Anyone bobtail the truck often?

[Storx]

I was curious if there were any frequent bobtailers on here, looking into class 8s as a possible tow vehicle for RV and after talking to another travel nurse who used an HDT for towing, he kinda has me hooked on the idea, but I'm trying to figure out what I would do as a get around vehicle. The guy i meet in person he had a wife that drove separately in a car, so he had a normal car to get around with to go to work and back. I am all alone, so it would just be me on the road and towing, so was curious how logical it would be to drive the Class 8 to and from work 3 times a week from the RV site. I thought about tossing my motorcycle on the back, but would like a way to travel on the days the weather is just terrible and not really logical to ride a motorcycle to work. 

I am curious what type of MPG did you get roughly if you knew?

How hard was it dealing with normal stop and go traffic?

Was it hard to park the truck in a normal parking lot?

[Darryl&Rita]

Close to the same mileage towing or not.

Traffic is traffic. You can see farther ahead, but you get used to the bulk of traffic passing you. 

You get used to walking. Parking lots aren't particularly friendly areas, but the farthest corners are usually safe. 

[lockmup68]

haul whatever you want and drive it: smart car, jeep, can am, bike, etc. 

 

[rickeieio]

I would think the biggest issue might be parking at the medical facility.  They aren't always convenient for a larger vehicle.

Ride the bike and get a good riding suit.  Aero-Stitch comes to mind........😁

We have a toy hauler, carry a smart on the deck, and two bikes in the garage.  There are lots of ways to do it, but all are compromises of some sort.

[Parrformance]

The HDT,s are temperamental under braking while bobtailing.  I find the truck behaves better with the toad on the deck.

[Storx]

5 hours ago, lockmup68 said:

haul whatever you want and drive it: smart car, jeep, can am, bike, etc. 

 

Wow, did you have to extend the frame to do that? 

I was looking at the opposite lol, really liked the guy who put the pickup bed on his HDT, really came out clean, he singled his after finding out the correct location for the bed wheel wells. 

[Storx]

4 hours ago, Parrformance said:

The HDT,s are temperamental under braking while bobtailing.  I find the truck behaves better with the toad on the deck.

could you share more about it?

[Storx]

5 hours ago, rickeieio said:

I would think the biggest issue might be parking at the medical facility.  They aren't always convenient for a larger vehicle.

Ride the bike and get a good riding suit.  Aero-Stitch comes to mind........😁

We have a toy hauler, carry a smart on the deck, and two bikes in the garage.  There are lots of ways to do it, but all are compromises of some sort.

Ya that is the big unknown for me, I know at the hospital im located now, we have to park at a lot not at the hospital and take golf cart transport to the hospital, but its a huge lot and we have had a few travel nurses boondock in the back corner of that aux lot. We had a nurse who lived in a Tesla Model X, slept in the back of the car with the rear seats removed and mattress installed, would sleep at hospital parking lot for his 2-3 days in a row, then leave on his days off and camp out somewhere else like a state park or what not to reduce his lodging expense. We also had someone in a Mercedez sprinter van try to spend the entire 13 weeks in the back corner of the aux lot, but she was eventually kicked out, because she was hanging out cooking and such in the parking lot and drinking beer on her days off instead of leaving the hospital. We even had a nurse with one of those big dually Mega Cab dodges camp out in the parking lot. She has an RV and parks it further from the hospital to save on rates, then she would schedule her days 2-3 in a row, shower in the OR changing room and sleep in the back seat of the truck for her 2-3 days, then go to her RV on her days off, told me often she would find RV parks 30-45mins away would be half the rates of parks near the hospital. An example she said the RV park down the street from my hospital is $1050/month right now, she parked at a resort 45 mins away for $440/month .

[Darryl&Rita]

1 hour ago, Storx said:

could you share more about it?

Exactly what he said. The truck was originally outfitted to have a huge amount of weight on the rear axles. Singling, and running bob-tail can lead to excitement, unless the new configuration has been built with adequate planning and forethought. Our truck originally had a much lighter deck, that we replaced with all steel. This also helps the ride quality when bob-tail. Of course, the deck weight takes away from cargo capacity, so one can't go crazy. Like I said, planning and forethought. These trucks can be built to accomplish almost any task, but there will be compromises involved. 

Want to park with the pickups? Don't plan on carrying much bigger than a motorcycle. 

Want to carry a 4 door Jeep? Don't expect to use it as a daily driver. 

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

We used our Volvo as our daily driver for 4 years exclusively.  What we learned is we parked away from the storefronts and walked.  Drive-thrus became walk in's, rainy days weren't good for shopping, and downtown crowded city areas- Downtown Houston, Atlanta, St Louis, etc were unparkable but fun to drive thru...  

We now have a Smart, but I use the truck weekly as needed for my transportation.

[Parrformance]

14 hours ago, Storx said:

could you share more about it?

I drive a 2006 Volvo 780, the truck is still tandem.  I must always be wary of the need to stop, as the rear will lock up the tires under firm braking. When approaching a traffic signal that is green I often lift of the accelerator as to lessen the need to panic brake the truck.

When I have the jeep on the deck, the weight of it keeps the tires from locking up so easily.

 

[Parrformance]

Mr. Jim

10 hours ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

We now have a Smart, but I use the truck weekly as needed for my transportation.

Mr. Jim, did you and Miss Alie extend the bed of your truck to carry the Smart?

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

3 hours ago, Parrformance said:

Mr. Jim

Mr. Jim, did you and Miss Alie extend the bed of your truck to carry the Smart?

Not yet.  But that is the plan.  For right now we will double tow where allowed.

[orca]

The wheelbase of my MDT is about the same as a class 8 and i bobtail all the time. It is my grocery getter because the motorcycles have limited storage.  Funny thing happened at the HEB the other day though,  as i drove through the lot looking for a parking spot, a women in a car angerly mouthed the words "your too big"!  I was going to stop and thank her but kept driving instead!😄

[Parrformance]

That what she said 🤣

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

Before we started to tow a car, when we when shopping or other parking lots, we would park on the outer edge of the lot.  Mainly we where looking to when we could use two spaces end to end as we were about 1-1/2 cars long.

[bockofma]

Good day, Storx.

One thought regarding using your tow (HDT) as a daily driver is insurance.  Some (mine included) only cover the vehicle when it is attached to the RV, OR when it is being taken somewhere for maintenance...

Regards,

Michael

[rpsinc]

On 4/9/2019 at 6:26 AM, Storx said:

I was curious if there were any frequent bobtailers on here, looking into class 8s as a possible tow vehicle for RV and after talking to another travel nurse who used an HDT for towing, he kinda has me hooked on the idea, but I'm trying to figure out what I would do as a get around vehicle. The guy i meet in person he had a wife that drove separately in a car, so he had a normal car to get around with to go to work and back. I am all alone, so it would just be me on the road and towing, so was curious how logical it would be to drive the Class 8 to and from work 3 times a week from the RV site. I thought about tossing my motorcycle on the back, but would like a way to travel on the days the weather is just terrible and not really logical to ride a motorcycle to work. 

I am curious what type of MPG did you get roughly if you knew?

How hard was it dealing with normal stop and go traffic?

Was it hard to park the truck in a normal parking lot?

You still have a way to go in your learning process, but enjoy the journey.  I have used my MDT(see the avatar) for work while using the 5er for overnight stays.  The seat makes into a bed, so can be used that way.  Not necessarily a comfortable way to get "a good nights rest", but doable.  I have also been exposed to the HDTs and not sure I would rely on that as my ONLY mode of transportation.  Maintenance is still going to be done on schedule and its expensive.  But an MDT is in between.  Mine is a crew cab IH 4700, 8.7L(not so big, but enough) Allison Automatic and can be parked easily in parking lots.  Reasonable on fuel but still not a car for commuting, but cheaper that paying expenses on 3 vehicles(truck, car and trailer).  Set up a 5er with solar and you can boondock some to cut expenses.  

I have pics of my truck if that type interests you.  Send an email address.

[lockmup68]

I use my rig as daily driver frequently when needed. Just have to park out further.

For the braking, having a heavy bed minimizes this, I don't really experience this with my rig. 

[GlennWest]

I singled mine but kept original wheelbase. All steel deck, tool boxes. So not light in rear. I have not exsperienced any negative bob tail.

[Scrap]

On 4/9/2019 at 1:59 PM, Storx said:

Wow, did you have to extend the frame to do that? 

I was looking at the opposite lol, really liked the guy who put the pickup bed on his HDT, really came out clean, he singled his after finding out the correct location for the bed wheel wells. 

That T660 is HOT!!!!

[lockmup68]

no way to hook a 5ver up with that bed though, bedsides too high, right? 

[noteven]

2 hours ago, lockmup68 said:

no way to hook a 5ver up with that bed though, bedsides too high, right? 

Stick a 5th wheel on about a 4” square receiver and dangle a RV off the back. Should give the gawkers something to look at when they think your trailer has uncoupled and is chasing you down the pass...

[Darryl&Rita]

3 hours ago, noteven said:

Stick a 5th wheel on about a 4” square receiver and dangle a RV off the back. Should give the gawkers something to look at when they think your trailer has uncoupled and is chasing you down the pass...

😁 😅That's just evil. Hilarious, but evil.

[Star Dreamer]

We bobtail our HDT quite often. I use it as a pickup to take yard waste to the recycling center and to run to the lumber yard. We used it to go to the Tampa RV show as a mini motorhome. When we go to the ECR rally and do not have an extra car, we have used it as our run around vehicle to go shopping and even went to the theatre playhouse with it. As others have said just park farther out an get exercise. I have driven it to work on occasion (first time the security guard came running out to say I was in the wrong lot and deliveries were in another area but I showed him my pass and all was good from then on out. Had to take up a few extra spots but parking lot was not full.

For braking, I will switch to low Jake setting if dry roads and turn off on wet roads. I have not had any issues with rear end getting crazy but we do have a fairly heavy bed on the HDT. When we drove it back from Austin TX to MN when we bought it, we did not have a bed on it and had no issues.

Dave