Input needed on crazy idea - trailer apartment

There re so many advantages to an R/V toy hauler setup . Most Flying J's have a holding tank dump you could access with a toy hauler but not a converted semi trailer . RV parks will be tight and job sites will also be . The length of a road tractor adds considerably to the length .
You could buy a good used RV hauler for much less than the cost of a new 1 ton . Trying to pass the combo off as an RV not requiring a CDL would be questionable since you are using the trailer for commercial use .However , your own tow vehicle would pay for itself and you wouldn't lose time trying to fit the schedule of someone moving the trailer .
Could you be sure there was a prepared and accessible site at your new destination ? If not you could run into extra expense while the hauler waited . With your own tow vehicle you could easily park elsewhere until the site was ready .
Here is an example of a good used hauler although no price is given .



Freightliner Freightliner FL60 2001

FOR SALE: 2001 Freightliner Freightliner FL60...
Air Conditioner
Power Steering
Power Windows
Power Door Locks
Tilt Wheel
Cruise Control
Cd Player

 

Power only loads mean that the company is providing the tractor.A simple internet search would give you this

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...Only+Brokerage+Trailer+Transportation&spell=1

Some move odd equipment(mud tanks,expansion joints for bridges,drill rigs) others are moving tractors and are looking to get paid for the move like a drive away company.The problem with trying to get one O/O to do it is he would have to be a specific power only guy.Or he would have to dead head back to his equipment and you charge would be raised significantly.

Good luck.And if you would if / when you get it completed post some pictures and a cost analysis.Thanks

 

I would look into a used furniture van .

It sets low it has smooth sides put a couple of tip outs on it and you have a real nice pad !

Put a genset on the truck and you got your power .

Extend the top deck inside to put your holing tanks under the floor there .

Put the shop in the back where you got the swinging doors for loading and unloading the work projects the lather over the tandems on the trailer makes for a good ride.

Sounds like paradise to me

 

Well Ned I can't believe we still don't live in caves with some of the answers you got. My son and I are building a race truck hauler / RV out of a 48 ft dry van. Because decent furnature vans are almost impossible to find here in the GWNW. The suggestions of furnature vans is a good one. if you spend a little more on a van with lots of doors it would be well worth your effort. Rigging the rv part should be easy. Here in Alberta and BC we can run as an RV conversion so the DOT will leave us alone. you may want to check into the rules where you need to run. The van designed for a million miles will be far better than the crap show RV trailer you could buy for twice the money. Look carefully at the construction of a 5th wheel trailer if you choose that route.

 

The FL 60 I posted is typical of many used by retirees to pull RV's . Although the wisdom of letting them drive such vehicles without testing is questionable only a handful of states have a license class for large RV's . These trucks are automatics .
As far as cost goes get some rates from power only companies for hypothetical moves that would be typical of moves you expect to make . I'm sure they have a minimum charge . The rates will probably be higher than you think because they will have to cover deadhead bobtail costs before and after the move . If you are in remote area you may have a difficult time finding someone willing to make the move .
You mentioned putting the trailer on jobsites and I foresee problems getting to unknown sites and trying to spot the trailer , particularly in wet weather .

 

This is a strange idea. The most expensive piece of overhead at a truck driving school is lodging. Most schools put their students up in motels. I once made the suggestion to an owner that we build a platform to back trailers up to, provide 120 volts AC to plug into and use the trailers we pull as housing for the students. Make them nice with cable TVs in them (and yes you would have to bolt everything down but that can be done) AC units built into where the Thermo King/Carrier unit was but make them as nice or nicer than the seedy motels they had to stay in.

He thought I was crazy! He asked about showers. I showed him the area behind the classroom that housed 6 shower units that needed cleaned out but were serviceable. He still thought I was crazy. I showed him how much he would save over a year in cost and how much it would cost and the fact that he would only have to do it once and the renovations to the existing trailers would pay for themselves in 6 months...And imagine the joy of backing your apartment in for the night by the students! Pulling your living unit around behind you all day long with all that free advertising on the side of the trailer?

Nope, he was going to do business the same tired old way every truck driving school had done it for decades.....Wrong, with no consideration of new ideas on how to do things better and cheaper. 53 feet long x 8.5= 405 feet of floor space. Not to mention the floor to ceiling space. If it were mine to do though, I would make it nice for the students. Why not?

I need to win the lottery or at least have a reality series on TV featuring a truck driving school. But this is coming from someone who thinks a drive in movie truckstop would be kinda cool!