72 IH + ‘85 Alaskan = Questionable Judgment...

[Nailhead]

A few days after I got back I got a nice surprise:

Black Friday isn’t all, well— black.


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[Nailhead]

A few days later, I decided to test my new solar suitcase.

First, I removed the valve core from my trailer spare and then refilled it with my compressor (the highest-amp load I could come up with):

I did this two or three times. The result:

After maybe an hour on the panel:

I like this thing, and it wasn’t very sunny out.


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[Nailhead]

Next, it was time for a permanent fix for those broken-off corner angle rests.

A few essential components from McMaster:

Removal of the range for access to the DS mounting point (with surprise bonus!):

A little cutting, drilling, and tapping later, and we have rests for the upper camper section:

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[givemethewillys]

The trucks in this thread are incredible... thanks for posting!

 

[Nailhead]

The trucks in this thread are incredible... thanks for posting!

Thanks!

We’re kind of stuck on those here.


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[Nailhead]

So I kind of forgot about this thread, while I was doing this-

…among other things.

Time to get back to it, then, if anyone’s still tuned in.

 

[Nailhead]

This is the skid plate/support for the dumpster-find 19-gallon F350 auxiliary tank, which I coated with a POR-15-type product from KBS:

I was incredibly lucky to find this tank, because it fits the space on the rear of the truck, it will allow a usable range, and it was free. It, and its ancillaries, are worth their weight to me.

The end result on the tank support, air tank, spare carrier, and other parts.

 

[Nailhead]

Then it was time for some finishing touches on the camper frame:

 

[Nailhead]

Some paint for the side boxes:

 

[Nailhead]

And then a really big day arrived:

We got to this point and realized somewhere our height measurements weren’t right, and we needed 3/4” at the top of the boxes and below the cabover. Harry suggested a sheet of green-treat 3/4 plywood as a spacer, noting a couple fringe benefits: 1. Better floor insulation. 2. Increased weather protection for the bottom of the camper. Since such a product isn’t economical to purchase in Wheatland, WY, the mating-up of camper & truck was put on hold for a couple of weeks.

 

[Nailhead]

Back at home, I decided to liberate the cabling I wanted to use from battery to inverter/charger from its covering:

This was a castoff from my oilfield days, and it was a PITA to extract that cable, but a couple beers later, I had ‘er licked:

It’s 2/0, IIRC.

 

[Nailhead]

Next trip to Wheaterville, we fitted the plywood spacer:

And mocked up the box placement:

It was getting a lot easier to see the objective at this point.

 

[Redline61]

Love the build! You and Harry are getting closer and closer. Cannot wait to see this rig in the sun.

 

[Nailhead]

Love the build! You and Harry are getting closer and closer. Cannot wait to see this rig in the sun.

Thank you very much!

…see above for teaser sun pic…


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[FAW3]

Really enjoy seeing classics returning to life! Great thread and thanks.