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Originally Posted by Dave W
I can't see that HDT as a sight seeing vehicle such as at the 'Big 5' in Utah or the Pike's Peak road or San Fransico's Lombard St. Then there is all that fun trying to park at the local super market or even parallel park at a restaurant in any city of size for a night out. Even my 172" wheel base CCLB can be a PITA with a huge turning radius too short and narrow parking lot spaces with too little room between rows. We often get our exercise walking from the North Forty area. Then there is the cost of ownership - and I don't mean fuel but license, insurance, normal maintenance, tires, the occasional impossible to obtain parts in West Overshoe on a Saturday afternoon. Oh and some (many?) states like NY, you will need a different driver's license classification and competancy test if you exceed 26,000 pounds combined weight, truck and towed load.
But - to each his own. OP, due diligence, a wallet thickness check and a few hours is the only way to reason this out FOR YOUR needs  . Let us know what you decide. |
I know most of this was directed at the OP and his decision, but I'll throw in my thoughts and what comparisons I made and maybe that will help him too.
Just like a long bed dually pickup, you certainly need to consider the consequences on where you decided to drive an HDT truck. Could you go to all the sight seeing places on it, probably not, but we ride motorcycles and I can certainly take those anywhere we want. I also mentioned above many HDT owners carry a smart car on the deck of their truck as their sight seeing and errand running vehicle. You can go a lot places in a smart car much easier than a 3500 truck and you still have the advantage of a much better towing vehicle the rest of the time. My wife even mentioned if we decide we like this lifestyle and would rather have a smaller vehicle for those times we don't want to ride the bikes, we might look at a HDT with a bed that has room for a smart car and go that route. For now though, we are going to try it with just the motorcycles and HDT for transportation.
I've been up Pike's Peak and down Lobard street on motorcycles, both destinations are a lot of fun. I wouldn't hesitate to take just the HDT up Pikes Peak, it wouldn't be any worse than a large pickup or even some of the Class A or C motorhomes you see on it, but it wouldn't be my first choice either. Again that's where a motorcycle shines for us as that's the type of things we like to go visit on our bikes. Lombard st, would you really even want to take a Dually there? It could do it, but it wouldn't be much fun. I've parked at restaurants and shopping centers before. We usually are way out in the parking lot, but that is no biggie, it just gives us a little more walking to enjoy. Going into any large city center with the HDT would be a challenge for sure, but so is a dually pickup. Small parking lots, narrow lanes, and tight turns become your nemesis in those situations, again just pick your battles on where you want to travel.
I look at my HDT like a UPS truck. Pretty much if a UPS package truck can fit, I should also make it in just the truck.
As for maintenance, there might be a higher cost of some things intially, but generally they last a whole lot longer on an HDT when professional drivers put on over 100k a year so things certainly need to last a long time for them. I had to replace the muffler on my truck, $100 shipped to my house. My HDT has 6 tires just like a dually and I bet they last a whole lot longer on the HDT and price wise they aren't that much more expensive. I'll never wear out a set of tires on my truck, they will age out before they wear out. My truck is pre emissions so I don't have any of the EGR, DPF, DEF systems to worry about to break, service or replace. Fuel mileage is a wash. The 3500 most certainly does better empty, but I bet the HDT does better towing overall, and I can go much longer between fuel stops with 200-300gals of fuel on board so that means less stop and less aggravation trying to find places to fuel up. As for parts and general service, there are professional truck drivers all over the country that have to get their trucks serviced all the time and replace parts. Finding parts for my truck is the least of my worries and I bet it's a lot easier than you would expect.
As for the license like you mentioned in NY, it certainly does depend on your home state. For me in GA, it did require a Class E license, but that was easy to get. The way the laws read in GA, I think even large pickup trucks pulling 5th wheels over 10k lbs would require the same license so that isn't different for either one.
HDT's are certainly not for everyone, but you can buy a lot of truck for your money and if you understand the limitations, but also the advantages, it could be exactly what someone is looking for.
Someone mentioned having an automatic and I would agree. I did buy a manual because it was cheaper and it way less to go wrong, but unless you really like shifting gears (I mean a lot), one of the semi-automatics is probably much better suited to most people.
This is a condo height Volvo 780, but you can carry the heaviest 5th wheel you want, travel in the ultimate comfort and safety of a big truck, and best of all have a smart car to drive around in to go to dinner, go to the store, etc.
Jack & Danielle have a lot of good info on their web page about traveling in an HDT which they have been doing for 15 or more years I think. -
http://www.jackdanmayer.com/
another condo height sleeper with a smart car bed
This was the East Coast HDT Rally this year in TN
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Thas was the 2016 rally. The lady that Greg talks to is the primary driver of their HDT setup
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