Boat loader/TOAD

[JohnEd]

I expect that this will get shipped off to another section but I wanted it to get a little exposure first.  I think it will be of interest to some.  I don't have a dog in the fight.

John

Go to:  http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=66184a12e1&view=att&th=1259f56f6a3ff66f&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw

[John316]

Links didn't work for me, FWIW.

God bless,

John

[JackConrad]

Links sent me to a Gmail sign in page?? Jack

[fe2_o3]

I too was unable to achieve a satisfying conclusion...Cable

[JohnEd]

sorry,

I just copied this from my email and pasted it into my post.  I guess you need an email acct to view it.  That is pretty eassy to get but I will try to "fix" that tonight.  I think it is worth seeing.

John

[Jeremy]

I'm intrigued by the title so am keen to see this as well.

You will have to extract the image from the email and post it on here directly, or via a photo hosting service of some kind. Other people cannot access your Gmail account to view the image directly even if they are a Gmail user themselves

Jeremy

[JohnEd]

maybe this time

[JohnEd]

aand this.  The boat pulls forward till the engines are over the tail gate.

This doesn't look all that stable to me BUT.....I am told that the boat weighs less than the heavierst camper shell by more than 1,000 pounds.  Side wind sail area is much less than a camper.  For my money I never thought a camper was all that safe.  The boat comes down at the press of a button so you shouldn't have to drive it far loaded.  Ron says they load the boat and pull a camp trailer or pull the truck loaded behind the bus.  Oh well, I am sure he saw it with his own eyes and he is a friend.

HTH John

[Nusa]

Sounds like a salesman's line...carefully neglecting to mention how heavy camper shells can be. And I'm guessing the ramps, rails, and winch add up to 500 lbs or so. More importantly, that mass is being elevated  much higher in the air than a camper shell, changing the vehicles center of gravity for the worse.

[Dreamscape]

I'm trying to figure out what the point is. You can't haul another trailer with that setup. It maybe lighter than a camper, but the center of gravity is wrong in this case. A camper has a lower center of gravity with most of the weight in the box. Wonder how many he has sold and what the reviews are.

Paul

[cody]

I've got a full sized dodge 4x4 pickup and I hauled libby's golf cart in the box of it behind the bus and I could feel a big difference driving the bus with the golf cart in the back of the truck as opposed to driving the bus with the truck with just the topper on it, was very much more unstable, I'm not sure I'd like it but I'm thinking the engineering is probably there but personally I'm not sure I'd tackle it.

[JohnEd]

N, Paul and Cody,

I couldn't be in more sympathy with your reservations.  My first thought was "You have got to be kidding.  That can't be safe."  I still feel that if the numbers were crunched that design would not look so attractive as it first appears...if you follow that.  I have always felt that way about campers in general, however, and that industry seems to be doing just fine and I am certain beyond doubt that Tort Law would have resolved any real danger to the public.  That is how this system works.

As to the "salesman" angle: he is definitely NOT one of those.  Having known him for 15 years and worked around and with him as a friend, I can say with full confidence that he is conservative in his approach, expert in his craft and honest to his own detriment.  That is not to mention that he would get up at 2 AM and come pull me out of a ditch, as he would for any one else he knows.  He is a metal fabricator and he is copying that design.  He "believes" that the thing is safe for its intended purpose but that doesn't include driving it down a dirt road.  I think I might tow that truck behind my bus to avoid being a "triple" or drive it across the parking lot but high winds in the desert would have me holed up somewhere else, toad or not.

Now don't think "I" am the sales man here cause I don't have a dog in the fight.  Neither does he, actually.  He built this thing for a guy that brought it back after only a few months.  All that steel that goes in the truck bed weighs 300 pounds, I am told, and it gets loaded like a camper shell from its own jacks.  The ramps must weigh 100 pounds each and they were what defeated the original owner.  He couldn't handle them alone and he had visions of a hernia.  Ron weighs 160 pounds and he literally throws the ramps around.  Now Ron was not asked for a refund but he did agree to take the rig back on consignment cause he builds one or two a year....some years.  He doesn't make anything on these type sales and does it as a favor but that thing, as with all others, takes up space.  I think that concerns me more than it does him.

Just to nail down the "full disclosure" rule, No! You cannot slalom the truck with the boat loaded..

Each of these things are made for the specific truck and model so it might need modified for the new rig and I imagine he would do that for next to nothing....that kind of guy.

Hope this sets the record straight,

John

[cody]

Like I said, I'm sure the engineering is probably there but my personal feelings would be to be hesitant to give it a go, I even am reluctant to have libbys golf cart in the back of the truck, my truck is kinda high up being 4x4 with the heavy suspension package and over size tires (it's set up for plowing snow) and the golfcart adds not only some weight but also height, I was told by one guy to remove the roof as that catches a lot of crosswinds and that could very well be the heart of my problem with it.

[wal1809]

I saw this in action once with a dargel boat over the truck pulled by a bus.  This guy had it going on and was clipping down the road with no care in the world.  I considered the same but I have and Excursion and it is not what I want.  I am going with the double decker trailer and be done with it.

[cody]

We do want to take a lot of toys with us on the road so far we've gotten by with either the jeep or the truck, both are set up with towbars, but now if libby gets a small car that can't be towed we may end up with a car trailer either open or enclosed I don't know, but we're looking at maybe something that could hold a dinky little car, the harley and who knows what else lol, she is feeling way to good for my likeing, now the "I wanna" is starting lol.  I think we'll start looking like the beverly hillbillies on vacation before we're done lol.