G'day again Stuggy. Hope you finally hit the sack.

Many thanks for the specs. Unleaded petrol in Melbourne is around 1.20 AUD a Litre = about 4.20 USD a US gallon so you have an advantage there. Here a normal car driving license is only valid up to 10k pounds. Next is a Light Rigid (truck) license good up to 18k pounds + a single trailer of 20k pounds. Next a Heavy Rigid which has no upper mass limit. Above that are Heavy and Multi Combination (articulated). Of course up north they drive Road Trains with a legal length of almost 180 feet and total mass of 250k pounds. A road train consist of a large prime mover and 4 trailers of over 40 feet each. There have been a few attempts to break world records for the longest road train, under special test conditions. One had 117 trailers and was a mile long. A real bugga to do a tail-light check or a U turn.

You mentioned your rig was a 2004. How does the cost compare to a similar new one? In other words, what's the depreciation like on this type of vehicle?

Regards

Don,
You read right! A diesel is the way to go, but way out of my price range. Now I need to do some research on that Swagman!

David

Hey Techo! $4.20 per gallon would cause some anger here and did about a year and a half ago! Here in the States, each state regulates some of the license regulations with some federal mandates on top of that for commercial activities. I have heard of your Road Trains and my understanding is that they operate in very rural areas...correct? I have a friend that visited down under and she said she saw one and it was kind of a scary thing to see! Here in the States, the average trailer size is 53 feet long and sometimes, there are tandem trailers with 35 foot trailers. Wow....a mile long road train! That had to be something to see. There are many railroads that criss-cross this country and it is not unusal to see mile+ long trains rumbling by. My town, Sandwich, is a railroad town. That is, back in the 1800's most small towns were formed along rail lines or trails. Mine was along a railway. Every day, several trains roll past. Most coming from the West heading East towards Chicago are coal trains for the power plants and most heading west are empty gondola (coal) cars. There are about three nuclear power plants in the area, but the one just North of Chicago was shutdown about three years ago so there is a bunch more coal being burned. Another, North in Wisconsin is up and running and one just about 40 miles nw of me is still up and running. But....I digress! As for the cost of something like mine new, that would be around $120k+ brand new.

David

Stuggy, Road Trains are common in the top 50% of Oz. They get bigger as one goes further north. Rather than rural I'd say remote areas but they are a common sight to travellers and one is wise to give them all of the road. The last trailer can wobble a bit. They do venture into the smaller towns. Of course those super long ones I mentioned are only for record testing. We saw a few at the common legal length of a tad under 180 feet.

Long railway trains are quite common in the mining areas. 2 kms is normal. Here is a stat I found... On 21 June 2001 a train 7.353 km (4.568 miles) long, comprising 682 ore cars and eight locomotives made the Newman--Port Hedland trip and is listed as the world's longest train ever.



An early much smaller Road Train record breaker under controlled conditions



This is a typical real one, close to the legal max length of 54 metres. I took this pic at the Willare Bridge Roadhouse. That's on the
main highway (out of shot) about 100 miles east of Broome, on the West coast, and about 75% of the way up Oz's latitude.



A bit clearer from this side. It has 82 wheels all-up. I've seen them carry over a dozen spare tyres.

Awesome Photos Techo! Very interesting stuff!

That Damon falls into the lighter Class A's available in the US.Prices I know are ridiculous compared to here. A Coachmen Mirage that people on this forum would be aware of costs about $100,000 new!!! in the US.
The problem in this country is we have concentrated on Caravans rather than Motorhomes, partially due to the terrain. As well the market is much smaller.
Keep in mind that Class C's by Aussie Winnebago and Sunliner are heavier and almost as long(32ft usually) as the Damon. Class A are expensive here unless you do a Bus/Coach conversion and that is how much you want to spend.
A Winnebago Longreach

Sunliner Diplomat and Monte Carlo

[img][img]http://tcimages.net/DisplayImage.aspx?PD=21471438&S;=ISS&wmin;=rvpoint[/img][/IMG]

Hi David

Welcome to the Forum, I have been lucky in my Military service in the early 70's to have been involved in an exchange military posting twice to your country, the first time to Seatle and the the second time Illinois.

Managed to do a bit of travelling whilst over in the USA, realy enjoyed the South especially the area's of the Civil War and Texas. Hope you enjoy our forum, and hope you all come back again.

Old Timer:rolleyes:

For months now I have been following your exchange of photos etc. with the Australian counterparts of like minded people. You would have read and heard about our bushfires last February and the number of lifes lost, we were very lucky we lost all our sheds and the complete dairy heard but it left our house and workshop behind the house untouched. Our elderly neighbour was not as lucky, it was about 3pm when I could smell we were in trouble so We just picked up enough to see us through if need be and we were going to my sons place some 10Ks away. I rang my neighbour and asked him if he would like to come into town with me or rather us, as he did not drive on the road anymore, he told me that his son was coming out to get him very shortly but thank you for the offer. When we returned the next day and saw what was left for us we were thankful for still having a home and workshop, they found my elderly neighbour burned and dead in one of his sheds, why did I not insist on taking him into town??
But all that is water under the bridge, we have been forewarned that this summer is going to be worse with the fires, most of us have started to get their farms back into some order, we have put up all new fences with barb and plain wire and build a new dairy, but have not restocked simply because we can not afford to do so yet as the Government is still holding onto thje money donated by all different people frms etc. the fires in our area was started by a male in his 40s he has been charged but has not gone through the justice (courts ) yet so until this is done they are hanging on tight. The person responsible, and we are all sure he was in our area had driven his car up into the bush, set his fires and made sure they were going but a change of direction turned the fire into the area were he had left his car and burned it, he than had the cheek to put in a claim to his insurance company for the loss of his car which was a complete give away as he had been seen driving into the bush and he had also started another small fire in another area as his car was once again seen in that area, He went before the Magistrate but not before some of our local people gave him a hell of a hiding (and the police bringing him from the police station holding cell to the Magistrates court left the locals at him for something like 10 minutes) before escorting him into the court.
He was charged and sent to Melbourne to keep him in safe custody.
Just say a little prayer for all the people in the Gippsland Victoria and all the others who could loose their homes and lifes this summer.

Bill and Dawn

Hi Bill & Dawn,

Im surprised theres anything left to burn in your area,and im with you that xmas is hard enough in summer without the idiots. You talk about keeping him in safe custody in airconditioned comfort and great meals and a special xmas day for him no doubt. why is it that the crims finish up winning even tho theyve lost ?? Still thinking of ALL of you Bill,keep safe ok.

Hi David,
Guess youd be coverred in snow by now? Like you in the US we get a lot of xmas lights for the family to go and enjoy. Christmas for parents is in their kids faces at this special time of year.

Seasons greetings to you and Yours Bill,David & dawn.

cheers Rod