Driving a Truck Conversion

[Assaultman]

Warpath,

I really enjoy the site. I have learned alot by reading up on your progess with your current conversion. I have one question and I hope that either you or the other readers will be able to help me. How difficult is it to learn to drive a truck conversion vs. a regular motorhome?

I have been looking into several brands, sizes of motorhomes, etc. and the truck conversion concept has me interested. I would think that a converted truck would hold up better over a longer period of time than most of the units I have looked at.

I am in the beginning stages of my research into this and any insight that you can provide would be of great help.

Scott

 

[Warpath-TC]

I was fortunate to have driven a number of different types of trucks over the last 15 years. But I had never driven a Class 8 or a used a non-syncro transmission before I bought my truck.

I will say that one of the draw backs conversion motorhomes will have to over come over traditional motorhomes is the intimidation factor in regards to operating them. There are some solutions to make this transition a little easier. If you have never driven anything big and may not be good at shifting, then a autoshift or automatic are going to make the learning process much more enjoyable. My first experience in a conversion was a FL112 autoshift with a 32' motorhome w/ garage box, making the overall length around 38'. With the autoshift the clutch is used to start and stop, a computer shifts a 10 speed transmission automatically. The truck drove great and it was very easy to drive for it size.

My FLD120 has a 10 speed Fuller manual transmission which took a couple of good drives to get the hang of, but it can be shifted without the clutch while under way once you get good. Just takes alittle getting use to.

The big thing I noticed about my truck versus my motorhome was how stable the truck was. The truck just seems to take so much less steering input versus the motorhome. This has always been my main problem with traditional motorhomes along with flimsey construction, no carrying capacity, under powered, and on and on.

2003 28' Show Hauler Motorhome on a 1995 FL 120 completely refurbished chassis. Currently in production - scheduled completion 1/10/03 www.showhauler.com