Lowly the Lorry. . .

[jaleel_da_sheik]

I haven't died (yet)!

No recent updates as I have nothing to update. I'm waiting for for the busy summertime to pass and a "controlled environment" to complete the transformation.

Stay tuned!

- sheik

 

[Sitec]

I haven't died (yet)!

No recent updates as I have nothing to update. I'm waiting for for the busy summertime to pass and a "controlled environment" to complete the transformation.

Stay tuned!

- sheik

Know the feeling... Life and work seem to get in the way of truck building here too!!

 

[Jostt]

Summer time is the same here...no way...38 to 42 degrees on the workshop

 

[nathane]

Ouch! I'm still trying to work out if I need a workshop for my build or if tarps will provide enough shelter. Cost of space near me is insane!

 

[jaleel_da_sheik]

Lowly Truck Update!

Its been awhile and while not much has been happening on the truck, I have been taking some baby steps toward paving the way for a full blown conversion.

The biggest piece of news is that Harbor Freight (a cheap tool retailer) has opened up in my town since the arrival of Lowly. While some tool snobs and/or patriotic types might scoff at the thought of purchasing tools fresh off the boat from Red China, I don't harbor (pun intended) those same reservations for two reasons:
1) I'm thrifty
2) The tools I am willing to purchase there are good enough to complete the light-duty and infrequent tasks I'll be using them for

All that preface for the introduction of my most recent purchases from HF:

12-ton jack stands and a 20-ton bottle jack

While the truck currently weighs in between 9 & 10 tons, I went with the 12 ton stands due to their height, capacity and stable footprint. The bottle jack is beyond overkill but provides the height and extension I need for $10 more than the shorter 10-ton version.

These will be put to use in elevating the truck with the intent of removing the wheels/tires so I can measure the face-to-face distance between the wheel mount flanges. All of this to figure out how to get Lowly a set of rims that will achieve the following:
1) convert him to larger diameter single tires in front and rear (rear are currently dualies)
2) align front and rear single tires so they track with each other
3) utilize the same rim/tire combo on all 4 corners of the truck (rim/flange will have the same offset for both front and rear)
4) make rims 2-piece with bolt-together flange & o-ring similar to military type setups

All of this will likely be exceedingly difficult and frustrating to accomplish but if I succeed, the finished product should be worthwhile. Stay tuned.

- Sheik

NOTE: 12-ton stands were exchanged for 6-ton as the 12-ton were too tall for the rear axle. A classic example of convenience winning out over confidence/safety!

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Hey Sheik, I bought some of the Kronprinz steel wheels from Germany. They have a 110mm offset and look to work well for a single rim to work both front and back. One thing I had read was that with these single piece rims you are unable to change a tire in the field (so I bought 2 spare rims for 2 spare tires). When we had the new tires put on the rims the only tools used were a 4' tire iron and a pair of vise grips. No expensive or special tools needed. I also had them use the balancing beads so again no special tools. Other than weight (which is considerable), these were less tool intensive than a car tire. These rims are for 22.5" tires(which are easy to source), which is what I wanted as our 1120 will be used for mainly rough roads, and I got a set of General Tire Grabbers. On thing about these tires, they did rub a bit on the front plastic fender but a little work with a grinder fixed that. On the plus side we gained about 7-8 mph top speed, which was welcome.

If you are interested here is the link and I can also give you a company that will handle the shipping at a reasonable cost.

Kronprinz lk/ln2 steel single piece rims, Fabian that runs the place is helpful and converting these trucks for expedition rv use is his business.

 

[Ozrockrat]

And can I suggest that you swap the 20 ton jack for an air powered one. It has a manual handle as well and since you have onboard air it makes it easier and safer to use. (I am a lazy bugger along with being tight and I spent the extra money to get one).

https://m.harborfreight.com/20-ton-air-over-hydraulic-jack-95553.html

 

[jaleel_da_sheik]

After pulling off the lug covers I used a 27mm socket, my 1/2" socket wrench and my trusty titanium cheater bar to crack the front lug nuts before jacking the front of Lowly into the air. From there it was a matter of removing the nuts and slipping the heavy tire/wheel combo off using grunts and a shovel (note to self: include short handled shovel in Lowly tool kit).



I then used a couple of pieces of flat-bar and some strong magnets to hold my flange-spacing-indicators in place so that I could measure between the flanges under the truck using the spousal unit and tape measure.



I took time to wire brush the lug studs and nut threads clean, applied some grease to the stud threads and reinstalled the wheels. Repeated the process on the rear axel with the only difference being the extra effort of manhandling the dualies.



A fair amount of surface rust on anything not recently painted was evident and points to this truck living near the coast of Wales during its time in service as an emergency response lorry.
For anyone interested, spacing on the axels is as follows:

Front: 86.25"
Rear: 69.25"

Tolerance on these measurements is +/- half a hammer handle.

Using these measurements I was then able to begin figuring out what my wheel flange offset would need to be in order to use the same wheel in front and back so my tires are in tracking alignment:



A little hocus-pocus in the solid modeling realm and voila, a virtual 2-piece rim!



More research to come in order to determine if this route is entirely feasible.

- Sheik

 

[Ozrockrat]

At 86” you could easily fit a set of Axletech 4000 narrow axles and run 20” MRAP wheels. No special rims needed, CTIS capable, air lockers, disk brakes and high speed planetary.

Just food for thought

 

[Joe917]

If you ever plan south America avoid 20" rims.

 

[Britboaters]

Check out the Accuride catalog, page 24.
They offer 12.25" x 22.5" wheels with about 4" offset / inset.
They are designed for US 10 hole, 285.75 pitch circle, with 220 mm bore.
The mounting measurements are all metric, so you might be lucky
These wheels would fit something like a 385,425,445 /65 R22.5........
They would be found on front axle of heavy dump trucks, or concrete mixer trucks.
Good luck,
Bob
https://www.accuridecorp.com/files/2018/05/W1.000-Rev.3-Accuride-Wheels-Product-Catalog-2018-1.pdf

 

[VerMonsterRV]

We also have an 1120, the lk/ln2 trucks have an eight hole rim. Makes things a bit difficult here in the states. I found Gabo in the Netherlands that would build 20" split rims for our trucks. The price was not too bad but I decided to stick with the single piece rims.

 

[jaleel_da_sheik]

If you ever plan south America avoid 20" rims.

Weighing the options on 20" vs. 22.5" wheels. I understand trying to source 20" tires outside the USA will be difficult (and I'd like to think Lowly will become even more of a world traveler) but the pricing on lightly used US military 20" tires draws me back that direction like a bad addiction!

- Sheik

 

[jaleel_da_sheik]

Check out the Accuride catalog, page 24.
They offer 12.25" x 22.5" wheels with about 4" offset / inset.
They are designed for US 10 hole, 285.75 pitch circle, with 220 mm bore.
The mounting measurements are all metric, so you might be lucky
These wheels would fit something like a 385,425,445 /65 R22.5........
They would be found on front axle of heavy dump trucks, or concrete mixer trucks.
Good luck,
Bob
https://www.accuridecorp.com/files/2018/05/W1.000-Rev.3-Accuride-Wheels-Product-Catalog-2018-1.pdf

Thanks for the link - definitely something worth looking into. Like Jonturgeon said, the bolt pattern on our trucks is an 8-count, but plug welding and machining new bolt patterns is apparently a not too uncommon practice.

- Sheik

 

[VerMonsterRV]

While trying to figure out what to get for our truck I found out that a lot of rims places will do custom "agriculture" rims. They would not guarantee they would balance for higher speed road use. This place Wheels Now Inc. would do 22.5" highway rims, they essentially weld on a new steel ring where the original bolt holes are, then drill the new pattern. After that they powder coat. Total cost was not too bad but was so close to just getting the rims from Germany I decided to get those. I do know I would not go any larger than my tire/rim combo (rims are 11.75" wide). They just barely fit after a little clearancing of the rubber mud guards.

Diplostrat, I believe, ended up with some custom 20" Hutchinson rims. They really look great but I am pretty sure they were out of our budget and I had settled on the 22.5" rims.

For tires I ended up with the General Tire (division of Continental) Grabbers for $500 each mounted and balanced (which I thought was a fantastic price). Will have to wait and see how well they hold up but GT's smaller tires seem to have a pretty good reputation in the off-road crowd.