Hello from Kentucky and beyond!

[Joe Jones]

I am 67, single, and retired. I am taking a giant leap of faith, by selling my home and workshops, nearly all of my machines and tools, and furniture, and the dogs and cats,and darned near EVERYTHING. I currently live in Franklin, KY.

I recently purchased a 2024 Kenworth T680 from American Motors in Colorado, and also a brand new AXIOM VENDETTA 4250SP toy hauler. I will live in this toy hauler FULL TIME, as I travel around 'Merica in my awesome rig, and with a lady friend as well!

Right now, I am going through the process of registering both in Montana, through Dirt Legal. The truck title and places have already been issued. The trailer will arrive from Indiana in about a week, and I will also register it in Montana.

At the moment, I am working to have my Kenworth classified as an "RV". Evidently, there is some ambiguity in the legal definition of a "RV." Some say I am REQUIRED to have a sink and a toilet, and some means to cook food and store food. I believe that is overreach by our government. Who is to say I MUST EAT cooked food? Maybe I like sushi, or maybe I exist on fruits and vegetables, and cold sandwiches! The FACT is, as a bachelor, I exist almost ENTIRELY on FAST FOOD! I do not like to shop for groceries, or prepare meals, or wash dishes. Who is the government to tell me that I MUST have the ability to store and cook food in my "RV"?

I fail to see how my truck MUST have a toilet and a sink, and a water supply, and 110 VAC power. Do truckers at truck stops use the toilets in their rigs, or do they use the bathroom and shower facilities at the truck stops? It is a case of our government not being able to think OUTSIDE of the box!

Anyway, I am jumping into this new adventure with both feet, and there is no turning back now...

Joe

 

[Joe Jones]

I am taking a few of the machines from my shops with me. I will set them up in the garage portion of the toy hauler. I will take my XTOOL MetalFab cnc laser cutter and laser WELDER with me. I will also take four other, smaller lasers with me, and a cnc router, and a 3D printer. I plan to do my artsy-crafty stuff as I travel!

When they say, "Hey! We're having the annual toad festival at the local high school this weekend!" I can set up my pop up canopy, a folding table, and sell the things I have made on the road.

I can make steel signs, monograms, wood items, plastic items, and more. I can design and build fire pits!

This will just be a hobby for me, but who knows. It might generate a small side income, to pay for the chocolate cravings and ice cream runs!

Joe

 

[Janet H]

Anyway, I am jumping into this new adventure with both feet, and there is no turning back now...

Joe

This looks like an outstanding project!

 

[Joe Jones]

This truck is going to be special. I have designed a garage pod that can be unloaded to the ground on the passenger side of the truck. It will contain my 2018 Honda Goldwing, a Power Pusher unit, a generator, an air compressor and more. The pod will have a powerful little robot (Trailer Valet RVR 5) that will let me maneuver it into position at an RV site or camp site via remote control.

It will also have a height adjustable hitch base that will give me +- 10 inches of pin height, for those times when I either need to raise the trailer belly (to clear a railroad crossing, etc.) or raise the rear of the trailer to deal with steep driveways, and other ground clearance issues.

Joe

 

[jbeech]

Sounds like fun. We're the same age and full-timing isn't even a vague dream, but I'm not here to rain your parade. Your one comment where I am going to add my 2¢ is in regard to government sticking their noses into our business.

To begin, I totally get you. Any time I want to do something to my house, I have to involve the county and the permitting department. Like I get the 'why' (by way of example, so my roof doesn't blow off because I didn't use enough nails for the shingles to meet code). I understand the rules are about protecting folks, and I totally get why my neighbor wouldn't care for a ton of shingles to end up his front yard, or that I endanger overnight guests because I was foolish and used 14AWG wire for a 20A circuit – but – nevertheless, I chaff at the affront of bureaucrats sticking their nose into my business.

Fortunately, my lady friend (and darling wife of nearly 50 years) hears me grumble and calmly reminds me of what I know good, and well, by saying . . . 'Yes dear, but remember what that Spanish novelist Cervantes wrote about Don Quixote and his perpetually tilting at windmills.'

This is her way of grounding me in reality. Put another way, bureaucrats are going to bureaucrat, e.g. do bureaucrat-things. That, and 'we the little people' can do precious little about it. Or as Croce wrote regarding tugging on Superman's cape and pissin' into the wind, there are some battles not worth getting worked up about.

So maybe it's because I'm getting older but I rail less and less about the inevitable. For example, I don't like the yearly finger up the hind end during my physical, and I especially don't like involving the county in what I do with my house, but I accept it as the way it is.

So in closing, and as regards converting a Class 8 vehicle into something folks with regular driver's licenses can drive without the CDL, instead of being irritated by these rules, I'm grateful there 'is' a rule letting me do it as simply as adding the few things you mentioned.

For my Freightliner conversion, my job was made easier by having a doghouse with refrigerator, a pair of bunk beds, to which I added a single-eye cooktop, a Loveableloo type composting toilet, and LED lighting. This let me meet the spirit (and the intent) of the rules permitting these kinds of conversions.

In closing, and while I could be mistaken, but I suspect this is just you blowing off steam because you realize the wisdom of having a method to avoid the whole CDL rigamarole. It's another of those inevitable things.

Anyway, I hope you leep us posted on developments. I am principally commenting so I am notified by the system when there are new posts.
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Cheers,