Gladys has been a fine investment for my business, and opened up a lot more opportunity and provided a lot of comforts out in the remote parts of Montana and North Dakota the last couple years. Unfortunately, the modification process has been slow- since I work out in the field during the warm weather months, and since I don't have a shop available, nothing gets done in the winter. Either I'm too busy to tinker, or it's winter. But, just to add an update, here's what's new:
Last January, I drove through Utah and picked up a fiberglass hard top from Boyce Equipment. The guys there were great to chat with and gave me a little tour of their facility. They have some REALLY cool projects going on inside their shop, and have some good trucks for sale in their yard. It wasn't until spring when I got the chance to begin installing the hard top. The weekend I planned to get it installed, I was called and asked to go to North Dakota. Turned out to be a rush to get the roof on, so I could still have time to pack and get my gear loaded and organized. I removed the tattered vinyl top, and then used the existing bolts in the rear portion of the cab to secure the fiberglass top to the rear cab rail. Attaching the front of the fiberglass to the top of the windshield frame had me scratching my head. So... out of time, and rushing to get Gladys to North Dakota in 48 hours (570 miles away), I threw a ratcheting tie down strap over the roof to hold the front down until I could get some time to secure it properly (and think about how to do so).
I got busy with work- as usual. The tie-down strap stayed on there for 2 months. Finally, this weekend I got to work on finishing this roof install. What I've done is buy a 2"x2" aluminum L-bracket to tie the roof to the windshield frame. I drilled 2 holes in the bracket to accommodate the bolts that hold the top of the electric wiper motor in-place. The plan was to adhere the L-bracket to the fiberglass roof and another bead of roofing adhesive (found in gutters/roofing supplies at home depot)... but my calk gun was bent/broken, and Gladys is 1.5 hours from Home Depot. ...out in the boonies, a $1.99 item can shut an operation down. Not a big worry- as I can easily calk the seams (and seal the roof gaps) next week on a lunch break at work. I did manage to measure and cut all my aluminum window sill/frame (provided with the roof from Boyce), which I will also attach with the same adhesive/calk. I thought about riveting these aluminum parts to the fiberglass, but imperfections in the fiberglass may make that easier said than done. What do you guys think?
I ordered a gallon of Herculiner from Amazon.com, and it should arrive this week. I'm going to lay a couple coats on the fiberglass roof- inside and out. Since it's slightly rubberized, I'm hoping it will be sound deadening, and maybe even add a touch of insulation from cold. If anything- it will stiffen the fiberglass up a bit and make it more armored from branches and other flying debris out in the windy regions i work in.
Last week I picked up a 2000W inverter generator (with yamaha motor) from Costco for $600. I toted a 250lb diesel generator around last year, but it took up too much real estate, and since I often use electronics (laptop and printer usually), an inverter generator is safer by providing a pure sine wave. The new generator works great, and handy for a couple of my power tools; its also quiet, and only weighs 45 lbs.
After the roof project is finished (hopefully by next weekend), I'm going to do some research here on steelsoldiers to figure out the best way to power my van. I have the huge cable that came with the M109s, but I see a lot of guys converting their systems into more civilian/RV friendly cord attachments. I will probably do the same, unless someone can convince me otherwise...? I may have a (perfect condition) shore cable for sale soon.
I also want to look into installing some sort of air-conditioner unit. I see roof-top/RV style ones in some M109's on here, but I don't really spend more than an hour in there at a time, so I can't justify $1000 roof mount A/C unit. I may do something like this, and hope my 2000W generator can run it:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Haier-10-000-BTU-Portable-Air-Conditioner-White-HPD10XCM-LW/23206507 I could run the exhaust out the existing evacuation fan hole, or even the exhaust door for the (non-existent) diesel heater. ...still thinking about this one, since I work in such a dusty environment, I'd hate to spend the money on an A/C unit that may live a short life on a construction site. Any suggestions?
Last on the short-term list, is getting Gladys painted. I want to do this before this winter if I can. There are a couple rust patches on the van body I need to address- it looks like there was some 8"-12" metal plate/patch jobs done to the front of the van box years ago. These areas seem to be the biggest rust areas. There is also a little rust around the seams and rivets in the hood... which I think I can fix with a wire wheel and some primer.
Thats about all for now. I'm looking forward to comments and suggestions. I'll have some more photos as soon as the roof is complete.