of used school and shuttle busses come with lifts— in fact new ones are surprisingly cheap, under $60k. Some $40k. I think.

Since these are built on van platforms, I bet any of the companies that convert passenger vans to be driven by people in wheelchairs, etc, can convert st least the driver part.

You would be doing the RV conversion if the rest, though, but I bet you could then take it to sportsmobile or showhaulers or one of the other pure custom RV companies to put bed, kitchen etc in.


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[user 423]

x2 on the "salesmen will tell you anything" crap. Take your time and do your research.

 

[rvwandering]

You did the right thing by backing out of the sale. Removing interior walls is not a big deal and should not affect the integrity of the trailer but cutting into the exterior wall to install a lift may affect the integrity. It's okay as long as it is done by someone who is experienced but a salesman intent on making his sale is not to be trusted.

  We are on our second wheelchair accessible motorhome. The first was made by a small company in Pennsylvania which has since gone out of business. At this company RVs were built one at a time so all of the changes were made as they were being constructed. After 13 years and over 300,000 miles of full time living we started searching for a replacement and pretty much hit a wall. Almost every manufacturer would only make changes after the RV was finished. We ended up with a complete custom built RV which is a very expensive way to go and not without problems.

  That was in 2009 and since then manufacturers have started in include accessible RVs in their lines. Try a search for "accessible trailers". This one looks good - http://www.accesstrailer.com/

  I have always liked the idea of making an RV from a shuttle van. They are a nice size, come with a lift installed, and can easily tow a small car.  This is a great option if you can build out the interior or find someone who can do it for you at a reasonable price.

 

[M2Travels]

Be very careful of any helpful salesman and remember they are in it to make a sale first and foremost. When I first began looking for a light travel trailer that I could tow with my Tahoe I knew very little. I can't tell you how close I came to buying a couple trailers that were way too long for my car's wheelbase and too heavy. Even though I had clearly told the salesman that I did not want to look at any trailer with a UVW over 4500lbs they would show me trailers with UVW's of 7000lb and try to tell me that was the GCW thinking I would not know the difference. I know other RVer's have converted trailers to be handicap accessible and would try posting on all the RV forums for guidance before relying on a salesman.

 

[Motrukdriver]

36 ft is a BIG trailer, that coupled with a truck beefy enough to haul it and you're in the 56 ft or more long range. Probably cut out a big chunk of BLM land you can safely get in and get out of. I think that combination would be more of an RV park to RV park situation. If that is what you are planning then everything is good... if not then over all length might be something to consider.

 

[EnduroRdr]

A 36' trailer is not cheap, I would not pay a dime unless I could see the finished product before signing any thing.

A 36' trailer is very heavy, I would want a one ton dually to tow it.

Solar ready... two wires running from the plug outside to the battery.

What Riverman said!

Don’t sign anything until you see the finished product. If they have done this before then you should go see one that was complete before committing to buy.

Maybe they have an example still for sale or maybe they connect you with a former customer that they sold a handicap TT to.
If it’s a good product in a specialty market, then the former customer will be willing to show it to you.


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[ZoNiE]

Yeah, once you roll it off the lot, any upgrades are time and materials. You did the right thing.

 

[Bast]

Thank you for all of the help. I do have some time. I will figure it out. Bast

 

[Bast]

I really appreciate all of the help and advice. Bast.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

Bast,
Have you considered looking at a toy hauler? If you are alone and in the wheelchair, I see why you would want a lift...but if the person in the chair has a helper to drop the ramp...simple is better and more reliable.
They even make them with power drop and retract ramps I think. The difference is...if the electric quits on the ramp, you can still get it down manually. The lift does not work so easy in emergency/manual mode. (Some do not even have manual mode now.)

The other thing you might want to look at (don't laugh now) is a horse trailer with living quarters in the front.
These are RUGGED monsters with heavy duty axles and floors in them. Much more durable than any standard RV I have seen.
Making the open horse area the way you want it is very easy and a fold-down ramp would be super easy to add to one of the swing-door models. Either one of these would be a lot less $$ than modifying a regular trailer for a lift.

The horse trailer is all set to have a huge section usable for showering. No water gets into the front of it by design. You could cover the floor with the padded vinyl that saves bones in the event of a fall.
Showering with a center drain would allow for a helper to do their thing un-cramped.
Some of them are every bit as nice as the best TT's.
https://www.fthr.com/products/horse-trailers/living-quarters

Or add a few windows, a clever graphic...and the interior enhancements necessary for your needs...to one like these:
https://www.dhmco.com/harmar-horse-trailers/living-quarters/2-Horse/9083/
https://www.dhmco.com/cross-trailers-rvs/7766/

Not sure what you going to pay for that 36...but when you design exactly what you need, you can often do more with less.

An awning/screen for the rear and that big ramp can be a wonderful situation while boondocking or in a park.

I would talk to the horse trailer manufacturers. Tell them what you need and see how they could mod a stock design right from the factory. Expanding their customer base would be a good thing.
There are also members right here that could re-purpose one to your specifics...and do it exactly the way you wanted it. One look at the framing/fixtures on them and it is plain to see how the rugged design would be a durability/usability advantage for many years.
Best of luck to you!

 

[RoadtripsAndCampfires]

I almost signed a loan today for a new 36ft trailer. I didn't do it but I am not sure I did the right thing. The salesman was very helpful of course. I was at a local rv show. As many of you know I am looking for a handicap trailer and the salesman kept promising that they could customize it. He was talking about taking out walls. Is that even safe. what will it do to the structural integrity of the trailer.
I did get some leads on handicap accessible trailers. Has anyone heard of a brand called HyLine.
Also one more question. What does it mean that a trailer is solar ready. Is that important.
I am so confused. Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
Bast

WAIT!!  Did you run the tow vehicle and trailer stats to your specific VINS (trailer and tow) and do you know the weight of the equipment that is going to be installed and if you can tow it?  I've been looking for trailers for 4 years and bought one 2 years ago that I had the very good fortune to have found a loop hole out of and a return of my money.  Have not bought yet because it took another 2 years to figure out the numbers.  I just finished a form that once again saved me from some very expensive mistakes.  4 years in the making and I am going to give it away free so we can all be safe out there and stop shelling out money for trailers we should not be towing.  I am just finishing the form and then I am going to use it to match my truck up with 10 different trailers and see how they compare.  I am truly curious.

There are two versions, 1 just plug the numbers in and do the math and 2, color-coded with all the definitions and directions you need to understand and arrive at the same figures you'll use and get from using the first form.

 

[RoadtripsAndCampfires]

Re "Solar Ready." What this means is that you can buy, say a 100 watt portable solar panel, and plug it directly into the port on your trailer and it will put a charge on your trailer battery. This is good for lights, recharging your phones and running small fans and t.v.s but not for running your refrigerator. If you are not boondocking (dry camping, no electricity or sewer, possibly you have water access and maybe pit or other toilets) you would run electricity to your larger needs. If you are boondocking, you need to run your refrigerator off propane, except in a few cases. If you have the weight to carry and the space for the setup you can get several solar panels hooked up into multiple batteries and run a freezer/fridge. Bob Wells and others have videos on this but this is heavy and you are already adding ramps and equipment so simple solar and propane might be your best option.

 

[RoadtripsAndCampfires]

I learned today that the specs for trailers are so skewed towards fantancy tow weights that there is a committe trying to stabalize standards and language. No wonder I've been having so many problems.

I was ready to buy one we've been looking at since the Denver RV show in January. The more I worked out what I could and could not tow with a 2500 HD 4x4 kept changing as I unraveled' how one weight affected another. The weight of the tow vehicle is part of the available towing weight. That's a big chunk off. Then you take off the dry trailer weight and hitch weight Plus of course you'll want to use up most all of the available cargo after that. That "14,000 pounds tow capacity" soon becomes, hey, can I tow a trailer weighing 4800 pounds?

 

[John61CT]

Some good basics here

https://www.google.com/search?q=how...ps://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing