Scuba-friendly automobile suggestions?
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Nissan Titan 4DR - plenty of room inside, reliable, well-built and well thought out. I use two every day for diving here in Kauai!
CoolFWIW, I'm currently building an off-road adventure SCUBA support trailer. Such a trailer could turn any number of vehicles into useful SCUBA vehicles. Just need a tow hitch and the balls to haul it.
Work in progress...
couple of suggestions for off road
.. ring / pintal hook instead of ball hitch (can use a pintal/ball hook so can tow both) it wont come unhitched at truck/trailer angles
.. shock absorbers on trailer .... you ever watch a lightly loaded trailer bounce down the freeway, or drive a car with bad shocks?
... there is a reason that all military trailers have them
I use my 2005 Jeep TJ...
It's a tight fit, but we can fit 6 AL80s, 2 sets of dive gear (with drysuits), and camping gear for a weekend of diving in the mountains...
Not the most economical vehicle, but my Fun-Per-Gallon is through the roof.
Also, did I mention.. It has a Snorkel?
It's a tight fit, but we can fit 6 AL80s, 2 sets of dive gear (with drysuits), and camping gear for a weekend of diving in the mountains...
Not the most economical vehicle, but my Fun-Per-Gallon is through the roof.
Also, did I mention.. It has a Snorkel?
I have a Fiat Doblo.
It's not a car you would go cruising in but it's got enough room for 3 divers and gear.
It's got sliding doors on the side, you can stand two double sets up in the back of it with the back open and the back end is at the perfect sitting distance from the ground. Moreover with the back open the door is above your head so you can stand out of the rain to change if it happens to be raining.
As far as I'm concerned it's a perfect divemobile.
Mine also gets about 75 miles to the US gallon of diesel and over here they sell for about 20k Euros.
R..
It's not a car you would go cruising in but it's got enough room for 3 divers and gear.
It's got sliding doors on the side, you can stand two double sets up in the back of it with the back open and the back end is at the perfect sitting distance from the ground. Moreover with the back open the door is above your head so you can stand out of the rain to change if it happens to be raining.
As far as I'm concerned it's a perfect divemobile.
Mine also gets about 75 miles to the US gallon of diesel and over here they sell for about 20k Euros.
R..
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NudeDiver
Contributor
OP is in the US. I do not believe your vehicle is available here. US Govt would never let us have such a fuel efficient diesel in a standard passenger vehicle.
I'm doing one better. I'm planning to get a "multi-axis coupler" that will do what you are describing, even better. Expensive though.Cool
.. ring / pintal hook instead of ball hitch (can use a pintal/ball hook so can tow both) it wont come unhitched at truck/trailer angles
Yeah, I was going to put some on. But it got to be too complicated with the design I ended up using for the multi-position (adjustable) axle.
Yeah, I've seen that. I've even towed that
But I don't think this trailer will have that problem. It, unfortunately, is going to weigh somewhere around 1500 pounds empty. Quite heavier than I would like, but I don't think it will go bouncing around as much as a lighter trailer would.FWIW, its built for 3500 pounds. I'm hoping to have at least 2000 pounds available for cargo. We'll see how it goes.
It sounds like a well thought out rig .. keep us posted
(side note ... do a search for "off road trailer" and it seems the Aussies have a good handle on making some interesting designs)
(side note ... do a search for "off road trailer" and it seems the Aussies have a good handle on making some interesting designs)
ohmdiver
Contributor
Don't mean to harsh your mellow, but...
I can't tell from the photos but do you have electric brakes for that? You are moving into the realm of needing a braking system on the trailer.
I can tell you that if the trailer alone weighs more than 1000 lbs. here in NY you are required to have electric brakes....
NudeDiver
Contributor
Well, I would definitely do some things differently, had I had it to do over again - but that's the nature of this stuff, live and learn, ya know? One thing is for sure - this sucker is built like a tank. I wanted it to be sturdy - a trailer that can go anywhere the Jeep can go - but it's a bit overbuilt. A bit bigger, a bit heavier than I would like - but I'm pretty sure it will meet its purpose just fine.It sounds like a well thought out rig .. keep us posted
I did lots of searching before starting this project
I got ideas from a number of places, including those down under ones. Those things are EXPENSIVE though. I figured I could build something cheaper from scratch. Now I'm not so sure. If I had it to do over again, I would have just bought one Yes, of course it has electric brakes.
Here, you can go up to 5000 lbs without electric brakes - but I put them on anyway because it seemed like it would be a good idea. Added something like $400-$500 to the cost of materials, but seemed like it might keep me out of trouble.
FWIW, I'm currently building an off-road adventure SCUBA support trailer. Such a trailer could turn any number of vehicles into useful SCUBA vehicles. Just need a tow hitch and the balls to haul it.
Work in progress...
Looks like a well built unit. It also looks pretty heavy for a short, single wheeled trailer. I hope you have enough tonge weight and length.
Nice project, looks like a fun project to build. (Wire or stick?)
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