Good Day Everyone,

I am not too sure if people on this forum are familiar with a motorhome from Gulfstream called Supernova? Well I am planning to pull travel trailers from Indiana to Canada with It. Mine is 34 feet and I could pull 14000 Lbs Of course that means I don't need Hotel rooms. My mileage empty is about 9 miles per gallons my engine is international/Navistar 4200 VT 365 300 hp.
Do you have any advice , Is it worth? I am in Canada is it possible to right off most of my expense>

Can someone let me know what they think
Of course I can only do Travel trailers up to 31 feet

 

I don't have any advance but that is a sharp looking RV!

MikeyB

 

Thanks Mike
I have a lot of toys on my unit and really enjoy it
Just the wheels are Alcoa all around the paint has no decals I have a chip from TSL as well but I disconnected it for a while to see if I get a better mileage . I really enjoy driving it that is why I would like to see if I could pull a few trailers and other things with it from the state.

 

I doubt anyone would lease you on with that unit. Most want a 1 ton, or maybe a tow haul unit. At 9 mpgs, you would be broke before long. The average trip from Indiana to Calgary/Edmonton is 1741 miles 1 way. You are only paid when you are loaded, so to dead head back to Indiana empty, you would burn alot of fuel, and what most places are paying is about the $1.45 per loaded mile. basically you would burn about 190 gallons of fuel 1 way and at say 4.00 a gallon, thats 760.00 just for fuel 1 way,, Now 1741 miles times 1.45 = $2,524.00 now if you used the same amount both ways take 1520.00 off that and that leaves you about 1,000.00 a week, then you have taxes to pay and maintenence, like oil changes, tires, and whatever breaks down, Plus in 1 year, you would put on close to 300,000 kms, if you worked steady, soon the pull unit is not worth much. I have pulled for 2 companies over the last few years, and to me there isnt any money to be made really, The only good thing is,, You are your own boss. Look at it closely and crunch the numbers yourself and you can decide if its worth it or not. Plus with you only being able to pull travel trailers, that is yet another strike against the unit

 

I have 3 companies so far that would like me to pull for them and they already saw my rig. I am thinking that by the time you pay for your motel and I don't need to It would compensate. This diesel engine is made to pull and good for a hell of a long time I don't have to overhaul it until 650,000 miles that is why I though I could be good with this
The price per gallons right now is 2.89 in most places in the US I would always get my fuel there since I have a 140 gallons tank no problem

 

OK just remember that the USA gallon is smaller than the Canadian gallon,, USA gallon is 128 ounces and canadian is 160 ounces,, so basically it takes 5 USA gallons to make 4 canadian gallons, now that will change the average price per gallon. As for the companies, if a 1 ton that gets say 20 mpg empty and say 11 pulling cant make money, how can a rig like yours? I understand that 650,000 miles overhaul, but for the price you paid for that unit, difference over a 1 ton you could buy MANY hotel rooms, and when I pulled, I would say i pulled 1 bumper pull trailer to every 7, 5th wheel trailers. I tried this 3 different companies, and to me,, you can not make money at a $1.45 per loaded miles,,, if you think thats big money, then go for it, remember 1 round trip is about 65 hours and thats 1 week,, so you do the math and see if that works out like alot of money. Most guys doing this will just sleep in there truck, alot i see now use the Crew Cab Sleeper,, it costs around $2,000.00 , and the ones i talked to say they dont get hasseled over the sleeper birth.

Its your money, I am not saying not to do it,, I am just saying look at it from all angles and do the math before you decide to lease on with the company

 

A polite suggestion from someone that hauled RV's. Run the other way.
If you take heed to what I am suggesting, you will have saved yourself a lot of headaches and costs.
Its not like it used to be and with what you are thinking of doing I am certain you would encounter expenses higher then normal for a single pull/load.
If you are looking at 'purchasing a hobby to have fun', it may be fun for awhile.

All the best to you with your decision.

Scotty

 

I agree with Scotty. If you are looking to do it as a hobby it can be fun for a while. I retired from the Gov't and delivered stuff for fun or a hobby. I got to see all 49 states, driving to Alaska twice and it did not cost me anything. I didn't make a lot of money, but I traveled for 2 1/2 years at other people's expense.

I could not support myself by doing this. It paid for my travel but would not pay my travel expense and my home base expenses.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

Dan

 

Just so that you are aware, that engine is the 6.0l. I would most definitely "not" run any performance enhancer on it.

 

Why not?

 

And yep I agree with the others. Its not for everyone. The only way I make it is by doing all of my own repairs. This includes tranny rebuilds, engine work/rebuilds, and diff work.

For most guys a rebuilt g56 tranny is 3 grand I rebuilt mine for 500 bucks. Most pay 1000 for a rear diff rebuild. The bearings were only about 200 bucks. I noticed my transfer case has more play than it should. So I will be pulling that apart soon and putting a new chain in it along with bearings. I can rebuild it for 350. They cost 12-1500 rebuilt. Ive done a ton of transfer case rebuilds, so I know I can handle it.

If you arent as good of a mechanic as you are a driver, owning your own truck in any capacity isnt for you.

This is how I make a living hauling rvs. Big trucking isnt a whole lot different. If you can work on your own truck, your gonna make money.

In this world repairs take up a large part of your profits. If you can fix the truck yourself you will make money. If not, its very tough. Big trucks are no different. Its not the parts that hurt ya, its the labor.

If that supernova has a IH 6.0 engine forget it. The 1st time it breaks down you will be broke.

 

Although the vt365 in the I/H applications have been better longevity wise than the Ford version is because they were derated. Once you circumvent the stock power ratings on that engine it will only be a matter of time till you start popping egr coolers and headgaskets.

Take what I say for what its worth, the VT365 or the Ford 6.0 are the least mod friendly engine produced in stock format, even with engine upgrades they are prone to failure.

I wish you the best of luck with it.