Jemstone Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Howdy All, I'm new to this forum so I'll introduce myself. My wife, Rodeane, and I have worked most of our lives in the Phoenix, Arizona area. After retirement we bought a used 5th wheel trailer and a Ford 350 and hit the road for six months, starting in May. Over time we upgraded. Our fifth wheel trailer is a 38' Lifestyle by Evergreen. We still leave near the first of May and return in November after the hot weather breaks. We are currently selling our 2000 Freightliner FL60 and have bought a 2010 Volvo VNL730. Even though the 730 has a lower roof than the 780, ours has a faring that goes over 13'. It would be expensive to remove it and repaint the roof and our trailer is close to 13' so the faring stays. At this point the forward rear axel has been removed, the drive line has been altered, the truck bed has been framed and decked with diamond steel plate and large storage wells built where the tires used to be. A Mountain Master HDT/MDT hitch has been installed at the rear of the deck. I should point out that the conversion is being done by Mountain Master Trucks. The new rear body is being painted and we should have the truck back in about a week. As soon as we have the Volvo we will pack and head north. This year we plan to spend much of our time in the Yukon, though we will visit Banff and Jasper Parks on the way up. We will also spend a day in Grand Prairie, as that is the last Costco heading north. I will post a photo of the completed truck when I get it back. Of the three ways to convert a Volvo (short, medium and long) we went long, eliminating the front axel and building storage where it had been. I have similar bins in the Freightliner and they have been perfect for my heavier lapidary equipment and rocks, lots of rocks. John John McLaughlin 2010 Volvo 730, D13, I-shift, singled and decked 2014 Lifestyle 38' Fifth Wheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Heiser Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Congratulations on the new (to you) HDT. I'm sure you will enjoy it. How long have you had the Lifestyle 5er and what do you think of it? 2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift 2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard 2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan 2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage) 2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)My First Solar Install ThreadMy Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the buildMy MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet! chadheiser.com West Coast HDT Rally Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Once you get the truck back and loaded I would carefully weigh it. I doubt you will have any issues since you are not carrying a car, but singling long "can" cause issues with the steer axle (overloading). You want to know what you have,so you can work with it. Just out of curiosity, what is your new wheel base? Congrats on the truck - I'm sure you will find it a step up from the FL60. And welcome to the forum. You should consider stopping at the HDT Rally in the fall. Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE 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 powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jemstone Posted May 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 I won't have the truck back till next week, so I don't yet know what the wheelbase is. The Lifestyle is our fourth 5th wheel. Our first two 5th wheels were Carriages. Our third was a serious mistake. The Lifestyle company, a division of Evergreen, was started by many of the former employees of the Carriage company. The trailer has a good quality aluminum frame, good quality components and care given during construction. It is insulated for four season use. The affiliation with Carriage is also seen in the Carriage Owners Club which now extends membership to Lifestyle owners. My wife and I spend six months in it and like it as well as our home. John John McLaughlin 2010 Volvo 730, D13, I-shift, singled and decked 2014 Lifestyle 38' Fifth Wheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix2013 Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 We've had three fifths over our RVing years and we ended up with Carriage after the middle rig was also a "mistake". In spite of it's age (it's a mature industry) RV industry is still immature that in it's midst it has many companies who are quite content to put out garbage praying on the newbies and the "trusting". I'm pretty careful customer and the first fifth we bought was of an outstanding quality (Kropf). 10 year of extensive travel in it, not a bit of a problem. I guess that experience has dulled my skeptical side and built too much trust factor, because the second rig we bought relatively quickly turned into garbage wagon on four wheels. Purchasing a Carriage restored my faith, but I will forever remain skeptical. Lots of liers and bunco artists in this industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noteven Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 What Jemstone and phoenix2013 said ^^ - we have had good results buying originally higher end units used (because we are part-timers) - Bigfoot, Kustom Koach, Snow Bird, Carriage, (Gold Wing, Land Cruisers...) vs new stuff at the same price level as our used - they are better built, and seem generally to be better cared for by the original owners who could afford them new... If you or someone you know needs a toilet no one else has sat on that bad, add a new one to your good used premium quality unit "Are we there yet?" asked no motorcycle rider, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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