Sadly, I’m not getting in a lot of daytime scouting outings lately due to my current schedule. Fortunately, we knocked off early on Wednesday, which allowed time enough for our preferred urban hike. I was waiting at the traffic light at Sixth, when what do I see coming down the road? Whoa! Not exactly the usual fare. Time to whip out that camera and hope it fires up in time.
Maybe if I’d panned a bit while shooting, this pic might have come out sharper. Nevertheless, it’s quite clear that this rig is just a wee bit unusual. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Scout (or even a picture of one) with a fifth-wheel trailer. This one looks to be circa 1973, plus or minus a year or two.
Heading for the coast for Thanksgiving?
Note: A rerun of an older post.
Knew someone who put a 4-53 Detroit diesel in one of these.
There was a guy in my hometown obsessed with 4-53 detroits. He swapped them into everything. I heard he had done a scout but never saw it. I did however see a CJ-7 and several 78-79 Ford fullsize trucks he did the swap on. In fact a friend bought a 78 f150 he had put a utility bed and 4-53 in. My friend ended up selling the engine and bed and swapping in a 351 and a flat bed. About a decade ago i saw another one at a car show a late 80’s super duty with the 4-53 placed behind the cab on the open frame.
Pretty sketchy setup. Real fifth wheel hitches are designed to sit directly over the axle so you don’t load the frame in bending and drag the back bumper. Of course, that would have conflicted with the cab on this homemade rig.
Is the caster wheel down all the time ?
For his sake I hope not. Makes a real mess of that little tyre when you turn a corner, as the mechanism isn’t designed to pivot at speed, even at town speeds. Been there, done that…
What a corker! As for J W Harris’s remark about someone he knows who put a Detroit Diesel 4-53 in one, he probably never used his horn again! Have any of you ever heard one of those engines? YIKES!
Now that’s an interesting combination, never seen a 5th. wheel travel trailer that small, except for the one that attached to a VW roof.
A 3-53 would be too much for a Scout. The Nissan diesel option was just about right.
Jesus, that looks terrifying. I wouldn’t want to fifth-wheel anything on that short a wheelbase, especially not with the pivot past the rear axle.
I love these Scouts. This setup reminds me of something cousin Eddie from Vacation would drive.
For those wondering here’s a 4-53 in a sweet ’49 Diamond T 306. Last third of the video for the glorious sound:
https://youtu.be/EI-GPX_Kqws?si=RIm329vgGL-aaVKF
Nice. All the old diesels I heard as a kid were British. What would a 4-53 have been specced in originally?
1962 Chevy D-60 medium duty truck was one of the first vehicles to offer the 4-53, but the engine was extensively used in industrial applications and Oliver agricultural tractors.
I have always thought small 5th wheels are neat. at one point I forget which but one trailer maker essentially made 5th wheel by taking their slide-in truck camper designs and throwing an axle under them. Even had the rear door.
While ideally a 5th wheel rides above the axle this setup does move the hinge point much further forward than a conventional hitch also moves the weight up. So as long as the hitch weight isn’t crazy high this is probably more stable than a travel trailer. 20 years ago I had a customer who would go out every weekend in a single axle 5th wheel (a salem maybe) towed by his 4.3 v6 S-10 2wd reg cab. He had a inflatable boat that would fit in the bed in front of the hitch and an outboard attached to the rear bumper of the camper. I asked him how it pulled he said he did add some air bags eventually but it always felt fine he said the trailer only weighed 4-5k loaded and the hitch weight was around 5-600 lbs.
He liked the setup as he would go to various state park campgrounds leave work Thursday or Friday with the trailer hitched up and his family would meet him at the campground. the short length let him park in a back to back parking spot with only a few feet hanging out which let him park in the backlot at work but also fit in small state owned campsites while still sleeping 4 comfortably.
I seem to recall Jeep offered a 5th wheel like this for the CJ as a factory option.
Saw this in Memphis, Tn
Looks like you got your daytime “scouting” outing! 🙂
I agree, in this case with such a short wheelbase and short trailer, it’s probably a better setup than a travel trailer, which would put the pivot and weight way out there in relation to the wheelbase. A travel trailer would be like the tail wagging the dog.
Looking at the side view, it’s probably a good thing it’s a soft top. On a tight parking maneuver, it looks like the corner of the trailer might hit the top. If not it’s gotta be super close.