Nwcid

Thank you for your lengthy reply. I tow the trailer a lot and we travel in the woods, not camp ground to camp ground. Good articulation is must which is why I did not even consider direct to commercial. The Reece Goosebox is an air ride hitch that is approved by Lippert for use on their frames. The Anderson hitch adapter I am talking about has the "ball" connection in the same location as the king pin. The only difference is that is a "ball" so it articulates like a traditional gooseneck. That is why I was considering this route. Also it requires no modifications to the truck. Here is the Anderson side, just the part attached to the trailer, Here is the truck side attachment,

I know this is a hotly debated topic....... I just picked up my first HDT, 2014 Volvo 630. It has a long wheelbase at 265" and I am keeping it tandem. I currently have the Reece Goosebox on my trailer but I still have the original king pin. My original plan was to install a gooseneck ball behind the commercial hitch. Now I am debating on what to do about a bed and that will decide what I do about a hitch. I will be taking my truck off the beaten path and not just be a pavement queen. I know you can go direct to the commercial hitch, but with no movement that concerns me a bit. Am I better off just installing a gooseneck ball behind the hitch or getting a king pin to gooseneck ball adapter and then using an Anderson coupler to allow the range of motion between the truck and trailer?

As much as I hate extra batteries/systems, it really looks like the Milwaukee 3/4 dive is the way to go. Also it seems more available at the moment.

Also, none of the guns discussed so far even use air.......... Unless there is a way to use air to charge your batteries.......

I know the Milwaukee has 200lbs more torque, but I am not investing in a whole different set of batteries and charger(s). I am too deep into the yellow 🤔 I do appreciate the responses. Is there a difference in performance in impact guns with the same output, but different anvils? I will look at the multipliers for sure. I am just thinking overall, not just lug nuts. I have to remove my commercial hitch still, do some add ons. I can use it for other project too.

Only if you are using air tools.........

With the big truck comes the need for bigger tools. I have a ton of Dewalt stuff and batteries so I am looking at their tools. I was originally looking at their 3/4" drive but I do not have any 3/4" drive sockets, 3/4" https://www.dewalt.com/products/power-tools/impact-drivers-and-wrenches/20v-max-xr-high-torque-34-impact-wrench-w-hog-ring-retention-pin-anvil-bare/dcf897b Then I saw their 1/2" drive gun has the same specs, 1/2" https://www.dewalt.com/products/power-tools/impact-drivers-and-wrenches/20v-max-xr-high-torque-12-in-impact-wrench-w-hog-ring-anvil-bare/dcf899hb It looks like I can easily find 1/2 drive sockets up to 1-1/2", which should be enough to cover what I need to do on the truck. So if they have the same torque rating why would someone pick the 3/4 over the 1/2 drive?

Thanks. Looks like I am on the right track. Now to decide on what controller. I thought the Haynes air controller was discontinued, but apparently it is not. Now I am debating between it and the Direct Link. I am leaning toward the DL since my truck has ABS, traction control, hill start, etc.....

That worked. Thank you.

That is the location I was planning on. I will make a final decision when I actually get all the parts. I had considered mounting it to the truck, however it is more likely that I would need to move another trailer vs needing mine moved. If I did need mine moved, it can still be done with a dually, gooseneck and RV plug. I just dont want to modify the HDT to the point I could not sell it to a commercial user if I ever needed to.

Your description makes sense. Thank you. Your image link is bad.

Do you run your commercial plug to the back of the truck and put the Jackalopee there when needed? I was planning on mounting the Jackalopee on/in the cab and running RV wiring to the tail of the truck and putting in an RV receptacle. For the controller, the Prodigy is as plug and play as the Direct Link. I still have to run the same amount of wires to power and to the Jackalopee. The only difference is the the Prodigy is activated on inertia where the Direct Link is "computer" controlled.

*** Update 1/28/21**** See below. Now that I have my HDT time to start making it work for me. Current weight of my HDT is 20,500 with full fuel tanks and I expect to add about 1000 lbs of "permanent" fixtures. Also there will likely be another 1500-2500 lbs of variable weight, UTV, fresh water/holding, misc tool box. I am a long wheel base at 265 and I am staying tandem. Currently we are pulling a tandem axel toy hauler with electric brakes and GRVW of about 17,000. Way in the future (5-10 years) we will be getting a new trailer. This will likely either be a triple axel 21,000 with electric brakes or a commercial trailer as a base that would have air brakes. I think the first question is about installing the Jackalopee. I know people typically just wire in the end of the commercial wire. I would like to keep the ability to haul a commercial style trailer if needed. Is it better to "split" the truck line and run one to the Jackalopee and one back to the truck receptacle, or is it better just to put a pigtail on the Jackalopee and plug it into the truck receptacle? With what I am trying to do, what break controller would be most appropriate? I know there is a lot of options on this. I had a Prodigy P2 in my previous dually and was happy with it and they are about $125. It looks like the Direct Link controllers are very nice but with all the stuff for an HDT is over $500.

It made it home yesterday. Not a lot of details yet. It is cold and snowy at my house with more coming. Likely will not do much till spring when it warms up. At that point I will have a ton of questions as I start "making it ours". 2014, VNL 630 with the D13, 12 speed auto, 420,000 miles and a Comfort Pro APU. I ended up at $25k.

I think you can make some, but unless you basically make it your "full" time job you will not see very much income. How the system works now vs even 5 years ago is very different. If you are not constantly putting out content, and quality content on at least a weekly basis it will be hard to get enough people engaged to make money. I think if you want to do it for fun and you end up collecting a few $$$ in the process that would be a win.

The check list is great. Just printed it out along with all of the DOL transfer stuff. Mattress will likely get changed regardless........ Seats will get checked out for sure, but if they need updated that is in the budget.

Good tips for sure. As I said I am taking my dad who as been around trucks and heavy equipment all of his life. Both using and fixing. Based on what he sees will depend on if we are going to have another inspector come.

I am not buying from a dealer. It is from a small mom/pop company. I will negotiate price based on any issues. I will fix what I can. What I can not fix on my own the local company my dad retired from will work on it.

I will absolutely work on all of the small things for comfort and usability this spring. It is basically going to sit in the snow until it is warm enough for me to work on it. Interior will get drive cam, mount for tablet (I am going to miss my nav display in my current truck), additional power as needed and any other "comfort" items. Exterior is going to get a deck, hitch and fenders first. I will look for options for additional storage. Then I will look at additional water and holding tanks. We are frequent users spending at least 90 nights/year in the RV.

Grudgingly but yes......... She will like it better after the first trip right? 😎

So I have posted in the past about a 2014 VNL 630 that is for sale locally. Last week I had a chance to go look at it and it is actually nicer than the pictures show, I was shocked. Took it for a test drive and everything seems to work and it turns sharp enough for my needs. I have funding secured, I have insurance lined up, I have things lined up at licensing to get it titled as a MH/RV, I have a local shop that will do a deck (bed) and hitch for me. My dad who has been driving/fixing trucks for 50 years will be going down with me for an "inspection" and another test drive. I know this is a broad question, but are there any other major things I am missing?

I am not sure about chain of custody or how things work on the court side. Aa a supervisor at my last job, if one of our vehicles go in an accident we would get the key to unlock the camera from the lock box at the headquarters. Take a fresh card to install in the camera. At the scene, or appropriate place, we would take the old card out, install a new one and re-lock the camera. The SD card would then be downloaded at headquarters and saved into a mp4 format since they used their own propriety software. The mp4 would then be put on a drive and turned over to law enforcement at their request. I am not sure how they were used after that but I know it saved our employees and company a lot of hardship.

We have dash cams on our work vehicles. They have been used a lot to prove that we were not at fault in small and large incidents. They are very cheap "insurance". I do not have one in any of my vehicles now, yet it is a good idea. I am hopefully moving to an HDT soon. A dash cam is a must have item for me. I see the stupid things people do around me now, and around HDT's. I hope I am never in an incident with any vehicle, let a lone an HDT. I will carry insurance to protect my liability, I will dash cam to protect it even more.

This is a private seller, not a salesman. The truck is "local" but still about 2hr away from me. I will ask for a door sticker pic when I contact him about a time to actually go see it. Probably a week or two. I will be bringing a tape for sure. I will contact that inspection company, they did not list WA as one of their states though. It won't let me add the pic. Here is the ad, https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1253446241675425

From what I have read it seems like a good combo. I am either or on the APU for now. If it functions, I think it will be handy to have, but I do not think I would add one. Yes, the ad is a lot of fluff, probably cut and paste from somewhere else. I am just trying to get as much info as possible before I go look.