Super Condo Custom Hauler
Big tractor. Can anyone argue with that? This unit is a 2013 Kenworth T600 Super Condo Custom Hauler with an extended sleeper. A Kenworth Super Sleeper, as they are called.
There’s a few of these giant custom sleeper K600s around. According to the builders of them, a lot of them say their super sleeper is “the largest custom sleeper they’ve had.” These kind of units have 2 bedrooms, some of them. With full kitchen, convection oven microwave, fridge, then you go through a split door into the front room, and between the two rooms there’s 3 beds sometimes.
These trucks are typically for people who “home-school.” That is, “road warriors” who have kids that get home schooling while they are on the road in their RV. And the ones I’ve seen have passed through a couple of owners, despite their fairly new-ness.
The problem for many considering such a giant Kenworth sleeper unit is length and width. Only fairly narrow sets of loads can be hauled. That goes for practical ability as well as legal limits.
The other thing some people would think is a bit unusual is, despite the weight of some of these giant sleeper semis, there is no shower or toilet on some of them. If you’re hauling that much weight, wouldn’t you have a shower/toilet on board?
The owner of a truck similar to this one (but with a sleeper not built into the cab structure) said she and her husband bought before the housing
market went bad and they drove for van lines HHG so they didn’t have a weight issue, and they could keep their family together while they worked, even when a job was 4-6 weeks. Them and their 3 kids in that giant semi sleeper. She said they loved it. ARI built their sleeper and they made it their home on wheels. So I guess a shower’s not everything! right, Mrs. Orf?
Big Yellow Wrecker
This big yellow wrecker is a Kenworth W9 cab with a twin steer tri drive 80 ton Jerr-Dan rotator (I’ve read 80 ton but I’ve also read the owner speaking of it in terms of 85).
This is the Big Wheels Rotator. It’s the longest rotator built so far. Big rotators like these can lift 40,000 to 60,000 pounds (how do they produce a shaft that strong?) at 30 to 40 feet out from the unit. They can take that weight and swivel 360 degrees around.
There are a number of these big rotators being built to purpose. That is, they’re not just tow trucks being converted to rotators. They’re built from the ground up to be rotators. The main/sub frame is huge and the truck is long.
The owner himself has chimed in about his truck. He said that there is a lot of planning that goes into building an 85-tonner, and it costs a lot as well. He said that one of the main problems is that when you order the chassis for the unit, the number of additional options a buyer has available to choose from is “endless.” Including comfort, which he said was very important in the way the truck will function as a used machine. The builders/dealers won’t advise you what you will need either, he said. The buyer himself has to scrutinize every minute detail, which can take months of planning. He said that the years of experience he had in buying other rotators with things he later found missing that he needed or wanted and which he thought would just be part of the package helped in figuring out what was needed on this one.
His name is Bob (at Big Wheel Truck Sales) and he said if anyone is thinking of doing this, they can give him a call. He even gave his number. It was a while ago so I don’t know if it’s the same. You can just look up their website. They’re in Massachusetts. Some have said they think the outriggers are too close together. Other criticisms include that the SRS system could be installed on their rotator for stabilization. Visit Big Wheel Truck Sales.
Luxury 5th Wheel
These luxury 5th wheelers are big. This one is a 2-bedroom RV. It has 6 slides. It’s just 45 feet. Add those 6 slides (which roughly double the side of the interior space where they are located) and I guess they have the room to put in 2 bedrooms into a 5th wheel.
This one is a natural walnut hardwood interior, luxury composite tile floored, solid surface countertop model with anything you ask for within reason as furniture.
The one bedroom has a bunk bed, and each of the bunks has a window out. The room looks a bit like a cupboard to me because it’s all wood trim, panels, drawers, ladder, and just the remaining walls are finished without wood.
They don’t show the bathroom on this unit but I’ve seen some of their other ones, and they have large (for an RV) showers with seats inside) and the toilets have special sanitation technology.
The company that makes this unit, called Continental Coach, makes their own chassis and body, and they also hand craft pretty much everything that goes into it. You pick the tractor.
Some other luxury 5th wheel features:
Slideout systems in floor (no structural compromise to frame)
Standard Mor-Ryde IS Suspension
Standard Electric / Hydraulic disc brakes
Standard Hydraulic Auto-Level System
Strong aluminum cage structure to trailer
Full length steel in upper deck floor
Bridged chassis design
Aluminum roof rafters
Seamless fiberglass roof material
Flush fit slide out
Custom RV interior photos look best on a large screen:
Heaviest Tractor Trailer Limousine
This truck and trailer are in the Guinness Book of World Records. As the heaviest limousine. Is it really a limousine though? and should it take away the title from those cars that want to compete. Not sure.
The weight of the custom truck and luxury trailer unit is over 50,000 pounds (25 tons). 50,560 pounds is the number on the books (22,933 kilograms). The weight comes from, besides the fact that it’s a Peterbilt 379 tractor and a trailer, is that it’s outfitted to be comfortable for 40 people. There are 40 seats spread over the unit. Can you imagine driving through the mountains, the desert, or along the coast with 40 family and friends in a giant limo?
It’s called the “Midnight Rider” and it’s painted along those lines (as you can see in the photo above). Some interesting things about it: Over 90 percent of the custom big rig’s 4,200 parts are fabricated in-house.
Luxury motorhome specifications:
Total length: 70 feet
Width: 8 1/2 feet
Height: 14 feet
Total weight: 25 tons
25 tons is the same as (in limo measurements): 10-12 limos
Luxury trailer: H-frame stainless steel with 1,400 aircraft quality welds, also has an aluminum belt 16X the thickness of those on conventional big rigs.
Wheels: 22
Motorhome Interior space: 416 square feet
Motorhome motor: 435 horsepower
Cost $1,000 per hour (includes 2 drivers, 1 hostess, 1 operations specialist, and 1 bartender)
Some photos of the interior of this custom motor home (collage of 3, best viewed on a large screen):
What Government the U.S. Has … And What Government Canada Has
There is a lot of misunderstanding, or lack of understanding, out there when it comes to just what kind of government countries have, and how they work. Although understanding the types of government is pretty simple, it doesn’t seem to be an explanation properly given to people.
What government does the U.S. have?
The most powerful and influential country in the world, the United States of America, formed over 200 years ago, has a “constitutional federal republic” … or at least that’s what people consider to be the best description of the U.S. government, as there is no absolute term decided on for the American government.
To understand “constitutional federal republic” you need to understand the three words used here.
“Constitutional” means there is a document which has rules for what powers and rights the government has, what rights and powers the citizens have, and what their relative powers are to each other. These things are written briefly in the document, and they get more understanding when a problem comes up. If there is a disagreement about whether a person has the right to do something or whether the government can stop them from doing it, it goes to court and lawyers fight for each side of the argument. A group of judges then vote on what the Constitution says about who gets to do what. These decisions are never absolute; if someone wants to challenge them afterwards, they can do so. On some issues, interpretation of constitutional rights seems to go back and forth.
“Federal” means the U.S. is a “federation” of states, which means each state is independent in many things, and doesn’t have to defer to what the national government says, but in other things they are bound to do what the national government says. The state government and national government often disagree, and they have to settle disagreements with law (or in some cases physical acts like protest and violence).
“Republic” is probably the most important thing for people to understand when it comes to the U.S. governmental system, because many people think America is a “democracy,” which it isn’t and never was. The people get to pick their representatives, such as their congressmen and presidents, and they pick them democratically through votes, but from that point on their representatives get to decide for them — the people don’t democratically vote on policies or legislation.
Another way of describing the U.S. form of government might be “bound-by-a-set-of-rules-that-can-be-challenged-as-to-their-meaning with-separate-and-often-opposing-state-rights-and-national-rights people-vote-for-representatives-who-from-then-on-decide-things-for-them-as-long-as-they-are-in-office.
Another important thing to know is that the President isn’t the most important part of federal government. The Congress, a group of representatives from every state and from both political parties, makes almost all decisions by their own vote. You can see what this is like by visiting a city council meeting in your own city or town. The mayor there doesn’t decide; he merely presides and carries out some special functions, is the “head” of the government and the main “face” of the city, and has some special powers. But you will see that all the city council representatives do the work of finding things that need to be addressed in the city, doing the research, presenting them to the group, suggesting solutions, bringing in experts to develop solutions, assessing the things brought before the group by other members, and then voting on decisions. That is to say that the President isn’t the most important part of government; what is most important is a group of representatives, as well as the process of their government.
What government does the Canada have?
Less important on a global scale, but just as important or more so to people who live in Canada or who deal with Canada, is the Canadian government. If you thought the description of the U.S. government was long, though, Canada’s is worse: Canada has a “federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm.” You were hoping it would be easier, right? It isn’t though, so suck it up and get it under your belt, and you can use the information to understand Canada for the rest of your life, rather than always being missing the peices that will let you understand what’s going on.
“Federal” means Canadian provinces are in some ways independent to decide things for themselves and in other ways beholden to what the national government says, and these two things sometimes clash.
“Parliamentary” means the federal government is composed of people who discuss and vote on legislation in a group, a group called “Parliament.”
“Democracy” means citizens vote for which political party gets seats in Parliament. During a national vote, people vote for one party, represented in their region by a party member. Whichever party gets the most votes in each region of the country gets a seat in Parliament representing that region. Whichever party gets the most seats overall in Parliament gets to be the government of Canada, and whoever is the leader of that party gets to be Prime Minister.
“Monarchy” means there is a king or queen of the country and “constitutional” means that this person and her subjects (citizens) have rights and powers defined in a document.
“Commonwealth realm” means that Canada, like the UK, Australia and New Zealand, are part of what used to be called the British Commonwealth, and all are under Queen Elizabeth.
Another way of describing the Canadian form of government might be “provinces-and-federal-governments-have-their-own-rights-that-sometimes-clash Canadians-have-representatives-who-then-discuss-and-decide-for-them representatives-are-voted-for under a “still-show-ceremonial-subjection-to-former-British-Commonwealth-rule under-the-Queen; the-same-as-UK-Australia-and-New-Zealand.
It is important to note that the Queen doesn’t come into play much in Canadian government. Her role is mostly to do with ceremonial things, and even in those she is represented in Canada by a Governor General, who is picked by the Canadian Prime Minister and approved by the Queen. The more important roles of the Queen, such as its power to “dissolve parliament and appoint a different parliament” and “sign bills into laws” are done when the Canadian government asks it to.
Another point is that Parliament has two parts. I didn’t tell you that earlier because it would’ve made it more complicated. But the part of Parliament citizens vote on is called the “House of Commons” while there is another part called the “Senate.” However, the part citizens vote for does all the work of legislating and deciding. Once they’ve decided, legislation passes through the Senate (a bunch of people who act as a calm, sober second step in Canadian legislature, and who are picked by Canadian government rather than voted for) and they cross t’s, dot i’s, and make sure the legislation looks proper and pass it on to the Governor General who signs it into law.
U.S. and Canadian governments: How are they different?
Over 200 years ago, the U.S. wanted to be free from British rule, and they fought a war to become independent from Britain, which they won. They wrote a constitution and formed their own federal government, composed of representatives and a President. Canada didn’t want to fight Britain, and stayed a Commonwealth nation subject to Britain. America is independent and Canada is merely autonomous — step by step over the decades Canada peacefully became mostly separate from Britain / the UK. That’s why Canada’s government has a part that does the actual work of government and is mostly democratically elected — just like the U.S. — and another part which is ceremonial, which is the remnant of it’s status under the Queen. U.S. states have more power relative to the federal government than Canadian provinces; Canada’s federal government has more relative power. Another difference: Canadian governments don’t always have a majority of seats, because there are more than two main parties who get seats — they just need to have more seats than any other party in order to rule. And another difference: while the U.S. made the three branches of government separate in order to check each other, in Canada the executive and legislative branches are intertwined both federally and provincially, while the judicial branch is independent.
By Justin Munce, publisher of TheSpeaker.co
Green Zero – A Comfortable Prefab Home that Builds Energy-Saving into Design
A small prefab house that can be located just about anywhere a home owner wants to put it has been designed to integrate green concerns into prefab modular design aesthetics.
“Green Zero,” a punnish name derivative of “ground zero,” it seems, is by Studio di Architetttura Daniele Menichini, and among the harmonizing work to make green part of design, the exterior of this modular home is wood and it sits on a natural stone foundation. You can see from the photo above how the rainwater management and drainage systems are integrated into the architectural design.
The prefab house is smallish. It can be thought of in terms of a bare-minimum for living. It could be used as a retreat from everyday life, a guest house, or a backyard shed that can be used for accomodations as well.
Since it has a deck and a bathroom, while being small and transportable, it can be set anywhere and be used for just about anything.
The interior space can accomodate at least two people. There are glass windows and doors, even in the bedroom, to provide scenic views of wherever the owner of this modular house puts it. And behind the bed is a colorful (purple, green and beige) design based off of the forms of trees (also keeping within the green theme). This prefab is actually built and is located in Italy where the design team is from. To see more of the prefab home design team, click here for our directory.
