carrying small van behind the trailer

Class 100 is required when pulling a large trailer or two trailers or when the combined vehicle weight exceeds 5500KG.

 

We call those rocky mountain doubles here. Two trailers. What we did from time to time, roughly is have one trailer for the freight, part of a second for either a different freight or overflow from the first and use the rest where possible.

They do not get to drive those just anywhere down here in the States. Sometimes you have to split the trailers and have two drivers, two tractors run the two trailers in. Particularly east.

 

I think he means flat tow a minivan like what a motorhome would commonly do

 

Yes... no.

 

Well... haha... Ive seen motor homes pulling a boat trailer then a box trailer or whatever, making themselves a road train.

To be fair, to stick a 14 foot single or double axle box trailer that can be towed behind cars on a 53 foot trailer... the first good bridge with bad plates you hit, the hammering of that trailer on it's airride will destroy such a fragile little thing. Besides you are at 70 or 135 km/h and that little trailer starts wriggling, it will tear itself apart. Then become a threat to anyone and everyone behind you.

There is a reason we don't do certain things such as that in trucking overall. If it was nice to have a little cute cargo box luggage trailer on the back of that 53 foot trailer... have at it. You will NEVER be able to back anywhere. I don't care if you are God. You wont be able to back with it. You will have to unhitch and set aside. And on and on and on. We don't have time for that.

Now it's easy for me to poke a stick playing devils advocate but I like to try to balance out. If the tractor is another say 4 feet longer you can build a 3 foot wide Dromdary box (A very old term) on the back of the cab to be used as storage where headache racks normally go. You don't even need the thing to be on the cab, just on the frame nice and sturdy.

Imagine what you can do to the interior volume of a cab if you can strip out all that weight that will be riding on the relatively small air ride suspension between cab and frame and open up more possibilities for living space inside. Instead of too much storage space. Taking the weight out of the suspended part of the cab YOU are in creates a better ride for you and your bones.

 

If you're going to attempt this I'd recommend you do it when your first trailer is loaded down with freight and at no other time ever attempt this stunt. Part of trucking is about running empty, and so there's your main problem. The problem you are going to run into is that your first trailer when empty is a weak anchor point for your second trailer so if you plan on traveling any faster than 55MPH it's going to look like a dog wagging its tail. Because your first trailer always needs to be heavier than your second trailer you're going to have to either leave your second trailer behind on the lot or figure out how to pull your first trailer with your second trailer as the leading trailer.

Then there is the issue of how you will actually connect an RV-type vehicle to a standard 53FT Van/Reefer with a pintle hitch or 5th wheel that was never intended to connect to something like what you intend to pull.

The closest thing I've seen to what you propose is a Greyhound bus with a trailer in the back for hauling the mail.

You've got your challenges in slippery conditions when you have two totally separate pivot points along your combination vehicle.

A Car rental place usually picks you up and drops you off, and if you call ahead usually they can spot you a car by the time you arrive in town.