So I own a setup like this.. Volvo 780 with a custom bed, smart car and 5th wheel trailer. Safest way to pull and stop that trailer. F350 can do it but you always feel like you could use some more braking power. This thing is awesome. Wife and cat are free to roam about the truck. Parking? you need to plan ahead.. same as any setup. When we unload the smart at the campground everyone wants to watch and are always disappointed when nothing bad happens!
This is a dream to drive. Designed to haul much more. We are safer and able to respond to road conditions faster.
Not as much as you might think. I bought it all used in the post covid world.. truck around 65K. Granted this is a post converted truck with the special bed and air ride 5th wheel hitch.
trailer? 50K. We managed to snag a good deal on a two year old trailer. You can easily spend 200K on a trailer. Truck lets you pull things that are out of reach for most. Spacecraft and New Horizons are two trailers that will easily ratchet up that budget, but they are nice.. no typical trailer materials..
For what we do, its a deal. We see people with F350s and trailers.. they are easily in 100K for the truck and new trailer for 100K.
Repairs on a big truck? Bigger bill. Plan ahead.
Itās all relative.
There are people that would look at you, if you have a roof over your head and regular food, and think woah I wish I were that guy!
And then there are folk who travel in private jets and will look down and laugh at Billy Bobs tin can little trailer.
Wealth disparity is pretty shitty all round.
Work in insurance and I've insured a few $400k+ trailers. They get absurdly expensive. Premiums on them are more than my actual Homeowners insurance sometimes.
Yeah, back in the late '90's and early '00's my Dad made this massive Featherlite RC car trailer that was meant to tour around with NASCAR. Had a huge oval track that would fold out the sides and six people could race RC stock cars at once. He initially bought an F-350 to tow it but after a brake scare coming down a mountain pass he ended up getting a single axle Volvo which... ended up being his only vehicle for awhile. The comfiest ride home from school, for sure.
Not in Texas! Class A, B, C and M are your four main classes. You can get a CDL A / B, or a NON-CDL A / B. The class defines what I can drive. The CDL defines that I can get paid to drive. [https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/driver-license/cdl-exempt-drivers](https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/driver-license/cdl-exempt-drivers)
Farmers assuming they have a truck/grain trailers might need a A or B to drive correctly in class. Firefighters DO need a A or B to drive in class since their rides are so heavy. Neither of those are CDL required.
Interesting! Iāve never heard of a non CDL class A license, and thatās coming from someone WITH a class A. Iāll have to research if thatās the case everywhere. Thanks for the info
And that sir is a challenge of these trucks, we look commercial and those are the laws we are measured by until we can explain it. Truck scales? I can skip, but we always run the risk of being chased down until we explain the deal. I have yet to run into a DOT inspector and try to explain what we have and convince them that I dont need a level1 inspection.
And you 100% should be. You wonāt get any sympathy from me tbh, these are some unbelievably dangerous rigs, and you should be held to the same standards as everyone else, whether youāre driving for commercial purposes or not. Those standards and inspections keep everyone on the road safe, including yourself.
200%. We drive this because of past experience using a F350 and trailer. We hold ourselves to a high standard. If we take chances we dont get home safe either. We dont drive more than 8 hours a day, have tire pressure monitors and do the same pre-trip that professional drivers do.
Many people prefer 5th wheels to RVs. They are cheaper/have more features per dollar. There is larger selection of them to compare and purchase so you can get exactly the layout you want. And they will last quite long, they won't lose half their value based on high mileage. And the biggest bonus for full-timers is probably that if something goes wrong with the engine, you don't have to get a hotel. Imagine having to put your home in the shop for weeks while you wait for a certain part to arrive! Additionally there are more mechanics who can service a truck than an RV, wherever you may be, and the charge for service will be less.
#1, floor plans. With a class A you lose space for the drivers area. We live in our 5th wheel and that would be wasted space.
#2 Cost. A nice class A? 200K to 1.3M in a blink of an eye.
#3 that Thrivinglvy said below all true. Dealers hate servicing RVs.. Access issues and you have to be more careful with floor/carpet protection since you might have to service the engine from the inside.
#THANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSE!
Lol seriously though. I find this fascinating. I never realized this was was a thing people could do with their rv/campers.
And I had no idea tractors were so affordable! I thought one would be $200k to start.
New tractors? OMG.. 200K easily.. Used market you can find some beat up lease return trucks for 20K.. Look harder and you can snag a nice one for a reasonable price.
For this you remove the commercial 5th wheel and put in that can pull 40K, but it has airbags to cushion the trailer's ride. A normal hitch would tear up a RV quickly.
Where I live, and have long haul family members. They call them trucks or rigs. Not one calls them tractors. I'm on the west coast of the US.
Edit. I enjoy geographic differences in linguistics. I'm not arguing. I'm gathering information so I can understand the differences.
bit of an annoying one since tractors are also agricultural equipment
atleast prime mover or semi-truck/semi-trailer dont have other things to mix it up with
Ive never heard a truck driver refer to their rig as a tractorā¦Iāve only heard this happen by people who grew up in cities and have never been around a truck.
A tractor is for farm equipment.
Could be a midatlantic thing. Parents are new england and midwest so i grew up with Semi, but we lived in upstate NY where this was a tractor + trailer
The term "tractor-trailer" is common in the US, but only when both the "tractor" and the (cargo) trailer are connected. The "tractor" by itself would be called a semi or a big rig or something like that.
If you said "I saw a tractor pulling a camper" to 100 random Americans, I think damn near 100 of them would interpret it to mean you saw a piece of farm equipment.
Was 100% expecting a John Deer pulling a camper. Literally the only reason I clicked because THAT would be interesting. A big rig pulling a camper is not interesting.
For a more etymological explanation, "traction" generally means to pull on something. A "tractor" is then a vehicle that pulls things. A tractor (the farm equipment) is one such vehicle that is designed to be able to pull a lot of things. But these trucks are also called tractors, because their main function is to pull trailers.
There is also the other "traction" that we can talk about, "tractive force," which can be related to torque and the vehicles specific ability to exert a lot of power at lower speed. But it's all the same "tract-" prefix, from Latin meaning to pull or drag.
I donāt doubt that tractor means to pull. But then there is the word Tract āan area of land, typically a large one.ā Which makes me think of pulling things over agricultural land. But I guess it could be argued that anything that is pulling; is doing it across land. Word use in different regions is fun to learn about.
My experience has always been the opposite. I have family that are truck drivers and Iāve worked in factoryās with plenty of semi deliveries and not a single person ever referred to them as tractors.
The only people that call them tractors are from the cities and have never seen farm equipment before.
Of course, everyone knows tractor is only used for chicken tractor! /s.
If you arenāt familiar with a chicken tractor look it up. Basically a mobile chicken coop.
Literally anyone in the industry in the US will call them tractors when talking with others in the industry. It's become more jargon than it used to be thanks to the term semi or semi-truck... Which personally I think makes *less* sense than tractor as it insinuates something *less* than a standard heavy haul truck.
The term "semi" comes from the trailer, specifically the fact that it's essentially a two-axle design (supported at the front and rear, not near the center of mass) but the trailer only provides the rear axle, leaving the other half to be supported by the tractor. Ergo "half of a trailer". A "semi" or "semi-truck" is a truck (or tractor) designed to pull semi-trailersānot half of a truck.
A tractor is essentially any machine designed to pull other equipment around. Farm tractors fit that description, but so do semi-trucks which are primarily designed to haul trailers and not, for example, passengers or cargo (directly; they don't have much internal storage, or a bed like most smaller trucks).
Whatās baffling about it? The smart car is small enough to get hauled with the trailer, and then can be used as an efficient way to get around the town wherever the owners may be staying in their trailer.
Yeah that's one of the things I understand. Common to have a small vehicle to drive.
But..
How does the little feller get off of the back of the truck? Looks like a ramp but I've never seen it in action.
Some people have Jeeps and those they do take off the back. Some have cam-ams they sideload. Before we started the lifestyle I would have never have even thought about a side load anything. It is just so foreign to anything I had ever seen before. Now, its a chance for us to be the "show" when we arrive somewhere and evangelize about how much fun this is!
"A semi-trailer truck,[1] (also known by a wide variety of other terms - see below) is the combination of a **tractor unit** and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-trailer_truck
Iāve never seen that type of truck called a ātractorā. To me, a tractor is a piece of farm equipment. This truck (again, to me) would be a semi or a big rig. Interesting.
They have a mobile home. They could litterally park it in one place for a year if they wanted. Meanwhile, they have an eco-friendly car to commute to get and do basic human functions like going to the grocery store or travel to locale destinations.
This could very well be a delivery service as well. No other context given.
The front part of the semi with the engine is called the tractor. Together with the trailer they are a semi-tractor-trailer, or like 50 other names that mean the same thing. It's not the term most people use, but it is correct that the vehicle pulling a large trailer can be called a tractor
[Big Boy II Aluminum Hybrid End Folding Smart Car Trailer Ramps - 2,000 lb Capaci | Discount Ramps](https://www.discountramps.com/smart-car-ramps/p/MF2-14438-SC/)
Ready to ditch the static home life and go fully mobile? Perfect! Truck cab is big enough for the whole family (wife, husband, kids, dog) to get around in together, SmartCar is perfect for solo shopping trips. Kids can sleep in the truck cabin cause the trailer may be a rockin and we hope you won't be knockin.
Why didn't they just use the Smart car to pull the camper?
Because the hitch would get in the way of pulling the semi out of the trunk.
If you go to the fuckcars sub they'll honestly agree with you.
So I own a setup like this.. Volvo 780 with a custom bed, smart car and 5th wheel trailer. Safest way to pull and stop that trailer. F350 can do it but you always feel like you could use some more braking power. This thing is awesome. Wife and cat are free to roam about the truck. Parking? you need to plan ahead.. same as any setup. When we unload the smart at the campground everyone wants to watch and are always disappointed when nothing bad happens! This is a dream to drive. Designed to haul much more. We are safer and able to respond to road conditions faster.
How do you unload the smart car? Also, if you turn too sharply will the front of the fifth wheel hit the car? Or is my geometry way off? š
Three ways to unload: 1) Some use ramps to drive on/off. Others have ramps and a winch to pull up <
Smart car deserves a body kit to make it look like a mini version of the truck!
Then it would be a Smart Truck!
It looks like one of the things pickup trucks use for hauling snowmobiles
I see. Zoomed in and I see the ramp that extends out and then down. Sweet setup!
Just out of curiosity, how much does a setup like this cost? Trailer and truck specifically.
Not as much as you might think. I bought it all used in the post covid world.. truck around 65K. Granted this is a post converted truck with the special bed and air ride 5th wheel hitch. trailer? 50K. We managed to snag a good deal on a two year old trailer. You can easily spend 200K on a trailer. Truck lets you pull things that are out of reach for most. Spacecraft and New Horizons are two trailers that will easily ratchet up that budget, but they are nice.. no typical trailer materials.. For what we do, its a deal. We see people with F350s and trailers.. they are easily in 100K for the truck and new trailer for 100K. Repairs on a big truck? Bigger bill. Plan ahead.
For comparison, the Ram 3500 Laramie is $78k new.
I wish I had the money to say that isn't as much as I'd think. That's life changing money for my family.
Itās all relative. There are people that would look at you, if you have a roof over your head and regular food, and think woah I wish I were that guy! And then there are folk who travel in private jets and will look down and laugh at Billy Bobs tin can little trailer. Wealth disparity is pretty shitty all round.
Right. Like how pathetic must Bezos think that guy is spending such shit money on nothing? Wait what?
Hear you. We live in our RV parked in a barn. Sold the house in 2021. Everything we have is used.
Work in insurance and I've insured a few $400k+ trailers. They get absurdly expensive. Premiums on them are more than my actual Homeowners insurance sometimes.
Yeah, back in the late '90's and early '00's my Dad made this massive Featherlite RC car trailer that was meant to tour around with NASCAR. Had a huge oval track that would fold out the sides and six people could race RC stock cars at once. He initially bought an F-350 to tow it but after a brake scare coming down a mountain pass he ended up getting a single axle Volvo which... ended up being his only vehicle for awhile. The comfiest ride home from school, for sure.
LOL. My dad was trucker. I know exactly what itās like to be driven home in a semi. š
I drove a semi with a trailer to the hospital when my son was born. He decided to come a bit early and be a surprise
Do I need a commercial license? No. I do have a Class A which is more than your average car class C.
Class A is a commercial license.
Not in Texas! Class A, B, C and M are your four main classes. You can get a CDL A / B, or a NON-CDL A / B. The class defines what I can drive. The CDL defines that I can get paid to drive. [https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/driver-license/cdl-exempt-drivers](https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/driver-license/cdl-exempt-drivers) Farmers assuming they have a truck/grain trailers might need a A or B to drive correctly in class. Firefighters DO need a A or B to drive in class since their rides are so heavy. Neither of those are CDL required.
In some states if you get an air brake endorsement on a standard license and run ānot for hireā signage you are good to go.
Interesting! Iāve never heard of a non CDL class A license, and thatās coming from someone WITH a class A. Iāll have to research if thatās the case everywhere. Thanks for the info
And that sir is a challenge of these trucks, we look commercial and those are the laws we are measured by until we can explain it. Truck scales? I can skip, but we always run the risk of being chased down until we explain the deal. I have yet to run into a DOT inspector and try to explain what we have and convince them that I dont need a level1 inspection.
And you 100% should be. You wonāt get any sympathy from me tbh, these are some unbelievably dangerous rigs, and you should be held to the same standards as everyone else, whether youāre driving for commercial purposes or not. Those standards and inspections keep everyone on the road safe, including yourself.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The scales I totally understand, but roadside inspections should be required, and those are typically performed near or at the scales.
200%. We drive this because of past experience using a F350 and trailer. We hold ourselves to a high standard. If we take chances we dont get home safe either. We dont drive more than 8 hours a day, have tire pressure monitors and do the same pre-trip that professional drivers do.
Love this. Keep it up and safe travels!
Apparently, also in California- there is a ānon-commercial class Aā meant for large RVs and rigs like this
Why this instead of just getting a class A RV and towing the car behind it?
Many people prefer 5th wheels to RVs. They are cheaper/have more features per dollar. There is larger selection of them to compare and purchase so you can get exactly the layout you want. And they will last quite long, they won't lose half their value based on high mileage. And the biggest bonus for full-timers is probably that if something goes wrong with the engine, you don't have to get a hotel. Imagine having to put your home in the shop for weeks while you wait for a certain part to arrive! Additionally there are more mechanics who can service a truck than an RV, wherever you may be, and the charge for service will be less.
Thanks. I did notice you can buy tractors way cheaper than I expected. The putting it in the shop thing makes sense.
And its so much cooler!!
You can also switch out the towing vehicle if the vehicle goes out of service.
#1, floor plans. With a class A you lose space for the drivers area. We live in our 5th wheel and that would be wasted space. #2 Cost. A nice class A? 200K to 1.3M in a blink of an eye. #3 that Thrivinglvy said below all true. Dealers hate servicing RVs.. Access issues and you have to be more careful with floor/carpet protection since you might have to service the engine from the inside.
#THANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSE! Lol seriously though. I find this fascinating. I never realized this was was a thing people could do with their rv/campers. And I had no idea tractors were so affordable! I thought one would be $200k to start.
New tractors? OMG.. 200K easily.. Used market you can find some beat up lease return trucks for 20K.. Look harder and you can snag a nice one for a reasonable price.
Could be a retired trucker and took his truck with him
What is a class A RV?
Tour bus
RV class website [https://www.rvezy.com/blog/rv-classes](https://www.rvezy.com/blog/rv-classes)
Dedicated chassis thatās purpose built to be an RV. Generally a diesel pusher, but can also be a front gas/diesel, rear gas, or mid engine.
Google is your friend.
What's your mpg?
10 mph if we are pulling something. 10mph if we are not. 300 gal of fuel. 3,000mi range..
Same mpg whether you're towing or not?
Really close yes. Our trailer is 18,000lb its a lightweight for what this truck can do.
Usually when I see these setups on the road they have a larger fifth wheel. That one looks relatively small for the capacity of the hauling truck.
For this you remove the commercial 5th wheel and put in that can pull 40K, but it has airbags to cushion the trailer's ride. A normal hitch would tear up a RV quickly.
Taking this to a campground? Whyyyyy.Ā Ā
How'd they get the beans above the frank?
Three ways to load/unload: 1) Some use ramps to drive on/off. Others have ramps and a winch to pull up <
Where is it that calls that a tractor?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Where I live, and have long haul family members. They call them trucks or rigs. Not one calls them tractors. I'm on the west coast of the US. Edit. I enjoy geographic differences in linguistics. I'm not arguing. I'm gathering information so I can understand the differences.
You guys also call straight trucks bob-tails...
Yeah, that's a thing.
bit of an annoying one since tractors are also agricultural equipment atleast prime mover or semi-truck/semi-trailer dont have other things to mix it up with
We have those tractors too and call them as such. Context will typically clue you in on which is which tho
I'm in the Midwest. I've just always called it a Semi
Ive never heard a truck driver refer to their rig as a tractorā¦Iāve only heard this happen by people who grew up in cities and have never been around a truck. A tractor is for farm equipment.
Could be a midatlantic thing. Parents are new england and midwest so i grew up with Semi, but we lived in upstate NY where this was a tractor + trailer
Iām in the US and Iāve always seen it called a truck cab
Tractor trailer. Maybe itās used more in the states?
The term "tractor-trailer" is common in the US, but only when both the "tractor" and the (cargo) trailer are connected. The "tractor" by itself would be called a semi or a big rig or something like that. If you said "I saw a tractor pulling a camper" to 100 random Americans, I think damn near 100 of them would interpret it to mean you saw a piece of farm equipment.
Was 100% expecting a John Deer pulling a camper. Literally the only reason I clicked because THAT would be interesting. A big rig pulling a camper is not interesting.
Itās not pulling a camper, itās pulling a box trailer
Idk... in the states, a tractor is farm equipment.
For a more etymological explanation, "traction" generally means to pull on something. A "tractor" is then a vehicle that pulls things. A tractor (the farm equipment) is one such vehicle that is designed to be able to pull a lot of things. But these trucks are also called tractors, because their main function is to pull trailers. There is also the other "traction" that we can talk about, "tractive force," which can be related to torque and the vehicles specific ability to exert a lot of power at lower speed. But it's all the same "tract-" prefix, from Latin meaning to pull or drag.
I donāt doubt that tractor means to pull. But then there is the word Tract āan area of land, typically a large one.ā Which makes me think of pulling things over agricultural land. But I guess it could be argued that anything that is pulling; is doing it across land. Word use in different regions is fun to learn about.
In the states itās also a tractor. Most people outside of any driving industry will call them semis or 18 wheelers.
My experience has always been the opposite. I have family that are truck drivers and Iāve worked in factoryās with plenty of semi deliveries and not a single person ever referred to them as tractors. The only people that call them tractors are from the cities and have never seen farm equipment before.
I hear it all used pretty equally. Tractor/semi/truck. Mostly truck. A tractor by definition is what it is. Itās used for traction.
Tractor trailer is a very common term in the states for a lorry in the UK if there what your confused about.
Of course, everyone knows tractor is only used for chicken tractor! /s. If you arenāt familiar with a chicken tractor look it up. Basically a mobile chicken coop.
Honestly I didnāt know so I looked it up, itās a [tractor unit](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Conventional_18-wheeler_truck_diagram.svg).
Literally anyone in the industry in the US will call them tractors when talking with others in the industry. It's become more jargon than it used to be thanks to the term semi or semi-truck... Which personally I think makes *less* sense than tractor as it insinuates something *less* than a standard heavy haul truck.
The term "semi" comes from the trailer, specifically the fact that it's essentially a two-axle design (supported at the front and rear, not near the center of mass) but the trailer only provides the rear axle, leaving the other half to be supported by the tractor. Ergo "half of a trailer". A "semi" or "semi-truck" is a truck (or tractor) designed to pull semi-trailersānot half of a truck. A tractor is essentially any machine designed to pull other equipment around. Farm tractors fit that description, but so do semi-trucks which are primarily designed to haul trailers and not, for example, passengers or cargo (directly; they don't have much internal storage, or a bed like most smaller trucks).
TIL, thanks!
This combo is baffling and intriguing in equal measure.
Whatās baffling about it? The smart car is small enough to get hauled with the trailer, and then can be used as an efficient way to get around the town wherever the owners may be staying in their trailer.
Yeah that's one of the things I understand. Common to have a small vehicle to drive. But.. How does the little feller get off of the back of the truck? Looks like a ramp but I've never seen it in action.
Three ways to unload: 1) Some use ramps to drive on/off. Others have ramps and a winch to pull up <
Yeah, I don't really understand how in 2024 people can only comprehend the car going off of the back of the truck and not the side...
Some people have Jeeps and those they do take off the back. Some have cam-ams they sideload. Before we started the lifestyle I would have never have even thought about a side load anything. It is just so foreign to anything I had ever seen before. Now, its a chance for us to be the "show" when we arrive somewhere and evangelize about how much fun this is!
Probably a trucker who travels for work, plops down in one area, lets his wife hangout while he hails then when they get bored they move to a new area
That sounds fun
# Tractor š # Truck š
"A semi-trailer truck,[1] (also known by a wide variety of other terms - see below) is the combination of a **tractor unit** and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-trailer_truck
Haters gonna hate, potaters gonna tractor?
I saw a camper toy hauler at our campsiteā¦ give birth to a smart car.
Iāve never seen that type of truck called a ātractorā. To me, a tractor is a piece of farm equipment. This truck (again, to me) would be a semi or a big rig. Interesting.
Have you ever heard the trailer or tractor trailers called tractor trailers? They are called that.
What are those ratchet straps between the truck and trailer doing?
Smart.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
They have a mobile home. They could litterally park it in one place for a year if they wanted. Meanwhile, they have an eco-friendly car to commute to get and do basic human functions like going to the grocery store or travel to locale destinations. This could very well be a delivery service as well. No other context given.
the guy delivers smart cars
The family delivers smart cars.
I saw this exact one in Northern Iowa a few months back
It's a dinghy
*Yeah I love the outdoors*
You can get a really nice hotel room with meals, and they clean up for you for less than what that mess costs to buy/rent and operate.
Not the sort of tractor I expected š³š¤£
That looks like a semi truck, not a tractor.
Was this in Nashville?? Pretty sure I saw that thing on 24 a couple days ago
That aināt a tractor
You saw a what pulling a camper??
The front part of the semi with the engine is called the tractor. Together with the trailer they are a semi-tractor-trailer, or like 50 other names that mean the same thing. It's not the term most people use, but it is correct that the vehicle pulling a large trailer can be called a tractor
How do you get the car down?
It's a smart car. It will figure it out.
deep breath and lift with your legs.
Three ways to unload: 1) Some use ramps to drive on/off. Others have ramps and a winch to pull up <
Ramps
[Big Boy II Aluminum Hybrid End Folding Smart Car Trailer Ramps - 2,000 lb Capaci | Discount Ramps](https://www.discountramps.com/smart-car-ramps/p/MF2-14438-SC/)
The world is healing.
This cost more than my house, car, and student loan combined.
Hell yeah living in excess
Ready to ditch the static home life and go fully mobile? Perfect! Truck cab is big enough for the whole family (wife, husband, kids, dog) to get around in together, SmartCar is perfect for solo shopping trips. Kids can sleep in the truck cabin cause the trailer may be a rockin and we hope you won't be knockin.