Brad NSW

RIP Scott. He was instrumental in getting my wife to "buy off" on the idea of an HDT, during the 1st W Coast Rally. We knew he was having health issues. Praying his family and loved ones weather the wave of emotions during this trying time. Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young" seems very appropriate for this exceptional HDT'er! Brad

Thanks all. Were finally home after a short 18month "road trip". Rickeieio, yep as sig says it's a DD15 (but i should have put that in the body). TD1/WRKNRVR/Parrformance...I'll do a thorough check of all grounds, wires, and clean/lube all battery and ECM connections. Drove from Death Valley to Joshua Tree to home in San Diego, with no recurrence.

60 miles from nowhere, heading to Death Valley, yellow check engine lights came on and engine derated. I pulled over, code was low injector voltage. I checked wiring harnesses and fuses and nothing stood out. SO...I cleared the code and she fired right up. This happened a week ago but we've been boondocking out of cell range. I've driven several hundred miles since this occurred, with no further codes or check engine lights. Any thoughts? Does the computer ever throw false codes or should I be looking for something, based on this one code? Photo below is the awesome spot we camped in just East of Death Valley. It's called the Pads and is an abandoned RV park, with a filled in pool, lots of concrete pads, gravity water system that was fed by a huge tank, and a 3 stage septic field below the campground. Kind of eerie but a great place to explore Death Valley from. https://imgur.com/J4shNrE

Our trailer is 26K+ and we originally set it up on large trailer #8. Saw some pretty quick brake pad wear on our disc brakes, so backed it off to #5 and I feel that's about correct for us.

Either choice you make, enjoy the lake. We took our Smart to the Forest Service Campground and decided we liked our spot much better. FS campground is much closer to a boat launch but others on Jug Hollow just back the boats in off the beach. If you get the chance to hike down to the Green River, below the dam, there is some beautiful hiking trails along the river!

We've been to Flaming Gorge for 2 weeks in the spring the last two years. We camp on the Jug Hollow (Antelope Flats) road. It's been no problem for our HDT and it's dual rear wheel. Never used our lockers or had any problem with the sand. Some of the curves and downslopes look intimidating but again, it's been no problem. I cruise the washboard road about 20-25 and it's not bad at all. Trout bite is AWESOME in Mid April to Mid May. See our blog (link is below) for the last two years for pics of the lake, trout, road and campsite we landed in...noone for 100yds either year. About 1.5 miles on the dirt road, the road splits 3 ways. We always take the left hand one and take the 4th-6th campsite down that road. You could fit 3-5 big rigs in the clearing. Go for it and ENJOY the antelope and Bald eagles that have a nest on the island in the cove in front of our campsite!!

Sculptor, I used 10 very large U-bolts to secure two 2x8 stringers to the rails. Then laid the 2x6s crosswise. Used two 4" angle pieces to stiffen the ends. Done in a weekend. Below is a montage of the process.

Here's a photo of the tie downs I use. Recessed into the deck.

Our wood deck has had a Smart car on it since Day one. Easy on/off and it's loadable from either side. Ramp extensions ensure I don't drag the bottom of the Smart car when airbags are still full.

Love that area! For the last 5 years I elk hunted out of a wonderful campground, just South of Victor Idaho. Wonderful, large spots and very cheap. Saw lots of moose up close, one 30yds from our trailer. Elk every year, within 50yds but the bow shot never materialized. Campgrounds are: Mike Harris and the other one is 3 miles south. Here are photos from each.

How did it go on HWY 22 to Jackson?

30K miles, two years and this $600 wood bed is as good as the day built. Of course wood prices have skyrocketed but still a cheap and durable way to go. I don't worry about scratches or powdercoat wear. Just add a layer of Watco Wood Oil once a year and it's good to go for another year.

We pull some vicious grades out west 7-10 degree long climbs/downgrades. Temps quickly rise in our Freightliner to 210-215, then the fan kicks in and they drop amazingly fast to 180-185. Fan shuts off, temps climb and repeat every 5-10 minutes depending on grade. Worst was Hwy 22 out of Jackson, WY, into Idaho. Sign said 10 miles/10 degree grade and our DD15 pulled our 27K 5er over it at 40-45, repeating the above engage/disengage cycle about 20 times. That sure beat our Dodge, chugging along at 25MPH in 3rd gear (no passing lanes) so there were a bunch of PO'd folks following us then!

JPL, Brad here. Sorry to hear you sold the trailer and truck! I really enjoyed my visit to you house, SHOP!!!, and talking about going to an HDT. Thanks for being so hospitable! We blew through western VA last year, with our (new to us) HDT and 5er, but didn't have the time to hit VA beach. Hope all is well.

Jay, cool link to the build of the truck. They said it wasn't vintage and the builder put a lot of work and talent putting it together. Never imagined all the upgrades they put in. From talking to the family, it found a great home!

Polished 4 of 6 wheel hubs.

Ran into a very cool HDT and trailer at the Dugway BLM campground, North of Sinclair WY, on the North Plate. Spent some time talking to the young couple who owned it. They bought the truck/trailer conversion from a Swiss Expat who cobbled it together, and used it to tour the country for a few years. Truck is circa 1962, with a old trailer put on the bed. The trailer is a 1967 Silver Streak aluminum trailer they pick up in South Dakota. Very cool! Tried to talk them into coming to the West Coast Rally but they were headed to Colorado.

Rick, I cantilevered my hitch 4" past the frame. Still got all the bolts in the frame. I added a 4x4 piece of steel angle and bolted that to the overhanging part of the hitch. Welding would have been better but I don't weld, so bolts snugged the overhanging tail up and gave me extra piece of mind. Don't have any photos handy but can snap/send some, if you want.

Volvo's seem to be the most popular, from what I've seen at the rally I attended but all makes were represented and all seemed proud and happy with their choices. We found a used Freightliner Cascadia three years ago. Spent a year tweaking it, while towing a Montana, and building a functional wood deck for our Smart. Then sold the Montana, bought a used NH and went full time 14 months ago. Happy with our choice, cost, comfort and reliability. For more details, you can see our blog: Our Full time HDT and New Horizon Blog . At the top are pages that show the truck/bed build and the NH trailer. The rest are our daily posts, by week. Be sure to really inspect the truck and have a dyno done. Ask for maintenance records and possibly an oil analysis (if they haven't changed the oil recently). Good luck, any one you go with will be an interesting journey!

Look for sales on Battleborn. We bought ours during 20%off xmas sale and got six for only $4840 or $806 per battery. Had them shipped to a friends house in OR, so no sales tax, which helped with the low total. We're loving their performance and quick charging ability! Here's a link to facebook with photos of the install: Battleborn Install

Our 75lb rottweiller uses a ramp we bought on Amazon. She's almost 12 years old and does just fine with the ramps Amazon link to Dog Ramp

Chad, That is awesome! Looking fwd to seeing what he does and it will be nice for folks trying to get into an HDT hauler. I'll be there with my homemade bed for anyone who is looking to do it inexpensively. We'll be heading to the rally from Flaming Gorge (great trout fishing and BLM boondocking)!

We kept ours double, based on axle weights. With the Smart Car, Big Drom box and 8K pin weight, we couldn't go single w/o over-weighting a single axle. With the hitch behind the axles, we see two advantages: 1) tracks better around corners, 2) responds much quicker when backing, so we get into spaces some p/u's have trouble getting into, even though we're 66ft long! The big disadvantage of being way back, is that it amplifies the up/down/left/right forces. We think we found a sweet spot about 4ft back. Good luck on deciding your hitch placement. Go to one of the rallies if you want some hands on and visual feedback.

Randy, we ran into the exact same problem. I built 3' extensions out of wood. I drilled two small holes at the end of each ramp with corresponding holes on the extensions. I slide/drop in two bolts, to lock the ramps to the extensions. Works like a charm. Once in awhile, I find a spot where the ground rises significantly and we don't need the extensions...just drive off on the 12' ramps. You'll figure it out, where there's a will, there's a way!

I mounted mine directly on the deck and put a plastic electrical box around it, to keep it from being kicked or knocked off. Has worked well for us. Camera Box mount photo