Hillbilly Heaven
Explorer
Hauling shipping containers to earn extra money!
Project "Autonomous" F-350
- Thread starter pappawheely
- Start date
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
Wow, great idea.
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
Not mine, but what I'm planning. Putting my unitbody G30 on a chassis.
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
Going to use the P30 chassis. Why you may ask? Because I plan on doing things like a front mounted winch, and a rear motorcycle lift which will need sturdy mounts. It also allows strong mounting options for water tanks, and fuel. If you are wondering, the wheelbase on the P30 is 208. The G30 is 154. ? The final drivetrain will be 6.2 Detroit diesel for its fuel mileage. I'm not going to be racing anyone in a box truck. Turbo 400 transmission, 205 transfer case.
In the front will be a dana 44 already converted to 8 lug. The gear ratio is 3.73. Since the 6.2 does not rev, I'm thinking of using this ratio; I'll have to do some calculations. The tire size is 35". In the rear I have 3 options. I can run whatever the huge thing is on the P30 chassis, but it's 10 lug. The 79 Blazer chassis that is donating the front axle and drivetrain has a 14 bolt full floater. It is also geared 3.73 but it's not as wide as the axle in the G30. That axle is a wide dana 70. The gear ratio is 4.10. I will either re-gear the front, or rear diff so they match at whatever gear ratio works best. Things I have to watch out for are the engine offset in the van body (offset to passenger side by an inch or more, and the steering. The front dana 44 is set with push, pull steering as is the P30 chassis; so that might stay. I have a friend with a forklift, welder, and plasma table who is helping.
In the front will be a dana 44 already converted to 8 lug. The gear ratio is 3.73. Since the 6.2 does not rev, I'm thinking of using this ratio; I'll have to do some calculations. The tire size is 35". In the rear I have 3 options. I can run whatever the huge thing is on the P30 chassis, but it's 10 lug. The 79 Blazer chassis that is donating the front axle and drivetrain has a 14 bolt full floater. It is also geared 3.73 but it's not as wide as the axle in the G30. That axle is a wide dana 70. The gear ratio is 4.10. I will either re-gear the front, or rear diff so they match at whatever gear ratio works best. Things I have to watch out for are the engine offset in the van body (offset to passenger side by an inch or more, and the steering. The front dana 44 is set with push, pull steering as is the P30 chassis; so that might stay. I have a friend with a forklift, welder, and plasma table who is helping.
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pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
It's been a while, but I snuck out for a day and shot some Trophy Trucks in Parker. Looks like I'll be at KOH too.
I just recently bought an electronic parking brake kit from Wilwood. The kit is for 1.25" rotors but I will have to build a bracket to hold the caliper.
The Wilwood kit is spendy, but I tried a pinion brake (Atlas transfer case) and it had very limited holding power. The Eldorado calipers I have on the 14-bolt now won't hold the truck at all, but at least I can pass inspection.
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
KOH is a wrap. Only got to shoot a limited amount, but had a great time otherwise. Huge crowd there. They estimated 100K.
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
They take incredible punishment. The drivers who are really good in the rocks have a fluid momentum that makes it look easy.
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
I really don't like to flame anyone on the internet; I'm not doing this without trepidation. I bought beadlock wheels so I could do repairs in the desert, and mount tires without hydraulic machines. I have destroyed one of my trailready beadlock wheels trying to dismount a Falken Wildpeak. The beads on the falkens are like cables off the golden gate bridge. They will not even come off the beadlock ring side of the wheel. What's so frustrating is that the sidewalls are like butter. I'm getting punctured sidewalls nearly everytime I drive my truck. I called Falken to ask for a solution and they could not have been any more disinterested in anything I had to say. Bye, Bye. I'll never go with Falken again. I tried cutting the bead with a sawzall, and it took out the blade. You win. You beat me. Another case of stupid engineering.
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Bad Hair Day
Observer
Great meeting and talking with you at Expo! - Max
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
I've known you for so long Max, it was great to finally meet you!
amgvr4
Adventurer
I think there is a big market for electronic e-brakes for our big trucks. My Excursion has rear discs and the stupid inner drum parking brake. They are terrible even with new stuff and the cables make sliders a challenge on the frame. If someone was so inclined you could make a simple three switch box that controlled the calipers for pass only, driver only, or both that way you could use them for cutting brakes as well if you had a selectable locker. Some Teslas are equipped with Brembo electronic calipers as well so there are a few options out there for parts.