Tuesday Morning I jumped a flight from DFW to Flagstaff, AZ to pick up our new tow vehicle. Taking a leap of faith it has turned into a wonderful experience. Now being the proud new owner of an HDT. Not perfect but it is mechanically sound and it will go through some major transition over the next year. It will be an extended project to take us into retirement and going fulltime for the long haul. I have now tamed the Beast tamer and looking forward to the first trip.
Congrats on your new toy
Congratulations, enjoy the new beast.
For anyone interested in an HDT as an option the Escapees Forum has an excellent sight for answers to about very question you might have. No it is not for everyone and not everyone would approve of this as an idea for towing our big beautiful rigs.
However, it is an option and a viable one with some research. The main reason this is the way I have gone is two fold. 1. Safety no 17000 pound trailer waging the truck. 2. The ability to live in a residential home on wheels and also have the ability to take my tools, safe, and Motorcycle with.
The truck was brought to me by the owner in a private message giving me the opportunity to purchase it. If anyone has any questions about the process from the drivers test to what to watch for. Having the right people around you can make the process very easy to go through. The HDT community is one that is growing very fast. Why? It only makes sense when you can get into one of these rigs for a third of the cost of a new pickup rated to haul it. The cost of operation is very comparable to the cost of pickup. The distance you can travel in one of these is where one can save. With a 2000 mile range you can plan your stops without being forced to purchase your fuel at a much higher price which off sets the maintenance cost with a little planning.
WOW!! That's some rig!
You're right about towing...With that, you should be able to pull anything you darn well please. That probably has a max tow rating of 80,000 #'s??
Congratulations.
We'll have to meet up sometime. I'd like to see that.
How many miles on it now and will you have to rebuild any time in the near future?
The HDT's I have seen look pretty cool....Good for you....
Congrats! Looks like it will be a fun
project. Like the safety and increased capacities; however, I'd be concerned about the physical size. Seems you would almost need another vehicle to use as a "driver" when you reach your travelling destinations. And the maintenance/repair costs would scare me some. As previously stated, probably wouldn't work for everyone... depends on your travel/towing needs.
Bob
another factor for a HDT for us is the license requirements, it would require a class A license with testing and regular physical exams etc. and perhaps daily logs just like the transport drivers have to put up with. Now, if I was able to put a box on the back of that truck (with enough space to still haul the Redwood), with a fridge, stove, toilet etc it could be rated as a motor home and licensed and driven the same as a regular car!
another factor for a HDT for us is the license requirements, it would require a class A license with testing and regular physical exams etc. and perhaps daily logs just like the transport drivers have to put up with. Now, if I was able to put a box on the back of that truck (with enough space to still haul the Redwood), with a fridge, stove, toilet etc it could be rated as a motor home and licensed and driven the same as a regular car!
Licensing will be the catch if you are not willing to upgrade (which you should do anyway)... A rig like this will be over 26,000 lbs and force the issue by itself. As others will attest though, it's not that hard and you don't have to keep logs. In fact, you don't have to stop at weigh stations either...I'm kinda warming up to the idea but need to do a little more research.
For anyone who is interested or contemplating a HDT, you should become a member of HDT's on Facebook. The group name is just as I wrote it above with the apostrophe and small s.
Great group of people and more than 450 of them are pulling with big rigs. If $$ allowed there would be a Volvo pulling our Redwood. They will happily share advice and ideas. Most of them have their trucks registered as RV.
Oh - and in most states if not all, a non commercial Class A license doesn't require any special paperwork or record keeping or physical. Only CDL and other DOT stuff does.
Great looking HDT. We seriously considered one. Even looked at adding extra steps to make it easier to get in and out. Our decision really came down to warranty. The HDT community was a great resource of information.
