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?