Motor Home Mounts On Kenworth Truck

Motor Home Mounts on Kenworth Truck FARM HOME Building Techniques 16-6-29 "People who see it are crazy about it be-cause it solves nearly all the problems common to RV'ing," says Tommy Shackleford, Krum, Texas, about his one- of-,a-kind motor home which he built by mounting a deluxe 35-ft. Avion trailer behind a totally restored 1972 Kenworth semi truck. "It has all the power you'll ever need and you can get the 3 50 Cummins engine worked on anywhere across the U.S. It's safe, stable and has plenty of stopping power with the air brakes. Resale value is excellent and it rides as smooth as an automobile thanks to the 316-in. wheelbase. Gets 10 mpg on the highway," says Shackleford, who plans to take his just-completed custom-built motor home on lengthy pleasure trips. On its maiden voyage the big rig set the world land speed record for class A motorhomes by doing 96 mph at the Bonneville Salf Flats in Utah. Shackleford says he's confident he can reach speeds up to 133 mph so he plans to go back and try it again sometime. He says his prototype has worked out so well he hopes to manufacture and sell the vehicles himself. He's talked with Peterbilt (makers of Kenworth trucks) and they will make trucks and frames to his specifications. "This is the future of the RV industry. Because motorhomes are getting so big, you need the safety and stability of a truck." Shackleford mounted the 35-ft. Avion trailer onto a semitrailer frame that attaches to the Kenworth cab. He cut out an access door between the cab and trailer, and added fuel tanks with a total capacity of 650 gal. Gives him a range of over 5,200 miles. The 121/2-ft. high coach has steps leading to the living quarters. He and his wife tow a pickup truck be-hind the rig and on their first trip, which included a run through the Rocky Mountains, they averaged 8.5 mpg, climbing hills at 60 to 65 mph. And because the truck chassis is fitted with a "Jake brake", down-hill travel is not nearly so frightening as with other big RV's. The 20-year old Kenworth truck had al-ready logged over one million miles when Shackleford rebuilt it. He says he can build and sell the big semi-powered rigs for about $150,000. "That's about half the cost of some state-of-the-art RV's," he notes. Gross weight of the motor home is 72,000 lbs. The entire rig is 45 ft. long. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tommy Shackleford,Rt. 1, Box 42, Krum, Tex. 76249 (ph 817 482-6578).

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