I wonder why we never see this on the roads

[Mikka]

stumbled onto this video today. Not sure if it has been posted before, but I am quite surprised that this idea never took on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA7-Y7eqNw8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&featu ... v3rLu4th4c

[IndyTom]

Both of those videos have been posted here before, but I always enjoy seeing them. You don't see it on the roads because it was a really great idea, that was a bad idea. The top of your car was never designed to take stresses like that. If you look closely, you will see that the hitches are just clamped onto the rain gutters. Compare that to how a typical trailer hitch is attached to the back of your car. There isn't nearly enough material to properly support the loading of having a trailer of any sort attached.

I do however remember seeing hitches like this back in the 70's. My dad looked real seriously at a standard 5th wheel hitch that would have clamped to the rain gutters on our 1976 Ford LTD. Fortunately, he decided we couldn't afford the trailer, so we never had the opportunity to see how well it worked.

All of that said, I wish there was a way to make it work safely, because I would love that degree of manuverablity.

Tom

[canned o minimum]

That trailer is ALL OVER the VW community's forums ! It simply must NOT exist any more due to the fact that THIS is the ONLY evidence of its existance...

My "guess" is because the rain gutters are NOT structurally sound enuf to support the trailer..

However... "I" would sell my butt to have THAT trailer !

[Facemeltingly Epic]

Seems like this video pops up every so often here...

It is a pretty neat idea. I could probably pull that with my Miata, at least after I install a rollcage on which to mount the hitch.

[Wolffarmer]

After seeing that video a few years back I began to think about making a cage for a pickup box. That would attach to the frame of the pickup and extend up for the hitch and a camper shell thing that would let a person carry stuff out of the weather and locked up. Yeah the drip rails was made to divert water. No auto engineer in their right mind ever thought about pulling a trailer with his drip rails

Randy

[Dale M.]

These are probably the predecessors to the ubiquitous "5th wheel" ...

Dale

[Wolffarmer]

The big trouble with a 5th wheel. imho. is you can not store much in the pickup bed when using it. If there was a cage fastened to the frame and sort of like a roll cage to hook to the top over the cab. Could then have covered and locked storage. And be able to do all those fancy manuvers. Of course it would then cost $10,000 just for the hitch



Randy