quote:

Originally posted by rebelsbeach:
Hey Rusty, you could always get the nice folks at Lone Star Haulers to make ya one of these...

335 Pete decked out....not enough motor for me though...would have to upgrade.

I visited them a few years ago. They do some FINE work. Dad and I spent half a day looking around the shop and talking with the guys doing the work. They take a lot of pride in the work they do!

I had put a link to them on the old links page back then.

That's REALLY GOOD to know Don...I've gotta little sumthin I've been thinkin' about doin' and Warpath knew about their site and sent me there....Stay tuned!

Might be SIRprized next time ya see me!

Rusty,

We toured the Showhauler factory in Elkhart last month. They do the kind of conversion I think you are asking about, including conversion of a truck that you provide. We talked with one of their customers who had brought his truck in for replacing the 5th wheel hitch on it with and air-ride hitch. That one had a fairly large "garage" behind the cab.

The way they talked, I think they probably would custom build the kind of thing you mention. They work with Freightliner Columbia and Volvo trucks. Not sure about others.

I'm assuming you are wanting to tow a 5th wheel, not convert truck to a motorhome. They do that too, of course. Their dealers also assist customers with finding a suitable used truck for conversion.

For anyone who may still be following this discussion. I just found an interesting web site by a couple who have done the heavy truck conversion to RV tow vehicle. They mention a person who works the conversions, so Rusty, this might be of interest to you.

These folks seem to thing the class 8 truck is just about the ideal tow vehicle. I could get convinced too.

http://jmayer6.tripod.com/

This site also has a link to a site by Larry Ziegler, who converted their truck, and sells these conversions, as well as instructions on how to do it yourself.

I would characterize Ziegler's information as more of a "how to select" an HDT, rather than "how to do it yourself".

Rusty, Did you get a chance to read Jack Mayer's web site about converted HDTs?

This page http://jmayer6.tripod.com/id15.html has a huge amount of detailed information on choosing and modifying a class 8 tractor. He writes about things I've never even heard of. Would have to do some research to be able to understand what the issues are.