Well, I broke it.

[pugslyyy]

The fuso rolled down the road today under power. First time since the frame replacement!

 

[Gatsma]

BUT did it roll STRAIGHT down the road? Hey, inquiring minds gotta know....
Just razzin' ya, man! Glad to hear it!
But you know the next question..... "Ya got pictures? Huh? We just GOTTA see some pix!"

 

[pugslyyy]

BUT did it roll STRAIGHT down the road? Hey, inquiring minds gotta know....
Just razzin' ya, man! Glad to hear it!
But you know the next question..... "Ya got pictures? Huh? We just GOTTA see some pix!"

I just got back tonight (well early this morning) from a month in central america. Stand by.

 

[pugslyyy]

Drove the Fuso back from the shop tonight to my house and successfully re-docked the Bigfoot to it. Still have to make all the electrical connections, etc in the morning but we ran out of light. Having the normal issues of a project like this where some things don't quite work and have to be tweaked, but nothing major.

The docking maneuver is fairly time consuming. You have to lift the truck camper up at least 50 inches in the air (which is a bit scary) and the back the fuso underneath it. The tolerances are all about a quarter inch maximum.

 

[Gatsma]

Man that is TIGHT! But it IS physically on the truck.
Question- Are you using the same springs you had? Can't remember if you were going to change them for any odd reason.
I guess the real question is, does the whole thing "sit" right?

 

[pugslyyy]

Man that is TIGHT! But it IS physically on the truck.
Question- Are you using the same springs you had? Can't remember if you were going to change them for any odd reason.
I guess the real question is, does the whole thing "sit" right?

The springs were custom made for the payload by Deaver Spring

I would love to go to parabolics, but not convinced it is worth the cost to replace springs that are working fine now.

 

[Gatsma]

Well, I would be the last to wish a broken spring on you after all that has gone before, so I wholeheartedly agree that is NOT a current priority!;-)

 

[pugslyyy]

Got most of the power cables, signal cables, etc. hooked back up and doing functional checks now. Also decided to change the serpentine belt and the second alternator belt and fuel filters.

 

[Gatsma]

Just to understand... Was the "platform" on which the camper sits installed at the shop that did the frame work? Did they also install the "garage"? I figured they did, as you were able to put the camper on, which you could not do if the garage was not in place.

 

[pugslyyy]

Yes, the garage is an integral part of the service body / sub-frame along with the flat frame that the Bigfoot rests on (it's all one weldment).

It is attached to the frame at the front before the step-down (we didn't change that part). Every mount aft of the step down is a spring mount now.

We also retained the two shock absorbers between the frame and the subframe at the rear - not necessary but since it was already in place from the previous 3 point mounting system figured might was well keep it.

 

[dlh62c]

There's some more work to be done on stability for sure.

pugslyyy

You posted a link to a Uni-Mog for sale in Alaska. If you look though the pictures, there's' one that appears to be a spring mount which might help. The design would guide the sub frame as it settles back down on the truck's frame rails after lifting. It also addresses the forward, backward and side-to-side shear forces on the spring bolt.

 

[pugslyyy]

pugslyyy

You posted a link to a Uni-Mog for sale in Alaska. If you look though the pictures, there's' one that appears to be a spring mount which might help. The design would guide the sub frame as it settles back down on the truck's frame rails after lifting. It also addresses the forward, backward and side-to-side shear forces on the spring bolt.

View attachment 249839

Thanks, I have a very large collection of photos of spring mounts and will add this to it!

 

[Gatsma]

Pugslyyy- Any news worth reporting on the rig?

 

[pugslyyy]

Pugslyyy- Any news worth reporting on the rig?

Everything worked fine on the run up to Asheville and back for expo, enjoyed meeting folks and getting to talk trucks and travel!

There are a few odds and ends to finish up (a connector needs replacing, macerator not working, raw water pump not working, the parking brake isn't holding, etc).

The most major issue was one of the 2 50 gallon fuel tanks split and of course it was the primary... required a bit of plumbing work to pull from the secondary tank for the trip.

Next week we're back in the shop to finish up the details.

 

[Gatsma]

In spite of it not working (probably something simple...), do you like having a macerator for sewage processing? Heard a lot of pluses, not many minuses. Main advantages for you?