out with the old in with the new

[Ford Prefect]

yeah, I do not think I would recommend it (the unicat I mentioned earlier) for most, but your build is a very efficient use of space, and you do not appear to have much if anything that runs from the box to the frame that would require disconnection to accomplish this task. Then all you need to do is build the box to be detachable with some amount of ease, and add the lifts and mounts.

I have given a veiled compliment above, but to be totally out with it I want to compliment you on the amazing simplicity of your build and yet it is so functional and useful. I wish I could design something like this. It is perfect in so many ways! If I can do my eventual build with such apparent ease and simplicity I would be thrilled!

( Edit: I must add... With your truck not being any taller than your cab you may not be required to do all the effort on to remove your box. Perhaps just fabbing up those faux wheels would be sufficient. I mean if it gets the truck in the door you would be fine. Of course you no longer have the cool ability to get in and out of the truck with ease... )
Regards,
Brian

 

[westyss]

Brian, thanks for the compliments, I am pretty sure that I would fit into a High Cube without doing anything, they are 8' 6" door height, and I will take a few measurements to see if when using some wheel slugs I could fit into a standard height container which are 7' 6" door height, width is no problem. Its been a while so I cant remember what I managed to do but I think I was not able to keep the overall height as far down as I wanted to and since that time I have also upgraded the suspension so the truck sits a little taller too. Cab width on these trucks is around 80 inches, so there will be a little over a foot of space to crawl out of the cab once in the container, I am pretty sure it won't be me doing the crawling outa there though as I am a little gravity challenged

 

[westyss]

Neat trick. With a lock it would provide extra security for your door as well.

Another way might be the way Tennmogger's bed sides drop (I'm totally in love with the drop sides on his truck):

View attachment 93171

I remember seeing that rig somewhere, do you have a link to it? Maybe I'll try a search. But that is a neat way of doing the drop sides, I think when I saw it I thought it looked very heavy?? Any other ideas out there for a step extension?

 

[dwh]

I remember seeing that rig somewhere, do you have a link to it? Maybe I'll try a search. But that is a neat way of doing the drop sides, I think when I saw it I thought it looked very heavy?? Any other ideas out there for a step extension?

I stole that pic from an article mentioned here:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...ith-Alaskan-Camper-from-Truck-Camper-Magazine

The owner is 'Tennmogger' here on Expo.

 

[dwh]

Then all you need to do is build the box to be detachable with some amount of ease

Pretty sure that's already done. The box sits on a flatbed. As I recall, the idea was to have it removable so the truck/flatbed could be used for business.

 

[westyss]

Pretty sure that's already done. The box sits on a flatbed. As I recall, the idea was to have it removable so the truck/flatbed could be used for business.

Yes you are right dwh, box sits on the flat deck,, so to remove at this point I would need to disconnect the electric cable from the batteries, remove the steps ( 6 screws ) and remove the many bolts along the sides used to connect to the flat deck, then mount some jacks on the corners and lift up a bit and she should come off, or lift it high enough and not take the steps off but that might be a little too high.......


I looked through that article and did a search for tennmogger and found some posts but no info on the drop down sides, sure would be interested in the geometry of those.

 

[Ford Prefect]

Pretty sure that's already done. The box sits on a flatbed. As I recall, the idea was to have it removable so the truck/flatbed could be used for business.

Thanks for reminding me of that. Very cool.

yeah I would be very willing to do something exactly like this build. It is darn near perfect IMHO. Sadly no good way to fit the two boys in that truck. I guess in eighteen to twenty years I may have a shot at something like this! haha

Westyss, If you are too tall for the truck to go into a tall shipping box I think you could still build the custom wheels and the track to guide them into the box and I think you would be golden.

Question...

With the wheels from that Unicat (the little disks) would it be possible to build those strong enough that you could use them for a sand plate to stand your jack on? IE to give the jack a greater base in the sand? Then they would serve a double purpose for you. It might be a real winner there. (again IF you are planning to go over seas with the truck that is...)

 

[westyss]

Water tank is complete! Here are a few pics.

Lid upside down getting a layer of cloth and epoxy.

The table leg will sit above this extra strength area. The opposite side of this area got the same.

Test fit on the lid.

I tried to look inside the tank with the lid on to see if it made a good fit but I couldn't see with my mirror but then I came to my senses and took a few pictures of the inside then down loaded the pictures onto my laptop to have a look. Here's a couple of them,

looking at a baffle with an aluminum tube epoxied in for an air vent.

This one looks like the rear part of the baffle with a notch in the lower corner.

With the lid looking like it was going to work I needed to get the outflow fitting with associated bits and it started to look like this.

And final look.

Looking down into the space where the outflow fitting and valves are, the valves will be accessed from the drivers side storage door next to the fill port. Pipe going to the right goes down through the floor, between the under body tool boxes and onto the ground,that's the tank drain,, going left to the filter, pump, accumulator then onwards to stuff that needs water.

So filling can be done through the two see through ports from either side of the truck. So what this means is that I will not install a remote tank level indicator, instead I am following the KISS method and will measure the water level with an extremely high tech device called a dip stick! In one of the pics you may see a rubber grommet which will be the air vent.
With that done the lip that the top sits on got a bead of silicone and the top was set on top and lightly screwed down, once it set for a day I snugged up the screws.

Using some web based site to calculate the capacity I got just shy of 80 gallons!! beats the hell outa 28!

 

[dwh]

I looked through that article and did a search for tennmogger and found some posts but no info on the drop down sides, sure would be interested in the geometry of those.

I noticed another set in a pic here on ExPo just the other day. Another firemog. The second photo down in this post has a little detail of the hinge - which looks to be slightly different than what's on Tennmogger's firemog:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...w-available-through-GXV?p=1083173#post1083173

mogwildRW1 is fairly active here on ExPo. You should send him a PM.

 

[Overland Hadley]

With that done the lip that the top sits on got a bead of silicone and the top was set on top and lightly screwed down, once it set for a day I snugged up the screws.

What a great way to make a gasket. Never thought of doing it that way, thanks for the idea.

 

[pods8]

Cool, did you research building a water tank w/ epoxy first? It's not approved under regs from what I've read since no one has studied the long term affects of whether anything will leach but there are some recommendations none the less if you decide to do it to keep folks safer. IE: Make the last coats slightly resin rich (less harmful than the hardener, trying to make sure all hardener reacts), make sure the surface is smooth inside to avoid hard to clean areas for crap to cling/grow, post cure the tank at a elevated temp such at 120-140F+ (use a space heater or such), scrub the cured surfaces with a dish scour pad/soap&water to take off any water soluble blush, etc.

Sorta late comments if not but you can get back into your take since it's a removable lid if you're concerned with anything, just trying to pass on what I've read in the past for your reference and anyone else out there.

 

[westyss]

I did research it and your list is a good one, I also heard that a vinegar/water solution also help's, but like you stated its the hardener that's the main concern. So the best way is heat and proper mixture,the West System states that you shouldn't change the hardener/ resin ratio. Proper filters are an obvious one too.

Cool, did you research building a water tank w/ epoxy first? It's not approved under regs from what I've read since no one has studied the long term affects of whether anything will leach but there are some recommendations none the less if you decide to do it to keep folks safer. IE: Make the last coats slightly resin rich (less harmful than the hardener, trying to make sure all hardener reacts), make sure the surface is smooth inside to avoid hard to clean areas for crap to cling/grow, post cure the tank at a elevated temp such at 120-140F+ (use a space heater or such), scrub the cured surfaces with a dish scour pad/soap&water to take off any water soluble blush, etc.

Sorta late comments if not but you can get back into your take since it's a removable lid if you're concerned with anything, just trying to pass on what I've read in the past for your reference and anyone else out there.

 

[westyss]

Next up is the unit I call "Heat Corner" or HC for short.

Here HC sits in pieces having been prepped up with epoxy eagerly awaiting assembly!

Here HC is mostly assembled

with strategic orifices

aligned with one of HC's heating units.

All plumbed up.

At home with fellow heat unit trying his spot out.

 

[westyss]

What a great way to make a gasket. Never thought of doing it that way, thanks for the idea.

Yep, I used to do that on my oil pan on my suby powered westy too, works well.

 

[pods8]

I did research it and your list is a good one, I also heard that a vinegar/water solution also help's, but like you stated its the hardener that's the main concern. So the best way is heat and proper mixture,the West System states that you shouldn't change the hardener/ resin ratio. Proper filters are an obvious one too.

FYI: West System has an article on it and does give slight resin rich ratios for their products for this use: http://www.westsystem.com/ss/wood-epoxy-composite-tank-guidelines/

Carefully metered resin/hardener ratio is critical to any epoxy's performance. In all projects, with one exception, we recommend dispensing and mixing epoxy at the target ratio within our acceptable range. Tank building is the exception to the rule. When mixing epoxy for tank coatings, we recommend a resin-rich/ hardener-lean mixture at the outer limits of the acceptable range as shown in Table 1.

This is because excess resin in epoxy is less likely to adversely affect the physical properties of cured epoxy than excess hardener. When excess hardener is in the epoxy matrix, it cannot fully react with the resin and will become suspended in the mixture. Because amines (in the hardeners) are water soluble, they can potentially leach out and cause odd tastes, contaminates in the liquid, and porosity in the epoxy film, among other performance defects. The maximum resin-rich ratios noted in Table 1 are at the end of acceptable ranges for WEST SYSTEM® epoxy. These ratios should not be taken any farther from the target. These maximum resin-rich ratios meet specification to obtain a properly cured epoxy film and to minimize extracts leaching out of the epoxy.