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road trip OCT 22 through NOV 05
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alphadeltaromeo
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Had a great time hosting Patrick...was a real pleasure to interact. With respect to the time here, I'm going to let Patrick give the blow-by-blow of our visit, but here are some pics of the meeting that I took.
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alphadeltaromeo
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more...
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alphadeltaromeo
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last pics...
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Today started out good. I have to say that Andy and his family are real fine peope. Around there, they make their own bread, and everything's good and healthy.
Went to change the belts, no problem, got them on, but then when tightening the tension bolt, the little ear on the alternator broke. I heard a 'tink'. So this was really fouled up, no way to proceed with a loose aternator.
Luckily, Andy is expert at fabricating things and we (mostly he) made up a temporary camp and we used it to secure the alternator with the belts tensioned, it is ingenious. I doubt there's an aternator between here and Dallas, so i'm going to go on in, driving during daylight and checking it from time to time. I'm monitoring the votage with a digital meter, if it starts to slip the voltage will decrease and I can stop and check things. So far here at the Flying J in McCalla Alabama it is just as we set it. I owe a big debt to Andy for putting me up and helping me with this. It could have broken somewhere desolate.
On the way here I stopped at Mike's Army Navy Surplus in Talladega (a few miles south of I-20) Guess which of the two inert training aids I purchased.. I also found a geocache right there, by mistake whie taking pictures of something. You can guess.
Went to change the belts, no problem, got them on, but then when tightening the tension bolt, the little ear on the alternator broke. I heard a 'tink'. So this was really fouled up, no way to proceed with a loose aternator.
Luckily, Andy is expert at fabricating things and we (mostly he) made up a temporary camp and we used it to secure the alternator with the belts tensioned, it is ingenious. I doubt there's an aternator between here and Dallas, so i'm going to go on in, driving during daylight and checking it from time to time. I'm monitoring the votage with a digital meter, if it starts to slip the voltage will decrease and I can stop and check things. So far here at the Flying J in McCalla Alabama it is just as we set it. I owe a big debt to Andy for putting me up and helping me with this. It could have broken somewhere desolate.
On the way here I stopped at Mike's Army Navy Surplus in Talladega (a few miles south of I-20) Guess which of the two inert training aids I purchased.. I also found a geocache right there, by mistake whie taking pictures of something. You can guess.
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Good work guys!
I'm bringing a spare (generator) on my next trip.
I'm bringing a spare (generator) on my next trip.
clinto
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Very, very clever. The term "American Ingenuity" still stands for something...... 
alphadeltaromeo
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There's more...Patrick arrives at the walmart parkin' lot just after 9 p.m. (i think) where we agreed to meet. I turned up a few mins later and find him being interogated by the local law enforcement. "Yah...we usually find that when we see folk drivin' these at night...they're stolen" LOL well ya, anyway, keep yaself buzy bub...lol - it was rather funny.
clinto
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Who steals deuces at any time of the day?
"Oh snap, you guys hear? Got another stolen Army truck. Somebody get that 10 speed bike out or we'll never catch 'em"
"Oh snap, you guys hear? Got another stolen Army truck. Somebody get that 10 speed bike out or we'll never catch 'em"
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Who steals deuces at any time of the day?
This summer at a local car show, I was sitting behind my deuce in the shade and this lady says to me laughing slightly. " My sister and I used to sneak on to the army base and take these trucks for a joyride when we were young" (a considerable amount of time has passed since then by the looks of her ). Next she says, "they don't have keys you know!" I was real glad she let me in on that tidbit because I might have been there all night looking for my keys to go home! She said they were able to swamp a couple of them and would just walk home after they had their fun.
This summer at a local car show, I was sitting behind my deuce in the shade and this lady says to me laughing slightly. " My sister and I used to sneak on to the army base and take these trucks for a joyride when we were young" (a considerable amount of time has passed since then by the looks of her ). Next she says, "they don't have keys you know!" I was real glad she let me in on that tidbit because I might have been there all night looking for my keys to go home! She said they were able to swamp a couple of them and would just walk home after they had their fun.
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Well there's always more to the story.. BTW Andy's wife sent me off with a loaf of that good home made bread, and I'm having some now in the hotel room. I can't tell yall how super-good it is, nothing like it I've ever had before. I think my carb allowance is blown for the next couple days! If there's a toaster in the lobby for continental breakfast I know what I will be doing!
I left the Flying J to find a hotel because there are alot of creepy crawlers there, and I don't mean just the ones that celebrate halloween. Some bling-encrusted jackass came up to me while I was sitting there inside using the internet for the previous post and started that "do you mind if I ask you a question?" stuff. Then he asked me where I got my laptop, then started looking at the screen and getting way too close so I told him "this is none of your business." and he got mad and started acting out so I called out "security!" and he departed with some muttering. I don't know if the guy was on dope or what or a con artist, but he was definitely not handing out tracts. In the lot, figures could be seen going from one truck to another. I did not feel like it was a safe place to stay overnight. What is it they say about the most perfect battle plan and first contact with the enemy? So the tactical withdrawl to the hotel.
I did forget to mention the sherriff incident. It was not anything bad. I could not hear him over the cackling of the engine and rattling of the sheetmetal so I got out and was teling him about my road trip and that's when he made the stolen deuce remark. I agree with clinto, why the heck would anyone steal a deuce? can't hide it, can't run from the police in it, can't trade it for drugs..
These things are all just part of the entire experience and what make each person's experiences unique.
In the last post I showed some 28VDC diesel APUs. These were used for starting tanks. It now comes to mind hundreds of mies from Shirley's, that 180 amps is not trivial and an inverter could be used to make 120V at maybe 5KW.
so tomorrow, it's west on I 20 to finish out alabama and on through Mississippi and Louisiana.
I left the Flying J to find a hotel because there are alot of creepy crawlers there, and I don't mean just the ones that celebrate halloween. Some bling-encrusted jackass came up to me while I was sitting there inside using the internet for the previous post and started that "do you mind if I ask you a question?" stuff. Then he asked me where I got my laptop, then started looking at the screen and getting way too close so I told him "this is none of your business." and he got mad and started acting out so I called out "security!" and he departed with some muttering. I don't know if the guy was on dope or what or a con artist, but he was definitely not handing out tracts. In the lot, figures could be seen going from one truck to another. I did not feel like it was a safe place to stay overnight. What is it they say about the most perfect battle plan and first contact with the enemy? So the tactical withdrawl to the hotel.
I did forget to mention the sherriff incident. It was not anything bad. I could not hear him over the cackling of the engine and rattling of the sheetmetal so I got out and was teling him about my road trip and that's when he made the stolen deuce remark. I agree with clinto, why the heck would anyone steal a deuce? can't hide it, can't run from the police in it, can't trade it for drugs..
These things are all just part of the entire experience and what make each person's experiences unique.
In the last post I showed some 28VDC diesel APUs. These were used for starting tanks. It now comes to mind hundreds of mies from Shirley's, that 180 amps is not trivial and an inverter could be used to make 120V at maybe 5KW.
so tomorrow, it's west on I 20 to finish out alabama and on through Mississippi and Louisiana.
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Good work on the alt guys. Looks like it had a helicoil put in before. That probably weakened the ear. ADR, just had to show that Wafflehouse Eh? Well, I'll be within 4 miles of one tomorrow (Wed), guess where I'll be eating? Godspeed Patrick and once again, Steel Soldiers Support Team chalks up another repair.
Armada
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Most impressive fix to the alternator guys. You're a regular McGuyver, Andy. Yeah, be carefull in some of those truck stops Patrick. My brother drives interstate and has all kinds of stories, from crack heads to 'lot lizards'.
Well, you're in the home stretch now, keep on truckin.
Well, you're in the home stretch now, keep on truckin.
alphadeltaromeo
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Patrick...psst psst...where's the update? Still alive?
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Andy, he just called me to let everybody know that he is now parked in an RV park in Edwards, Mississippi. Patrick decided that the $20/day at Askew's Landing was better than the truck stops, (but has no internet connection).
The alternator fix is holding up just fine and he is enjoying the trip, for sure.
He plans to be home sometime tomorrow.
The alternator fix is holding up just fine and he is enjoying the trip, for sure.
He plans to be home sometime tomorrow.
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Before arriving at Askew's trailer camp, I stopped at Dave's military store in Pearl MS. Civil war, WWII, and other re-enactors take heed. Dave also introduced me by phone to Steve Cunningham at Fred S. Treecorps where they refurbish MV's. I could not visit however since it was raining and they were flooded out due to runoff from a housing development. They plan to move soon to a better location. Steve told me about a Robert McCarthy -RAM's military surplus in Dallas. I have never found them here, but i guess I better look again.
At Askew's, I had a nice microwaved chicken pot pie and a generous chunk of Andy's wife Carrie's bread. The bread was the better of the two.. Well, the GRM-23 shelter is an electronics repair shop so I got out the tools and replaced the cheap cables for the CB radio interface with the good cable Bjorn gave me. The squeal is still there, so the RF is pinpointed to be entering in the cab area rather than in the back with the CB radio. I may open the crew boxes and bypass the audio I/O there, and also in the VIC amplifier. The reason for the problem is that the VIC-x was meant to be used with VRC-12 radios which are FM. FM cannot be detected by rectification like AM which is what the CB uses. Looking at the schematics, there are no RF bypass or filtering devices designed in. The AM signal is getting into the cabling and being rectified in the amplifier, causing the feedback.
Stopped in Vicksburg MS and took the tour of the siege battlefield. It's a driving tour, slow as you like, on a winding paved road (one bridge had a 13' clearance) through the trenches and emplacements. About 5 miles and the deuce had no problems fitting along the trail. There are many monuments and busts and plaques and alot of cannon.
I got home last night late. I thought I posted some more pics but guess I fell asleep at the computer. the alternator bracket is still perfectly in order. Thanks to Bjorn and Andy and everyone else for the great support during this trip.
These road trips that people take, they serve to show the value of steelsoldiers members bring to the table -especially when something does go wrong. Perhaps many people don't go on road trips due to worries that things like this can happen even when the traveler is as prepared as possible. Others may have painstakingly restored machines and not want to subject them to that much travel. Still, it would be good to encourage more members to take road trips of some kind. The Aberdeen rally is one example, but there it's more like a convoy in certain ways.
If we would take the attitude of being prepared, it should be safe to travel. I wonder if the major and minor spares needed along with all the tools would not fit in a 3x3x6 tool chest in the bed of a deuce (a smaller chest for the correspondingly smaller spares in smaller vehicles)
So, what should be taken along?
in tank fuel pump
injection pump or parts
injectors
alternator
starter
wire, large and small
hoses
inner tube and flap
lamps, instrument, turn signal, headlamp
24V to 120V inverter
electrical tools including solering iron
mechanical tools
fan belts (make sure they fit haha!)
tarp
spare batteries
and what else?
is there an official thread on road trip preparedness?
.
At Askew's, I had a nice microwaved chicken pot pie and a generous chunk of Andy's wife Carrie's bread. The bread was the better of the two.. Well, the GRM-23 shelter is an electronics repair shop so I got out the tools and replaced the cheap cables for the CB radio interface with the good cable Bjorn gave me. The squeal is still there, so the RF is pinpointed to be entering in the cab area rather than in the back with the CB radio. I may open the crew boxes and bypass the audio I/O there, and also in the VIC amplifier. The reason for the problem is that the VIC-x was meant to be used with VRC-12 radios which are FM. FM cannot be detected by rectification like AM which is what the CB uses. Looking at the schematics, there are no RF bypass or filtering devices designed in. The AM signal is getting into the cabling and being rectified in the amplifier, causing the feedback.
Stopped in Vicksburg MS and took the tour of the siege battlefield. It's a driving tour, slow as you like, on a winding paved road (one bridge had a 13' clearance) through the trenches and emplacements. About 5 miles and the deuce had no problems fitting along the trail. There are many monuments and busts and plaques and alot of cannon.
I got home last night late. I thought I posted some more pics but guess I fell asleep at the computer. the alternator bracket is still perfectly in order. Thanks to Bjorn and Andy and everyone else for the great support during this trip.
These road trips that people take, they serve to show the value of steelsoldiers members bring to the table -especially when something does go wrong. Perhaps many people don't go on road trips due to worries that things like this can happen even when the traveler is as prepared as possible. Others may have painstakingly restored machines and not want to subject them to that much travel. Still, it would be good to encourage more members to take road trips of some kind. The Aberdeen rally is one example, but there it's more like a convoy in certain ways.
If we would take the attitude of being prepared, it should be safe to travel. I wonder if the major and minor spares needed along with all the tools would not fit in a 3x3x6 tool chest in the bed of a deuce (a smaller chest for the correspondingly smaller spares in smaller vehicles)
So, what should be taken along?
in tank fuel pump
injection pump or parts
injectors
alternator
starter
wire, large and small
hoses
inner tube and flap
lamps, instrument, turn signal, headlamp
24V to 120V inverter
electrical tools including solering iron
mechanical tools
fan belts (make sure they fit haha!)
tarp
spare batteries
and what else?
is there an official thread on road trip preparedness?
.
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- Dallas, Texas
Here are some pics of cannon from vicksburg tour
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alphadeltaromeo
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Great update on your trip and wonderful pictures as well! I do appreciate the kind words on the fix and hospitality. My wife also appreciates the comments on the bread...way too kind. We're just glad you liked it quite frankly lol It's good to see that you made it home safely. That's a blessing for sure. On your "needed items" for a trip...all you're missing is the wheels/tires, engine and frame and you've got another deuce 
Andy
FYI - great new avatar...too funny
Andy
FYI - great new avatar...too funny
BFR
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ahem....alphadeltaromeo said:On your "needed items" for a trip...all you're missing is the wheels/tires, engine and frame and you've got another deuce
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I did it:cranetruck said:
steer axle 6680 LB
drive axle: 12520 LB
gross weight: 19200 LB
Mileage was over 2800. I have to say this is a good proof of how reliable these trucks are, if well maintained. Had I just changed the belts before, there would have been no issues. I don't count the wiper blade since that was caused by an accident. -the OTHER wiper blade, however, it is not explainable.