Dodge 4500 or good used Single axle tractor with sleeper.

IF you are wanting a "legal" sleeper without adding any weight or stretching a chassis, there IS a way to do it, and it costs next to nothing and can be converted back in a day for resale. I am 6' 2" and could NEVER stretch out across the back seat of a p/u.

You HAVE to start with a crew cab p/u any of the big three will work, pull out your rear seat AND your pass. seat a nice 6/8" high 30x80 mattress will fit almost perfectly (at least it does on the Ford) from right under your glove box to the back wall on your sleeper.

Build storage and closet behind the drivers seat and you will have more room than you thought. Make sure that your truck of choice has captains chairs with arm rests, as you WILL lose your center console in the conversion.

It costs nothing, adds no weight, and WILL meet the required 25"x25"x75" sleeper berth regs, netting and securement is not needed as you are ONLY driving solo.

Dark tint you back windows, and make two front side window cutouts, carpet works well, affix at the top corners with just a small square of Velcro, then of course have a front windshield foldout cover, it works better than you might think.

We used to have our own RV company and around 75 p/u trucks on the road, there isn't much that I haven't tried or seen. PS. this will NOT work with an ext. cab, there is not enough floor length.

Stan

 

Hmmm. ..seems we are now defining the "perfect" setup. These could be valid points, however, I would say that there is no such thing as the perfect set up. Many variables and different needs/desires. The standard cab and sleeper can work in many situations...not all. Trailer selection alone could greatly (negatively) affect any advantage of the "perfect" truck setup. Heck, there guys managing to stay in hotels! (Though I don't see how.) Overall good discussion/ideas and quite helpful for guys to consider how best to setup for their personal situation.

 

Going back a bit, I'm curious as to why no company would allow you to use a semi to pull their camper. I'd think a truck designed to pull a larger, heavier trailer would reassure them. 'Course, I'm not the one making the decision.

 

I've seen several single axle trailers with steopdecks hauling RV's . Some out of Canada have a hydraulic 5th wheel at the end of the trailer to pull a 5th wheel behind the load .
I run I-75 thru MI a lot but the last couple of days I've noticed a lot of 2 and 3 car trailers hauling new Chrysler products . I think they are out of Canada . Hauling RV's into Canada and cars or pickups out could be pretty profitable .

 

Biggest reason is frame warranty, even with air ride the back of a semi puts quite a bit more stress on the front overshot of that camper. Yes you will see class 7/8 hauling 5th wheels, but MOST of them have a special hitch that is also air ride.

Another reason is that the 5th wheel plate on your semi only articulates front and back, most newer style RV hitches also articulate side to side, I once saw a fellow with a brand new 5th wheel RV and an old semi truck twist a unit hard enough in an off camber situation that the trailer was permanently ruined.

 

I'd check with a company that you'd haul for and see if they'd allow you to use a SA tractor with the appropriate RV hitch. If you're going to be on the road a lot the larger sleeper will be more comfortable and the tractor should offer longer life and better control.

 

I wanted to revive this threads general comparison between running a dually truck versus a SA tractor for hotshot type work.

I expect to have my paperwork back any day finalizing the formation of my LLC and will immediately establish my business bank account (already discussed all issues with my banker). Then I'm in position to purchase the equipment in the business's name.

I am one of those who keeps going back and forth between the idea of operating with a dually (for lower operating costs, mainly fuel) versus a SA tractor for durability & maintaining more truck resale value.

I have located the following unit about an hour from the house:

2005 Freightliner M2 106 tractor
Single axle
12k front/21k rear axle ratings
Less than 200,000 miles
CAT C7 @ 275 HP
Eaton Fuller 9 speed
3.73 rear end
108" CA
Air ride suspension
Aluminum wheels
Dual 80 gal tanks

This company runs several of these trucks locally/regionally pulling 4 car trailers building whole loads for the big rigs to run cross country.

I have not been able to locate a used M2 with any better gear ratio for highway operation than the 3.73. I realize the HP is definitely on the low side but that's pretty much what you find in these tractors. I haven't located many M2 112 SA tractors at all. But I'm curious: might I find a 112 with a little more HP and better gear ratio THAT WOULD YIELD BETTER FUEL MILEAGE? Or is the above truck set up about as good as can reasonably be expected?

 

I am running a 99 frtliner fl-70 with a 300 cat and have to say I like it better than my 08 dodge. Huge mileage difference but got my bedroom with me all the time. Truck only gets 7.5 to 8 mpg but when I get tired don't have worry about motels or sleeping cramped. I pull a 40 ft gooseneck and the fl-70 rides better loaded than the dodge too.

 

This topic is why I registered here. My '07 Dodge 3500 recently turned 290,000 miles. Engine and trans never touched...unless you count the turbo. Truck is getting old and starting to show it. My typical loads gross me a couple thousand either side of 40,000. A pickup can handle that, but not forever. I started out looking for an International 8100 with the DT530 engine and long legs. I changed my mind, sorta, and now I'm looking for something with an M11. I'd love an 8600 if the ISM's EGR issues were a thing of the past...they aren't are they? I've talked to a couple guys who claim to get in the 11mpg range pulling GN trailers or smaller vans. BS??

I pull a 32' (40 overall) tri-axle stock trailer. Trailer gross is in the 30K range on a good heavy load. A lot of loads maybe 25Kish.

Any thoughts on my ideas. I'd much rather be over-powered than under. I don't really like the extra weight of the M11 vs 530, but ???? 10 years ago a neighbor had an 8100 with the 530 and pulled a bigger trailer than what I have. It would be big enough, but finding a good low miled used one is almost impossible. Lot more M11's out there.

Getting a 4500/5500 is outta the question due to limited resources. A $15000 truck is a whole lot easier to swing than $30K plus my current 3500.

Al, you said, "Truck only gets 7.5 to 8 mpg". What does the Dodge get? Mine gets 10-11mpg in the summer, 9 or so in winter.

 

Single axle tractor is the vest bet. A cabover would be really cool.

I see tractors pulling 5ers, but like someone else stated, you need the proper hitch for those smaller trailers.

Only if you are under 5'5"
I was asking questions on a different forum and someone mentioned he had pulled trailer for a few years. He removed his backseat and made a bunk using the area of the front and rear passenger seats. He laid a mattress down on a custom platform and had plenty of room. The area behind the drivers seat was for a fridge, microwave, and other storage. He also had storage boxes for other things in the bed.

Log off duty. Never log sleeper. I drive class 8 otr and never log sleeper.

Exactly! Buy the proper equipment the first time around.