Sculptor

Thanks Scott. I browsed there a bit this morning for the first time. Lots of info and well organized I might add. we will be beginning full time soon, and it’s been reassuring to see your budget and others here, approximate what I expect to encounter. I think the big difference for us will be the beginning part. I envision more travel expenses the first year or 2. We will want to dive in at first and then cut back over time. I’m mostly referring to travel expenses, fuel, new restaurants, different camp locations more often...

Thanks Kirk, I have seen your links sent to many of us and I have read many escapees documents related to this decision. Thank you for always being there to help. I am in a comparison mode, but making a decision that will affect us for years has made me overthink, and has resulted in plain old indecision. I like the health care stories I am hearing about Florida, but I have not much interest in Florida otherwise. Tennessee has many of the things I like with the exception of horrible sales taxes. We will be traveling so maybe not too much impact. For other reasons, TX and SD are in between. It must help me to write it down, this is the first time I realized Tennessee is potentially at the top. 🙂

The Art Deco cases ARE very cool. I guess you would need liquid cooling to compensate for the solid wood case. I was a wood model maker for 15 years so I can relate to the skills it would take to create a “statement” like you propose. 🙂 I couldn’t fit my band saw or my Kennedy rolling tool box Into the full time style so I had to sell them.

Thanks RV, for sharing the in depth research. It seems you would not recommend a Dell for any reason. HP would be your choice. I looked at the link and am surprised by the price, for what you get. It seems quite affordable. Do you think the 1 gh cpu speed is a typo? I will need to run a large screen for a work monitor from a laptop. On my current tower I use a 4K screen and a 4K capable Nvidia card. It works well except for the tower size. Any recommendations for an HP with 4K Nvidia graphics?

The front shocks were one of my first DIY jobs. I removed the bumper cap extensions and turned the wheels all the way out. This gave me plenty of room. On the right front lower, I tried a breaker bar and a pipe, but couldn’t get it loose. Not sure if I didn’t have the lift strength? I tried whittling away the shock with a low duty plasma cutter, slow work. Then I tried a sawzall with a hard all metal blade. It dulls on the shock pole but cuts everything else. I got it out in little pieces and it was slow. More blaster or liquid wrench and soak time might have helped. The casting on the inboard side where the nut is designed, is cup shaped, and I believe it collects the saltwater from the road. I found out afterward the casting is shaped to accept the factory nut. I could not figure out why I could not get a wrench on it. Time = a weekend. Left side = 10 minutes. 😁

Mine is not commercial. We have the choice of Private Truck or House car. Mine is House Car, which means converted, to motorhome. (So they told me) I had it inspected by the state and they were very interested to see how easy it would be to put it back into service as a commercial truck once I drove away. I had no fifth wheel hitch at the time only a “bumper pull “ receiver . I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone who have added to my knowledge on this post. Very helpful!

jbs@rdotc.com

This site is a great place for information mixed with opinions. This is a good thing. I highly recommend the search, even though the results can be overwhelming. These folks began with older model Volvo’s but you have probably figured out Jack has been repurposing Volvo’s and continues to do so http://www.jackdanmayer.com/ The history and learning of 2 well known HDT owners http://www.dmbruss.com/index.html Also ^^^ I see a lot of chatter on a Facebook group called Volvo Truck Masters. Not so much on choosing a used truck there. Maybe another group?

Thanks Trimster Bob. Yes it’s helpful, and thank you. I’m not very familiar with the Mac mini. In the old SGI days most CAD packages were only available for Unix. Hardware got better for PC/windows, until now I can’t find much of what I want for Mac. I think Adobe is the exception. So the next platform I buy will likely be a high end laptop by Dell. Might be used. I like Mac products pretty well, and they seem much more secure from virus and malware problems, but for surfing and email an iPad works for me. How is YOUR search for an HDT going? Your helpful advice is much appreciated. 🙂

Like I said, we are moving into the rig soon. So priorities are temporarily elsewhere at this time. I agree this move was foreseen for some time but it was much more important to actually get a rig complete and ready to move into. When I am ready I will ditch the Apple and maybe install Linux on my new Windows laptop. For myself There doesn’t appear to be any reason to pay double for a high end Mac anymore.

Thanks Zulu, I have priced the high end Dell and $2k isnt available. In a few years I might buy yesterday's model? My graphics needs are not increasing.

Thank you RemoandIris. This is something I had not thought of. It makes perfect sense. In NC the house car designation is the same as a custom home built bus or any motorized vehicle that can be lived in. I think other states have something similar? I could imagine it translates to "RV" in other states. I could hope it would be exactly equal when transferring. I will look harder at SD for registration. I was considering SD once before, and from what I remember it IS very easy to do. Yes we are going full time in ONE MONTH. Traveling as much as possible.

Thank you mptj, You are correct I run PS, occasionally Aftereffects, and various CAD packages. I use a secondary graphics card to get 4k on a 40" monitor. (some might call it a "TV") I have not done any rendering lately but I thought it was slow years ago. I think it was about 48 hours for 15 seconds of 30fps hi-def video. (2 quad cores) Internet is "nice to have when needed" but won't be walking over to the camp store for better reception with this setup.

I didn't know about this. I run Windows on my Mac sometimes. Any hope there?

Thank you Dan! I agree with the folks above concerning the advice about outdated software and space. The reason I added the 'priority' statement was because I am hoping for an easy stopgap measure until the moving and budget and rig upgrades get more manageable. One example might be to drywall screw the mainboard to a thin piece of plywood, and arrange the internals on the board so it fits in a nearby cabinet. Cool and recyclable. I would not actually DO this, THIS IS HUMOR, and I wont try it really. Another possibility might be to move the computer to the sleeper and use the work station there. I know that will be inconvenient. This is all good input and thats what I asked for.

Thanks Carl, I was sorry to see the ECR was canceled this year. The first time since we bought our HDT that we had reservations to stay in the campground. Since we don't plan to be in TN much, (ie sales tax) I think TN is a great option. We have been there many times and our son and daughter in law live in Nashville. Your traffic is way worse than NC in my opinion. We have mostly heard wonderful things about TX but we don't know anyone and have never been there. I'm not against it and would like to explore soon.

I have not signed up yet, but I am told by a health care department professional, that Florida is The Best for health care. It would seem that I can't have my HDT plus cheaper health care. More research on FL to come. Maybe we will just pay more for 2 years. I hope not.

I would want to bring an already converted HDT "house car" into the state. Would it be very tough to do or easy if already converted? RemoandIris, I had been hearing and reading similar comments elsewhere. I called my RV insurance agent and got some lower quotes for Texas and Florida. I thought, possibly, the discussions were more about changing title in FL, NOT bringing an RV into the state. By all accounts, what you say is still true. I have not made the calls you suggest just yet. Thanks.

I have thought a lot about South Dakota. It seems very good in many ways, but so far I think the health care cost is higher there than any of the top 4. We have 2 years to go until Medicare.

Yes Henry was the first person I thought of. You are correct about another state.

Thank you Dan. I have seen some windows computers with a custom enclosure. I have had my Mac apart and can’t imagine an easy way to do it.

Link to my question in the HDT section. I know many of the details but still am undecided. The link is about my personal comparison. If you have anything to add please do.

We have a month before we move into the fifth wheel. I have been researching and have most of my questions answered. PLUS I found a good post that compares the choices we are facing. I am still undecided, and I'm asking anyone who has arrived at their domicile decision, what are one or two smaller discoveries do you wish you had known beforehand? My decisions are between Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. SD is a distant fourth. I read Health care cost completely overshadows all other costs. I think I agree, that is for 2 years at least. I know the big points, income taxes, health insurance, RV insurance, new vehicle purchase taxes, sales tax rate. (the sales tax rate in TN is high but we have no plans to be there for long stays) I would want to bring an already converted HDT "house car" into the state. Would it be very tough to do or easy if already converted? We have relatives in TN and FL but no plans to stay with them. Thank you. This was posted 3 years ago: A great topic with a good comparison chart: https://www.rvnetwork.com/topic/125374-domicile-analysis/ Comment by Lockmup specific to HDT owners: https://www.rvnetwork.com/topic/125374-domicile-analysis/?do=findComment&comment=879709 Chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gMs0eSHxYDoc6ff_DTcj8eqwlo4Z7YCG28D2IhkLS6Q/edit#gid=0

Hi, This is my first post under this topic. I have an older Mac aluminum tower. I have it set up just the way I like it, slightly slow, but still good. Physically it's too big for the fifth wheel, which will soon be our full time address. I wonder if there is a way to take the internal components and install them in a smaller box? Has anyone done this? A new laptop is way down the priority list at this time. Thanks in advance.

Hi Steve, I signed up a week or so ago, but did not see an email confirmation. I found my invoice on the National Rally site. That's enough for me, but just wondering if there is supposed to be an email also.