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Mr. Peashooter, did you finish installing the larger air compressor? Any information on fitment/alignment or anything else you had to do to get it to work would be appreciated.
I'm afraid its still sitting on my work bench slowly getting buried by other projects. I did "Check things out" again maybe a month or 2 ago just to verify that everything should physically fit, and it still looks like it will. Its one of those projects that will have the deuce out of commission for a little bit though since you have to remove the old one, then put the new one on, and now add a coolant circuit to it (since its water cooled and not air cooled). Like Lino, I'm not too sure when I'll get around to this project with the other ones that are in front of it (started and unfinished).
It's funny how projects get buried like that, and then you need to go "archaeologist" and sift through the layers to find that one little effort that got lost. I run into that ALL the time.
I honestly do not even know where to begin. I am psyching myself up to do exactly what you have done but with an M820 (my avatar). The deposit has been placed with the seller and I am now trying to wait patiently for them to do their thing so I can pick it up and start my journey. I am, quite literally, bedazzled by the work you have accomplished. Several wonderful members pointed me to Rayzer's build of his trailer ( outstanding ! ) and I found your thread by chance. I was enthralled and have read every word. You could easily assemble your posts as a How-to book. I can only hope that my deconstruction and refitting go well as yours. Bravo, Kudos, and Congratulations on your fine machines.
Might pick up some idea's from my build thread, " Survival 109 Build". Been laying low for a bit, but still in progress.
I have decided that Job 1 is making the chassis and it's components as safe and reliable as possible. Updating things as much as possible while keeping the basics, well . . . basic. Second priority will be complete disassembly of the van body to facilitate " starting from the foundation " with a clean and rust free carcass. I have many ideas already about how I want mine to end up. Your works and Rayzer's have already reinforced some of them. I have only just joined this group a very short time ago and already have seen the wonderful goodness of the members. Questions asked get answers. Help requested is given whenever possible. It does my heart good ( long, long story ) and helps restore my belief that not everyone on the planet (myself included) is a total "jerk" ( being nice ).
So, thank you Peashooter, and thank you to all the others whose wisdom and help I plan to utilize in the coming years. This is truly an incredible thing and I hope It continues long after I am no longer around.
Wait wait wait...... is your invasion chevron on the door the Stargate symbol?Here is a massive Load of pictures I've taken since I purchased the truck a little over 2 years ago. I wasn't too interested in taking pictures along the way because it can be tough to make time to take and post them. The good news is they are all bunched together at the beginning here and you don't need to go through dozens of pages to find the pictures!
All pictures on this first post (besides the last one) is how the exterior of the truck looks today. I'll continue to add posts down the line as I do more work, but the next few pages are likely to be the bulk of the work that this truck will see.
BACKGROUND
My wife and I bought this to convert it into a camper for our family. I need a hobby to keep sane and thought this would be a good hobby that could be enjoyed by the whole family not just me. My original expectation was to have the truck ready for camping in 2 weeks! I thought I'd just put a bunk bed setup in the van box and mount an air conditioner……….. but as things go, I quickly learned all the maintenance that these trucks need.
Another major obstacle was my own personality. I get a little obsessive about things and have learned the consequences of cutting corners so I try to fix problems when I see them. As an example, I went to put a missing screw into the van box’s ceiling sheet metal, the screw wouldn’t bite though since the internal support it was going into had some rust there. I started taking things apart and the more I took apart the more I found to fix because I didn’t want to leave rust untreated, and I thought “while I’m in here I should really do this or that”.
First order of business was getting the truck mechanically to a point where I felt comfortable driving it and not in fear of breaking down somewhere and needing a big $ tow. I started by tracking down leaks, fixing the dual brake circuit warning system, fixing the parking brake, changing the fluids, etc.
It wasnt until 4 months later that we took our first camping trip! I had put WAY TOO MUCH TIME into this thing during those 4 months, including countless weekends and evenings as well as a couple days off of work in order to paint it all (when the weather was appropriate). At this point we were all sick of this "hobby that we could all enjoy"
Overall in the end (now after all the conversion has been completed) we were/are able to have a fun and unique camper for our family that still cost us less than a 15 year old used rv of the same length that we perhaps would have purchased instead.
That's looking real good Aaron !!!
Thats the coolest door ive seen so far !! Great job Great trailer
Don't know how I missed all this, but the roll-up door idea is a stroke of genius!!
