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Leaving on 2500 mile Road Trip to get my S-250 Shelter

professor solderflux

professor solderflux

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Hi, I'm new to this forum, but have been visiting the site for a year or so, and have found a lot of useful information--THANKS!

Tomorrow morning my 15 year old son and I are headed east on a road trip to Ontario, NY to pick up an S-250/G shelter that I'll be using for my HAM shack. It's a long trip at over 1200 miles each way, and I hope uneventful as far as road hazards. My Jeep Wrangler will be hauling a 1700# capacity trailer that I've modified to cradle the shock skids on the shelter. I also added a platform in front to mount a generator, and some miscellaneous gear. Once I get back here with it, I'll consider whether I need to swap out the 2000# axle and springs with a 3500# unit to support the gear I'll be adding inside. I've welded 4 serious D-rings to the frame sides, and fabricated 4 turnbuckle cables to criss-cross on the sides of the shelter. This cost more than web straps, but it will look GI, last forever, and I won't have to listen to the flutter of straps on the road.

I'm posting to ask for any suggested stops along my route as far as surplus stores, etc. Unfortunately Spruce Mountain surplus is a day further east, so I don't know if I'll make that stop yet or not. My route from Minnesota skirts the bottom edge of the great lakes, passing through Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Rochester. We'll also make a few side trips on the way out for my son, who's had a passion for automotive design/engineering since he could hold a pencil. We're allowing 6 days for the whole trip.

Thanks for any suggestions in advance!
 
mangus580

mangus580

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Damn I wish I wasnt broke!

When do you anticipate arrival in Ontario though? I am about 10 minutes East of Ben's place (which is where I presume you are headed).
 
professor solderflux

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Road Trip details

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Taylor (my 15 YO coPilot has considered those on his stop list, but (typical to a 15 YO) will be more interested when he sees the suggestion posted online! :wink:

Magnus, I'm planning on being at Ben's Friday afternoon. I'm picking up a 20' crank up light mast to attatch to the shelter as an antenna mast. The unit comes with a 6000BTU AC/4500BTU HTR. If it doesn't function, amazingly enough, I found a place that has 30 units for sale 3 Hrs. from here at $300 ea. If my money wasn't so tight, I'd pick up one just as a spare!

Part of the reason I'm going with a low profile trailer is that I'm considering putting a hole and cover in the floor to use as an ice fishing shack. Being 15" over the ice instead of on directly on it will keep the slush and water from the ice holes out. There is a sleeve that inserts into the floor hole that runs to the ice surface to keep the wind from coming up the opening. That's my theory anyway; we'll have to see if I actually have the nerve to cut a 12" hole in my shelter floor. Nothing like indulging in several hobbies at the same time, though!

Here are some pics Ben took of the shelter I'm getting.
 

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cmw

cmw

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Ok, so here's a silly question from a guy within twenty minutes of Ontario NY...

Who is Ben and what's at his place? :|

ETA -Aha! Search function!!
 
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professor solderflux

professor solderflux

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Ben from Ontario Surplus. Lots of cool military stuff for the amateur radio market (HAMs). One of the few remaining vendors that has communication shelters available. The sad news is, they no longer come as pristine as the ones shown on his website:

Ontario Surplus
 
KsM715

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Professor, How did the trip go? If you dont mind do you want to share the info on those other ac/htr units? I have a s250/g that I want to use as a small camper and would love to have a heater/ac unit for it.

Thanks
Jeff
 
chvss65

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professor solderflux

professor solderflux

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Back on base (minus a couple fenders)!

This will just be a quick post, with the promise of a more detailed account with pictures later this week after I catch up on the responsibilities I've successfully neglected during my weeks trip to NY.

Thanks to everyone for the many suggested stops along the way; we hit as many as we could squeeze in: a day in downtown Chicago looking at art, Volo Car museum, the U505 at CM of S&I, and countless toll booths across 5 out of 7 states. The closest call I had was 45 minutes from home when some punk in a muscle car thought it would be fun to pass my jeep and trailered shelter on the right as I was completing my passing of another vehicle. Hoorray for leaf spring suspensions.

Thanks Mike for the tour of your MV's!

Hey Jeff, happy to share this link for the shelter AC/Heater: 6,000 Btu Air Conditioner, Military Surplus, Brand Not Specified at Sportsman's Guide

They had 30 in stock, and after battling rusted screws, old critter nests, and frozen mechanisms for several days on the unit that came with my shelter, I finally decided enough is enough and sprang for the NOS unit located 3 hours from here. I hated the idea of giving up on the old unit, but along with all the other hurdles, the R-22 refrigerant had been discharged from the system (probably part of the demilitarization process), and that would have been another $150 to get recharged.

The unit itself weighs 153# according to the data plate, but comes double sealed in a wood crate from the manufacturer dated 1992. I picked mine up yesterday to avoid the shipping, but will wait to un-crate it until I'm ready to install it on my shelter which is currently getting a better axle and suspension re-fit. I'm hoping the unit is charged and ready to go, and will only need a modification on the power cord. These ACs never shipped with a power cord (go figure), and the 4 prong Amphenol connector is a tough find. The quick fix is the addition of a standard threaded box connector and a 3 conductor 12AWG 115VAC cord and plug. Some shelters have a standard 115VAC outlet for the unit to plug into, mine has a 15 amp 3 conductor twistlock.

You'll notice the incredibly large measurement for the NOS unit at Sportsman's Guide as 48" x 48" x 40". For the life of me, I couldn't imagine why they would put this thing in such a huge box! I got my answer when I loaded it yesterday: they included the 4' x 4' wood pallet it rested on in the dimensions. Must have worked for GL!

Good luck, I'll be back with more details after I put some fires out here first. One last bit; I had to smile when I saw the vendor's original price sticker on the NOS unit crate. I paid $299.97, Uncle Sam paid $4020!

It's nice to get a bargain.
 
professor solderflux

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Un-crating the NOS Air Conditioner

Today after work I decided to bring my AC unit and crank-up mast over to the shop of my master welder ahead of the snow storm we're supposed to be getting. Brian and his crew have done some creative work for me over the 12 years I've been in Brainerd, and he's a master at fabricating just about anything out of steel. He does a lot of custom trailers, and is working with me on transforming my $300 Fleet Farm trailer into a reliable shelter carrier. I am trying not to think about how much this trailer is going to cost in the end, but I know I don't want to be hauling all my future radio gear down the road in something that's going to come apart at 65 mph! Peace of mind is worth something too.

I wish I had been able to take some photos of the unit coming out of the box, but I was trying to stay ahead of his crew by attaching the aluminum base plate to the shelter AC mounting bracket with new stainless fasteners. It was kind of like exhuming a mummy. From the outside he unit was crated in wood, then covered with foam pads, then enveloped in a sealed mylar bag. Inside the bag, taped to the unit with the stickiest OD duct tape I've ever seen, where 5 dessicant gel packs. I'm not talking about those little tea bag size things you get in your cell phone box; I'm talking "Military Size"! Each was the size of one of those sports chemical ice packs--no rust on this unit!

The unit slipped into place fine, but the zippered cover on the outside rear (an improvement in design since the model original to my shelter) prevented using the turnbuckle support clamp as before. I'll modify this clamp to engage the AC handles (also a new feature) instead of wrapping around the back side. (See original shelter AC photos at the beginning of this thread if this isn't clear)

Anyway, now with this beast mounted on the shelter rear, and the 100# mast, and generator mounted on the front of the trailer, I'll have a good indication for final placement of the new 3500# axle to arrive at about 175# tongue weight.

I'm looking for a plastic jerry can for generator gas, does anyone have one for sale? I heard there was someone that had picked some up in Canada?
 
doghead

doghead

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PM Emmado22, he has Septor cans for sale.
 
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