I used to do some marketing stuff for VIR and raced there, great place. Working on getting a CAT 3208 ATAAC back up and smokin again too, we'll get back on it soon.
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Joe, I’ll be doing a track weekend Sept 18-21 at Sebring. This member of your harem will be due an oil change/annual service if you find yourself in the area. :-)
I ready ror a teath cleaning. Used to have a Cuda same color. Go git after it
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Let's go racin boys. This represents about 1/1000th of what shows up.
wow, great cars and great pictures. Glad youre having fun
Here is emergency repairs at their finest.
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On a recent trip a prolonged gusting crosswind seporated me from not 1 but 2 roof vents. The one on the trailer was already cracked and vulnerable but the one on the camper was not. As I continued on headed east yesterday I was staying just ahead of a strong line of storms. Night was falling. I knew as soon as I stopped they would catch up and I had to act fast. Out in the middle of nowhere. As I drove along and daylight deminished I racked my brain. What have i got what can i do???
Didnt even have to go on the roof.
When the idea first occured to me I laughed like hell. Poke an unbrella through the hole!
Fun out on the road. Duck tape and tarp straps this should be a forum catigory.
Joe,
I have not 10 leaks in my roof that pour into my coach....easy fix is buckets..I use the water to flush my toilets which do not work..and after boiling the water on my grill (as my water pump does not work) I have drinking water.. and since my AC does not work, I put fans over the buckets and it blows cooler air, I just wish I didn't have to run extension cords out the windows as my generator and inverters quit working...oh well
Thanks
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Future back porch awning.
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The project is back in gear demo has begun. Pieces r being gathered.
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Im going to give up 1 ft of interior for 1 foot more back porch. The back wall of the blue standup sleeper and its 5 ft of floor will start here and go forward. Its roof, sides and front walls having been stripped away. Its roof will be reused and moved to the front and rerivited replacing the exzisting low roof currently up there.
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The window will get moved over here.
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There will be a bunk hatch here for the back door.
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That second fiberglass stand up roof on the ground will get turned around backward and extend out over the back porch for the awning. 34 in thats a perfect little back porch and its gonna look peterbilt when im done using all thier stuff. Roof, hatches and radiused corners.
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Note the double rivit line coming back.
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Thats aluminum skin attatched to aluminum hat channel. On this low roof bunk their is only 1 row of 2 on the stand up bunk there r 2 rows of double rivits. Ive got all the same stuff. The walls will be clad in alum, framed in alum, with stainless rivits around all the windows hatches and doors just like Mr. Peterbilt.
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From here to here is 21 ft subtract the exzisting bunk floor 3 ft and the 5 ft of double bunk floor that will be at the back ill construct a deck frame of 3 in channel welded togeather clad with 2by and decked with plywood to span the 13 ft remaining between the floors. The walls will be reconstructed with the same materials they originally were just a bit more distance between the front and back walls.
Tues bright and early the walls come down. Before darkness falls tuesday ill be lookin at bare frame rails.
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The front and back doors all the hatches and all the basement bay doors im cuttingand welding out of the same extrouded aluminum used for the cab door jams.
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Theres my new entrance door frame and the 2 scrap ends that got cut off got married togeather and will be the frame to the water heater hatch.
I dare say i might be building something that will actually be worth more than the cost of materials its going to take ro build it. Im keeping track close. The purchase price combined with all the things ive done on the chassis peterbilt side is right at 50k
Definitely a 1st class chick magnet. Watch yourself Joe!
Its gone 14000 miles and been on both coasts since march 1st. Other than a marker light and a set of wiper blades its needed nothing. After i emptied it before i stripped it ou i weighed it.
Camper 22,000lb
9000 on the Steer 13,000 Drives
Trailer 8000 (loaded)
Combined Gross 30,000
Aint life grand!!
How much air pressure does michilan say to carry 4500lb on a 315/80?? 75psi for the steers? LOL As for the drive tires ive had 55 psi in the drives since i bought it and thats 100000 uneventful miles ago 4 yr ago. I love sharing that. 55 psi in the drives boys.
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Day one was pretty productive. Call it a good day.
We r chomping away at the roof from both sides then we can take and put rhe roof air on the deck. Might drag rhe deck right off the back with a fork truck. Cut it up on the ground.
Wow! I guess I did not realize that you were totally starting form scratch!
Starting from scratch gives Joe a chance to design in lots of Norgrens into his home on wheels. A sure sign of employment for him for years to come.. HeheHe.
Joe:
New look seam a bit drafty. LOL
Chuck
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I had help i thought. Guy came in for 1 day yesterday worked an hr today and went home not feeling good. WTF I got deadlines. Ill need to advace the ball downfield on my own.
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End of day 2. Tomorrow by lunch should be framing in the new deck.
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Totally naked. There was a usable motorhome sitting back there tues morn. The old trailer frame cut up into 4ft bits lying on ze ground.
We will be welding 9am. Im at a tankwash and tomorrow first light ill pull in fer a good swabbin. I going to slow down a bit and take the oppertunity of the weekend to put some paint on the chassis after its been blasted with brightner. Give my back a rest.
Im sure half of u r looking and thinking what in the heck. U will see soon enough. I have figured a way to hang my siding sheets by myself seeing how my help has disapeared. U will enjoy it very clever. Full steam ahead.
I think its gonna be lighter.
cool get er done
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Here is what will be the stairwell. Just treads no risers and getting peogressively bigger as u go down will be storage trays that slide out. Im having the door swing back not forward because it will only block the tire when its open and wont interfere with an outdoor kitchen thats planned.
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Then the back porch. Like storage in a submarine under the floor look dis a ready made cooler. Ill put seat belts out there and u guys can sit back there and drink cold beer while im up at the helm, in complete control!
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That last 5 ft of space between where the deck ends and the porch begins is because thats where the other peterbilt sleeper i have will sit. Just its deck and its back wall.
The basement bays behind the drives r done and waiting for hatch doors. They r pass through roughed in an eternity of space. Not needed for anything camping related but a huge amout of space for pickins!!
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There r very high output aux air and heat, red dot stuff, pete uses in the sleepers. The one in mine could do an amazingly good job in the camper if i closed the bedroom and bathroom doors. The other bunk floor and back wall going on the back still has its and i have all the controls and wiring loom. Im leaving it there it will be far back corner.
Question can u put 3 evaporators on 1 compressor?? The dash pluss two of these?
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Spent the weekend painting the chassis the new iron floor frame all the 2 by and plywood.
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Began to disassemble what will become the back of the camper.
This cap will be put up front. The front roof cap. Minus the spoiler. Im going to cut that so it lays down some and see whatbit looks like on the back of the trailer.
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This is stripped down to what i want.
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Bam. The back 5 ft of floor and the back wall. Me and another guy picked it up off the floor and put it on the back of the chassis. In my estimation it wasent overly strenous. No weight at all.
The camper not counting the cab or back porch is 21 ft and 40% of the deck is all aluminum. The exzistig bunk floor up front 3 ft and the back one is 5 ft. The iron frame between the 2 was 13 ft.
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The walls will be all aluminum frame and siding rivited. I perdict it may be 1000 lb lighter and way way stronger.
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Stick a fork in week 1. So far so good.
This place is great for truck watching. Check out these tank straps sharp.
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With this mornings work all of the deconstuction is done.
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These panels of the bunk walls with the openings for the hatches will be a huge timesaver and get reused for the back door and the bay door hatches. First as templates for the opening and rivit holes then in the finished product for the bay hatches.
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Im framing the walls by the same construction peterbilt did originally. Aluminum hat channel +
Today i finish framing painting and securing plywood to the deck. Im going to temporary put tall sawhorses front and back to support the front and back fiberglass roof caps so i can rivit them in.
All thats left is everything else.
Its all starting to make sense now. Not sure how far you are from cassopolis Michigan I would tell you to bring Pete to my fab shop we could knock the welded framing out and roof system in no time and use overhead crane to set everything.
Oh no. Just a bunch of primitave implaments. This garage was generously opened and emptied to help me. Kankakee Tank Wash. Where big Cats roam.
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Ill have a shell here before long. All im doing is building a shell finished on the outside less awnings and paint. Then im taking it home again and backing the pace way down. Thanks for the offer.
I used to pull a michigan train and go up and down M60 between Detroit and Niles where we would split them. I really enjoy Michigan 2 lane.
Maybe some day ill dazzle u with backing doubles. The mechanics would pay me 10 bucks a train to back them in for grease so they didnt have to split and rehook. Had the luck of running into some really great Michigan truckers who showed me what was up. Miss pulling those trains through Cassopolis. 35 years ago.
Joe, where’s the Prevost monocoque stainless steel unibody caging? :-)
Greg i have been there and done that. Whole bunch a that over north of the boarder. I do not have the money it takes to be a good prevo owner and if i did i probably wouldnt get another.
I love Peterbilt trucks
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Canadians have there methods and Americans have their methods.
Hey Greg r u aware that Peterbilt assembles everything with huck fasteners, not blind pop rivits like ze buses.
Huck fasteners r way way stronger. Whats up with that???? How can that be?
I just know that whatever you do…it will be built solid and long lasting! It does seem odd that there are better means of fastening than pop rivets, but Prevost chooses not to go that route. Best fortune to you and looking forward to more progress pictures and the final product! You are one hard working man, Joe!
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A good bit of production for any one guy by lunch.
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After lunch By myself again.
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The embeded structure stiffners lined up between the top of the back wall and the cap turned around. I can glass that back togeather and it will be 1 strong piece.
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In my opinion from the back right now it looks, its not in perportion, its TOO tall. Im adding raising the deck about 6 in then im embelishing it with gothic ornamental iron work around the top maybe 6 or 8in hanging down from the canopy and a 36 in high railing of the same around the deck. Might put a couple 1ft or so vertical pieces top to bottom on the sides. Once i wrap decorative iron all the way around back there it aint gonna be goin anywhere.
Made a couple first downs today.
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CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. and simple. i want it.
Todays Feature Rig. All of the trucks pictured up to now and including this one have yellow engines only. I will never photograph anything but.
Notice how the air bags r plummed with 1/4in
Joe, 1/4" hoses supplying the suspension bags just means the bags won't be as quick to respond. Of course, the cargo won't mind the ride.
No footballs on trucks at leaste I never seen one. If I ever get to it i will add them. Gill i think that would be the reason for going with 5/8 & 3/4 line, and as short as physicaly possible. U got air bag ping tanks and the less restriction between the bag and the tank the better the function.
Prevo suspension taking on air is no quicker with the bigger lines buba, thats to facilitate the footbalks ping tanks for that extra softness. Prevo
suspension air is restricted way back going through the norgren spool. The volume of air that can pass through a norgren prob aint much different than a 1/4 in line.
The lines feeding the norgren from the ride height and level low r only 3/8 and then its gotta get past them dern spools.
I suppose if truckers were allowed to be all overweight on the axles like u guys all r then possibly then suspension fed by 1/4 in line might come up a tic slower.
Any semi tandum configuration is limited to 34000 lb with neither of either axle ever allowed to have more than 17,000lb
Joe,
You are sounding like the American P owner might have ride envy over us Canadian P owners ;-)
Hey man peterbilt a prevo it isint. U guys aslo get spoiled by 50 years of parts still available.
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Found this gate today I love it. It would provide almost all i want for the back if i cut it up. Still looking.
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This is the 2 weeks since Istarted demo on the old camper.
Good progress fer 1 old guy eh!
I more wall and a roof WOHO
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Cut some but not all of either piece of hat channel to overlap them. Im getting all the aluminum but joints of the wall framing welded in.
Strong and light
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Lot a drillin goin on ova here
My little coop
You are crushing it!
Looking good Joe!!