My wife, Amy, and I just got back from a wonderfully-relaxing vacation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula—hiking, checking out several waterfalls, and just all-around relaxation. Little did I know that our vacation would have some cool FC-related bonuses.
First, I got a text from Arizona-based FC guru Jesse Ybarra that the special order of FC windshields he facilitated for several FC owners is now in. It sounds crazy, but
Pilkington is the only known manufacturer of FC150 & FC170 windshields. In fact, decades ago, Pilkington bought out the original FC windshield manufacturer, so these are the real deal, just like the originals. Given the unicorn rarity of these windshields, and the chances that a stone may, at some point, cause the demise of said rare windshield, I ordered two (2) so I'd have one on the shelf.
On our way north, we stopped to look at a very affordable truck "Service Body" that I had found on Craigslist just a few days before I left. $450 snagged me this heavy mutha'; I just need to make a return trip to pick it up. It'll hold all of our camping/expedition gear, and with some modifications/enhancements, give us sleeping quarters.
It's a "narrow body" dually bed—only 90" wide. The outside track of my chassis cab Dana 80 is 92.2", so with some small custom flares, it'll be a great width for my truck without being ridiculously wide.
The passenger rear corner, at one time, supported a boom of some sort. It's HEAVY-duty construction. The plate on top is ~3/8" thick. I may mount a small, detachable manual crane back there (for lifting heavy parts) because—well—the last 15 years establish that it happens on a semi-regular basis.
A couple of the doors are dented, but this doesn't affect the usability. I'll be able to either straighten them, or rebuild replacements.
Several of the storage compartments have shallow drawers on slides. I'm not sure yet how we'll use these drawers, but we'll certainly figure it out! It also has shallow (4-5" deep) "top-sider" storage (under the black diamond plate lids) on both sides.
One of the front doors accesses a "pass-through" tunnel that spans the width of the bed (you can see this tunnel on the front of the bed). This originally held one of the tanks for a torch set. I have a couple ideas as to how we'll use the space. More to come.
We're not sure how much of the original overhead rack we'll keep as-is, but we'll certainly re-use any of the steel we remove. I do like that it has built-in ratchet straps, too!
Fast-forward a couple days, and while we're driving in Munising, Michigan, I saw none other than Roam Automotive's infamous "Forward Frank" pulling into a gas station. We whipped in, and I proceeded to meet & talk with Tom, one of the Roam co-owners and an all-around great guy.
If you haven't heard/read about the Forward Frank build, you must do so
HERE on the Roam Automotive website.
On the return trip home, we stopped by the Roam Automotive headquarters and met TJ, the other (equally cool) co-owner, and got a shop tour. Oh, and we brought some Roam bits back home with us, too.
But
THIS is what our week was really about...
Miner's Falls, Munising, Michigan
Evening dinner date & walk in Houghton, Michigan
Quincy Mine tour (Hancock, Michigan)
Lake Superior at Presque Isle
