Flatbed and composite panel build on Dodge 2500
- Thread starter Jeep
- Start date
Got all of the upper cabinets formed and off to powder, I assembled the heat exchanger and installed the reservoir and exchanger. Used a thermostatic mixing valve for safety. Aluminum reservoir and heat exchanger brackets are mounted on stand offs to keep the heat transfer down, and avoid hot spots where you don't want them. The exchanger is mounted using Weldmount studs and adhesive to the shower stall, the adhesive has a 3500 psi tensile rating, we use these all the time when we have to fasten studs, inserts, etc. on finished builds, and where a hole is not desired. I have twisted the stud off with an impact wrench and not pulled the base off of whatever it was bonded to. Good stuff. Checked the operating ranges of all of the adhesives near the reservoir and heat exchanger and everything is well within the permanent operating ranges. I am building a 2 valve manifold so I can bypass the heater to keep things cooler in the summer when the heater is not required.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Oh yeah, gorgeous!!
What's the interior height? Overall length of the rig w/ module?
Mark, can you provide an estimate as to pricing to build another like it?
Thanks,
Jeremy
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Thanks Jeremy,
Interior height is 80". Overall on a crew cab it is 22' long, on a regular cab it could be 20'4". It is 84" Overall width on the outside, and there is 10' "back wall to front wall". As for price, I'm figuring it out as it goes together, labor is the biggest factor and there's a few more hours to go, but so far looks relatively reasonable especially when looking at the Canadian dollar, today that's a 35% discount on everything! I love your van!
Cheers,
Mark.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Hi Mark,
80"? Wow, that's impressive! As is 22'L on a crew and 20'4" on a regular. 84"W is perfecto. So cabin is 10'L. That means on a regular cab or extra cab with a 12' cabin it could be 22'4"-23'4"; mmmm, tasty.
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Thanks on my van, it's a great rig. But something like what you're constructing is my ultimate.
Would you mind sharing what your ultimate adhesive turned out to be? And the associated prep work for the surfaces? I'm interested in what you and the applications engineer came up with that gave you the extra strength over the 2 part urethane to get to panel failure instead of joint failure.
I read through your F700 to 650 build over on pirate, which brought me here and I just finished catching up on this thread... I've been taking notes for my own build when I see awesomeness, and you sir have me running out of notepads!
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Thanks Chammes,
The adhesives used within our extrusions are going to remain quiet for the time being. I did spend a considerable amount of time and money with engineering and testing developing the extrusions, and adhesive system that really are quite specific to what we wanted to achieve, and we hit our goal. What we developed may not work the same in a different construction method, and we do have competitors on a commercial level watching us closely, like sneaking into my shop for a close look! That gets interesting fast. What I will say is the 2 component polyurethanes simply work. No guessing as to cure, and consistent results every time. Single component polyurethanes also have their place and we use a lot of Sika 252, it is the toughest single component urethane we tested (we have been using it for years in other applications) and it is very economical. 2 component stuff is expensive in almost every aspect.
Thanks,
Mark.
The adhesives used within our extrusions are going to remain quiet for the time being. I did spend a considerable amount of time and money with engineering and testing developing the extrusions, and adhesive system that really are quite specific to what we wanted to achieve, and we hit our goal. What we developed may not work the same in a different construction method, and we do have competitors on a commercial level watching us closely, like sneaking into my shop for a close look! That gets interesting fast. What I will say is the 2 component polyurethanes simply work. No guessing as to cure, and consistent results every time. Single component polyurethanes also have their place and we use a lot of Sika 252, it is the toughest single component urethane we tested (we have been using it for years in other applications) and it is very economical. 2 component stuff is expensive in almost every aspect.
Thanks,
Mark.
Looks good!
Adding cabinets and fixtures should help add structure integrity to the build, anything to prevent or restrict racking of the body is a plus. IMO, its the extrusions that add strength to the design and build.
Watch the front wheels lift off the ground when this truck hits a low bridge.
Adding cabinets and fixtures should help add structure integrity to the build, anything to prevent or restrict racking of the body is a plus. IMO, its the extrusions that add strength to the design and build.
Watch the front wheels lift off the ground when this truck hits a low bridge.
Awesome video, might have to find that bridge for some product testing!
The extrusions are a very important component to the build, we needed something extremely durable in multiple strain directions, compression, tension, angular for some of the products we build. We are able to build heli portable structures, and attach crane lifting points because we have engineered and tested every component in the build to accomodate. My camper will have a nice roof rack with lifting points so I can drop it on and off the truck with my gantry or a picker if need be, how handy could that feature be? We know how much we can push or pull on a structure and build safety factors into the product. And like you mentioned the internal cabinets tie everything together too, floor to roof, floor to wall, roof to wall. Everything works together.