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DVD: Working On The RV Road
Learn how to earn income while RVing. Author and work camping expert Jaimie Hall reveals what you need to know to gain employment or run your own business while traveling with a recreational vehicle.
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Your commentary by Dennis Anderson, a former commercial trucker who carried his dog, motorcycle, and recreational equipment to better enjoy his his travels struck a nerve with me. You brought the subject of 18-wheelers and RVing up. Are you aware that there is a steadily growing but tiny segment of the RV community - both full and part-timers - that has foresaken pickup trucks and the customary medium duty fifth wheel toters to tow their fifth wheel travel trailers with the heaviest (class 7-8) commercial trucks on the highway? It's all being done in the name of improved safety, comfort, power, etc.
For instance, I tow my 40' Travel supreme (rated at 20,000 pounds gross weight) with a converted 1998 Volvo VNL770 tractor originally designed for long haul freight hauling on the interstate highway network. It is legally registered in Alaska as a motorhome. My significant other and I have taken three-week long trips to Tampa, FL (5,500+ miles each way to/from Anchorage), living comfortable in this truck's (motorhome) sleeper.
Its 77-inch deep sleeper is equipped with a dinette table and two bench seats that make a bed comparable to those found in many RVs. There is also a second upper bunk that can double as an attic storage shelf. It is equipped with a refrigerator/freezer, microwave, sink with running water, a microwave oven, a TV/DVD, and a porta-potty. The electrical system has both 12 volts and 120V plug-in shore power as well as a built-in 3,000 watt inverter to power AC appliances, power tools, etc.
The driver's compartment is as comfortable as a luxiry car. It has two air suspension bucket seats with heated seats, 8-way air-operated comfort adjustments, independent heating and cooling systems for the cab and sleeper, cruise control, AM/FM/cassette & CD changer with concert hall sound, tight seals with no air leaks or whistles, or rattles, heated motor-adjustable mirrors, electric door locks, cruise control, onboard trip and fuel management computer, 300 gallons of fuel capacity (2,700 miles at just under 10 MPG between fuel stops - enabling internet planning to take advantage of lowest fuel prices enroute).
My truck has a Cummins 460 HP electronic diesel engine with a 13-speed manual transmission and three axles (6 heavy duty brakes). My truck is 30 feet long.
Many owners have chosen to remove one rear axle and to shorten the truck frame for increased maneuverability. Shortened trucks are the length of a pickup truck and much more maneuvarable, with 50 degrees of steering tire cut. Many truck conversions are equipped with automatic transmissions, driven and towing trailers comfortably by the wives.
All have heavy duty air brakes, designed to stop fully loaded truck weights to 90,000 pounds. Fully loaded with my trailer my rig weighs half of that. Braking with a trailer in tow is virtually effortless compared to lighter toters, with their smaller brakes. Climbing hills towing a travel trailer does not require downshifting or creeping up the hill in the right lane as medium duty trucks and smaller pickup trucks must do.
It's an effortless 65 MPH all the way up the hill, passing slower moving vehicles. I can come up behind a slower truck at 65 MPH and by droppong 1/2 gear I can accelerate within about 100 feet distance to quickly get around it at 85 MPH - climbing a hill! Going down a 6-9% grade I just select a lower gear and let the Jacobs exhaust brake carry me down the hill safely and under full control without ever having to touch the brake pedal.
Speaking of safety, having eyeballs 5-6 feet above the surrounding autos allow great visibility to ramain aware of traffic situations far ahead that may require braking or other action. Drivers of cars can't see events occurring several cars ahead.
Another advantage is cost and durability. I purchased a 1998 truck with 500,000 miles for under $40,000 - less than the cost of a new diesel dually pickup truck with all towing options - and far less than a custom medium duty trailer toter. That new pickup truck would be severely overloaded and unsafe while pulling my 20,000 pound travel trailer (yet many idiots are doing it - risking everybody in their path). My truck is built to go a million miles without major maintenance. I will be hard pressed to reach a million miles in my lifetime.
Many owners carry one or two motorcycles on a custom rear body deck. Some carry autos on deck or others tow autos or a second boat or cargo trailer in doubles behind the travel trailer. Many owners prefer to drive their truck conversions as their every day driving vehicle - instead of a car or pickup.
The common meeting area for these heavy truck conversion devotees is the Escapees RV Club Heavy Duty Truck (HDT) discussion forum here. This site is an encyclopedia of information and experience on all aspects of heavy truck conversion and operation. And many members have posted links to their RV photo galleries. We had so much testosterone overpowering the discussions that we recently had to split the heavy truckers away from the Medium Duty Truck forum.
A second private RV truck conversion forum is here. This site has a members photo gallery with numerous heavy straight truck and tractor RV conversions, and progress photos of individual members' truck conversion projects.
There are so many advantages to heavy hauler RV conversions that several companies are converting them commercially. Conversely, many owners are doing their own work. The RVing public needs to be educated about this specialized RVing niche and the numerous advantages of using heavy trucks to tow heavy travel trailers.
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