THIS AIN’T NO DIESEL PUSHER
This month’s Readers And Their Rigs comes to us from Allan J. Hodges of Wildomar, CA. Working in the concrete business for many years, Allan got to know a guy who built an RV out of a truck - Dale Callen. You might remember Dale’s yellow Peterbilt RV that was featured on our cover back in June of 1995 (his restored 1955 KW was also on our September cover last year). After seeing Dale’s RV, Allan bought a 1985 Kenworth W-900B and a 1994 Excell trailer and went to work on his own coach. After the fabrication was completed, the entire exterior of the trailer was reskinned to make the sides smooth. With help from a lot of friends, especially Don Airs, the job took about a year and a half to complete. All of the work was done in Allan’s large shop at home. The rig is equipped with a 3406B Cat, a 13-speed tranny, two backup cameras, a crawl through to the cab, 8-inch dual exhaust, leveling jacks and plenty of chrome. With grown kids now, Allan and his wife enjoy taking trips together (just the two of them) to places like Lake Havasu, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and other relaxing destinations. Allan is very proud of his custom RV and loves showing it off to his friends that thought it couldn’t be done or that it would look stupid. One friend even accused Allan of turning into one of the Beverly Hillbillies. Many had a hard time seeing Allan’s vision, but he loves to see their faces now that it is complete. Allan calls the rig his “Diesel Puller” to contradict all the pusher motorhomes out there. But this RV ain’t just for camping like most coaches - Allan’s can run with the big dogs on the road as well. And that’s just the way he likes it! |
