By Pierre Ratte
The darnedest vehicles roll into Healdsburg! How ’bout this next-level RV? Just right for a summer getaway in Sonoma … or Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan!
This bad baby rolled in from Colorado. It’s the Acela Monterra XL 6×6. The Bozeman, Montana-based company says it is “born from a desire to exceed current industry standards for reliability and durability.” Yup. Probably. Can’t even imagine an RV class for this thing.
The wheels each have 34 lug nuts, plus built-in air hoses for inflating and deflating each tire. There is a six-step ladder to get into the cabin, which is not handicap friendly for senior citizens cruising national park campgrounds.
Oh, and the cabin? It’s built in Germany by Boxmanufaktur. Fully fitted out, the cabin is also a next-level protocol for comfort and durability. The cabin company claims 40-years’ experience building FRP and aluminum “habitats” for expeditions and overland vehicles.
Fun facts: RVs come in many classes and types. Types of non-motorized RVs include: truck campers that fit into and on top of a pick-up; pop-up campers; the half-pint towed trailers that pop up and unfold for camping; travel trailers, those cabins towed on a ball and hitch; and fifth-wheel trailers, cabins towed via a hitch pivot in a truck bed or on a “bob-tail” truck allowing tighter turns and smoother towing due to weight on the tow vehicle rear-axle.
Motorized travel trailers fit one of three categories: Class A, B or C motorhomes. Class C are generally the smallest, and built on a light-truck chassis. Class B vehicles are usually built on a van chassis. And Class A motorhomes, the largest, are built on a bus or commercial truck chassis.
There are seven “-stan” countries: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In Persian, “-stan” means where one stands, or settles, or land of. Think: Scotland, Ireland or England in English. These countries are famous for the Silk Road which ran between China, India and Europe, more generally referred to as Central Asia.
Although there is debate, the “wheel” may have been invented in Kazakhstan. The oldest wheel discovered comes from Slovenia and dates back to 5200 B.C.E.
Speaking of wheels and chassis, the singular and plural of chassis is chassis. FRP stands for “fiberglass reinforced plastic.” A bobtail truck is a tractor trailer without the trailer.
Mad Max needs one of these.