Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

OzMonties · 07-30-2018, 05:33 PM

We have looked into, in minute detail here as I’m an Obsessive Researcher, many options for tow vehicles.
We have access to the usual suite of Ram, Ford and GM trucks. These are very nice with good equipment levels across the ranges, and great diesel/transmission inclusions if you can look past the DPF/DEF systems fitted for emissions compliance.
Here, a truck to tow our 370br HC would be classified as a Heavy Vehicle and would be subject to Yearly Roadworthy inspections, so deleting those emissions systems are not an option.
Price wise for those trucks, well....before we decided on our HC, we looked at importing a 3950BR. The truck we decided on to tow that was a current model 2018 Silverado 3500 dually, crew cab, long box LTZ with the Duramax. With the right hand drive conversion and Australian compliance, we were presented with a quote for AUD$165,000K, on road drive away!
Ain’t happenin’,,,,,Period!
Disappointed? You betcha!
Peeved? Blame the Government for Everything

So, next option, a Japanese flat bed truck,,,,don’t laugh this gets good....Isuzu, original designers of the Duramax, produce a ton of different types.
One, is a crew cab, 7.8 litre straight six diesel with an Allison Trans backing it up, plus it has air over hydraulic braking, meaning the air system is already there for the air brakes on the RV!
As we are semi-retiring, meaning we intend working to assist with paying our way as we travel, I wanted to carry the tools of my trade with me, and they weigh a bit, and we would like to do gold prospecting and gem fossicking too, so we’ll need room (and cargo capacity) for all of that ‘stuff’ too.
So we ended up downsizing the RV by a 1000kg from the 3950br to the HC 370br, so ditching the hydraulics in favour of cable slides and the electric jacks saved Literally a ton of weight, plus we kept the (BR) for Vicki’s office and space for the Grandkids when they visit Grandma and Poppy. It was the floor plan we wanted.
I’ll post a pic in our album of a smaller rig than ours will be, and yes that’s a boat on the roof of the truck (we call a little runabout like that a Tinny) and a pic of the truck we intend buying to modify as our hauler, they’re also available in 4x4 configuration but rear airbag suspension is not optioned.

Mitsubishi (Fuso), Nissan (UD) and Toyota also have similar options. But I favour the Isuzu.

07-30-2018, 05:33 PM	#205
OzMonties Established Member Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 22 M.O.C. #22325	We have looked into, in minute detail here as I’m an Obsessive Researcher, many options for tow vehicles. We have access to the usual suite of Ram, Ford and GM trucks. These are very nice with good equipment levels across the ranges, and great diesel/transmission inclusions if you can look past the DPF/DEF systems fitted for emissions compliance. Here, a truck to tow our 370br HC would be classified as a Heavy Vehicle and would be subject to Yearly Roadworthy inspections, so deleting those emissions systems are not an option. Price wise for those trucks, well....before we decided on our HC, we looked at importing a 3950BR. The truck we decided on to tow that was a current model 2018 Silverado 3500 dually, crew cab, long box LTZ with the Duramax. With the right hand drive conversion and Australian compliance, we were presented with a quote for AUD$165,000K, on road drive away! Ain’t happenin’,,,,,Period! Disappointed? You betcha! Peeved? Blame the Government for Everything So, next option, a Japanese flat bed truck,,,,don’t laugh this gets good....Isuzu, original designers of the Duramax, produce a ton of different types. One, is a crew cab, 7.8 litre straight six diesel with an Allison Trans backing it up, plus it has air over hydraulic braking, meaning the air system is already there for the air brakes on the RV! As we are semi-retiring, meaning we intend working to assist with paying our way as we travel, I wanted to carry the tools of my trade with me, and they weigh a bit, and we would like to do gold prospecting and gem fossicking too, so we’ll need room (and cargo capacity) for all of that ‘stuff’ too. So we ended up downsizing the RV by a 1000kg from the 3950br to the HC 370br, so ditching the hydraulics in favour of cable slides and the electric jacks saved Literally a ton of weight, plus we kept the (BR) for Vicki’s office and space for the Grandkids when they visit Grandma and Poppy. It was the floor plan we wanted. I’ll post a pic in our album of a smaller rig than ours will be, and yes that’s a boat on the roof of the truck (we call a little runabout like that a Tinny) and a pic of the truck we intend buying to modify as our hauler, they’re also available in 4x4 configuration but rear airbag suspension is not optioned. Mitsubishi (Fuso), Nissan (UD) and Toyota also have similar options. But I favour the Isuzu. __________________ All the Best, Pat & Vicki. 2016 Montana High Country 370BR.