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BlueLghtning · 07-05-2017, 08:01 AM

My wife and I are just starting out in the full time RV life, but after lots of research and trying to find a suitable truck to haul our 2012 Keystone Rapter 4014LEV that grosses at 18k lbs, I decided to go the HDT route and I couldn't be any happier with my decision. My last diesel truck was 1998.5 Dodge Ram 2500 long bed truck that I sold some years back, so when we bought our 5th wheel, I was shopping for a 2003-2006 3500 DRW truck to stay prior to the 2007 emission trucks and to find something in my budget. Much to my surprise, the 3500 trucks of that year generation maxed out at around 15,500lbs or so which is the range the OP is in. Knowing my trailer grossed at 18k lbs, this wasn't going to work for me as I wanted more than enough truck to tow my rig. It wasn't until much later years that to tow ratings on 3500's went way up, but so did the prices and the complications from adding DPF & DEF, etc. I then shopped 4500-5500 trucks or MDT trucks, but most of these were either expensive or had been worn out from being used commercially. I had been lurking on the HDT forum for awhile and decided to get serious about buying one of those. I lucked out and located a 2000 Volvo 610 (mid rise sleeper) singled short that had been owned by the same gentleman for the past 13 years.

My 2000 Volvo 610 has a Detroit Diesel 60 series with 435hp/1850lbs torque. It started life as a commercial truck, but came off the road in 2004 with 462k miles. The previous owner purchased the truck and converted it to single axle by moving the rear axle to the front position and shortening the frame and added a goose neck to haul his horse trailer around the Sierra's in Southern CA. He only put on 18k miles in 13 years of ownership, but was getting into his 70's and decided it was time to sell the truck. I was estatic to find a low mileage Gen 1 volvo with less than 500k original miles on it (most of these go 1 million miles before an overhaul) not to mention at a price that was less than many 10-12 year old 3500's with upwards of 200k on them. You get so much more truck for your money.

I flew to CA and drove the truck home to GA. Over the course of those 2k miles, I fell in love with the truck and how great it was to drive. I knew I had made the right choice, especially after towing my large 5th wheel with it, I'm so glad I'm not in a smaller truck! With my setup, my truck weighs around 15-16k by its self so it weighs close to what the 5th wheel will weigh fully loaded, unlike a 3500 where the trailer can weigh quite a bit more than the truck, so it's way less likely for me to have a case of the tail wagging the dog in less than ideal towing conditions or emergency manuvers. HDT trucks are built for driver comfort with air ride seats, cabs, & suspension, sleeper in the back, sometimes a fridge/microwave, lots of storage and best of all they carry 200-300gals of fuel so you don't have to stop to get fuel nearly as often. I can be choosy and find the cheap gas and not fill up in a state if it's expensive. The trucks have way more gears for climbing & decscending steep grades and a true 3 stage jake brake will out perform a singe exhaust brake any day. For those that don't want to shift gears, there have been semi automatics for years and Volvo's fully auto i-shift is considered top notch in these trucks!

Most people will say, but they are so much bigger. In reality, the HDT trucks are the same width as a 3500 dually is in the back, it's just that width all the way down the truck. The midrise sleeper on my truck is only 10'11" so I'm still a lot shorter than my 13'6" 5th wheel and even a full height condo sleeper is also around 13'6". My Volvo singled short is 184" wheel base which is only a few inches longer than a long bed dually, and best of all with my 50" wheel cut, I can turn sharper than any 2500-3500 truck could dream about. Can you make a u-turn on a 4 lane divided highway from a turn lane withoun running all up over the curb? That 50" wheel cut means I barely cross over into the 2nd lane. Driving the truck around bobtail is actually a lot easier than you would imagine and as long as I respect my height and little bit extra length, I'm good.

There's a lot of misinformation about towing with a semi and one of the most frequent bad info is you have to have a CDL. You only need a CDL if you are hauling commerce for payment which we are not doing. Most HDT owners get their truck registered as private trucks or RV's and have private not for hire on the side. This means depending on the state they can be driven with regular licenses or maybe a non commercial Class A equivalent license. In GA, anything over 26k lbs GWVR or towing over a 10lbs trailer requires a Class E non commercial license, so that would apply to even the latest pickups and large 5th wheels as they cross that threshold. TX has been doing the same thing requiring Class A DP's or large 5th wheels to get a higher class license which isn't a bad thing in my eyes. Also because we aren't hauling commercially, we don't have to stop at scales.

Another advantage of an HDT truck is depending on how you set it up, you can mount a nice bed on the back and carry anything from motorcycles to a smart car sideways or even full size cars. The smart cars are very popular to carry behind the cab on the HDT truck so you have a little car for errands. Since my truck is singled short, I don't have room for a smart car, but I do plan on carrying maybe a motorcycle or two or get a large drom box (storage box) to keep back there.

If you want more info on HDT's check out the Heavy Haulers RV resource guide - http://hhrvresource.com/node/18

Check out many of their HDT trucks - http://hhrvresource.com/member-trucks
And truck beds - http://hhrvresource.com/truckbeds

The Escapees forum has a very active HDT section also - http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?/forum/32-hdt/

This is my wife and I when I first brought our HDT home

And after her first ride in it, she was all smiles

This is my Volvo 610 and Raptor 4014LEV just yesterday. You can get a size reference of the HDT against the 42' 5th wheel.

Look at all that room and how high you sit

Lots of room in the back and I only have a single bunk sleeper. You can get a workstation in some of the setups with a dining room table back there like you would find in an RV

My HDT is registered as a motorhome in GA

07-05-2017, 08:01 AM	#8
BlueLghtning Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Newnan Posts: 17	My wife and I are just starting out in the full time RV life, but after lots of research and trying to find a suitable truck to haul our 2012 Keystone Rapter 4014LEV that grosses at 18k lbs, I decided to go the HDT route and I couldn't be any happier with my decision. My last diesel truck was 1998.5 Dodge Ram 2500 long bed truck that I sold some years back, so when we bought our 5th wheel, I was shopping for a 2003-2006 3500 DRW truck to stay prior to the 2007 emission trucks and to find something in my budget. Much to my surprise, the 3500 trucks of that year generation maxed out at around 15,500lbs or so which is the range the OP is in. Knowing my trailer grossed at 18k lbs, this wasn't going to work for me as I wanted more than enough truck to tow my rig. It wasn't until much later years that to tow ratings on 3500's went way up, but so did the prices and the complications from adding DPF & DEF, etc. I then shopped 4500-5500 trucks or MDT trucks, but most of these were either expensive or had been worn out from being used commercially. I had been lurking on the HDT forum for awhile and decided to get serious about buying one of those. I lucked out and located a 2000 Volvo 610 (mid rise sleeper) singled short that had been owned by the same gentleman for the past 13 years. My 2000 Volvo 610 has a Detroit Diesel 60 series with 435hp/1850lbs torque. It started life as a commercial truck, but came off the road in 2004 with 462k miles. The previous owner purchased the truck and converted it to single axle by moving the rear axle to the front position and shortening the frame and added a goose neck to haul his horse trailer around the Sierra's in Southern CA. He only put on 18k miles in 13 years of ownership, but was getting into his 70's and decided it was time to sell the truck. I was estatic to find a low mileage Gen 1 volvo with less than 500k original miles on it (most of these go 1 million miles before an overhaul) not to mention at a price that was less than many 10-12 year old 3500's with upwards of 200k on them. You get so much more truck for your money. I flew to CA and drove the truck home to GA. Over the course of those 2k miles, I fell in love with the truck and how great it was to drive. I knew I had made the right choice, especially after towing my large 5th wheel with it, I'm so glad I'm not in a smaller truck! With my setup, my truck weighs around 15-16k by its self so it weighs close to what the 5th wheel will weigh fully loaded, unlike a 3500 where the trailer can weigh quite a bit more than the truck, so it's way less likely for me to have a case of the tail wagging the dog in less than ideal towing conditions or emergency manuvers. HDT trucks are built for driver comfort with air ride seats, cabs, & suspension, sleeper in the back, sometimes a fridge/microwave, lots of storage and best of all they carry 200-300gals of fuel so you don't have to stop to get fuel nearly as often. I can be choosy and find the cheap gas and not fill up in a state if it's expensive. The trucks have way more gears for climbing & decscending steep grades and a true 3 stage jake brake will out perform a singe exhaust brake any day. For those that don't want to shift gears, there have been semi automatics for years and Volvo's fully auto i-shift is considered top notch in these trucks! Most people will say, but they are so much bigger. In reality, the HDT trucks are the same width as a 3500 dually is in the back, it's just that width all the way down the truck. The midrise sleeper on my truck is only 10'11" so I'm still a lot shorter than my 13'6" 5th wheel and even a full height condo sleeper is also around 13'6". My Volvo singled short is 184" wheel base which is only a few inches longer than a long bed dually, and best of all with my 50" wheel cut, I can turn sharper than any 2500-3500 truck could dream about. Can you make a u-turn on a 4 lane divided highway from a turn lane withoun running all up over the curb? That 50" wheel cut means I barely cross over into the 2nd lane. Driving the truck around bobtail is actually a lot easier than you would imagine and as long as I respect my height and little bit extra length, I'm good. There's a lot of misinformation about towing with a semi and one of the most frequent bad info is you have to have a CDL. You only need a CDL if you are hauling commerce for payment which we are not doing. Most HDT owners get their truck registered as private trucks or RV's and have private not for hire on the side. This means depending on the state they can be driven with regular licenses or maybe a non commercial Class A equivalent license. In GA, anything over 26k lbs GWVR or towing over a 10lbs trailer requires a Class E non commercial license, so that would apply to even the latest pickups and large 5th wheels as they cross that threshold. TX has been doing the same thing requiring Class A DP's or large 5th wheels to get a higher class license which isn't a bad thing in my eyes. Also because we aren't hauling commercially, we don't have to stop at scales. Another advantage of an HDT truck is depending on how you set it up, you can mount a nice bed on the back and carry anything from motorcycles to a smart car sideways or even full size cars. The smart cars are very popular to carry behind the cab on the HDT truck so you have a little car for errands. Since my truck is singled short, I don't have room for a smart car, but I do plan on carrying maybe a motorcycle or two or get a large drom box (storage box) to keep back there. If you want more info on HDT's check out the Heavy Haulers RV resource guide - http://hhrvresource.com/node/18 Check out many of their HDT trucks - http://hhrvresource.com/member-trucks And truck beds - http://hhrvresource.com/truckbeds The Escapees forum has a very active HDT section also - http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?/forum/32-hdt/ This is my wife and I when I first brought our HDT home And after her first ride in it, she was all smiles This is my Volvo 610 and Raptor 4014LEV just yesterday. You can get a size reference of the HDT against the 42' 5th wheel. Look at all that room and how high you sit Lots of room in the back and I only have a single bunk sleeper. You can get a workstation in some of the setups with a dining room table back there like you would find in an RV My HDT is registered as a motorhome in GA