It gets cold overnight here. The temperature drops to the high 30s, but the day quickly warms once the sun rises. Yesterday was beautiful with clear blue skies and a high of 73 degrees.
We rode the scooter to Fry’s Supermarket, about a mile and a half north of Casa Grande RV Resort on Pinal Avenue. This is a large supermarket, actually a superstore, with an impressive selection of food at great prices. Donna found things that have been on her list for months like coconut milk without guar gum and sesame-chili oil. Groceries are less expensive in Arizona than they were in California. We had the scooter fully loaded plus Donna had a full backpack of groceries on the way home.
Later, I rode north on the scooter again to check out the Casa Grande Municipal Airport. It’s a small general aviation airport surrounded by the usual light industrial parks. Pretty sleepy – I only saw one plane in the air. I picked up a case of water on the way back. We didn’t have room for it while we were shopping earlier.
While I was taking the trash out to the dumpster, I spied a class 8 Heavy Duty Truck (HDT) that was converted to an RV hauler. I’ve seen one or two of these before. There’s a sub-culture of HDT RVers with their own forums and some great websites. What they generally do is buy a used HDT, usually a Volvo, with 400 to 500 thousand miles on it and have it converted.
The converters usually remove one of the original drive axles – an RV hauler will never haul as heavy a load as the original truck was designed for, so tandem rear-drive axles are unnecessary. They can customize the length of the wheelbase. A new bed with compartments is built on the back of the chassis.
Volvo HDT converted to an RV hauler
Most conversions have a box built behind the sleeper section of the cab, which serves as a tool shed. A smaller fifth wheel plate with air bag suspension is fitted over the drive axle. This particular truck had ramps secured next to rails that a Smart car could fit on. When the ramps are in place, they extend down the side of the truck. The Smart car is driven onto the rails and secured behind the tool shed. The width of the truck is just right to fit a Smart car.
Car ramps stowed and rails for securing the Smart car
This truck has a sleeper cabin behind the driver and passenger compartment. This set-up makes a lot of sense for snowbirds who intend to park their fifth wheel RV somewhere for an extended period of time. The trailer gets dropped at an RV site with hook-ups. The Smart car provides local transportation and the HDT sleeper can be used to make overnight trips throughout the area. The sleeper cab can also be used when traveling and stopping overnight without leveling or setting up the trailer.
Cool HDT conversion
Later, as I walked through the RV park, I saw another truck converted to an RV. This one was a Freightliner Medium Duty Truck (MDT) chassis converted to a super size class C RV by Haulmark. Haulmark buys the new MDT chassis and builds the coach on it. This one had a large living room slide.
Haulmark super class C
Haulmark with living room slide out
The advantage with a super class C is ease of servicing. Other than that, I’m not sure what makes it a great choice. The disadvantage is that the cab and engine compartments take away liveable space. I’ve never driven one, so I can’t say if it’s easier to drive or how it handles.
I enjoy looking at different rigs. Although we’re all RVers, there’s more than one way to go about it. People can be very passionate about their choice of rig and some people prefer to have a bus or HDT conversion that stands out from the crowd.
I lounged outside in the late afternoon and started reading a western novel written by Larry McMurtry. We capped off an enjoyable day with a dinner plate of beef ragu over spaghetti squash.
Beef ragu over spaghetti squash
I plan to do some reading and relaxing today.