Well,I spent most of the weekend cleaning the storage and toolboxes of what looked like decades of trash,filled a forty gal garbage can.

Used a product called Tuff Stuff to clean the panels. It's supposed to be a foaming upholstery cleaner but works great to remove mildew and dirt from painted surfaces and doesn't seem to affect the paint at all other than removing wax.

I removed the big storage tubes from the interior and found four big ol' copper grounding rods about five feet long. I've never sold any scrap metal but I'm guessing these might be worth a little money.

Left the truck at the transmission shop this morn,when I get it back I'll start on the insulation and carpeting of the service body and buy a ramp and chock for loading my bike.

I'm thinking I'd like a roof air/heater unit and a generator but I'll have to do some research cause I know nothing about these things. The body does have a plug in cord and looks like heavy duty wiring for two receptacles on the inside and four outside, two on the front and two on the back.

There are two airbags on the rear axle,one seems to hold air fine and the other leaks down. Have to figure this out.

I'm thinking of loading the bike,about seven hundred lbs on one side to give more room. If that side sags do you just add air to the air bag on that side to level it or would the uneven inflation of the airbags cause handling problems?

Click on the pics:

 

Anybody know the answer to my question about the airbags?

 

The copper grounding rods are probably copper-clad steel.

As far as the air suspension, if you need to inflate the bags unevenly I would say the load is unevenly centered and could cause handling issues. Even if the van rides level after the adjustment, you might have a body roll issue when that side of the vehicle is on the outside of a turn. Panic braking on slick surfaces might be another problem.

A small amount of imbalance would be ok, of course, but 700 pounds all on one side...that seems like asking for trouble. You might be able to offset this weight with some of your heavier cargo/supplies/tools on the opposite side.

If not, I would use a trailer or some type of rear lift...or try to center the load in the van.

 

Well,that sounds like good advice,appreciate it. I'll take it to heart.


Looks like it may be a bit before I get to continue on this project. I was sent on an assignment to Grand Isle way down in south Louisiana for a week and then home for at least a weekend. Now it looks like a month before I get home,but hey,it'll pay for that transmission job plus a good bit more so I'm happy.


Good Luck


Tom

 

Had no idea what I was getting into when I bought this truck,but I'm learning.



click on the pic:

 

Finally got a day off and went home to pick my truck up from the shop.


Had the trans rebuilt and a complete inspection on the rest of the truck. Checked rear end,brakes,u-joints,front end,tire rotation,LOF and fuel filter,coolant flush with proper coolant with SCA's and distilled water. Bought a used rim and tire since I had no spare. Got to buy a jack of some kind.


Ran about 75 with the wind blowing like hell on the way back to work and only got 11.3 mpg,hoping for better at reduced speeds and no wind conditions.Stopped after the first hundred miles and some coolant puked out. Must have come from the coolant cap because it landed on the battery and ran down to the ground. Coolant wasn't low and temp gauge was about in the center. Next couple of times I stopped I let the engine idle for four or five minutes and the coolant puke did not repeat itself.


Got a ramp and chock so I can haul my bike but didn't have time to bolt the chock in before I had to head back to work.





Truck runs and drives fine,air is ice cold. Looks like I might have screwed up and bought a pretty good ol bike hauler/work truck..

 

Nice rig .
I raced bikes out of a reg. van for years. I never even thought of getting something like that. Are you racing pavement or dirt ?

 

I'm not racing. I work oil spill cleanups and am on assignments for weeks sometimes months at a time and I want to be able to haul my Harley and work gear without towing a trailer,plus once I get it outfitted it will save on hotel expenses when I'm traveling.


Good Luck


Tom

 

Think there will be plenty of room once I get everything organized.

 

Are you going to sleep/live in it?

 

In my opinion, the weight of the bike will be so close (side to side) to the centerline of the van that it will have minimal effect on overall truck balance. Just try to load the other side heavier than the bike side. For instance, if you load the bike on the passenger side, the driver weight will help offset the weight of the bike. Bike weight (front to rear) should also be ahead of the rear wheels. When you get it fully loaded, have it weighed at a commercial scale so you can get the weight of each wheel. Then you will have a better idea of how you did. Just my opinion. Others will likely disagree....jack

 

Well,no,I don't plan on living in it,but I certainly plan on being able to overnight in it if I chose to. Then on the other hand it would make sense to have a vehicle that if I had to I could survive without a permanent home for a little while if I had to. Believe me,I know how it feels to go from ten thousand a month to ten thousand a year for a short time. Don't believe it can't happen to you.Our county,our world has changed so much that there is no security for anyone.

 

Jack,I've been considering this for a few days and I tend to agree with you.


I was on call today so I spent some time moving stuff to the outer storage compartments and there's enough weight to shift around to offset a few inches of placement of the bike.


I tend to carry more tools than I need when on the road so there's plenty of weight to shift around. Guess it's a carryover from when I was young, if I broke down I had to fix it cause I didn't have enough money to pay someone else to get me back on the road.


I'll spend the next couple of days on call,so I'll try to finish cleaning and detailing and then start on the carpet and insulation.


Good Luck


Tom

 

And that is one reason I have a van.
Or perhaps a disaster. I lived in my GMC van after the 89 quake in N ca. for a couple of days.

 

Inflate the air bags and then use a soapy water solution to look for air leaks. I thought I had a bad bag, turned out the airline had broken going to it. For an AC/heater unit you will need a 3500-4000 watt generator. Champion makes a good inexpensive one about 62 db noise at 23 feet supposedly. I mounted one to my TT does add some vibration when running but nothing ya cant live with. As to a jack all depends on what ya want, but harbor freight has some big bottle jacks fairly cheap and they also have 120 and 12 lug nut guns just all depends on how you want to take them off. I carry the 120 v in the rv have the 12 for everything else. If ya go with a bottle jack remember to carry a carpet or something to lay on and a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to put the jack on for use.