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Old 06-30-2011, 12:55 PM   #1
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Idaho Tote

Hey guys and gals, new to the forum. I've got an 06 26BHS and have been looking for ways to take the toys. I've thought about toy haulers but we have three kids and thinking about another and don't want to put the kids to bed in the garage where fuel may have leaked etc. I currently have the use of my TV's bed but that will only fit the kid's dirt bikes and not mine. If I put my bike up there, Dual sport BMW Dakar, or decide to take a quad then I won't be able to fit theirs. Further, if we do decide for a fourth child we will have to start looking at towing with a Suburban or older Expedition or something like it which would take out the bed completely and would also knock 5th wheels out. Currently I'm towing with a F350 SRW Crew Cab 6.0 Diesel.

With all that said, I've been reading up on the Idaho Tote extensions. Does anyone here have any experience with these? The manufacturer states that they can be put on TT's but that it requires a very good sway prevention system like the Hensley hitches. Once that is installed it can be done safely. Jayco has said that they don't recommend adding anything to the rear of my TT because they have never conducted tests on a setup like this and my local dealership says that it can be done safely.

It would require welding a double receiver to the I beam frame at the rear of the TT. The tote has a rotating axle that is pretty much centered under the carrier taking most of the weight so their would not be a lot of weight placed on the rear of the camper. Because of the double receiver, the tote only articulates up and down on two pins and does not sway left or right, hence, the rotating axle. It is also not mounted on ball hitches which I'm told classifies it as a camper extension and not a trailer.

For those who are not familiar with this you can check it out at www.idahotote.com.

Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks
Alex
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Old 06-30-2011, 02:26 PM   #2
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First of all Alex - Welcome to the Jayco Forum! Glad you found us. If you get a chance come on over and introduce yourself in the new member forum.

As far as the tote, that looks like a really neat deal! My initial questions for that dealer would be -

- can the Jayco frame handle the additional stress? I know Jayco is pretty admit about not towing anything behind and they say the frame is designed only for the camper. It is one of those "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction"....so not sure how the frame would react.

- How does this impact (or does it impact) the Gross vehicle weight? That trailer has a sepc cargo raiting of 2025 lbs. That is pretty good, but if you had to decrease it by the weight of the Idaho, it could really reduce what you could carry. I would think you would have to take the full weight of both into consideration since it will still put the full weight onto the tongue and frame pulling and pushing.

There are some good tow folks around here so I am sure they will chime in. If you could make it work, it would be a pretty neat deal.

Again - Welcome!



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Old 06-30-2011, 08:48 PM   #3
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I also had the same idea,but you might want to check into your State regulations for towing(tandem towing/length of trailer/total length combined)
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Old 06-30-2011, 08:48 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by tafische View Post
- can the Jayco frame handle the additional stress? I know Jayco is pretty admit about not towing anything behind and they say the frame is designed only for the camper. It is one of those "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction"....so not sure how the frame would react.

- How does this impact (or does it impact) the Gross vehicle weight? That trailer has a sepc cargo raiting of 2025 lbs. That is pretty good, but if you had to decrease it by the weight of the Idaho, it could really reduce what you could carry. I would think you would have to take the full weight of both into consideration since it will still put the full weight onto the tongue and frame pulling and pushing.
Good questions; had to mull them over for a bit. As far as the impact on gross vehicle weight. I would love to hear from someone who knows better but it would seem to me that it should not impact this much. Take for example my TV. The jayco weight itself exceeds the TV's cargo rating but that is not factored into the equation. So I would expect it to be the same with the trailer having the Idaho Tote attached.

Further, as it has been explained to me by the manufacturer of the tote, the axle is centered under the platform making the weight at the front attachment points minimal. In fact was I was told was that my wife could pick up the front of the tote and move it around, it is supposed to be that well balanced. If the load on the Tote is evenly distributed, then the weight on the back of the trailer would not be much. As I thought about this before you asked the question, I was trying to take into consideration whatever weight might be placed on the back and deduct that from the cargo weight but not the entire weight of the tote and it's cargo.

So that leaves us with whether the Jayco frame can take the additional stress?

I've included a picture below of how the hitching system is installed onto the trailer. From what I can tell, a fin type piece is welded to the bottom of each I beam and then an angle Iron piece is welded from inside to inside of those fins. The double receivers are then welded onto the angle Iron. I would imagine that the angle Iron would give some lateral stability to the trailer but wonder if another piece should be welded from inside to inside of the I-beams to keep it more ridged. Maybe someone here has a better Idea.

Alex
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Old 06-30-2011, 09:01 PM   #5
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I also had the same idea,but you might want to check into your State regulations for towing(tandem towing/length of trailer/total length combined)
This I think is where it gets sticky. The tote is technically not a trailer because it does not attach to a hitch ball and thus can not articulate laterally like a standard trailer. Its only movement direction is laterally. Because of the rotating axle underneath, it tracks with the trailer it is attached to and is supposed to be considered an addition to the trailer it is attached to with an added third axle. From what I've been told, states that don't allow double towing allow it and the trailer tag for the TT would cover it as well. May have to relocate the tag to a spot on the back of the Tote.

Of course this is all up for interpretation by the police who stops you, but I've talked to one owner who has several friends that have them and none of them have ever had issues with law enforcement.

At any rate, if I got it, it would add about 6-8 feet to the back of my trailer. My TT is 29 feet total length (hitch and all) so it would be like towing a 35-37 foot TT (again total length hitch and all).
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Old 06-30-2011, 10:41 PM   #6
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The Idaho Tote is a very nice unit. It does have an option so you can put an A frame in the front and tow it behind your truck like a regular trailer. They are well made and are light because they use a lot of aluminum in the construction. They are very $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. The wheels just turn they do not swivel when you are going around a corner. You can back them up.
For a lot less money you can get a swivel wheel tailer. They are a little heavier (all steel) but are less than half the cost of an Idaho Tote. Neither one will add to your hitch weight, if anything they may lessen your hitch weight by a small amount.
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Old 07-01-2011, 10:41 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by clutch View Post
The Idaho Tote is a very nice unit. It does have an option so you can put an A frame in the front and tow it behind your truck like a regular trailer. They are well made and are light because they use a lot of aluminum in the construction. They are very $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. The wheels just turn they do not swivel when you are going around a corner. You can back them up.
For a lot less money you can get a swivel wheel tailer. They are a little heavier (all steel) but are less than half the cost of an Idaho Tote. Neither one will add to your hitch weight, if anything they may lessen your hitch weight by a small amount.
I looked at those swivel wheel trailers but most of the ones that I saw have the wheels mounted at the rear of the platform instead of the center. I'm a bit worried that they would put too much weight onto the back of the trailer. However, they seem to work the same way as the Tote and are way cheaper. My hope is to find the Tote used somewhere.
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Old 07-31-2011, 11:01 PM   #8
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Hi. I do realize that this post us a little late, but have you considered a deck for your pick up like this one http://www.discountramps.com/pickup-...-platform.htm? I have seen alot of these around lately. Im not sure on your tv if it can handle the extra weight or not but im pretty sure that you'd be able to fit all of your bikes on it. And another thing to look at is the keystone raptor. It is a toy hauler but the garage is seperated from the rest of the trailer. Again, I do not know the size of your tv but im just trying to throw out some more ideas to think about.
Thanks,
Nick
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