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Few questions


Pyscokev

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I hope to one day soon have an HDT and I'd like to build a trailer for it. My thought was to get a 53' drop deck trailer and build it for living quarters and a stacker garage in the back. While thinking about it I don't know the legalities of it. How long of a trailer is legal for an RV in CA? I've seen many race teams with this setup and know they aren't commercial but maybe they just aren't getting caught. I do most of my camping at the beach and desert so I wouldn't have space limitations there. Any other reasons you can think to not go this route?

I've seen several good Volvo's for sale and was planning on a 770/780 since I could sleep in it for a night if needed while towing a flatbed trailer with my jeep on it. Would an older non-DPF truck that isn't compliant with current emissions be ok in CA as long as it's registered as an RV? Any idea on why the 2004 Volvo 780 in the classified ads isn't selling since it seems like a good truck?

Last question is what kinds of costs will increase going from a 2500 Duramax to an HDT? I believe tires are still good for only six years so I'd still be replacing tires every six years even though they have plenty of tread left. Mileage would be about the same I'm guessing since I'm double towing about 18,000 lbs right now. I've heard working on these trucks is easier than a LDT because of space and they are better thought out in regards to getting back on the road.

Thanks for any help you can give.

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With a Volvo 780 and a 53 ft trailer, you will be over 65 ft long, which is the max length you can be in CA without going commercial.

 

RV's are currently exempt from emissions requirements in CA, so that is a non issue. However, you may or may not be able to register an HDT as an RV in CA. No one has done it for over a year to my knowledge. The registration service that many of us used in the past no longer will do the conversion paperwork. There is a DMV handbook rule that specifically prevents HDT tractors from being registered as RV's. It is not a law, but a rule. The rule is not well known throughout CA DMV offices, but was "discovered" by the DMV office the registration service had a relationship with and has stopped them from doing the conversions.

 

The race teams that you see running the setups you describe are not legal if they are not running commercial. They may be getting away with it, but they are not legal. There have been many discussions about those set ups in the past, so I won't go into the full details here.

 

Costs over an LDT truck will be more, but it is really dependant on the HDT you end up with and what condition it is in. In general, parts and services cost more on an HDT than an LDT, but those parts usually last longer once installed and the service intervals are longer. This helps spread the costs out over time. Most HDT's will require a repair fund up front to get them to RV quality. How much of this fund gets spent is dependent on the truck, but most of us will recommend a $5000 to $8000 fund to start.

 

Hopefully this information helps to start.

2009 Volvo 670 with dinette/workstation sleeper - Walter
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 Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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If it is already TITLED as an RV in another state, it should make the process easier, but there is still currently no guarantee it will work because of the DMV manual rule. It will really depend on the DMV you go to and how helpful they are willing to be, or more correctly how likely they will be to look through their DMV manual before completing the paperwork.

 

I know of one current CA HDT owner who purchased an HDT that was already titled as an RV in CA. He was able to register the HDT in his name, still as an RV, without issue. He did this after the blow up with the DMV rule. To my knowledge, no one has tried to bring in an out of state HDT titled as an RV to CA since the blow up.

 

If you want to PM me with some contact information, I'm happy to have some off line discussions with you about the process.

2009 Volvo 670 with dinette/workstation sleeper - Walter
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 Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

event.png    

image.png.eaf8b965647f94e8667dc9daa8ef9a46.png

 

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RV's are currently exempt from emissions requirements in CA

 

I had an interesting experience recently regarding emissions rules in CA. I am looking for a work truck and found a super clean 2003 1 ton dually with a Duramax with ONLY 36K miles. I was cautioned about CARB rules regarding LDTs and so call the ARB to learn that this truck can only be used legally as a CA registered vehicle until the end of 2020. Then it must either be removed from service in CA or retrofitted with a DEF engine so that it can be used after that. Im a ways from retirement and am self employed so doing the value formula BUT I do plan to set up domicile in another state for our retirement, but I'm about 8 years from that.

 

I currently drive a 2007 Duramax so I will need to find out about that one. I am not interested in going into debt for a new truck to the tune of $90K-$100K

 

Oh Cali, while the opportunity to make good money is real, the rules and regs of this state wear a person down.

Marcel

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Pyscokev I bought a 610 Volvo from a Forum gentleman and it was titled as a MH. I had him fax me a copy of the title. I then took it to the DMV and asked if they would honor the MH title. They said they would and they did. Here in Va. it is really hard (maybe impossible) to convert a HDT to a MH. I really had to have a MH title because of our HOA. We have had it for 6 years now. Where 6 years has gone I don't have a clue. If you were to get DMV to say yes be sure you take it back to the same DMV and talk to the same people. I hope you have good luck if you go HDT. I use to tow with a 550 Ford but after towing with "Pats Pride" I would never go back to a toy truck. We tow a 43' Open Range. Hope spme of this will help. Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

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CA also enforces a 40' kingpin to centerline of rearmost axle limit. Some states don't care, and others enforce it as 40' kingpin to centerline of the axle _set_. I think motorsports actually get an exemption to 46' kingpin to centerline of rearmost axle, but that also assumes commercial I'm pretty sure.

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California is a crazy lunatic moron nation state. I can't wait to escape. We titled our Volvo in SD. I flew their and got a licence. We got full time July 4th. I can't wait to break domicile with the nut job state . . .

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

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Why does Cali limit the kingpin to rear trailer axle centerline to 40 feet?

The why has to do with the way roads are designed. The actual code that sets this limit is 35400 CVC, subsection (4).

 

(4) A semitrailer while being towed by a motortruck or truck tractor, if the distance from the kingpin to the rearmost axle of the semitrailer does not exceed 40 feet for semitrailers having two or more axles, or 38 feet for semitrailers having one axle if the semitrailer does not, exclusive of attachments, extend forward of the rear of the cab of the motortruck or truck tractor.

2009 Volvo 670 with dinette/workstation sleeper - Walter
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 Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

event.png    

image.png.eaf8b965647f94e8667dc9daa8ef9a46.png

 

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