Vacationing in a tractor-trailer

you would have to have them registered as an RV that is the trailer would have to have living quarters in it and the tractor would have to be rergistered as a non comercial vehicle and under the 26000 lbs gross vehicle weight which would make it real hard to do since most tractor weigh around 19 to 20000 lbs by them selves. and you would still have to have at least a class b cdl with air breake endorsment to fit in this catagory. Now if you get a class 6 rig and haul a 5th wheel trailer then you are in the ball park.

 

That sounds like a nightmare vacation!

 

Just my opinion but, aren't there other types of motor homes that might be more comfortable and relaxing that you might want to consider?

 

Another issue that pops up is the suspension on a semi when you put a 5th wheel or other type of camper behind it. The suspension is rated to work with a miuch heavier load, and a s a result it transmits the bumps and any shock loading into the frame and hitch of the travel trailer. They aren;t designed for that stsiff of a suspension, and as a result they can be easily damaged. There is an inexpensive way to modify the trucks air ride suspension to compensate for this, but unless you know about it, you won't have a very long life out of a camper being pulled by a class 8 truck. Most class 6 size trucks are designed so that they can have a lighter weight suspension, to get around this particular problem.

If you were to go through with it, contact me and I can inform you how to build "ping tanks" which is how you solve the problem. It's a fairly cheap solution, requires a little fabrication at home.

 

The more I think about this I would have to ask why would they want to do this?

 

No I can see it now... If I had Bill Gate's money, I could see haveing
a big beautifull Peterbuilt with a 500 Cummins pulling a 53 ft RV.
People could bow as I passed, it would be awe inspiring.

 

There is a Motorhome out there that is exactly what you are talking about. It's called a Toterhome, made by Renegade, Haulmark, and now Pace American. These are usually Freightliners trucks with 16' or 17' sleepers. They are licensed as motorhome and can be used to pull gooseneck traliers up to 48'. They have refrigerator, cooktops, showers, kitchen sinks and are all accessible from the driving compartment. This is what DOT says are require in order to be classified as a motorhome.

Many of these units are used to pull race trailers. The key to these trucks being LEGAL to drive without a CDL, is they must be owned personally, and anything you haul must be owned by you also.