bmzero Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 I have used my truck for my office on our trips quite a bit. Owning a web design company, I'm constantly online chatting with the team, customers, or potential customers. The workstation in the back of the 730 is nearly perfect. I prefer to go out there during the day so the kids and wife can do their thing in the trailer. During the winter, I just plugin a small space heater, which works great. If I work from the truck next summer, I will probably mount a portable AC unit in the closet and exhaust out of the back of the cab. Generally, shore power is not an issue for me. Having a 32" LED Smart TV (connects wireless to the laptop and streams content over the Internets) mounted near the ceiling and a refrigerator within arms reach is a luxury only found in some executive offices. The TV works great as a second monitor or for conference calls and webinars. View High Resolution Photo View High Resolution Photo View High Resolution Photo "Willy Mammoth" - Volvo 730, Sold Heartland Cyclone 4000 Toy HaulerT-Minus 26 years and counting to being a full timer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 A Volvo Ishift has a 750K mile warranty. They are also standard on the Volvo now, and have been standard in Europe for many years. So they are pretty reliable. Not to say the automated trans are perfect, but they are pretty darn good. Especially the modern ones. That brings up another point. You should not go into this if the budget is so tight that a major repair would be catastrophic. You need at least 10K in reserve for repairs - not improvements or maintenance. 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...
BlueLghtning Posted September 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 A Volvo Ishift has a 750K mile warranty. They are also standard on the Volvo now, and have been standard in Europe for many years. So they are pretty reliable. Not to say the automated trans are perfect, but they are pretty darn good. Especially the modern ones. That brings up another point. You should not go into this if the budget is so tight that a major repair would be catastrophic. You need at least 10K in reserve for repairs - not improvements or maintenance. Cool I thought I had seen that the truck warranties were 500k. Didn't know the i-shift was 750k. I have seen where you posted that before so yes that is in my plans to have a healthy repair budget in place too. Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff.Sloan Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 Definitely good points and I know where you are coming from. I tore my ACL on my left knee in 2015 and had surgery to correct it. Both my wife and I drive manual trans cars and that was all we had at the time. I ended up buying my parent's spare car that was an auto so i could drive myself around for a few months. However once I was healed i really hated driving it and sold it. I know manuals really limit the resale and have other negatives, but both my wife and I tend to really prefer them. All our motorcycles are manual also. I will certainly weigh my options when it comes time to buy. I guess I wouldn't pass up a really nice auto, but I'm certainly not afraid of older units where the manuals were more common. We'll see what I happen upon when I start looking. Good info. That may be an option to keep the double bunks then so if my wife and I want to take small trips in just the rig with our motorcycles or just stop for the night while traveling, we both have comfy places to sleep too. I was happy getting a 10 speed stick. The more control the better in my mind. The great price sure helped too. The one mod that I will be performing and would recommend is the air assist clutch, from what I have read it makes a huge difference. I am going to be doing that on my Eaton 10 speed. The layout of the slave cyl. is very different than what sybernut did, so I will be sure to post pics as another data point for others to refer to. 2004 Volvo 630, Cummins ISX, Eaton 10 speed (air assist clutch), 3.71 3.07 rear locker, ET jr, 200" WB, GearMaster 2017 Forest River Sierra 372LOK Full time June 2017 DW, 2 kids, and 2 dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
13speed Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 Ok, this is coming from someone who can float through a 10,13 or 18 with the best of them. To me shifting a manual after all of these years is second nature and requires little thought BUT....... Guess what transmission I just bought??? A i-shift! After years in many different manuals and some time in the clutch pedal Eaton auto shifts which in my opinion are junk (sorry guys) I got to spend 6 months in a I-shift Volvo day cab and I never wanted to go back. They last longer because there are no hard shifts, grinding and missed shifts. The clutch lasts much longer because it is engaged with out slipping. There is no human error involved. Just yesterday in slow creeping traffic going through Birmingham I was so amazed at how smooth it engages and shifts. I was also so happy that I was not having to be doing it myself:) Last thing to chew on. Most manual transmissions come with a specific torque rating matching the torque output of the motor. If you have a 425/1650 then 1650 is what your trans is rated for. You can see what torque rating you have by the transmission model # on the door jamb sticker. The i-shifts are all built the same. They are rated up to 2300 lbs no matter what your motor is putting out. You can bump up the power to the max for your respective motor where with a manual you have to replace the entire transmission. If I bump my D13 up to the max of 500/1850 I am still 450 lbs below capacity. Currently my truck is set at 475/1550/1750 so the trans has never been pushed anywhere near its limits. I also have partial or full manual control when desired. Chris, Tracey, Aria & Lola 2018 Volvo VNR 400, D13 I-Shift 2018 NH 48' Majestic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 Chris (13 Speed) brings up many of the points on why the IShift is the trans of choice for RV Hauling. For almost everyone, it is the superior choice (or the equivalent in the FL and Paccar trucks). Do not dismiss it until you have carefully thought it through. If budget does not allow for an IShift then the autoshift is a good second choice. There are more issues with the autoshift, IMO, than the IShift. But that is just an opinion - I have no data to back it up. 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...
Dollytrolley Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 And all that was AFTER I told Henry to get a Gearmaster installed BEFORE they left Nevada. They put it in here, and all was good (well, REALLY, better) after that..... I've driven plenty of manuals, and have no desire to do so any more. An I Shift spoils you REAL fast. Besides, my driving a manual after all these years would probably be like starting over again...not sure I'd even attempt it.... Jack brings up a good point with regarding complacency when you get used to a auto shift over a manual. Our old Freightshaker has a 10 speed manual road-rager and I am fine with it and the "discount" was taken up front when I paid a cheap price for the truck. As far as resale I have had several offers from........commercial operators for about 200% more than I paid for the old girl but I plan to hang onto the rig until used trucks hit rock bottom and then I will sell at a loss....lol Typically manual trucks are in the commercial service and are cheep so when you get tired of using it in RV service just sell it back into commercial service cheep.....your not tied to RV service when you desire to sell. Older auto trucks tend to be cheep to buy but can be a challange to maintain as they age and the next hot auto models are on the dealers lots. Back to ......complacency....once in a while I move a toter home with a autoshift for a friend and it is a very nice animal indeed......it works very well and anyone can hop in and drive it with very little coaching. The most amazing thing that I see shortly after I start driving the auto is how simple life is when I let the truck 50% drive itself......it's almost.....almost.....just like a big car....almost....but it is not. I hate to admit it but I tend to be somewhat complacent when I do not have my mind fully engaged into the energy management of the truck like I am with the manual tranny. Now in my defense..... back in the stone age.... some days were consumed with keeping 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 engines running all at the same time and in the proper power ranges with props in sync and 6 fuel pumps managed and keeping from running all 11 fuel tanks dry and several elec busses in balance and........dodging weather ....and hopefully landing at the correct airport........on time.... So most days driving the old freightshaker seems to me be like......retirement.... Enough geezering.......I got to get a shot of prunooo...... Drive on.........(enjoy your office on the road...) 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...
BlueLghtning Posted September 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 I have used my truck for my office on our trips quite a bit. Owning a web design company, I'm constantly online chatting with the team, customers, or potential customers. The workstation in the back of the 730 is nearly perfect. I prefer to go out there during the day so the kids and wife can do their thing in the trailer. During the winter, I just plugin a small space heater, which works great. If I work from the truck next summer, I will probably mount a portable AC unit in the closet and exhaust out of the back of the cab. Generally, shore power is not an issue for me. Having a 32" LED Smart TV (connects wireless to the laptop and streams content over the Internets) mounted near the ceiling and a refrigerator within arms reach is a luxury only found in some executive offices. The TV works great as a second monitor or for conference calls and webinars. I like your setup! Thanks for some ideas! Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLghtning Posted September 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 Ok, this is coming from someone who can float through a 10,13 or 18 with the best of them. To me shifting a manual after all of these years is second nature and requires little thought BUT....... Guess what transmission I just bought??? A i-shift! After years in many different manuals and some time in the clutch pedal Eaton auto shifts which in my opinion are junk (sorry guys) I got to spend 6 months in a I-shift Volvo day cab and I never wanted to go back. They last longer because there are no hard shifts, grinding and missed shifts. The clutch lasts much longer because it is engaged with out slipping. There is no human error involved. Just yesterday in slow creeping traffic going through Birmingham I was so amazed at how smooth it engages and shifts. I was also so happy that I was not having to be doing it myself:) Last thing to chew on. Most manual transmissions come with a specific torque rating matching the torque output of the motor. If you have a 425/1650 then 1650 is what your trans is rated for. You can see what torque rating you have by the transmission model # on the door jamb sticker. The i-shifts are all built the same. They are rated up to 2300 lbs no matter what your motor is putting out. You can bump up the power to the max for your respective motor where with a manual you have to replace the entire transmission. If I bump my D13 up to the max of 500/1850 I am still 450 lbs below capacity. Currently my truck is set at 475/1550/1750 so the trans has never been pushed anywhere near its limits. I also have partial or full manual control when desired. Yeah I have a feeling if I drove an i-shift I would really enjoy it. Okay, I certainly won't discount it and I know there is a reason a lot of owners in here have one. Hopefully you are enjoying your ride home! Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLghtning Posted September 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 Thanks for all the input everyone. It really makes me want to try to attend the National Rally in KS. I'm hoping I can make it there just to see all the trucks, see everyone's setup and check out all the different truck setups. Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPL Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 BlueLighting I attended 2 ECR's before I got our 610 w/super10. I feel like this is a poor mans auto. Anyway if you can go to the NR. All of the folks are so friendly and so willing to help with advice and to offer up their truck to check out or even drive. We got to the ECR this year, the first one with our 610. Had a great educational time and the happy hours were even better! So go if your schedule will let you. Today is our 2nd day of a 30 plus day trip to the Keys. Just think how nice it would be sitting in you rig with that Keys breeze blowing while you were working! Pat The Old Sailor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLghtning Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 BlueLighting I attended 2 ECR's before I got our 610 w/super10. I feel like this is a poor mans auto. Anyway if you can go to the NR. All of the folks are so friendly and so willing to help with advice and to offer up their truck to check out or even drive. We got to the ECR this year, the first one with our 610. Had a great educational time and the happy hours were even better! So go if your schedule will let you. Today is our 2nd day of a 30 plus day trip to the Keys. Just think how nice it would be sitting in you rig with that Keys breeze blowing while you were working! Pat The Old Sailor Yep, I'm familiar with the Super 10 and I know it's not a super popular transmission, but hey that means the truck should be pretty reasonable. I certainly wouldn't pass one of those up if it was very well priced. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I can attend the NR in Kansas. It will be a last minute decision depending on work, but looking pretty good right now. I might have to spend a day in a hotel to work, but that would be okay. Yeah, I can't wait to finally get everything purged from our house, get it on the market and start the shopping for our truck/trailer setup. Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrrrl2 Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Just FYI, I was looking at this post for the iShift Warranty information and I also found this in a Volvo brochure. Just thought I would pass it along. Not sure if the warranty is transferable past the original owner. "The I-Shift transmission is backed by a warranty of up to five years or 750,000 miles (whichever comes first) on parts and labor." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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