In the Beginning

Acela Truck Company and Bliss Mobil displayed their products at Expo West in Arizona.. In the center picture David Ronsen from Acela shows Maggie a 4×4 LMTV. Also show on the far right is the Bliss or Die Couch built truck which has a 15 foot Bliss Mobil living unit mounted on it. We met Eduard and Marleen from Bliss and looked the Bliss or Die living unit.

It all started in May 2018 at the Overland Expo West show in Arizona where it was love at first sight for Paul when he was introduced to the Acela Monterra, MTV 6×6, and the Bliss Mobil box. After several months of researching and comparing this option to other makers, we decided to go with Acela and Bliss based on the their capabilities and contents. And then the fun begin with scoping out criteria and specifying our needs to these two companies. Obviously, we overspec’ed it and went over budget significantly, but hey, it was our retirement dream so we struggled to get it through the hump, and then that glorious day finally came for us to pick up BAT.

Our first sight of BAT from the mezzanine floor at Acela Truck Company Bozeman Montana.
Maggie with Reed and Louise from the Acela team.

The sheer size of BAT is something to behold. When we first saw him, I think we were both overwhelmed. BAT is 8 feet wide x 13 feet 1 inch high and 31 feet long with the motorcycle carrier in the down position (which it is all of the time now). BAT weighs 33,060 lbs with a full load of fuel and water.

Yes the truck is BIG… or is Maggie small?
We have to tilt the cab to work on the Caterpillar engine.
While Andreas from Bliss Mobil makes some final adjustments, Maggie strikes a pose in her new domain.
Although this is not our truck, it does show some of the testing Acela has done on these MTVs. Let’s twist!
They tell me this wheel and tire combination weighs ~400 lbs, and if I drop it, I will never get it back up by myself.

We had a factory tour along with training on the truck by Reed from Acela, then two full days of training from Bliss Mobil’s field engineer, Andreas, along with some final adjustments etc. We were at Acela Truck Company for about a week before moving into our new vehicle and leaving Bozeman, Montana.

Oh, and I almost forgot that we had to purchase our two UBCO electric 2×2 shuttle and emergency bug out bikes from Big Sky RV, also in Bozeman, Montana.

Maggie holding up the motorcycle carrier (not really) while I just take the picture

We purchased one bike and then thought that we would regret it if we did not purchase a second one too…. there is no sales tax in the great state of Montana.