Those pick-up-truck-trying-to-be-semi things...

Appreciate the info. Tryn to move deliberately but wisely!!!!

 

The trick is you buy a truck already outfitted to haul rv's for the right price. It's a fairly small demographic out there looking for these trucks and you can find fairly new units for relatively low money. Then go out there and haul like a son of a #####.

 

I have a 2007 Dodge 3500 with the 6.7L and Aisin 6spd auto. 319,000 miles and the engine and transmission have never been touched other than routine maintenance. That includes all 6 original injectors and CP3. If it has the word "joint" in it, it has been replaced...a few times. I pull heavy. Most loads are in the 36-42K range (gross combined). Almost half my miles are empty, around 16K. Mileage range is 9.5mpg in winter to 11.4mpg in summer. Better than the guys I know with Ford or Chevy. They sit in the 8.5-9.5 range almost all the time. One guy has a Ford 5500 and only gets 7.5mpg pulling a larger trailer than I do, but dang, that's terrible.

I decided to demote the Dodge to backup duty and replace it with an International 8100.

The 2002 8100 has 342,000 miles and is just getting its M11/ISM broke in. Decent truck. Nothing spectacular, but coming from CA, there isn't any rust anywhere. Don't find those here in MinneSALTa. Pulling the same GN livestock trailer at the same load weights I've been getting 9.5mpg this summer. Down from what the Dodge would be getting, but higher than the guy who just bought a Dodge 4500 and is lucky to get 8.5mpg. Again, his trailer is bigger than mine, but you get the idea. He spent $42,000 for his bare truck. I spent $13,000 for the 8100. He gave me crap for getting a truck that's gonna kill me with added fuel expense. Well, I'm getting better mileage and paid a whole lot less for the truck. Had I replaced the Dodge with another, it would have been spec'd exactly like the one he bought. With any luck I'd be getting 9mpg and have triple the payments.

Here's the catch. I still need 4wd for winter and mushy springtime. That's why I still have the Dodge.

For me, this has been working great. I've heard RV haulers can't do this because RV manufacturers won't let you hook on with a big truck...too harsh. Also, they run empty (bobtail) a lot, can't make that work with a big truck.

I love driving the 8100. Can't beat the view. Guys who get in the wife's car and complain about not being able to see anything, that's now me when I get in the pickup. I don't feel like I'm beating the crap outta the truck. Sure the Dodge handles 40K easy enough, but I never felt like it was made to handle it.

Now, to clarify a couple things mentioned in this thread. Dodge makes 2 3500's. One is a pickup with soft mushy springs and engine rated higher. The other is a Chassis Cab like mine. Engine derated (305hp) and different automatic transmission. The Chassis Cab has an Aisin automatic, pronounced "Ice In", the pickup has whatever slush box Dodge uses. Chassis Cab has more springs and the frame is "upfitter friendly" meaning same dimensions as 4500/5500. The 3500 C+C is not the same frame as 4500, but same flat rails and spacing as bigger ones.

 

I've been mulling the idea of getting into the R.V. hauling biz for the past year. I searched online and saw a good deal on a nice '07 Dodge 1 ton Dually Mega Cab with low mileage at a Dodge dealership in Salinas, so I detoured off I-5 to the 101and stopped in to check it out. Everything checked out with the truck, but the sales manager told me that because I was an out-of-state buyer one of his salesmen would have to drive the truck to the Oregon border (nearly 500 miles!) and I would have to pay for his time, plus pay to accomodate, fly, and taxi him back to Salinas. Also, they would have to send a notorized statement (at my expense, of course) to the DMV indicating they had done so, and I would not be allowed to re-enter California with the truck for the next six months or they would charge me California sales tax (Oregon has no sales tax). WTF?!!!

His explanation was that California wants to make sure it doesn't get jipped out of it's sales taxes, and is putting the screws to dealers to make sure the vehicle leaves the state. I guess being an Oregon resident, with a valid Oregon CDL, address, and phone number isn't good enough for Cali. It's just another reminder of why I left that d@mned state.

 

I have seen guys lose more than gain in the hotshot bussiness,

 

I've been searching online in the northwest for a good used class 3 or 4 truck. Slim pickings out here compared to Texas. They have great prices out there, even better than L.A.. I'm fixing to call D.N. Motor Cars in Houston. They have all kinds of diesel rigs. I can save 4 or 5 grand just by flying out there and driving one home. Has anyone else travelled to Texas and/or used D.N. Motor Cars to buy their truck?

 

I ended up finding a straight, clean '05 Dodge 2500 quad cab closer to home, with the cummins mated to a 6 speed manual, for much less than i was prepared to pay for a one ton mega cab ($16k vs. $21k). The only caveat is the back seat space. I'll see if i can deal with sleeping back there. 3/4 ton suspension should be fine for pulling travel trailers.

 

The backseat of a p/u doesn't meet the definition of a sleeper per the FMCSRs. DOT will be expecting motel receipts.

 

You cannot log it as sleeper berth time but you may log it as off duty time instead. No hotel receipts required.

 

GFL..........