Using a SEMI TRUCK (HDT) For Towing an RV. Pros and Cons! 

People hauling their camper in their 1 ton need to slow down - don't drive 30k pounds like a race car.

Would definitely be nice to have seen a semi truck next to the pickup hooked up to a fifth wheel camper !😱

why are we watching your truck, when we are talking about a HDT

If interested in the HDT, then go toan HDT rally and talk to the folks who are already doing it.

Some points to consider 1. Dot requirements is a pm schedule to be maintained in these trucks. Often it is easy to obtain service records because the majority of off lease are from trucking companies rather than from the single owner operator 2. A significant amount of rv using HDT are full timers 3. Your mpg estimate is from industry standard with the estimated 80,000 pound GVW most HDT owners are seeing upward 9 to 10 mpg. 4. With fuel capacity you have the ability to be more selective on where to purchase fuel. And with volume discount using fuel card often can purchase fuel at a significant discounted rates. 5. The higher profile enables the driver to often have better visibility than a standard pickup 6. HDT ride quality are often are better than a pickup for OTR so driver fatigue needs to be a factor

I have a 2001 Vokvo VNL660 hauling a 45' 5er. Spent a lot of time looking at pickup trucks. Just could not get over how much smaller a truck is then the trailer. So we ended up with an HDT. Have never wished we had a pickup instead. It's very comfortable, and fits our 4 kids 2 adults and 4 dogs in the truck without issue. Cant do that in a pickup.

You made this sound way harder than it is. some of your facts are wrong. I'm a truck driver. I've been driving for 25 years. I'll go over a few things that you said that are wrong. in the last few years trucks have been available with disc brakes. either on just the front axel or all. they are optional and they're pretty good. as far as the warranty, just like a used car you can get them on used trucks. the manufacturers warranty is usually 5000,000 miles so if you look around you can find one with 300,000 or 350,000 miles on it that still has some warranty left and of course you can by more. i truck carrying the weight of an RV should get anywhere from 7 to 8 mpg's and yes it costs a lot to fill 250 gallons but at 7 mpg's that over 1500 miles per tank. As far as repairs. major repairs can take a while if they need to order parts that they don't usually carry but a lot of things can be done at a truck stop like fixing an air leak and minor air leaks don't have to be rushed to the shop. the compressor is driven off of the engine so it can keep up. for me, the main reason that I wouldn't use a big truck is size. most of the other stuff you talk about is wrong. trucks even have windows in the sleeper. the one thing you said that I agree with is backing under your trailer with an automatic. that why a lot of the older drivers like manual transmissions. we like having full control over it. I'm sure there's something i missed but I'll end it here. I will say this though. personally I would rather have a pick up but I don't really want a giant 25,000 or 30,000 lb 5th wheel. One other thing. if any of you decide to get a tractor make sure you get one with a Detroit or a Cummins motor. if it breaks down it'll be a lot easier to have it worked on. All of the truck manufacturers except Mack offer them as optional engines so all shops can easily work on them. Manufacturer specific motors are harder to get worked on like Volvo or Mack or even Pacar and International.

All good points. My VNL 780 (2015 - 550000 miles) 10.5 mpg bobtail, 9.5 towing. My previous truck was a 2018 F450 (new) and got 9 mpg towing.

Yeah a full up semi is a solution I would recommend only for a retired truck driver, preferably one who bought out his last rig. Frankly I shudder at the idea of some old guy fresh out of the CDL Mill and spending zero time working under the supervision of an experienced driver hopping behind the wheel of a true Class 8 and pulling a 30,000 lb 5th wheel across the country. I will say that the bobtailing issue is overrated, just slow down and increase following distance and you will be fine most of the time. ( and the rest of the time you should be staying off the road anyway.) I think the main reason why you would want a Runabout vehicle is because a semi cannot go everywhere. Most Mega Marts don't care about a bobtail semi parked on the lot, however pretty much everywhere else may have a problem. There's also the standard concerns of Bridge height and weight limits.

Big trucks big bills bigger trucks bigger bills

Just got my first 5th Wheel camper. Just over 42 feet. Hauling it with a Sport Chassis Freightliner. Wish me luck lol.

Have seen plenty semi pull horse trailer with living Quarters and horse trailer RV conversion in Florida

Newer semi trucks can be spec for disc over air and they last about 200,000 miles. All the newer trucks at my job are disc brakes. Slowly phasing out drum brakes.

I was able to purchase my 2001 freightliner sport chassis for less than $30,000 and it only had 162K miles! I’m now looking for the perfect RV!

I have my CDL but haven't drivin in years.. So my question is for the average joe license.. If your not using it for commercial use,do you still need a CDL,the D.O.T. card and drug card?

Love the video. Disc brakes are a option on class 8 trucks. I had a 2014 Kenworth T680 with disc brakes.

maintenance on a class 8 is truck is cheaper when you consider the PM and wear items.

Don't do it unless you can keep $10 to $20 000 in the bank for repairs and maintenance. Many owner operators gone broke because maintenance is very expensive. The semi truck will have to be registered as RV. Meaning it will need microwave, fridge and some type of toilet. I own semi Kenworth and I get really nervous when my maintenance account drops below $10k. Repair bills in the thousands are routine for semi truck. IMO you are much better off getting a regular pickup truck unless you have the income to maintain semi truck and know how to drive it.

“Bobtailing a semi tractors are not fun” I love bobtailing semis

When getting repairs done "big trucks = big bucks". Seriously, I drove my own truck for 15 years and my last semi was a 1995 Volvo with a Detroit Series 60. I almost never used a dealership for repairs unless it was for warranty work. And sometimes not then if it was going to cost me 2 days down time. I had my best luck with mobile techs. I also had a mechanical backgground to be able to do many things my self. Of course the problem there is having the right part with you when something breaks! As far as fuel mileage goes, I spent a couple years delivering automobiles, rv's, vans, etc and there were also drivers using Dodge Rams 5.9 and Ford 7.3 and I was getting better fuel milage, longer service intervals, and was definately much easier on components like clutch, brakes, transmission, bushings. That said, I would never use a class 8 for pulling an RV. I think there would be insurance issues, decreases the number of places available to fuel, ease of entry, my wife would be overwhelmed by the size, and.future repair costs on a 500,000+ mile semi. Companies take trucks off lease around 500,000 miles for a reason. Repair costs start to increase and down time increases also. One week downtime for a repair could cost more than $5000+ when counting the actual repair + lost revenue.

When I drove a Freightliner Classic XL, I could get a tad over 7 mpg pulling max gross. I had a 12 liter Detroit 9 speed governed at 65 mph. The Series 60 was rated at 435 hp on the foot, 500 on cruise. That was a 2002 model with only 17k miles on it when it was assigned to me.

If you can drive you want have any problem. And you just cant jump in a big truck and be a chicken hauler. It takes a long time. Have fun going down that hill with no experience.

Class 8 truck class 8 repair Bills 29k for an inframe and head job yay

At 70mph I get 10mpg pulling my 48’ flatbed (9200 lbs) with my 2017 Freightliner Cascadia with DD13. With 20,000 lbs on the flatbed I get about 9.2mpg. With 48,000 lbs on it (78,000 total lbs) I get 7.2 - 7.4mpg. I mounted a hitch on the rear of it so I could keep my fifth wheel because I still haul the flatbed part time. Kinda Semi retired !! 😆. Also I made a bed that fits over the fifth wheel that I transport my Harley and Samurai on when hauling my 40’ tow behind camper. Nice video. Take care. ✌️

A lot of newer tractors in the United States have disc brakes as well. Unfortunately, many do not because American truckers generally speaking don't embrace anything that wasn't around when their grandfather was driving.

I would add most heavy truck repairs are out of the realm of many diy guys. I did heavy truck and equipment for years. If you plan to diy your repairs plan on a budget for tools.

Everything you said is true. I just bought a Volvo HDT. I’d recommend to anyone that’s purchasing one to spend the money to have it fully inspected. Fluid checks, Dino, etc. That way, you know what you’re getting. Just my opinion but if you’re looking to save money, an HDT isn’t cheap. You may be able to pay less than a brand new F450 loaded but everything else is more.

Curious as to how the braking system is going to work. with air system in the tractor, is there a system that can control electrical brakes in the RV trailer, or will the tractor brakes suffice both?

4-6mpg is only to be had with at least two of the following: a mechanical engine, a lead foot, or something needs repaired.

I am a manager for a company with a fleet of 30 freightliners that do regional and short haul. Just one man’s perspective, but disc brakes seem to have a little too much hype. First, if you are using a class eight to pull an RV, both disc brakes and drum brakes Will be more than sufficient. Second, when it comes to cost, disc brakes are only cheaper to maintain if you do not ruin the rotors. One benefit of drums is that it is much easier to check your brake life with your wheels and tires still mounted. if we are swapping tires on one of our tractors with disc brakes we make sure that our mechanic is there to inspect the brakes when the tire guys pull the wheels and tires off. Third, I have seen these big disc brakes get stuck after a hard braking Situation, but we have not experienced that with drums (not saying this is impossible with drum brakes). I mention point number three because if you don’t recognize a stuck brake, you could end up having that brake catch on fire and burn your whole rig down. On a final and separate note, of our 30 trucks only two of them are pre-emissions. The other 28 are 2015 through 2024s. I know for this audience a 2024 is probably not the model being discussed but when it comes to emissions equipment , that doesn’t matter. To try and make this point without getting too scientific, think about a 1 ton Drw , with two different drivers. One of them is a hotshot guy who pulls at max weight most of the time and the other commute a total of 40 miles a day and works in an office. The guy that works in the office will probably experience a higher regen frequency on the emissions equipment than the hotshot guy. Newer diesel trucks are not made to idle like the old ones. The combustion process is very inefficient at idle and you do run a higher risk of clogging your diesel particulate filter. The hot shot guy will probably have a cleaner diesel particulate filter because he is towing very heavy very often and diesel particulate filters need that heat to burn off all the soot that is caught in the filter. Now consider pulling a fifth wheel with an 18 wheeler. That tractor is not having to work very hard so it may not be given the same amount of opportunity to burn the soot that has built up in the filter. Luckily, most emissions, equipped trucks nowadays, as long as you get them up to highway speed, they can start dosing Fuel into your exhaust to passively regen , but that can only occur at high enough speeds. If the truck asks you to perform a regen definitely do it. If you plan on Boondocking and camping where you do not have power hook ups, maybe see if there is an APU that can be installed on your 18 wheeler. That’s the most optimal way for over the road truck drivers to have climate control capabilities while not running the motor i’m not sure if they make one strong enough to power a fifth wheel but at this point, we’re pretty much just talking about using a generator instead of the tractors motor. I hope this is helpful for someone.

They are putting disc brakes on class 8 trucks

These are very good points, but if anyone is really interested in getting into an HDT should really go to a rally to learn all pros and cons.

Don't forget about the slight panic attacks in RV parks when a HDT pulls in and the limited amount of RV parks that allow it. Plenty of parks allow my 42ft 5th wheel but accepting my HDT as well is another battle I need to plan for. Great Video as always

FYI, modern day class 8 tractors( the last 40 years or more ) have been manufactured with " Bob tail " proportional brakes. IE, when bob tailing the brake system is not nearly as sensitive to stopping as you suggested. Full braking is in effect when the red trailer brake supply valve is engaged when hooked up.

BTBRV, hello,there is a man Whom, had a FORD F350 DUSLLY, A,DURAMAX DUSLLY & a DODGE DUALLY, but they all wore out, then went to aHDT ( FREIGHTLINER, traded it for aWESTRRN STAR, WITH AN EXTENDED CHASSIS, that space he carries, a SMARK CAR, then the FITTH WEEL HITCH , With a DRV MX459 3 AXLES, those SUITES, ARE BUILT WITH DISK BRAKES, IT HAD 150 THOUSAND ON IT THERE IS A FRIEND WHOM HAS A DUALLY, COMPARED COSTS OF MAINTENANCE, GUESS WHAT THE PICK UP COST MORE J IN MAINENANTANCE + tyres, so the DUALLY guy is now looking for a HDT, , I AM NOT ON THE ROAD, BUT LIFETIME IN SERVICE WORK & my own card, as of 1959 till 2016 drove 1.35 million, now 80 , have no desire to go RV ing 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

I have watched a lot of youtube videos about these trucks. The people that use the big semi trucks say its the stopping power in the big truck, is why they bought the semi.

Well the only thing you got wrong was the mpg on the truck. I average 8mpg cross country in my class 8 hauling a 53ft trailer with 40,000lbs of freight. My 5th wheel weighs 14,000lbs fully loaded so I can expect 10mpg or more towing it cross country. My auto shift is very smooth shifting even when bobtail. Everything else in this video I agree with. Great info in video. Thanks

A class 8 does everything better including fuel mileage, stopping and power . Also safer to really no comparison. The new volvos speced right will get over 10 mpg easy .

As always an excellent video. I know I'm a little late to the party, but wanted to make sure there was one more aspect every needs to be aware of with HDTs. If you have RV based roadside assistance (which is usually better than your standard insurance carriers limited roadside assistance) you need to read the fine print really closely. For many of them, like Escapees or SafeRide, a vehicle with sleeping quarters is considered an RV and they only allow one RV per policy. This means that a fifth wheel towed behind an HDT with a sleeper is not part of the policy. Not a big deal to get a second policy, but a real bummer if you think you are covered and you aren't when something goes wrong. Anyway, make sure everyone checks the fine print, and keep up the amazing work.

U were quite low on your fuel mileage for class 8 trucks(on the whole). I drive a semi with a less than aerodynamic trailer, grossing around 100,000lbs. I average 5 mpg. When I make longer runs empty (38,000lbs), I'll get up in the 8's. Pulling an RV should be easily be done in the 9 to 12mpg range, unless the HDT has a Cat motor (strong motors just not usually the best on fuel).

If I were full time I wouldn’t hesitate to go HDT. Great video.

With third four thousand lbs on the drives, that helps with your ride. Pulling a fifth wheel with the hitch at the back of the tractor, the weight on the drives is about mabe a little more than half, you will shake the heck out of the fifth wheel. Class eights are not made to pull 5th wheel trls. I drove for thirty years and I will argue this till I am six feet under. 265 inch wheel base with a fifty three ft trl grossed out at eighty thousand lbs still gives you, especially on our wonderful highways, one heck of a ride. I would think twice about buying one just to haul a fifth wheel. Everyone wants to be a trucker. I can sit here and con everything about a class eight truck.

The wheel brakes on a class 8 aren’t designed to stop an 80k pound load. Any driver relying on them coming down a big hill with 80k in tow is in for a thrilling surprise. There’s a ton more that goes into these trucks that takes years to learn for someone who does it every day. Let alone a weekend warrior who’s never driven bigger than a 3/4 ton.

Informative

Air disc brakes are common in class 8 trucks

The biggest issue of semi tractors pulling lighter trailers is that the braking system is designed to be most efficient at full capacity; that is, with the full 80,000 lbs. An RV just isn't going to have that kind of weight, nor the air trailer brakes (which, again, the semi is designed for), reducing the effectiveness of the brakes all around, particularly in conditions of poor traction (bobtailing has the same issue, only worse). I don't know if this could be modified, but without modification, it does present a hazard, especially to the novice. As to road repairs, many truck stops have shops, & a number of roadside service companies exist (as others have posted). A good start there is a truck stop listing book, which collects info on truck stops, rest stops, & other services, and what services & amenities they offer (a lot like similar books for RVs). Best bet is to do some research on your route before rolling.

I don't remember which company does this but there is a company that converts semi-trailers to RVs like a 53 foot trailer for class 8 trucks! The frame of the trailer doesn't change just what's on it so the kingpin can still handle those large slams from class 8 trucks! If I would get a RV & want to get a class 8 truck to pull it, chances are I'm going with an actual semi-trailer to have converted for it!

Stick shift trucks can be fetheted when hooking up unlike the automatic wich I find to be garbage

Me and the husband pull our 5th wheel with a 2014 freightliner cascadia (He still uses truck for OTR work so couldn't change anything on truck) We bought the jackalopee truck/trailer converter and a Bluetooth break controller everything hooks up nicely. Wouldn't change a thing. 🙂

When Big Truck Big Rv watches his own videos . later on buys a semi truck tow rig

There are many US semi manufacturers with air disk brakes on the vehicles they are very common

I'm in and out of rental and lease trucks. My favorite automated transmission is in the Freightliner. The engine is a Detroit DT13 and the transmission is the DT12. The transmission is load sensitive. Empty the transmission will start in 5th gear and skip gears. It also uses the engine brake to slow the engine during the shift process to speed the process. Empty with the trailer it has no problem keeping up with traffic. The transmission has three settings, performance, economy and manual. In manual mode it can be shifted with a single up and down paddle. The engine brake works like a champ in performance mode. I'd love to have a class 8 for rv towing. The obstacle I see is having a vehicle to drive when the rv is set up. My mpg at 65 mph 7-8 at 76,000lbs 8-9 at 40,000 9-10 empty or bobtailing Anything over 65 is drops and at 75+ I don't even want to know We pay about 250.00 for a full lube and oil change and run it for 20,000 miles. Over-the-road and light duty they can run up to 40,000 miles A truck with disc brakes utilizes the front brakes when bobtailing. It stops so much better than a truck with drums. Disc also stay dry in rain.

give an old semi youdon't need an new one you can get over a million miles on one or more. if you cn drive a stick you can drive a smei

The real question is can a dually pickup reach up to 500,000 as a semi-truck? It really boils down to what you want a truck for and how much driving you're doing.

I would go with a sport chassis vs a semi but that’s just me

Just to let you know that 70%of semi are now disk brakes and it’s growing because the disk brakes are less down time and last longer and its less cost than the drum brake set up most companies are choosing disk brakes but there is a few out there that have not changed yet but they will end up changing because of cost

This seems like advice that someone would give about semi trucks 20-30 years ago, alot of decent new auto transmissions shift as good as pickups, manuals in semis are super easy to learn too as long as you're not afraid, most new tractors have disc brakes or atleast optioned, and I've bobtailed my single screw day cab lots in florida downpours while you should be careful its not dangerous. Also to get a tractor repaired it's way easier to find a shop than a class A RV

Wanted to clarify about the class 8 "automatic" transmissions and some bobtailing advice. Automated transmissions aren't fast shifting in some cases and in a few other cases, the clutch application can be a "on or off" situation where a normal manual, you can feather the throttle and clutch and you can select a better gear ratio rather than always starting in 1st gear in a automated shift transmission. As far as bobtailing, it's easiest to bobtail with conventional dual rear tires whereas "super singles" will provide better MPG on dry roads, wet roads make the rear end hydroplane easier.

So what these types of videos there's really only 2 different attitudes over all. The 1st comes from someone that has had pickups forever and all they can do is shoot bottle rockets at the heavy duty truck because basically they have no understanding or experience with it. The other comes from people that are using and have figured out how the big rigs work. Expression Li people that have used rigs in business that truly understand what they're looking at. That camp will tell you that they would never tell what the pick up truck again. I own a trucking business. We have tankers in the oilfield, drive Ann's over the road, as well as some hot shots. Let me start by saying under no circumstances would I put a pick up truck over the road. It does not make money. It's a huge loss in asset value. They are not designed to be serviced over the road. So my pick up trucks for hot shot stay within a 150 mile radius. Having said all that, if you know what you are purchasing, a 1/2 a million mile truck will outlast to of your F450s. Of course as mentioned a really good pre buy inspection is key. But some points worth noting. Most trucks that are 20 years old and new were have ABS systems. So the era of 1970s and eighties where if you press too hard on the brake pedal you will lock them up doesn't really apply anymore unless the system is malfunctioning. As far as the air system goes, unless you have had a part failure including the compressor, a level involve, or something of that nature, you're typically looking at a plastic hose that has simply rubbed on something and is now leaking. I tend to carry 3 different size hoses in the sleeper at all times. But I also carry a quick connect coupler. What 1 of these units all you do is cut a leaking line in half and put it back together. One of the things you neglected to mention was fuel efficiency. My over the road trucks get about 8 miles to the gallon when they are loaded to 80000 pounds. Pauline a 5th wheel trailer that's fully loaded still lighter than one of my empties my truck would get over 10 miles per gallon. How much would an F450 do in fuel consumption when it tips the scales at 40000 pounds? You mention how the truck would be difficult to drive empty in adverse weather. Honestly with the newer trucks this just is no longer true. But you neglect to mention how much more comfortable a driver is when hes pulling that trader doing 75 down the highway and the truck behaves like there's nothing behind them. I would definitely agree that you don't want to toe with a 3 axle. Either removing one of the axles or purchasing a to Axel to begin with is a smarter move. Then doing the upgrade on the 5th wheel is a definite must. The flex and softer ride from a erride 5th wheel hitch would definitely help the trailer last longer. Another point worth noting is if you like to boon dock the chassis on the heavy duty truck has the ability for you to hang several golf cart style batteries and run and inverter all night. You can then either recharge those batteries with the Arvie's generator, a solar panel system, or an APU that is built into the tractor itself. A definite drawback to the heavy duty truck is that hardly any are Built-in a 4 wheel drive chassis. So if you haul a toy hauler or you like going to the boondocks then this option is definitely not a good one. They both definitely have pros and cons. Most people I know that upgraded to a heavy duty chassis say they will never go back to a pick up truck.

Hi...I agree with most of what you are saying but still not correct on alot...I have a large DRV...pulled it with my 1ton dually for 4 years...learned real quick...it work the truck and me...retired from 48 years of oversize heavy haul and knew that a hdt would be better...took my Western star HDT and converted it...repair shops still cost about the same...lots of money no matter how you look at it...mpg...about the same ..8mpg for my dually..8-10 for my hdt...it is harder to get into some camp grounds..I have found that the pros out weigh the cons by FAR...NO WAY would I go back to pulling a large 5th wheel without a hdt...thanks...if you would like to see my set up...go to rvillage and look me up...J&A

Also I want to mention I love your Channel

You seem to be lumping autoshift transmissions in with fully automatic transmissions. I have driven both, and the Allison automatic 6 speed acts just like your F350 automatic, and yes it will shift a little harder. You still have to be very careful, because of the weight of the truck backing into the hitch. If you want to have fun, go off the stoplight with the Allison next to a car and leave the car in the dust.

Also a big big issue DOT. Yearly physicals. If your use cpap per Dot you have to have yearly physicals. Per 2020. Cost to repair $$$$$. Parking limitation. No Jake brake or engine brakes in some states and cities. And that's just a few things I run into driving commercial

HDT is not really made to pull an RV, can you do it? Yes of course you can, should you do it? Probably not a good idea. Just saying.

I think you should give proper information about getting a ( Commercial vehicle) serviced. You said that you have to find a dealer and that’s so far from the truth most Loves TA and Petro Truck stops all have great service shops for half the cost of a Dealership. I’m a current driver and I have a Volvo and I have a Long Nose 379 Pete. Now the other thing you should mention is that most everyday drivers are gonna need a CDL and then the insurance is out of sight! I have a 2016 Volvo it gets 9.5-10 mpg. I had a freightliner 2015 it was getting 7.5 mpg. So you’re information is half right and half way off base. How ever I will agree here I don’t want every Joe Shmoe driving a big truck and some of them shouldn’t drive a regular vehicle. I’m looking at getting a 35 ft 5th wheel but I’m more scared of the garbage they are making now than some of the 15 year old models I have seen. What would you pull new or older?

A lot of good info....I want to add a few other things. The front brakes are only 10% of braking and the auto transmission shifts using air so if you don’t have enough air it will not shift. Need to be able to find air leaks or you will be stranded.

Don’t have to fuel as often and can shop around for best price. MPG is closer to 8-10 when properly equipped

We who faithfully follow your channel...mostly have a pickup. I know what I can haul and tow with my pickup...maybe get more in tune with what you're audience already has, and look at what sort of trailer we can all tow.

Alot of what this guy is saying is not true anymore

Thanks for all you do to educate folks on all things RV and trucks I have 30 years experience on big trucks and stage coaches....and now city buses. We are going full time when I retire....on the fence about going big truck single axle or a pickup dually. Will keep watching you to see what RV information could help. In this big truck video I just wanted to add my 2 cents worth....most big trucks these days come with air ride suspension so bobtailing isn't as bad as say 10 years ago..my last truck (9200 International) rode pretty good. The other thing people might consider is lienceing. Such as CDL etc. Where we live big trucks need annual inspections which could be costly over a pickup. Anyways keep up the great work/ reviews and videos. I'm sure they are helping thousands of folks Rob.

J just bought a fixer upper 2015 Peterbilt 579 with the mx13 engine, its a mid deck sleeper, disc brakes all around, at an auction for $2,100, could not pass emissions. Looks like it was just a bad egr cooler and a missing sensor. Might very well haul a big RV but i would put the rv minus its suspension on a lowboy equipment trailer, will have better brakes. Saw a guy doing that up here in Alaska. Takes rough roads far better.

That’s not true about your MPG Volvos and freightliners you can get about 7 to 8 MPG Pulling an RV you get any word from 11 to 13 miles per gallon I have a Kenworth W 900 pulling an RV I’m getting 11 1/2 MPG

From what I hear that’s not much more than sending a diesel dually to the shop to fix an engine plus most dealers keep your truck for a couple weeks waiting on parts figured a truck shop knows drivers need to get on the road .

Semi trucks you can get them with disc brakes now

Fuel economy actually isn’t that bad in an HDT. Our renegade motor home is built on a freightliner Columbia chassis and we have a 30’ stacked trailer behind it for racing. We are around 56,000lbs loaded and get about 8.0-8.5 mpg on stock gearing. Watts on Wheels, a RU-vid channel, has a Volvo HDT for their trailer and re-geared the truck to better suit their weight. They get almost 11mpg. Compare that to Fast Lane Trucks 2020 comparison of the Ford, GMC, Ram 3500 towing comparison at 31,000lb towing and they all got around 6mpg. If you are going to be towing very heavy, or over 22,000-24,000 lbs your are far better off going to a mid size like an M2 or T300 or better yet a class 8 truck.

Transmissions, rear ends and engines usually are warranted for 350 -750k miles !!!

We use a class 6 truck which is the same footprint as a dually pickup And has the advantage of a heavier running gear works for us repair costs are about equal to a one ton pickup fuel mileage is a bit less

Last I knew a CDL license was not required to drive a class 8 truck as long as it's not for hire. No one without a CDL should be allowed behind the wheel of a truck that large. Before you go telling me I don't what I'm talking about, I've had a CDL license for just over 40 years. I was a Safety Manager for trucking company for many years. I've seen close up what can happen with an inexperienced driver behind the wheel. Disc brakes are readily available as well. Also you're fuel economy numbers are way low. Just my two cents.

All I want to do is take a semi truck and put a regular travel trailer on a semi truck and just use it for only camping

2020 f350 srw here. Payload is just shy of 3800 lbs and towing is 22k max gooseneck (i am using gooseneck conversion to my RV because i prefer gooseball coupling over kingpin) and I tow my grand design 381m (20k gcw, typically loaded to 18k resulting in a pin weight of around 3200 lbs) and it does great. Drw isn't an option for me due to snow and city driving. But I have the new 10 speed with 475 hp and 1050 lbft (if I remember correctly)and my wife usually gets about 22-25mpg (at the pump) commuting 100 miles a day and we get around 11 mpg towing. Could not be happier especially since where I live diesel is cheaper than gas and I have a fleet card giving me even more discounts. I have towed in over 20 mph crosswinds too and haven't had any issue with sway or getting pushed around. I may swap to the long bed f350 to get the 4400 lbs of payload in the near future so I don't have to worry as much about distributing the weight in the RV, but for now it all works great.

commercialtrucktrader has many day cab trucks in the 45k to 55k price range with less than 200k miles, not 500k miles. If you are a couple hauling a trailer, you don't have to live in the cab. Not so good for a family... Makes much more sense for a couple that are fulltiming, and moving around a lot.

Every thing you said and what you are trying to say makes total sense. But damn man...put your damn hands down....either show the truck and describe or grab a stick or laser pointer...you flapping your damn wings around in front of the truck is aggravating and looks really unprofessional. Just saying !

Disk brakes are available on lots of newer trucks KW,Pete,and Western Star.

There are 3 pedal versions of the automated transmission which avoids the lurching you spoke about when hooking up. Basically you use the clutch for starts and stops, with the computer taking over for normal shifting.

you were talking about how large trucks are jerky, it depends on what brand you get like Kenworth doesn't know how to make an automatic transmission so it is very jerky and painful to drive at slow speeds. mack on the other hand is really good it feels smooth and you can crawl at slow speeds just fine, Freightliner feels like a normal automatic transmission, and I was told International is about the same as Freightliner.

Their automated not automatic

I have a F450...and I've towed loads that would freak you out...but that's me.

Check out RV Haulers and most or your concerns for high mileage, Also Summit and and Sport Chassis put an 800 lb weight on the rear axle to make them more manageable

What kind of fuel mileage do you get on average unloaded/loaded with your F450?

European trucks have been on disc brakes for the last 25 years or so and trailers have for around 15-20 years.

Great video. The newer automated manuals are quite a bit smoother going down the road than the old ones. Also, with a tractor you have the advantage of air ride suspension. Some of them also on the front axle. Much more comfortable than a class III, four or five truck. Not to mention air suspension for the cab and, really wonderfully, air ride driver and optionally passenger seat

My semi is close to 40 feet long has 3 drive axles that are 102 inches wide and 36,000 pounds

At the end of the day personally I would go class 8 and I would go with the Mack R model not the best looking truck but the toughest.

Hi there unfortunately your comments in regards with the brakes for class 8 most newer trucks have disc brakes to meet the new highway requirements for stopping. The other reason they have disc brakes are they don't come out of adjustment. 30% of all violations are due to brakes being out of adjustments. Please in the future please ensure that you have all of the facts and drive safe.

All of my otr trucks are autos and have full disc brakes . they shift extremely smooth . the brakes last around 400k pulling 80k. I average well over 8mpg pulling tractor trailer loads . tires will last 250k plus ..services are at 50kmiles. Much better ride and room..not saying it's the best but given today's cost if diesel pickups and the issues,ie CP4 fuel system. 10k to 20k and not warranteed. As well as cost of the pickup trans and engines. A much better choice in my opinion. Converting 18 semi to pull our NEW HORIZONS.

Yeah this won’t be a problem I will ever have lol. I like the channel but damn. The people I move with ain’t looking at these kinds of problems lol. If I get to a point that a F450 is necessary, than that’ll most likely be as big as I would ever go. Beyond that, I’ll hire a damn company to move it, or just buy a house or mansion lol!!!

A dually so lovely to import this is a small fortune .

My dad had a class 8 strait truck. 66 GMC we converted to a boom tow truck. to haul Class 8s. wasn't allowed to drive it cause it had air brakes. His other was an International 1700. it had non air brakes. I loved it.

They are extremely nose heavy when Bobtailing. My Volvo with 600 hp Cummins and 13 speed trans. and the set back front axle, bob tail I could lift the rear axles off the ground under hard braking. Very sharp turning radius and fantastic ride, (air ride suspension, air ride cab and air seats). But yes you are correct a loaded trailer is preferred. Even with a lightly loaded trailer #30,000 it was easy does it in the winter.

semi trucks don't surge unless you have a hopeless driver . on the preventive maintenance for semi trucks its easier than a regular truck since all Petros ,TA ,and many other truck stops have a service bay for complete chassis service you dont need to unhook your trailer . interesting video