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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This is a picture of quite an anomaly. First is the finest towing machine that any of us could hope to own and drive. And hanging on the back is a little POJ. I can't imagine driving that rig all day and having to drive that Smart Car around at night.
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Jim in Memphis, Wife of 51 years is Brenda
2019 F450 6.7 Powerstroke
2018 Mobile Suites 40RSSA
2021 40' Jayco Eagle
2001 Road king w/matching Harley sidecar
2021 Yamaha X2 Wolverine 1000
I've read the 3rd generation Smarts (16-17) are actually quite the improvement over the previous generation and much more "car" like features and feel to them. Certainly smart cars aren't most people's top choices when it comes to cars, but there's definitely an advantage to being able to carry a vehicle sideways on your truck.
They certainly are other options of you don't want the Smart. The Smart is the only car that's capable of fitting sideways on a rig, but plenty of others have carried Trackers/Jeeps or other cars lengthwise on their rigs. This does greatly extend the length of it. Jeeps, Trackers and other 4x4's have the advantage of being able to climb ramps to make their overall length less of an issue.
This isn't the best setup I could find, but you get the idea of what you can do with a 4x4 vehicle to carry it lengthwise.
Smart Car 2nd gen vs 3rd gen
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Unless you have multiple large trailers to pull, why wouldn't you just buy a Motorhome at this point?
To invest in a HDT for the sole purpose of pulling the trailer seems like a wash to owning a Motorhome. Still have to store both HDT and trailer, can only be used during RV outings, etc. With a normal light or medium duty truck, at least you can still use the rig as a daily or weekend driver and get some return on that investment.
I also pull a 28' boat. We are planning to do a lot of traveling in the next year, just the piece of mind knowing that I am not at the upper limits of my tow vehicle would be worth it. I would use the F350 as my daily driver still
Even the shortest Fiat, I believe the 500, is 12 feet long. Haulers don't really have much choice in the matter.
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Jim in Memphis, Wife of 51 years is Brenda
2019 F450 6.7 Powerstroke
2018 Mobile Suites 40RSSA
2021 40' Jayco Eagle
2001 Road king w/matching Harley sidecar
2021 Yamaha X2 Wolverine 1000
My choice would be an original Mini (Cooper) over the Smartcar, but it is a hair over 10'.
This HDT thing is intriguing with a sleeper, microwave, fridge, etc. In many ways it would provide more options, while limiting some, but I think there would be a net increase for what we would do with it. I would still keep my current pickup, though.
Gotta be honest, it's kind of scary that someone can get in a Class 8 tractor with air brakes and have no proper training and pull a 5er, though it's just as scary that someone getting into a motor coach without proper training, just because it's registered as an RV. However, the HDT option is a cool one to say that least, but with the money on the truck and fiver, why not just get a motor coach?
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Mike
2016 Chevy 3500 CC Dually Duramx LTZ (aka: BigBootyJudy)
2013 PT Tracer 3200 BHT
Gotta be honest, it's kind of scary that someone can get in a Class 8 tractor with air brakes and have no proper training and pull a 5er, though it's just as scary that someone getting into a motor coach without proper training, just because it's registered as an RV. However, the HDT option is a cool one to say that least, but with the money on the truck and fiver, why not just get a motor coach?
Well, in our case we have a toy hauler for motorcycle or ATV. We disconnect the TH and drive the pickup or ride the motorcycle. Buying a mid-2000, 10' high Volvo and towing the trailer we already have would be cheaper than buying a bigger diesel pusher and still having to tow a trailer for the bike or ATV. We already did the motorhome route and like the fiver better. Different strokes...
Gotta be honest, it's kind of scary that someone can get in a Class 8 tractor with air brakes and have no proper training and pull a 5er, though it's just as scary that someone getting into a motor coach without proper training, just because it's registered as an RV. However, the HDT option is a cool one to say that least, but with the money on the truck and fiver, why not just get a motor coach?
Gotta be honest, it's kind of scary that someone can get in a Class 8 tractor with air brakes and have no proper training and pull a 5er, though it's just as scary that someone getting into a motor coach without proper training, just because it's registered as an RV. However, the HDT option is a cool one to say that least, but with the money on the truck and fiver, why not just get a motor coach?
Is it any less scary that there are plenty of people pulling very large 5th wheels with very underrated 2500 or 3500 SRW trucks that are overweight either by sheer ignorance or just don't even care, some even proudly sharing that they know they are overweight. At least a Class 8 tractor is in a much better position to handle that 5th wheel and mantain control of it much better. I agree though that driving anything this size should require extra training, and that includes the large Class A's & Large 5th wheels.
Many states are starting to require a higher license requirement for driving a vehicle with a GVWR over 26k or a trailer over 10k. I saw TX mentioned above. GA is another state that requires a Class E license for this and I'm fine with that.
As for why we ended up with an HDT & 5th wheel Toy Hauler was so we could haul our motorcycles. We looked at Class A motorcoaches, but we would have been stuck in a very underpowered gas coach for what we have in our current setup and would have had to carry an enclosed trailer for the bikes and had nothing else to drive. At least this way, we do have a truck to drive too.
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. Let us know what you decide.
Desert185 🇺🇸 (Retired Chemtrail vendor)
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