Stuck between trucks
 

After a few very trying trips across the mountains with our Ford Excursion/31' Travel trailer and two transmissions later, the DW and I have decided that we need a C+, Super C, or a HDT conversion for our upcoming trip to Alaska.

Our current favorite is the Dynamax (in either a Force HD or DX-3) with the 9L ISL Cummins. However, after doing some reading on this site, I fear that I may still be disappointed with the power.

Unfortunately, the new Dynamax is at the upper limit of our budget which doesn't appear to put us in much of a HDT conversion, unless it is fairly dated.

Questions for now:

In a no towing situation, do you think the power of the 9l Cummins will be sufficient to keep up with traffic in all situations?

Would a dated HDT Conversion coach be preferable to a new MDT conversion in general?

WELCOME !

when you say upper limit of a budget....do you mean NEW ?

you could EASILY get into a very nice / clean USED Haulmark, Renegade or Showhauler for considerably less than a new Dynamax.

i would definitely avoid the jayco (gm/gmc chassis) set ups.

We've been considering a new Dynamax Force HD or a year old DX-3 in the $175-200,000 range. I haven't found many HDT Conversions in that price range that aren't fairly dated.

I didnt give that much for our 04 (4yrs ago) and other than completing some upgrades and routine maintenance its served us well in the 45k+ miles that we've put on it in 4 years (didnt drive it much last year because i got sick).

I have a "bot" search for eBay that sends me emails each time a new listing is created - i use the manufactures as key words i.e.: haulmark, renegade, showhauler, etc.

all of these dealers list coaches pretty often on eBay & may of them are not just used but also consigned -

- Motorcoaches
Motorhomes | FLYING A MOTORSPORTS
Used Cars for Sale Des Moines IA 50313 Brown Motorcars
Current Inventory - Desert Autoplex | Pre-owned Dealer | Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona

Don't compare new prices. There are so many good deals on used Truck Conversions. You would be miles ahead and way happier with a used Truck Conversion than a new Super C.

There are lots of places to look for them. Here's a good one:

Toterhomes/RVs/Motorhomes, Class 8 Truck Conversions for sale on RacingJunk Classifieds - 45 available

Did you see this one?: https://www.hawkengineering.com/4509mhrbrta1cstk-1.html

That is beautiful, but we need a cabover bed and bunks, in addition to a main Queen or King berth. If I am reading the features correctly, it is one bedroom. Everyone else would be on pull outs and conversion furniture. Thank you for sending that my way!

Thanks to all for the links and your insights. I explored all of the links, but haven't found anything yet.

The DW and I believe we have settled on a queen or king master, with double bunks and a large cabover bed as our preferred layout, at least 450hp, washer dryer, and twin screws would be nice. Showhauler has an excellent floorplan for this, but I can't find any older ones with it.

here's one that meets ALL your retirements....

International / LoneStar front end, BUNKS...and TWO outside beer coolers...i mean coolers ;)

Immaculate Renegade XL Bunk Model International Lonestar Toter Hauler Diesel | eBay

as i look at that lonestar.....the basement storage is REALLY shallow....i have those same coolers & have a lot more storage BEHIND the electric cooler, where their basement bins are completely consumed by the two coolers.

also - what idiot decided placing those side view cameras on the leading edge of the front fenders would be ascetically pleasing UGH!

I appreciate the compliment, but that one isn't in our price range. $210k is just about the ceiling.

Now my DW has changed her mind. She no longer wants 2 bunks, cabover, and a master queen/king stateroom. Now she wants a big cabover, master stateroom, and a garage big enough to be a bunkroom for the children!

Just out of curiosity, how to you guys go about shopping for/purchasing one of these things?! It looks like I need to take two weeks off, get a fistful of airline tickets, and start criss crossing the country!

I am inclined to work with dealers who have good reputations with BBB, online reviews, etc. However, there appear to be quite a few clean units for private sale.

yeah i understood it was outta budget - but thought it might help you in your pursuit (show the wife).

I think a unit withOUT bunks will be significantly easier to find & easier to sell later too.

for me - mine was listed on FlyingA's web site, they didnt actually have it in their position, it was a consignment unit from a customer of theirs in st louis.

they put me in touch w/ the owner....i do a lot of biz in arkansas so i took a 5 hour drive to look at the coach & go for a test drive.....we went back and forth on price & eventually agreed upon a price. I did a wire transfer w/ my banks assistance & then flew back to pick the coach up.

I had been scouring the interwebs looking for a rig. I did find a few close to me that I went and looked at. Even tried to buy one of them but we couldn't agree on the price. Poor guy should have taken my offer because I found the truck a year later still for sale by the same guy and he was then asking 15K less than what I offered him! Hahahaha. Anyhow, I found mine about 5 hours drive away on their web site. Drove down and checked it out and we made the deal.

I have to be careful even looking at those units out of our price range. We did that on a boat once. Found a model and configuration we liked so much that we could not accept anything else. We had to wait a year and a half for one to hit the used market to get to our price point!

I've asked two brokers/dealers to be on the lookout for what we want. Unfortunately, it appears that these operations have lists of regular customers waiting for the right rig. I think we are quite low on the list. In the meantime, they are very helpful educating us about the various manufacturers and dizzying array of options.

We've identified about 5 rigs that more or less meet our requirements. We have resolved to clear our schedules next week and hit the road to take a peek at a couple of them.

By the way, we have been shopping at: RacingJunk, RVTrader, and a few Dealers who Represent Showhauler, Renegade, Haulmark, United, Chariot, and NRC and who post their used inventory. Any suggestions for other places to look?

I think i covered all the dealers i know.

Eldorador Trailer Sales is located in Eldorado, Wisconsin.Â*|Â*Eldorado Trailer Sales, motorcoaches, equipment trailers, cattle trailers, enclosed trailers, Wisconsin

Used car dealer in Connersville Indianapolis South Columbus, IN | Racing RVs

Bob, thanks for the new links.

I am officially overwhelmed with this decision. I have identified trucks in AZ, IL, OH, & MA that I want to see up close! I need a way to thin the herd. Is there such a thing as a "Truck Surveyor, Inspector, or Appraiser?"

By the way, since we've been sort of warned off of the older Lonestars, we've started to gravitate to the Coronados. I had a dealer warn me about the turning radius on them, due to the front axle placement. Anyone have any insights on that?

Where in AZ? I have business reason to be out there in the next couple of weeks, id be happy to look 'em over for you & walk thru it while on the phone or video you stuff i find.

Thank you for the offer. If I get a little closer, I may take you up on that.

A used truck conversion can certainly be found within your budget. You will likely have to travel unless you get lucky on a local dealer/seller. Private party is not bad, just depends what you find that meets your needs.

I would not be concerned about a slightly older one. In fact the older ones have less of the new emissions junk that seems to cause a lot of troubles. That means basically pre-2007 to avoid the extra emissions stuff. Twin screw rear is really not needed unless you plan for a big trailer. Most T/C have plenty of load capacity with single rear. Just like with the toy hauler 5th wheels trailers, many of the T/C have the garage which can have the beds that fold down. A garage unit may not have the big master bedroom however.

I went from a super-C to my T/C and am very happy with the improvement. Super-C are generally medium duty class 6 chassis, and just do not have the real truck drivetrain and heavier class 8 parts. For example, even the diesel super-C's tend to have 6-7 liter engines, and they may have an exhaust brake vs a real engine brake like the bigger 12-15 liter engines have. Believe it or not, my T/C gets the same mpg as the super-C, and I tend to drive it a bit faster to boot because it is so easy. Not a big difference, but 70-72 mph in my Showhauler is nicer than 65 in my old super-C.

Thanks for your insights

I've made contact with dealers in MD, PA, IN, and TN. Hopefully, the road trips will begin next week. Hunting these rigs down is tiresome. It seems like the minute we find something we like, it slips away.

Make sure to read my thread here: https://www.truckconversion.net/forum...nversion-7421/

Got it. Thanks

The DW and I took a look at a Haulmark on a Coronado chassis yesterday. What an absolutely cool rig! The owner took us for a spin, then let me drive the thing! WOW! The DW noted my ear to ear grin as the big Detroit effortlessly whistled along, skipping through the gears and settled in nicely at 75...just before I realized the speed limit was 55. I think I could run out of road before I got sick of driving that sweetheart!

That was our first test drive. The bar is set for the next one. Do all of these rigs drive/ride/sound pretty much the same, or are there dramatic differences between the different chassis?

Sounds like a ride in our coach - we just logged 28 hours in ours (21 of it rolling - houston to virginia) - we slept in a rest area for 6 hours.

Headed to TN this week (hopefully) to take a look at (and drive) a Volvo and a Cascadia. I have to be sure the "love at first sight on the Coronado" was the real thing.

originally i wanted the Cascadia over the Columbia, now i believe the Cascadia has a bit too much commercial / industrial look.

I don't really know what (if any) difference there is (other than visual) between the two trucks.

I like the look of the NEW columbia, w/ the longer nose/grill w/ the aero dynamic slant.

I PREFER as much information as possible (from a gauge perspective)....and the VOLVO has very few gauges in the dash or cluster - i assume its all electronic (least preferred for me).

Well the Coronado had no shortage of gauges. It also had a bit of cab noise. Although I could listen to the engine all day, there were a few squeaks and such that could be annoying on a long rough road. That is why I need to drive other chassis for a comparison.

yeah mine has the "M2" gauge cluster - 6 gauges (3 per side) on each side of the speedo/tach, behind glass...basically one module/insert...with some additional sep/stand alone gauges in the dash center.

i would have preferred the more traditional columbia set up that has 5 or 6 (separate / independent) gauges on each side of the sep/independent speedo/tach.

These things aren't pusher quiet (going down the road) - but they aren't so loud that you can't have a conversation - for me the conversation has to be a little elevated (but thats because i suffer some hearing loss)....we're certainly not screaming or yelling.

I think you'll also discover the ride is firm, not stiff, but not airbag / marshmallow-ie.
I certainly would prefer a firm ride over some MUSH....we don't go down a lot of rough roads (even the occasional dirt road is RARE....usually its no more than a crushed gravel road at the campground or race track).

I feel like I must have been looking at nearly a dozen gauges, engine temp, engine oil pressure, trans temp, truck air, trailer air, rear end 1, rear end 2, voltage, speed, rpm, just off the top of my head. Nice thing is that everything is analog and not pushed through some central display.

The ride wasn't overly firm, but thankfully not the pusher "mush" I too have experienced. Because I have some time on the AK Hwy in my future, I may be overly sensitive to some of the squeaks and rumbles. I'll see what the other chassis do.

NO doubt its a bit overwhelming - especially the 1st few rides.

the other thing i don't have is the Electronic Trip computer - I'd like it (apparently does a better job of tracking / calculating gallons consumed, gallons remain & distance to empty...among other things).

I drove a Volvo Renegade and took a ride in a Freightliner Cascadia Showhauler yesterday. It is true what the truckers generalize about these rigs. The Cascadia was just as noisy, if not maybe more so than its Coronado cousin. The ride was about the same too.

The Volvo was quiet and drove like a car, but it did not seem to have the power or the gearing that the Freightliners do. Unfortunately, the DW does not like the look of the Volvo. I think if I could find one configured just the way we want, I may get her to take another look. Absent that, it looks like the Coronado is still in first place.

Got a contract pending on a Renegade/Coronado. Working on analyses and inspections now.

congrats! you should share the link & we can maybe point out or ask about some areas or items that we've either experienced problems with or have done improvements on.

Yay! This is exciting. Yes to the link for sale.

RENEGADE CORONADO 2006 in Connersville Indianapolis South Columbus | IN | Racing RVs | ECORON

I still have a professional RV inspection, second test drive, and walkthrough pending at this point. Hope to take delivery on Saturday if all goes well. Dealer has been great to work with.

That is the same dealer (Racing RVs) that I bought mine from. Worked out good for me, mine was a trade deal and I bought a used T/C. It looks like they still have my old one listed in their inventory, the Gulfstream Supernova.

That sounds good. Did you work with Joe?