Storx Posted October 16, 2015 Report Share Posted October 16, 2015 So, since the search feature on this site seems to find every single post with the word insurance in it that isnt what im looking for, i figured i ask the question directly... What do most of yall do when your stationary with your HDT, ive been talking with a few Travel Nurses on another forum site that use RV's but none of them use an HDT, but then again most of the travel nurses on that site dont live in RV's they just rent fully furnished apartments everywhere they go... I have come to learn that 6 month assignments is the most common assignments for the nurses that live out of apartments, a good portion of the RV owning nurses do the more rewarding 3 month assignment contracts to increase their income and see more of the country during the year. One guy i spoke to lastnight does "strike nursing", which is really not an official name for these types, but just a nickname... most of his assignments are only 1-3 months with the average being about 2 months, but he mentioned that he typically work 2 months on an assignment, then travels the country for 1-2 months tell his next assignment comes up as strike nursing is not as popular as travel nursing assignments, but he told me he makes the same annual income in 6 months as a travel nurse does in 12 months... So i was curious what some of yall do with them when they are sitting not being driven, i know on my Corvette when i lived in Colorado with it, i put my insurance on hold from November to March on it while it sat stored away for the winter, so i only payed insurance on it 7 months out of the year and turned on my insurance and drove my beater pickup during the winter months.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil D Posted October 16, 2015 Report Share Posted October 16, 2015 While it's possible to put a truck into long-term storage, it's not a common practice among those of us here. They need to be driven occasionally, because bad things happen if you don't. For example, while I was two years into what turned out to be a three year assignment in Pennsylvania a few years back, my stepson moved in with us for a while. There was no room for him in the fifth wheel, so the T2000 became the "guest room". I told him that I'd be driving his "room" every four to six weeks, but I felt bad about disrupting him and the truck just sat. The BatteryMINder kept the batteries from going flat (well, he couldn't kill the AGMs that I had to buy after he did ruin the $300 worth of one-year old lead acid batteries by leaving too much "stuff" on), but I didn't take the truck out and exercise it, which cost me a front hub grease seal that had to be replaced prior to our trip home, a rear hub seal that showed up after we got back, and a number of assorted minor conditions that may well have been prevented, had I continued to drive it periodically. If you're running it every now and then as you should you can't reduce your insurance coverage to save money, and you can't save enough in fuel that you don't use if you're not driving it to offset the cost of all of the stuff that may go bad while the truck sits. Phil 2002 Teton Royal Aspen 2003 Kenworth T2000 - Cat C12 380/430 1450/1650, FreedomLine, 3.36 - TOTO . . . he's not in Kansas anymore. ET Air Hitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big5er Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 And what do you do when the storage place burns down, lightning strikes a tree that falls on it or someone steals it? I would never have an uninsured vehicle, even one in storage....unless I had enough "spare" cash to replace it 100%. And if I had that much money sitting around, the cost of insurance wouldn't be an issue at all. MY PEOPLE SKILLS ARE JUST FINE.~It's my tolerance to idiots that needs work.~ 2005 Volvo 780 VED12 465hp / Freedomline transmission singled mid position / Bed by Larry Herrin2018 customed Mobile Suites 40KSSB3 2014 smart Fortwo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Dreamer Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 When we put our HDT away for winter which we will be doing in the next few weeks, we reduce our insurance coverage to just comprehensive ( no collision or liability) as recommended by our insurance company. This covers us for things like Big5er mentions. We also do the same with one of our cars that we don't drive in the winter. If we need to use either we just have to call them and leave them a message. It saves quite a bit of money. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broncohauler Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 Like Phil D said not driving the truck is a real bad thing. I have had similar problems myself. And as Star Dreamer said I also have a couple cars that sit so I put a hold on the insurance. Which means it's still covered for damage while parked at home but the collision and liability are on hold. The insurance company likes a couple days notice of my intent to drive them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 Typically, any licenseable vehicle needs it's own insurance. If you have a collector car in your garage, your homeowners will not cover it. Same would apply to the truck parked somewhere, even in your own storage building. I have an antique motorcycle which I keep in the foyer in the winter. I keep the insurance active, since it's worth about 25% as much as the house. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storx Posted October 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 I would have to disagree, i had a friend have his Corvette in his garage with the insurance on hold for the winter and a tornado tore through their house, he got replacement value of the Corvette because it was within the walls of the house... I was just curious what others did, because if i do decide to pursue travel nursing since that is the reason i have been researching HDT and RV's in general, i was curious what you did with the truck, just didnt see a reason to have full on insurance on a vehicle just sitting there if im only driving it every 2-3 months...The more i think about it the better it sounds to just go with a traditional pickup, but then i read all these posts on the RV forums about people blowing engines or brakes failing on basically brand new trucks with less than 50k miles on them.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 Well, I wrote that typically a vehicle need it's own insurance. From what you replied, your friend likely had insurance on the Vette, but had it on a non-driving status. I think it fair to say that few, if any, of our trucks go in storage by intent. I try to drive mine occasionally, but must admit it hasn't moved since mid August. Hope to run it next week. Good luck which ever way you choose to go. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Dreamer Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 Once winter sets in here, there is only a slim chance the truck could move even if I wanted it to. Between the 4-6' high snow drift around it, zippo traction on ice and the summer fuel still in the tanks, I would do more damage trying to drive it. The first year it sat outside all winter, last year I was lucky to have free inside heated storage. This year it is going to be back outside. Many trucks and construction equipment sit for long periods of time without issues. Our biggest issue is keeping the batteries charged. The battery tender we had could not keep it charged. I plan to try something different this winter. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broncohauler Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 A truck driven only 2-3 Months a year is a problem. Depending on how big a trailer you get I think a pickup would be a better choice. And as for insurance if the truck is registered as a RV. The insurance will be fairly cheap. Unless your full time insurance companies know the vehicle will have limited use and give better rates just like for a Classic car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noteven Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 Once winter sets in here, there is only a slim chance the truck could move even if I wanted it to. Between the 4-6' high snow drift around it, zippo traction on ice and the summer fuel still in the tanks, I would do more damage trying to drive it. The first year it sat outside all winter, last year I was lucky to have free inside heated storage. This year it is going to be back outside. Many trucks and construction equipment sit for long periods of time without issues. Our biggest issue is keeping the batteries charged. The battery tender we had could not keep it charged. I plan to try something different this winter. We have had good success with batteries over-wintering by disconnecting them from all loads and make sure the tops are clean and dry. "Are we there yet?" asked no motorcycle rider, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronbo Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 What do the dealerships do if when they park a truck in their lot? It may sit there for many months and nothing is done to them. Ron C. 2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3 2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broncohauler Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 What do the dealerships do if when they park a truck in their lot? It may sit there for many months and nothing is done to them. Just like car dealers they all have jump boxes. Newer trucks batteries seem to go dead faster because of all the computers in them. They will drain heavily in just a couple days. My old 2013 freight shacker had a battery turn off switch marked to turn off if truck was to sit more than 3 days. It killed everything but retained the memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remoandiris Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 Our biggest issue is keeping the batteries charged. The battery tender we had could not keep it charged. I plan to try something different this winter. Small solar panel? Saw one in the window of an HDT at a park in UT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollytrolley Posted October 17, 2015 Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 On the insurance issue for HDT RV's it seems to me that since the market share is almost none for this tiny market that it is best to not "fiddle-around" with coverage once it is obtained..........some insurance companies will issue RV-HDT policies but may not reinstate back after a "lapse to a lower level of coverage" ......... HDT's have several advantages but insurance is not always a slam-dunk so I tend to keep coverage constant and that also is handy IF the need arises to use the HDT in the off-season...... Also HDT insurance can be a far different animal in every state ..........some are fairly easy to insure others not so easy...... Regarding HDT use.........it's a double edge sword.......HDT's are designed and built to be 'High-Duty-Cycle-Machines" so I do not see any forum members that even come close to the "Duty-Cycles" that these trucks are built for. Modern "Electronic" trucks seem to be fairly reliable but obviously the critical systems are centered around the base DC electrical system that is the power source for the array of electronics that tend to control almost every system on the truck........lack of regular use tends to degrade the performance and reliability of the base DC electrical system. It's not just HDT's that suffer from lack of use...........we had a old Ford F250 pickup out back in the bone-yard at our shop and it was running fine 5 years ago when it was parked and the battery was removed..........a long-time friend decided that he wanted a "simple-pickup-project" so he said that he wanted to buy the old Ford........I said no.......it was a investment........he said what it was not old enough the be worth much.......I said your riight but when I turn 105 years old it might be worth more and ..........right now IF I were to sell it that it might break-down and that our friendship is worth more that the truck.........He said that's no excuse and said I'll give you $1,000........I said OK I'll counter at $400.....he laughed and said OK I'll give ya $850.........I countered at $500........and we haggled until he said that he would not offer lower than $650 so..........I took the cash form our "Reverse-Haggle-Sale and we laughed hard............Fast-forward a month.......John has installed new brakes (the master cylinder had some water from condensation and pitted the cyl bore)........the long-term coolant had jelled in the cooling system so the radiator was needing a boil-out and the thermostat AND even a new temp sensor was needed.........the rear axle gears started to howl so John replaced the carrier and pinion gear bearing........the jelled coolant also ruined the heater core so........and then the Ignition coil failed and then the headlight switch failed and then the windshield wipers came on and would not shut off.........so I offered to buy back the Ford for $2,000 Cash he laughed hard and said how about $450, but it might not be worth that ..........I countered at $2,200 and he dropped to $400 FIRM.........we are still laughing..........I said that if he would not sell soon I knew a ex-con that I could hire to steal the Ford........John started laughing really hard and then said..........How can you steal a pickup that breaks-down every few miles...................... It's a funny story for a couple of geezers but it is a different story IF your HDT actually needs to get you from point A to point B with out failure, it's not so funny of a story. When I parked the Ford behind the shop a few years ago it had been on several +1000 miles trips witnin the last few months of use with ZERO problems..........most of the current problems stem from the lack of use......... Drive on...............(Use it.........or you'll likely need to repair it.....) 97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storx Posted October 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Once winter sets in here, there is only a slim chance the truck could move even if I wanted it to. Between the 4-6' high snow drift around it, zippo traction on ice and the summer fuel still in the tanks, I would do more damage trying to drive it. The first year it sat outside all winter, last year I was lucky to have free inside heated storage. This year it is going to be back outside. Many trucks and construction equipment sit for long periods of time without issues. Our biggest issue is keeping the batteries charged. The battery tender we had could not keep it charged. I plan to try something different this winter. If your batteries are draining faster than the battery tender can keep it topped off then you have something drawing way to much power when the vehicle is turned off... I say this because ive used a battery tender to keep a bank of batteries topped off for multiple years now since i replaced the blown motor in my riding lawnmower with an electric one and use junkyard batteries as the power source to cut my entire yard when i need to.. i picked up all 8 batteries for weight cost, so i have them all daisy chained with jumpers off the battery tender i used on my motorcycle years ago and it keeps them fully charged throughout the entire winter stored outside in my shed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storx Posted October 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 What do the dealerships do if when they park a truck in their lot? It may sit there for many months and nothing is done to them. Im not sure if every dealer does this, but the other day i went to a local semi dealer lot just to look at a few used ones and they had 3 of them idling on the lot, i asked them if i was in the way since they were all next to each other, he told me they have schedules so all the trucks are started every so many days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Yokum Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Storx - IIRC - At one time there was a doctor (as in "MD") on here who used an HDT to tow his "home" to various assignments, or maybe it was just for part time trips. Think he sold the HDT afer a few years - but *if* someone can remember his name (ID), he may still have info in the members list for an e-mail address. Insurance. Check the companies listed in The Guide - and get the answers direct from the "sources". There may be better Ins Co policy prices, but Trese Hallet at Farm and City would be a great (knowledgable) source for your HDT questions. IMO - a "normal" (not HDT) Motor Home might be a good choice to gently test the waters (Gas burner would do just fine). Tow an enclosed car hauler for your Vet. You should be able to store the car hauler at the campground you are using for the RV during your assignment/s. It can double as a garage during winter, if you are in snow country. Careful purchase/s of both should result in easy re-sale at a later date. Try it before you comit to bigger and better things. If the "test" works out to your liking, move on to your "Plan B". . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big5er Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 On the insurance issue for HDT RV's it seems to me that since the market share is almost none for this tiny market that it is best to not "fiddle-around" with coverage once it is obtained..........some insurance companies will issue RV-HDT policies but may not reinstate back after a "lapse to a lower level of coverage" ......... Hadn't even thought of that one, but you have a really good point. MY PEOPLE SKILLS ARE JUST FINE.~It's my tolerance to idiots that needs work.~ 2005 Volvo 780 VED12 465hp / Freedomline transmission singled mid position / Bed by Larry Herrin2018 customed Mobile Suites 40KSSB3 2014 smart Fortwo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
house Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I have to chime in here, I Don't do it because I drive all my trucks/motorhomes pretty consistently, I am insured with Camping world/GMAC/National General insurance, and they have an automated phone system you can go through just to activate/deactivate your comprehensive collision with out even talking to a real person. On the other hand my insurance is only $400 every six months for 2 trucks and to trailers with maximum coverage, I can't imagine the savings would be worth the hassle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollytrolley Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Dollytrolley, on 17 Oct 2015 - 09:53 AM, said: On the insurance issue for HDT RV's it seems to me that since the market share is almost none for this tiny market that it is best to not "fiddle-around" with coverage once it is obtained..........some insurance companies will issue RV-HDT policies but may not reinstate back after a "lapse to a lower level of coverage" ......... Hadn't even thought of that one, but you have a really good point. I have a little "history" regarding .......NO-Insurance-Operations.......... Back in the stone-age when I was a "bird-boy" I used to hang around with a bunch of actual genus-aerospace-engineers.........( I was just a non-genus-pilot-dunce-mascot of the "Brain-Gang") Once in a while a "obscure-Aerospace-project" would hit a snag and often the project pilot(s) would not survive...........sometimes design flaws were the problem so..........often the "obscure-aerospace-manager" would hire the "Brain-gang" to "fix-the-design-flaw(s)"............and after the "fix-was-in" it was the time to test-fly again............often insurance companies were not willing to insure any part of the project for any premium no matter how large........ so...........where do you find a pilot dumb enough to fly a machine that tends to kill the operator..........for slightly above minimum-wage sometimes I would fly the beast ............and over the years I had a few close calls but somehow got lucky and was able to cash the checks........ (at the end of the day my best "insurance" was that the "brain-gang" was able to "fix" the design flaws). The real point to ponder about insurance is that Insurance companies love LARGE-LOW-RISK-POPULATIONS and flight testing a beast that killed its operators was a real No-No-Brainer for the Insurance Geeks..............It seems that the HDT-RV would be a Tiny-Moderate-RISK-POPULATION to insure so thats why I tend to "leave-sleeping-dogs-lay" when I have good HDT coverage.......... No insurance is not much fun flying out in the restricted test range but ..........only the dumb-bird-brain is at risk........on the other hand a HDT on the public roads need plenty of good insurance.........it's best for all of us.......... Drive on..........(Be careful.........) 97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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