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Finally pulled the trigger on an HDT!


RoadWarrior420

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Congrats, hope to see you at the ECR rally in April in TN.

Dave

2005 Freightliner Century S/T, Singled, Air ride ET Jr. hitch
2019 46'+ Dune Sport Man Cave custom 5th wheel toy hauler
Owner of the 1978 Custom Van "Star Dreamer" which might be seen at a local car show near you!

 

Check out http://www.hhrvresource.com/

for much more info on HDT's.

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I'm a little partial to the 730's myself. Good looking truck you have.

 

I drove mine back solo about 10 hours. No CDL and no weigh station stops. No issues. Now registered as a RV in Alabama.

 

Also, I wouldn't rule out the potential to add a Smart or other vehicle on the bed. You never know what the future will hold. We also pull a toy hauler with my wife and 2 kids with usually a RZR in the trailer. I use the Smart often to run out to the grocery store or other similar errands.

 

Good luck with the build.

Thanks man. I love your truck! I feel terribly inadequate anytime I go to follow your build lol.

What a talent you have. You are right, never know what I'll end up doing with the deck.

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Thanks man. I love your truck! I feel terribly inadequate anytime I go to follow your build lol.

What a talent you have. You are right, never know what I'll end up doing with the deck.

 

Ha. Thanks. My truck has become a member of the family, just as I'm sure yours will.

 

Good luck with the build. Let me know if I can help.

"Willy Mammoth" - Volvo 730, Sold

Heartland Cyclone 4000 Toy Hauler
T-Minus 26 years and counting to being a full timer.

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Ha. Thanks. My truck has become a member of the family, just as I'm sure yours will.

 

Good luck with the build. Let me know if I can help.

 

I do have one question. I am hearing different takes on this. I am going to keep my truck tandem as you know. A bed may be in my future. But do I really need to extend the frame for the ET hitch? I am told 24". I do not possess ANY of the knowledge to even know how that is done nor if it was done correctly after the fact. Your thoughts? My name is Kyle btw.

 

Thanks!

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I am REALLY rooting for you to succeed! My reading of the DMV stuff is that over 26000# tandem is a CDL required truck. Please keep us informed as if you succeed, I'll be right behind you. Funny thing I bought my Smart from a fellow forum member about 10 miles from the dealership you bought from in Murfreesboro TN. It's a beautiful part of the country to drive home through.

 

 

 

I am REALLY rooting for you to succeed! My reading of the DMV stuff is that over 26000# tandem is a CDL required truck. Please keep us informed as if you succeed, I'll be right behind you. Funny thing I bought my Smart from a fellow forum member about 10 miles from the dealership you bought from in Murfreesboro TN. It's a beautiful part of the country to drive home through.

 

Anything over 26,000# that is for revenue, or for hire is subject to CDL. Some of these Class A Prevost diesel pushers are over 50k GVWR. It is simply an R endorsement for NYS with my regular license. I called DMV, DOT and it took me sometime to get someone that actually knew what I was talking about. I have to take a road test with my rig. After arguing with the person on the phone that was adamant that they couldn't test me unless I had the trailer hooked up because it is a Class A tractor, I informed them it had nothing to do with what was attached to it as it has no bearing on the R endorsement. My new rig has a 53,500 GVWR so just that for the roadtest was acceptable. It took them two days to get back to me that I was in fact......correct. I would only have to take a road test with the trailer connected if I was going for the CDL NOT the non CDL R endorsement. It was amazing to me how rude and obnoxious this one particular woman was to me, telling me she has been doing this for 20 years yada yada yada.

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I do have one question. I am hearing different takes on this. I am going to keep my truck tandem as you know. A bed may be in my future. But do I really need to extend the frame for the ET hitch? I am told 24". I do not possess ANY of the knowledge to even know how that is done nor if it was done correctly after the fact. Your thoughts? My name is Kyle btw.

 

Thanks!

Kyle,

Since the ET hitch is designed to go between the frame rails at the rear of the truck, how much you have to extend the frame depends on what equipment is behind the rear axle that cannot be relocated. Sometimes it is a pan hard bar or a leveling valve and depends how much frame you have to start with. Not all trucks are the same.

I will see if I can find some pictures that I had grabbed of the internet and post them.

Dave

2005 Freightliner Century S/T, Singled, Air ride ET Jr. hitch
2019 46'+ Dune Sport Man Cave custom 5th wheel toy hauler
Owner of the 1978 Custom Van "Star Dreamer" which might be seen at a local car show near you!

 

Check out http://www.hhrvresource.com/

for much more info on HDT's.

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I went back and re-read the non CDL-R license portion and you are correct as far as I see. Now the registration part could be your next battle. Hope that goes smoothly <_<

"There are No Experts, Do the Math!"

2014 Freightliner Cascadia DD16 600hp  1850ft-lb  18spd  3.31  260"wb
SpaceCraft S-470
SKP #131740

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I went back and re-read the non CDL-R license portion and you are correct as far as I see. Now the registration part could be your next battle. Hope that goes smoothly <_<

 

I am going to add a porta potty, sink and microwave and shoot for an RV registration. I am registering this in my corporation, wish me luck lol.

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I am going to add a porta potty, sink and microwave and shoot for an RV registration. I am registering this in my corporation, wish me luck lol.

 

No one has all the answers on this subject, even the judges. However, in my opinion, registering it in a business name is going to make your case harder to prove that it's a private RV. Generally, I register my vehicles in my corp name as well, but in this case, the truck was registered in my personal name.

 

Dave is right about your ET question. It's all about packaging. You'll need to extend your frame rails enough to contain the hitch. Depending on what you between your rails will determine how much you need to extend your rails.

 

Out of curiosity, why do you want to stay tandem?

"Willy Mammoth" - Volvo 730, Sold

Heartland Cyclone 4000 Toy Hauler
T-Minus 26 years and counting to being a full timer.

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I was told that even businesses can own an RV. It really is more for the tax situation for me. I am totally open about singling this but for now I was just going to keep it tandem. Singling mid I would think is the better way and then finding a place to do that is another. I am told that the cost of singling isn't that much as you can barter the axle for the job or perhaps a little bit more. I just want it done right and taking it to Gregg at RV Haulers is not an option. He might as well be in Alaska lol.

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I was told that even businesses can own an RV. It really is more for the tax situation for me. I am totally open about singling this but for now I was just going to keep it tandem. Singling mid I would think is the better way and then finding a place to do that is another. I am told that the cost of singling isn't that much as you can barter the axle for the job or perhaps a little bit more. I just want it done right and taking it to Gregg at RV Haulers is not an option. He might as well be in Alaska lol.

 

From what I can gather, it isn't any one thing that makes you commercial or not. It's the culmination of multiple small things and the opinion of whomever is reviewing your documentation. Being right in the eyes of one person does not make you right in the eyes of someone else. For that reason, I chose to do everything possible to ensure I was right in the eyes of as many people as possible. It's all about how much risk you are comfortable with.

 

For me, the value in my #2 axle was practically zero. There is a big salvage yard in Birmingham, AL (hometown) and they didn't even want it, at all. I ended up letting a local trailer company pick it up for scrap. I kept anything useful off of it.

 

Singling made a huge difference in my truck. It rides quite a bit better. If you don't see yourself needing the extra capacity provided by the second axle, I would recommend going ahead with the single. That way, you won't have to rework your hitch/bed setup in the future if you decide to single later.

"Willy Mammoth" - Volvo 730, Sold

Heartland Cyclone 4000 Toy Hauler
T-Minus 26 years and counting to being a full timer.

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Yes, a company/business can own an RV. The nice officer with whom you're speaking, along the highway, may still view it as "commercial use" , regardless of registration.

 

In the beginning, we titled our converted Motor Home under Pope Farms, inc. our farm name. My thought was to make everything deductible. Our accountant said to go for it. After a discussion with a certain DOT inspector, who is known to enjoy a cool Dr. Pepper, I decided to "buy" the truck from the company and put it in our personal names, to avoid a possible roadside issue.

 

 

Perhaps said DOT officer will happen along with examples of RVs in commercial use?

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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Yes, a company/business can own an RV. The nice officer with whom you're speaking, along the highway, may still view it as "commercial use" , regardless of registration.

 

In the beginning, we titled our converted Motor Home under Pope Farms, inc. our farm name. My thought was to make everything deductible. Our accountant said to go for it. After a discussion with a certain DOT inspector, who is known to enjoy a cool Dr. Pepper, I decided to "buy" the truck from the company and put it in our personal names, to avoid a possible roadside issue.

 

 

Perhaps said DOT officer will happen along with examples of RVs in commercial use?

I guess I will just have to take my chances. I mean, Private Coach Not For Hire decals, no commercial hitch on it, a $100k private toy hauler attached and me being properly licensed with my R endorsement on top of being an absolutely respectful and compliant businessman. If the DOT guy is going to be an asshole to me then so be it. All the while multiple rigs that are overweight, unsafe and needing maintenance are just flying by. Oh well.

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Kyle,

 

Here is a picture of a typical frame extension for an ET hitch:

 

2735376570096176628wQQvwu_fs_zpsmppzxf2u

 

You can probably talk to semi truck repair places to see who can add to your frame or as BMzero discussed singling, they can typically do the singling and you would want to make sure they can do things like setting pinion angle correctly, driveshaft work, and reprogramming ABS. I agree with you that if you ae not sure and do not need to do it for any other reasons, you might want to leave it tandem till you know what your final plans are.

 

Dave

2005 Freightliner Century S/T, Singled, Air ride ET Jr. hitch
2019 46'+ Dune Sport Man Cave custom 5th wheel toy hauler
Owner of the 1978 Custom Van "Star Dreamer" which might be seen at a local car show near you!

 

Check out http://www.hhrvresource.com/

for much more info on HDT's.

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I guess I will just have to take my chances. I mean, Private Coach Not For Hire decals, no commercial hitch on it, a $100k private toy hauler attached and me being properly licensed with my R endorsement on top of being an absolutely respectful and compliant businessman. If the DOT guy is going to be an asshole to me then so be it. All the while multiple rigs that are overweight, unsafe and needing maintenance are just flying by. Oh well.

The catch is that there are hundreds if not thousands of folks that use their HDT

truck and toyhauler/RV for racing or other non-commercial but possible money making endeavors. Many small race teams- go cart, motocross, Friday night specials , horse show folks, etc use a business owned HD truck and trailer to go to the tracks. If you receive anything for participation then it is seen as "Winnings" or earned. If it's earned then its commercial in many states.

I'm aware that Texas for instance is cracking down on such rigs.

Alie & Jim + 8 paws

2017 DRV Memphis 

BART- 1998 Volvo 610

Lil'ole 6cyl Cummins

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You probably won't have any issue with it in the business name, but it likely WILL cause you some insurance headaches. Just a guess. And be prepared to argue in court that it is not a business use (eg. commercial) if you do get stopped. Because many if not most DOT officers will probably view it as commercial, despite it's use....and you being right about that. 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

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Anything over 26,000# that is for revenue, or for hire is subject to CDL. Some of these Class A Prevost diesel pushers are over 50k GVWR. It is simply an R endorsement for NYS with my regular license. I called DMV, DOT and it took me sometime to get someone that actually knew what I was talking about. I have to take a road test with my rig. After arguing with the person on the phone that was adamant that they couldn't test me unless I had the trailer hooked up because it is a Class A tractor, I informed them it had nothing to do with what was attached to it as it has no bearing on the R endorsement. My new rig has a 53,500 GVWR so just that for the roadtest was acceptable. It took them two days to get back to me that I was in fact......correct. I would only have to take a road test with the trailer connected if I was going for the CDL NOT the non CDL R endorsement. It was amazing to me how rude and obnoxious this one particular woman was to me, telling me she has been doing this for 20 years yada yada yada.

 

Congratulations and welcome to the dark side from a former fellow New Yorker. You won't find a nicer, more helpful, and fun group than those here on the HDT forum. I strongly recommend you attend the rallys.

 

I will follow your NY registration and licence progress with interest. I tried to register the Volvo 770 that was already singled with a hauler bed and motor home title from MO. Maybe I gave up too easily. They convinced me that I would not be able to pull a trailer over 10,000 pounds with it, even registered as a motor home unless I had a NY class A cdl. I was leaving NY to fulltime, so I became a SD resident and registered truck, trailer and smart car to a MT LLC. SD does not require CDL or special endorsement to drive any RV.

Volvo+and+Travel+Supreme+400+x+103.jpg

 

2001 Volvo 770, Detroit 60 Series, Gen 2 Autoshift

Passenger assist elevator to enter cab - for when we need it, or sell it?

'05 Travel Supreme Select 40 RLQSO 5th wheel

2016 smart car

 

We started full timing on December 1st 2014

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness - Mark Twain
Not all that wander are lost - J. R. R. Tolkien

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I think you should have escalated it. Some people think they know all of the laws even DOT and DMV people. I have found that you ask for help explain what you have been told and what is law and how you present it will determine how it gets done. It's all in the delivery. People generally want to help someone if they ask nicely and aren't telling them how to do their job. What I need to do is absolutely allowed, they just don't have a lot of experience doing it.

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RW I would recommend you do everything you can do IRT getting the truck titled as a RV. I live in Va. and I bought the truck (98 630) from Bob in Minn. I had him fax me a copy of the title and took it to DMV to make sure they would honer it. They did. My reasons for the MH title: $60 a year tags vrs 600 a year truck, $250 every 6 months for insurance (State Farm) Personal Property $200 instead of truck rate and most important the Home owners assn can"t say a thing because it's a MH. I talked to a Volvo dealer here and he told me he could get a truck title changed to MH. I really wanted to do it myself and I can because I have a shop here at the house large enough to do it. Again the HO Assn can't do anything about the truck or the 43' Open Range. I guess what I'm really saying is do whatever it takes to make it a MH because it has many, many advantages. I did get my CDL even thought I didn't need it. I used the 5er when I took the test. I also want to tell you that you have a great looking Rig and I know that you will really enjoy towing because the smile on your face will really give it away!.

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