Recent content by Fenderfour

I think the US EV market is (obviously) in trouble. The leading company (Tesla) is hamstrung with a very unlikable CEO who is having a huge impact on sales. It seems other ICE manufacturers really struggled to launch their own models for reasons ranging from crappy technology to sales teams...

Lots of assumptions here. Open strut length is 27.46", based on a base of 15" and a height of 23" @ 33 degrees, about 63% of opening force is up, the rest is out. Closed strut length is 14.93" with a base of 15" and a height of 4" @ 75 degrees, about 17% of opening force is up, the rest is out.

on the L-brackets and cracking; this could be due to dissimilar aluminum materials. Using the wrong filler can cause immediate cracking. Also, some common aluminum alloys don't like being welded and will always crack. It could also be the material thickness. You might use a thicker material. I...

For the open stresses on the structure, I think I'd adjust the location of the struts such that they are fully extended in the up position. For the opening force, I'm not sure I'd change anything. You can make the resting angle of the struts less acute to get more upward force, but it isn't...

Everything I hear from ex-military folks is how bad these vehicles are for reliability and longevity. Is this not correct? was all of it fixed? is it mitigated by modifications you have made to your truck?

I think the issue is tariffs. There are a lot of useful parts for my old Toyota diesel in Australia, and I've had a few orders cancelled recently due to the unknown state of tariffs. There isn't much information out there for small businesses to work with and be assured that their product will...

Having owned more than a few subarus, I always thought i funny that an old 2.2 was considered "more reliable" than the original motors. They had issues with leaky cam shaft seals and the dreaded head gasket. I think most of that has been sorted out by switching to multi-layer metal gaskets, but...

At the risk of jumping in a fire... GVWR and other things like max loads for aircraft aren't pure engineering. Sure, they start with pure engineering, analysis, testing, etc... and then other systems get thrown in like loading capacities for airports, and capacities for ground handling...

Added a wind deflector between the cab and the camper. It was a small project that was easy to finish. Yeah, maybe I'm procrastinating a bit on the turbo install. I did get the bracket made at Send Cut Send. Now I need to get a CO2 tank for my welder to finish it. I've only been doing...

I'm currently working on a cabover truck an I think I'm might be feeling a little envious of the space available in the engine bay of those old trucks. I remember my dad almost crawling in to his. There's always the option to rebuild the old 350 or 460(?) that was there.

While I've got a build going on my 1994 Hiace firetruck (link in signature block), i got to thinking about something a little bigger and easier to get parts for/work on. How are the older generation of Ford trucks for offroad/campery business? A quick check on some numbers looks promising...

The stock airbox on my truck is actually really good. It incorporates some cyclonic dust separation and big filter element. Not sure I'll be in a hurry to get rid of it. Looking at the parts online, it seems like I could just... relocate it. It's a (mostly) self-contained metal drum. It...

Great write-up Geoff! Thanks for sharing

I found this video helpful when calculating the location and sizing of gas struts. It's easier than what they show if you have some CAD skills, but their method gets it done.

I've installed one of these. It's an easy solution if you don't want to assemble a bunch of other pieces. You only need some wire, a 12VDC fuse/distribution panel, and a 120VAC fuse/distribution panel. It also provides 12VDC when connected to shore power (without batteries). The small panel...