Jump to content

HDT Boondocking


Av8r3400

Recommended Posts

I've been watching, reading and learning and occasionally come up with some odd questions. Here's one. My use for the truck will require occasionally getting off pavement, not serious off roading, but into unimproved grassy fields or pastures for camping.

 

It's been noted several times about the weight on the front of these tractors when getting off pavement. The standard front tires will tend to dig in, cause ruts and get the truck stuck fairly easy.

 

Has anyone experimented with using the larger super single tires on the front as used in the very heavy applications?

 

Will the larger wheels and tires bolt up to the 13k hubs? What about handling and tire wear? I'm not advocating putting a 20k front on the truck, just the larger, wider tires.

 

 

Maybe the technical type of question that Scrap needs to opine about?

Av8r3400
2012 Volvo VNL 730 D13 iShift & 2021 Grand Design Momentum 397TH

TEq81qV.jpg

I'd rather die trying to live - Than live trying not to die.   -Leonard Perry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are larger, wider steer tires. Used on dump trucks and cement trucks. Have also seen them on "Heavy Load" trucks. Be prepared for a pretty good case of "sticker shock".

 

Rod

White 2000/2010Volvo VNL 770 with 7' Drom box with opposing doors,  JOST slider hitch. 600 HP Cummins Signature 18 Speed three pedal auto shift.

1999 Isuzu VehiCross retired to a sticks and bricks garage. Brought out of storage the summer of 2022

2022 Jeep Wrangler Sport S Two door hard top.

2007 Honda GL 1800

2013 Space Craft Mfg S420 Custom built Toyhauler

The Gold Volvo is still running and being emptied in July. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been watching, reading and learning and occasionally come up with some odd questions. Here's one. My use for the truck will require occasionally getting off pavement, not serious off roading, but into unimproved grassy fields or pastures for camping.

 

It's been noted several times about the weight on the front of these tractors when getting off pavement. The standard front tires will tend to dig in, cause ruts and get the truck stuck fairly easy.

 

Has anyone experimented with using the larger super single tires on the front as used in the very heavy applications?

 

Will the larger wheels and tires bolt up to the 13k hubs? What about handling and tire wear? I'm not advocating putting a 20k front on the truck, just the larger, wider tires.

 

 

Maybe the technical type of question that Scrap needs to opine about?

 

Hi Everyone,

 

Some of my plans is to do some boondocking myself. A thought that comes to my mind is using mats under the tires of the truck. I thought there are some off road race teams using mats for their chase trucks when they set up for pit stops. Maybe I might be all wet with this thought.

 

Al

2012 Volvo VNL 630 w/ I-Shift; D13 engine; " Veeger "
  Redwood, model 3401R ; 5th Wheel Trailer, " Dead Wood "
    2006 Smart Car " Killer Frog "
 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are serious about offroad boondocking as a primary, or even occasional use for these trucks then you are likely looking at the wrong setup. They simply do not perform well offroad, IF set up for on-road, linehaul application. As most of our trucks are. You would be FAR better off with a Dodge 5500 with 4x4 if offroad use is important to you. JMO.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar power
www.jackdanmayer.com
Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have seen pipeline trucks used in some serious off road situations. As long as the front axle is not buried these trucks can be used if there is enough weight on the rear axle(s). A locking differential certainly helps. I have also wondered about wider front tires but I would also be concerned about handling. Our truck has 2 lockers and I have tried to move as much weight as possible to these axles. So far it has suprised me how well it performs in less than ideal situations. Generally it will pull our trailer about as well as 4x4's LDT's pull trailers in murky situations. Sometimes a lot better. In our case the truck is heavier than the Teton and I think that helps. As an example LDT's need to go to 4 wheel drive to back a 5er up our steep drive into our garage. The Volvo will back our 5er up the drive without locking the differentials or even the drive axles together.

Randy

2001 Volvo VNL 42 Cummins ISX Autoshift

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Serious off road is not in the cards. As I said above, an unimproved campground (a grassy pasture) is definitely going to happen. (Camping at EAA Airventure every year for sure) I do not need 4x4 now with my 2500 to maneuver there, but it doesn't weigh 18000 pounds either.

 

Just talking through a thought I had after seeing a dump truck front tire size.

Av8r3400
2012 Volvo VNL 730 D13 iShift & 2021 Grand Design Momentum 397TH

TEq81qV.jpg

I'd rather die trying to live - Than live trying not to die.   -Leonard Perry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From your comment below, wider front tires may help a bit...

However, my several experiences with doing just what you described never worked out well, unless very very dry.

Good luck, and let us know what you do :)

Cheers,

Bob

 

 

Serious off road is not in the cards. As I said above, an unimproved campground (a grassy pasture) is definitely going to happen. (Camping at EAA Airventure every year for sure) I do not need 4x4 now with my 2500 to maneuver there, but it doesn't weigh 18000 pounds either.

Just talking through a thought I had after seeing a dump truck front tire size.

1989 Safari Serengeti 34'
Towing a 1952 M38A1 Military Willys

Past HDT owner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On another forum that has Showhauler type rigs (Huge Super C), there are several rigs that have the wide floater tires on the front. They say it does help prevent some sinking.

 

And sticker shock or not, my next steer tires will be done that way. Better ride and easier on the roads, with the bonus of not sinking so bad off road. I'll obviously confirm when I get closer, but supposedly no impact on turning either.

45' 2004 Showhauler -- VNL300, ISX, FreedomLine -- RVnerds.com -- where I've started to write about what I'm up to

Headlight and Fog Light Upgrades http://deepspacelighting.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the area we go, there are often giant super-duper Cs and many very large diesel pusher As. I think it would be passable with the standard steers, I just wanted to "float" the idea [sic] of the higher floatation tires...

Av8r3400
2012 Volvo VNL 730 D13 iShift & 2021 Grand Design Momentum 397TH

TEq81qV.jpg

I'd rather die trying to live - Than live trying not to die.   -Leonard Perry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are just going into the typical Rally location you won't have unusual issues. We have been in a lot of them over the years. BUT if it rains, don't expect to go anywhere. We just sit until it drys out. We NEVER let the tractors pull us.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar power
www.jackdanmayer.com
Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We pickup and deliver trailers to all sorts of special events direct to the site, spotting them exactly where they are used. . I just dropped a trailer at a grassy area of the Daytona International Speedway on Saturday for the Daytona 500. We pull doubles(luxury boxes) to golf courses all over the place. Carnival rides are the most challenging. Almost always on a big grassy area, along side of a church, volunteer fire company, you get the picture. All places a tractor trailer do not belong. And a load that can be badly unbalanced( too much weight there when it needs to be here...)

 

I dropped a 50,000 lb generator on the Capital lawn for a State of the Union address a couple of times, but they put the 2" plastic 4'x8' mats all over the place for that one.

 

It all comes down to conditions at the time you want to drive on it. If it is dry and fairly hard packed soil, you probably won't have too much trouble. Bigger front tires are not going to help, if conditions are bad, you are going to get stuck no matter what you do. These vehicles are simply not off road capable. Tight turns and maneuvers are a no no, unless conditions are ideal. The relatively skinny tires on the RV are not going to be your friend either, digging in instead of floating on the surface. Lack of weight on the drives can also be a problem.

 

Walk the area in question first. Take a look how well other vehicles did in the same area, and try to extrapolate how yours will do. It might be fine on Friday when you set up, but a soaking rain on Sat night prevents you from moving Sun morning, without assistance($ tow truck), and tearing up the area and associated costs there. The Carnies I have worked with have used 3 vehicles to pull one out of the mud.

 

Good luck.

Jeff Beyer temporarily retired from Trailer Transit
2000 Freightliner Argosy Cabover
2008 Work and Play 34FK
Homebase NW Indiana, no longer full time

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wide base steering tires do work at keeping the front end afloat but they come with some trade-offs.

 

-MOST (not all) have a 65mph max speed.

 

-Handling is not a precise as skinny tires. They like to "float" around.

 

-In order to not have the steering angle affected you may need a different wheel offset that makes the front end wider, which may require add-on flares and may possibly make the rig over-width. They will bolt to any axle, pretty much everything uses the standard 10 bolt wheel pattern, if your rig uses something different the tire shop can order whatever you need (highly unlikely).

 

- as already mentioned they are pricey, especially in the less popular "smoother" tread patterns that you would want.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Were you at AirVenture ~ 6 years ago? They experienced torrential rains just before the event. I saw semitrailers buried in the grass right up to the box! Camp Scholer was largely unusable that year. Campers were set up in every parking lot across Oshkosh. I have no idea as to how they got those trailers out. The next year, EAA had made substantial improvements in drainage so, I don't think they've had a recurrance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yup, I was at "sloshkosh" that year. Very entertaining watching the campground.

 

I camp south of Scholer at Relleumtdats. Watching tractors drag around RVs can be very entertaining and horrifying!

Av8r3400
2012 Volvo VNL 730 D13 iShift & 2021 Grand Design Momentum 397TH

TEq81qV.jpg

I'd rather die trying to live - Than live trying not to die.   -Leonard Perry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With regard to speed ratings, they're working on the assumption of maximum rated load. There are a number of tables published by tire manufacturers on how to trade speed, inflation pressure, and load.

 

Are the "wider" steer tires readily available when one is needed to be replaced?

I'm sure you could pick an odd size, but every bus and dump truck has a big tire up front.

45' 2004 Showhauler -- VNL300, ISX, FreedomLine -- RVnerds.com -- where I've started to write about what I'm up to

Headlight and Fog Light Upgrades http://deepspacelighting.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Putting a set of 385 or 425's on a regular truck does get wishy-washy. Build them with dual gears, Vickers pump, power steering coolers, 23K split progressive springs, and all the threaded pins and bushings and some of these heavy haulers will easily outdrive even the best highway truck. They are pretty amazing. The downside is that even with a widetrack and the right offset rims you'll still be hard pressed to get a 40 deg cut. There is a new 16K split progressive that just came out that you'd use with 315's to get your wheelcut back and is fairly nice, but it just isn't the same. Some steering setups just naturally work great and some just work because they have to work. It is a tough one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...