Originally posted by Profmcmillen:
I want to thank those who have responded. Some good ideas to look into.
OK Round 2.
1) What kind of license will be required to drive a rig like this?
2) What are the costs and considerations regarding insurance?
3) What is the maximum practical height to go?
4) Is it possible to use low profile IE smaller Diameter wheels to lessen the intrusion into the garage space?
5) Is there any way to lower the entire profile (ground height) to allow the garage to have a lower center of gravity?
6) Is the registration for a truck based rig likely to be higher than the Bus type? (I live in California).
7) Is there another car that might be more practical than a Subaru to hall about?
8) Is it a good idea to try to have a motor scooter too?
9) If you were going to have a rig built for you which builder would be the most skillful and provide the best product?
10) Does this lifestyle of travel compete with the traditional Cars/Motels/ Restraints way to go?
11) What are the known downsides to this way to go?
12) Is there much danger of being robbed, assaulted or killed in camp sites or rest stops?
Thanks soooo much.
Michael
Michael
i hope my brother jumps in here and answers no 1+2+6 (he knows the legal stuff a lot better
)
3; max legal height is 13'6". however, we try to keep the roofline of our Toter as low as possible. for us the Totertruck is our (almost) daily driver; its a lot easier to "get around" if we keep it under 12'. the big trailer will only be used for long trips so it will be a "two level" (lower floor garage, upper living) and right at the max of 13'6".
4; IMHO i would not use anything smaller then regular truck lopro 22.5" . if you ever have a tire problem you can get a standard truck tire replacement everywhere and 24/7 . the riding comfort of the tall tires is also a lot better. to install something like 17.5" you need also to re-gear the rear end to match the final gear ratio: can be lots of $$
5; i would not go too low (and i would also keep the rear overhang short); you can hit and do some $$$ damage
. it also limits where you can go (campgrounds, nationalparks, shortcuts, driveways, off road, ....)
7; a Mini would be easy
8; why not (great around camp)
our garage will be 96" wide on the inside (our cars are very wide with sand tires on it
) if you haul a regular car (~62" wide) i guess there should be room next to it to strap a small scooter to the wall.
9; i would go with somebody like Randy @
Butler motor coach or
Cobra or
Showhauler ,......
not many here in the west
10; for me its complete freedom and mobility; i like to be "on the road". truck conversions have the strenght and riding comfort for driving long distance and hauling a big load (not like the underpowered plastic diesel pushers
). we have everything we need to camp wherever we want. i dont like camp grounds; most of the time we camp under the stars in the wide open desert here in the west. the Truck/Trailer acts as a base: we can go for sightseeing with the Toter or take the buggie (our "offroad" cars are street legal).
11; hmmmm ...dont know any
maybe this: some peeps will look at you funny (i guess in the sea of standard white RVs our rigs stand out a little
)
12; its hard to answer that. i dont like/have guns. we travel a lot and i can say we never had any problems at all even on some odd places. i guess our dog (100+ lbs of french sheepdog muscle ...but looks like 300lbs with all the hair
) that hates strangers and scares the s..t out of peeps when he growls/barks at them helps a lot . in general i feel very safe traveling with the truck; from the outside you dont have the "easy prey" look of a "retired old peeps" diesel pusher.
on roadside reststops we usualy camp with the truckers; they usualy dont like RVs between them but with a Truck conversion your accepted. Truckers look out for each other and i think the bad guys know that. again, never had a problem or even a bad feeling
stephan
