Hydraulic lift for smart on the back of class a Motorhome

[stretch]

I have a 43 ft HR Navigator motor home and would like to buy and take a SMART with me. Dont want to tow it. Does anyone yet make a hydraulic lift for the back of a motorhome so that the SMART could be lifted (sideways) off the ground and taken right along?

[SmartTech]

the smart is 8'5" wide so i dont think any makes it due to the car being over 8 foot. i think that would then consider it a wide load... but i am not big on road rules for hauling

[RussBarnes]

Originally Posted by SmartTech

the smart is 8'5" wide so i dont think any makes it due to the car being over 8 foot. i think that would then consider it a wide load... but i am not big on road rules for hauling

Tip it up somewhere between 26 and thirty degrees and it now is under 102" and legal. However, change the battery to an Optima so acid doesn't leak out and may have to tweek the gas vapor collector system.

In the Escapees HDT site several carry smarts crossways, the 450 is a piece of cake, but the 451 is more difficult. Some use ramps, at least one drives on (IMHO accident waiting to happen) and one is making a hydraulic system. I have the truck, the smart and am still working on my ramp design.

[chieftmc]

Just get one of these: Smart Trailer USA-Home

Currently on sale in celebration of July 4th

[kannonvaggon]

I'm thinkin you would have to use a platform with castering wheels to support the weight.... not just a hydro or electic lift. Far too much weight to carry on the rear of the coach.

We're right now swapping our garage-coach which carries the Smart... for a tag-axle Tiffin DP . We're gonna tow the Smart and are installing a motorcycle lift for a solo bike on the coach. The lifts weigh in at almost 400 lbs attached with a three-receiver mounting system along with wiring and a towbar extension usually. The weight of the bike in our case will only be about 500lbs... but since the weight is carried outboard to clear the coach it is 24" behind the bumper line and 40" off the ground to clear the nose of the toad. This puts an actual increase of about 1200lbs on the rear of the coach frame, in our case carried by both the dual and tag axles with some lifting of the front axle caused by weight trasfer , meaning frame loading....

If you had a lift large enough to carry a Smart it would place a HUGE load on the rear of the chassis frame since the weight would be WAY behind the end of the frame rails and WAY behind the center of the axle line.... etc....

Check Cruiserlift for a platform style carrier that might take a Smart. With caster wheels the loading is not all that bad on the receiver system AND you could still back up. Your Smart would indeed be cleaner and you wouldn't be wearing the tires out, etc... On the other hand.... The Smart is a light load to tow and it still allows the addition of a motorcycle carrier on the coach.

I'm gonna miss this garage-coach in some ways. Sure is handy for the Smart and the sidecar rig.... But momma is convinced SHE needs a better place to sleep than the little car gets...
We're picking up our shiny new giant coach this Wednesday and dealer is installing the baseplate and wiring to the Smart Cabrio. I haven't ever towed a car before so it will be " interesting " with the little car hiding back there behind the ginormous coach. We'll see how it goes with the Smart. I think it will be just peachy to tow. We are trying to stay under 60 feet length if possible to be legal in most states, so the Smart will help us in that regard. Only GOD can help anybody that gets too close to us whilst we navigate through an intersection probably .... Watch yer toes out there folks!

:-))

[Okiesmrt]

I made one for my ShowHauler Truck Conversion. You need a 40,000 lb. hitch. They are rated from 4000-6000 tongue weight. I dump the air bags for loading/unloading to lessen the grade. It works slick. The car sideways is no wider than the awning, door handle, steps etc. I'll try to post a pic when I get back in the country.