Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
The thread title is Pusher Trailer: Legal Issues?. And "I was under the impression it was because it was a driven axle, but I have no idea where or what I actually read at the time."
So I'm supposing the intention is to drive the pickup truck axle. If you put a pickup truck bed on a trailer frame with a properly centered axle with trailer fenders, it wouldn't remind me of a chopped-up truck.
How do you propose to power the truck axle? Electric? The item I showed in Permalink #12 is a subframe out of an SUV (minus the rear mount and a crossbar  ). You could get a similar item from the newer RAV4 and possibly others, with suspension and road wheels. Weld a trailer hitch directly to the subframe and add a battery bank and leave 1/4 ton for cargo capacity. |
Yes, I'm planning to drive the axle, and I'm picturing the most reasonable axle to use for my configuration is a straight axle. As I've read through the replies, I think finding an appropriately sized manufactured trailer is the best path. Then, swap in a solid axle that matches, and work on a modified trailer instead of a scratch-built trailer.
In this case, my goal is to push a vehicle, but not with a specific power source in mind. This first round will be more for testing the concept. I expect the easiest way to control the load is to drive the system with an electric motor, but the least expensive way will be with a small gas engine. I'll be starting the design effort soon, and will see if any nice electric power options come up on the used market.