Hillbilly Hauler, or.. my first diesel

[Beagle]

Yeah, I've always had that problem. Cut it twice, and it's STILL too short.

[SuperBuickGuy]

wood is evil, it always cuts too short.... must be humidity and global warming that causes this phenomena

[Russell]

I don't build cabinets but I know people that have and they say they work great. I think they glue as well? If it requires a nail it requires a nail gun

Take pictures of the lock hack. You going to pick it, pull pins cut key to pin length?

[Beagle]

random update - found a key blank that fits the lock on the topper since I'm too cheap to order a 7.99 key. Hack artist locksmithing is emminent.

I took a 351 roller cam shortblock down to Location X today, man it was nice to not worry about rain.

totally random - anybody use a Kreg jig for cabinet building? I think I need one... fine woodworking with screws. Awesome! Keeping me away from a hammer around wood is a good idea.

[Beagle]

it's a drunk trap. If you're drunk enough to whack it hard enough to close it "by accident" you should probably be closing the lid for the night anyway.

[Russell]

I like the fix, just don't poke it while your head is under it!

[Beagle]

I checked the price on gas struts for the rear door on the topper, and I'm allergic to spending 20.00 for a 50.00 topper... I read the build threads on GRM and one of the guys had a Civic where the previous owner had "fixed" a gas strut with a piece of PVC. It took me about .002 seconds to steal that idea!

Strut without new fancy part, showing door opening at "support" height where the fancy new part holds it:


Strut with new fancy part, fully extended, the tube slides under the strut and holds it open:



and with the custom strut support in place:


it's a custom length piece of tubing from an old shop vacuum. I measured it with my elbow and transferred the custom measurement to the chop saw. You poke it and the lid drops. It works great and I'm feeling very clever for stealing this idea. I fixed the drivers side window that wouldn't close by taking it apart, cleaning the dirt out of the channel, and putting it back together. I think this is a Leer brand top, it's pretty well built.

It's funny because I had a neighbor who had a truck much like BBR's (Longbed 460, '76 I think) but black and when he put a topper on it I cringed. He used it to haul floor cleaning equipment so it beat taking the buffers out of the truck every night. I know I'm getting old because this thing just makes me laugh. When I was 18, I would have pulled all of the old man crap (Running boards, topper) off of it, washed it with 150 grit, flat blacked the whole thing because the clear is peeling, and put some 33x12.50's on first thing. I'm not sure how I feel about being okay with it being grampa-riffic though.

[Beagle]

into a short bed extended cab that's got practically zero miles on a rebuilt front end and drives decent... but it's not likely to happen. I have considered putting it in my Bronco too.

[Russell]

Its easier to do a engine swap than change 4 springs?

[Deaf Bob]

Always went up and cut wood, filled the bed half way then skidded logs or took some to where the non-dualies got stopped, then they could make it to the wood area.. Weigh helps if it there is someplace for it to stop sinking... Like burying the axles.. I always liked a little wider tire.. Even on the dualie..

[Beagle]

For a 2wd drive truck that sees mud. I would put something that looks as close to a tractor tire that you can find. I had those tires on the Cummins. Without 4wd the open rear would have left me stuck in the yard ( it is very wet)

I used something that looks exactly like a tractor tire to get it out. We've had a lot of rain lately. I had a boat engine / outdrive in the bed when it got stuck and surprisingly it's a lot better without all the extra weight in the back?!

[Beagle]

Beagle - look into the rugged trail TA in the stock superduty size 265 75 16 LRE - they are GREAT all around tires, not too noisy on the pavement and pretty darn good off the road too. Do you run the rears at 80psi and fronts at 55psi as the door sticker calls for? I tended to drop the rear pressure down to 60 or so when I wasn't towing or hauling heavy, rides a hellofallot better!!

Grampa mud tires should only go on the back! I was thinking some 37" Humvee take offs.. lol. This one had 235 85 16 E rated stock, which is what I put back on it - serious pizza cutters! They weren't really expensive and the way they are wearing, I'll have to change them from age before the tread wears out. Last time I checked, I had 65 in all of them. I started to pull the gooseneck plate out of it yesterday but I may just flip it over. It's got a 2 5/16 ball welded to a 1/2" steel plate that's about 3' x 3' or so and I'm betting 200 pounds... I am not sure I want to lose the weight and have it ride even rougher.

I think it was SBG that suggested pulling the "helper" spring and putting air bags on it. I looked into it briefly, and I'm still kicking that idea around. I bet that would calm it down. On the other hand, I've got almost all of the really heavy stuff I'm gonna move where I want it now, hopefully for the last time. It probably would make more sense to get one of the 1/2 tons road worthy than spending money on this one to get it to ride like a 1/2 ton. Maybe when the dust settles I can get back to my "put the 7.3 in a 1/2 ton" plan. This truck has been an amusing and cheap distraction but in the end, it's still just a beat to hell farm truck.

[Russell]

For a 2wd drive truck that sees mud. I would put something that looks as close to a tractor tire that you can find. I had those tires on the Cummins. Without 4wd the open rear would have left me stuck in the yard ( it is very wet)

[milner351]

Beagle - look into the rugged trail TA in the stock superduty size 265 75 16 LRE - they are GREAT all around tires, not too noisy on the pavement and pretty darn good off the road too. Do you run the rears at 80psi and fronts at 55psi as the door sticker calls for? I tended to drop the rear pressure down to 60 or so when I wasn't towing or hauling heavy, rides a hellofallot better!!

[Beagle]

the front end is still a moving target... maybe the monsoons will stop long enough for me to get radius arm bushings under it next week. Meanwhile, it herds better than it did before the bearings so it's making headway.

I liked the ghettobilly fastback (r) better, but it's history. 50.00 on CL and it's full-on grampa mode now. I may or may not worry about getting the paint closer to matching. Probably not gonna worry about it because it's got about the right amount of fade to blend in with the peeling clear coat. Haha.

Foggy this morning.



oh - for Russell... I got the right pipe plugs for the Mustang's intake manifold so I'll get to working on it this week.

oh yeah, got it stuck _on level ground_ in the "driveway" at Location X last week. The pizza cutters make okay road tires but I'm thinking about using them on my trailer and getting something a little more mud friendly. Maybe it would make more sense to get my Bronco running again... irony. I was pulling the Bronco out of the barn before getting it stuck.