T-Bone's New Truck Thread.

[ttweld05]

Thanks T-bone!!

[Chris T.]

Looking good. Nice way of keeping everything secured.

[user 9328330]

Hey guys,

Just came in for a late lunch. Thank you for all of your comments.

Didn't make much progress this morning because I had to run to town for some parts. I now have 5 spray cans ($25 each!!!) of International Wheatland Yellow, a 27-lb hydraulic strut to hold the door open (next option was 80 lb which seemed like it'd make the door way too hard to close), a gently broke piece of 12 gauge strip that I'll use vertically to shield the hinge from rain while on the move, and I've ordered 90 degree fittings for my hose reel, since it's going to be upside down from normal.

I've spent all morning thinking about this reel. Decided I'd like to be able to rotate it to use straight out the entrance side of the compartment, but I also want the option of using it out the rear if I want. So I've experimented a little and I think I've got a usable, simple idea for what I want. Pics to follow tonight, if I'm successful.

Next chance to work on this after today will be either Wednesday (if my scheduled job gets rained out) or Saturday afternoon.

[user 9328330]

Long afternoon in the shop, but I did make some progress. The reel bracket is made and mounted -- allows you to work straight out of the compartment with the door open or, by lifting it up 1-3/4" out of its' square socket, rotating it 90 degrees and letting it fall back into place, to work through the access port I still need to make on the rear of the compartment.

Also got the door check / stop / whatever-it's-called mounted and working right (after 3 tries). Not too proud of the job on that one because I was rushing. There does come a time when a person needs to put their tools down and stop, before they make a mess.

Anyway, here are the pictures from today.


.

.

.

.

[duaneb55]

You're likely to find yourself working the reel from one position or the other most of the time but that's down right cool!

[user 9328330]

I've had a little time here and there to work on this some more. I've removed the main door and gotten the weatherstrip framing welded in, bolted the lower section of the torch floor reinforcement, cut and welded in the external filler panel between the two compartments, and welded in the forward rainshield that'll keep the weather from blowing in behind the big door's hinges.

Small things, really. I have a few more small things before the main compartment is finished off, then I'll build the rear exit for the hoses, and then it'll be ready for paint and being put to work. As I said before, the build for the rear work area and the crane reinforcement / installation will be done on the fly.

Here are a couple of random photos.



.

[Canadian Welding]

Very nice.

[Canner]

Thanks for sharing it is great to see how what is important to you and how you make it happen.

[user 9328330]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Since last time, I've had enough time to weld in the floor gussets and set the tanks in to see how they line up. Looks like I'll be able to fit my Argon, Oxygen, Propane, and 75/25 tanks in without too much trouble.

I bought one of the Victor ESS4 Edge regulators for the propane tank to keep everything out of the way of the torch reel. Got it used off ebay for $80 -- it's actually a fairly heavy regulator compared to what I was expecting. Other than the gauge shield being made of plastic, it seems decently built.

I think I'm going to make a removable 2" raised floor that keeps the tanks located at the bottom. My plan is to make it so I can pull 2 hairpins and lift that section out for when I want to swap tanks; we'll see how well the idea works in practice. Then at the top I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I want ratchet straps on them to keep them from rattling around, but I also want a metal retainer of some sort. I'm thinking of either a removable pinned-on gate or chains like what I have on the 550. Hopefully I should have the time to build it on Monday.

[ttweld05]

looking great Tbone!!

[el bob]

Tbone, will the gas cylinder compartment be vented? I see you are talking about weather stripping and rain shields. Is there still going to be some sort of vent hole? (just curious) Awesome truck and work!

[user 9328330]

Thanks ttweld05 and el bob. Yes on the vents -- there are drain holes in the floor of the compartment, and I'm planning to vent the rear hose exit door. Maybe kill two birds with one stone on that one.

By the way, you're right that I'm picky about the weather. I believe it belongs outside of the truck. Every truck I've had up to now has had a problem with getting water in the boxes, and I want this one to be different if possible.

[Jason280]

Looks great, keep up the good work!

Just to be curious, but are you required to have a CDL to drive these size trucks?

[drillerjoe]

Sweet rig man. Coming right along

[user 9328330]

Thanks Jason280 and drillerjoe.

Just to be curious, but are you required to have a CDL to drive these size trucks?

Jason, it depends on what the manufacturer spec'd the truck's GVW (gross vehicle weight) to. Anything 26,000 lbs and above is CDL territory. Mine's GVW is 33k, so yes, it requires a CDL. This same bodystyle was offered in under-CDL GVW's. However, if you had an under-CDL truck of this type and were pulling a trailer that put it above CDL in combined gross weights (whether or not your actual weight was over 26k), you'd also need a CDL. As you can imagine, the regs are more complicated than that, but those are a couple of the basic issues with a truck of this size.

To muddy the waters, I have mine registered at 25k -- and will drop it further if I find that I weigh a lot less fully loaded with allowances for some extra payload. The difference in VA tax dollars per year between a 25k and 33k registered GVW is about $250. My registered weight is on paper only, and doesn't affect the fact that the truck still requires a CDL license, because it was originally built as an over-CDL truck.

Actual empty weight on this truck before starting the bed modifications was 14,500.

[Stick-man]

Tbone, those Griftan safety caps, can you leave the regs on while driving? Or, why did you buy them? I thought the were more for theft protection. (No silly comments..... you know if I want your shtuff, I will get it! LOL Hahaha)

[user 9328330]

Hey Sticky,

I guess the short answer to why I have them on there is that my cylinders already had them on there, so I just left them on during the transfer.

No, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to drive with the regs attached, safety caps or not. I haven't checked DOT requirements for transporting cylinders, but I feel sure they're required to be capped whether they're in a compartment or not. These caps are faster to use than solid caps that you have to unscrew, so I use them in place of those.

I bought them in the days I worked in quarries with my cylinders out in the open -- MSHA required overhead protection on all cylinder valves, whether regs were attached or not, otherwise you got a nice fine. This torch box would qualify for overhead protection, so no caps would be required under MSHA. But I'm in the habit of using them, and you know how habits are....

[Murphy's law]

So awesome!!!!

[user 9328330]

I had enough time today to finish the cylinder tie-downs. I decided to K.I.S.S. and just use angle iron kickout stops at floor level, and welded on chain links for ratchet strap tie-down points. I've got chains mounting at the same location as fail-safes. Then I also measured for and cut the window for the torch hose rear-exit area, and tacked in 1/2" smooth rod for the hoses to run against.

I still need to make up the small door's hold-open strut attachment, make the rain cover for the hose compartment's rear-exit, and reinforce the main door's lower hinge-mount area. That door is heavy, and I don't like the weight of it all being on the 16-ga box wall. I think I'll make a backup plate of 1/4" angle that goes down against the floor to stiffen things up there.


.

[Jason280]

Jason, it depends on what the manufacturer spec'd the truck's GVW (gross vehicle weight) to. Anything 26,000 lbs and above is CDL territory. Mine's GVW is 33k, so yes, it requires a CDL. This same bodystyle was offered in under-CDL GVW's. However, if you had an under-CDL truck of this type and were pulling a trailer that put it above CDL in combined gross weights (whether or not your actual weight was over 26k), you'd also need a CDL. As you can imagine, the regs are more complicated than that, but those are a couple of the basic issues with a truck of this size.

Thanks for the information!

I'd be interested in seeing what the MPG difference will be between this truck and your previous 550. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the mileage comparable between the two, even considering the weight difference. I have an '07 F550 diesel, four-door 4wd with 4.30 gearing, and the truck weighs right around 10,500 pounds on the scale. Right now I am averaging around 12-13mpg on a good day, and it really doesn't change much between highway and city. In fact, a recent 240 mile trip (mostly interstate at 70mph) gave me virtually the same mileage as if I was driving around town. I'd love to break 13mpg on a regular basis, but it doesn't really make much difference as it is not my daily driver.

[vwguy3]

T-Bone, it's looking good!
Are you planning any kind of roller on the inside of the hose opening,like a roller fairlead?

[user 9328330]

I'd be interested in seeing what the MPG difference will be between this truck and your previous 550. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the mileage comparable between the two, even considering the weight difference.

Jason, my 550 gets between 10 and 12 mpg -- it's geared 4.88 and I'm sure the 7.3L is a little thirstier than your newer truck's engine. I'd be tickled to death if this 4900 gets 10 mpg, but I'm expecting to see around 8 mpg. Hopefully we'll know before long! I slightly raised my mileage charges a few months ago in preparation for this truck going into service.

[user 9328330]

T-Bone, it's looking good!
Are you planning any kind of roller on the inside of the hose opening,like a roller fairlead?

Thanks vwguy3! I did briefly consider a roller fairlead, but I'm thinking the rounded edges of the smooth bar I welded in will be good enough. If I have any trouble with hoses getting scuffed up, I'll definitely add one. I'm trying to tone down the temptation to add too many doo-dads to this job, or I'll NEVER be finished.

In other news, we're once again getting snow here today, so it looks like I'll have a chunk of the day to work on this some more. Just got back from town with some more parts for it....

[vwguy3]

Finished?......what's that?

[user 9328330]

Came in for lunch and thought I'd update this while I'm waiting on my tater tots to cook.

I've had a little time yesterday and today between interruptions, and I've made and attached the hose rear exit cover and door. My handy machine shop broke the 11 ga piece for me, and I cold-bent the 1/2" smooth rod lip at the edge. The door is a re-purposed taillight grille, which I removed from the truck early on. I think they may be in some of the first pictures of the truck. The latch is a simple chain link and linch pin.