rdickinson Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Here's the new car with stages of hitch install. Also original color was red & black. Got it wrapped white & red. Interior done the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Heiser Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Looks good. Can't wait to see it in person. Are you going to make the WCR again this year? 2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift 2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard 2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan 2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage) 2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)My First Solar Install ThreadMy Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the buildMy MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet! chadheiser.com West Coast HDT Rally Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted December 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Not sure. Managed to get a job to help fund these expensive 4 month trips south. Leaving the job 4-5 weeks after getting back could be an issue. On another note have the Crossfire system ordered, they will fwd ship it to a US destination on my way down.. The car was winched up yesterday, no problem The hitch was a simple process. Not at all complicated. Held on with 6 bolts. Thanks for the info last June. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Roger, do you have larger pics of the hitch attachment points. Those pics do not blow up large enough for me to really see anything..... Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuiteSuccess Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Roger, Just curious. Since the 2017 can't be towed four down because of the trannie, do you have to leave the car running and in neutral while winching to prevent any damage? 2006 Volvo 780 "Hoss" Volvo D12, 465hp, 1650 ft/lbs tq., ultrashift Bed Build by "JW Morgan's Custom Welding" 2017 DRV 39DBRS3 2013 Smart Passion Coupe "Itty Bitty" "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERO Maker Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Wow Carl! Good question!? Rocky & Sheri Rhoades '01 Volvo 770 2016 DRV Mobile Suites, HoustonHERO Makers Ministry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genecolleen Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Roger, looks awesome! Can we get details? Who did the hitch /cost? Who did the wrap/ cost? <p>Gene & Colleen2009 Volvo 670 customized by Gregg RV Haulers, 2014 New Horizon 5th wheel, 2012 smart car on the deck. Full time 6/17/2014 Vmmonline.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buscrusher Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Roger, Just curious. Since the 2017 can't be towed four down because of the trannie, do you have to leave the car running and in neutral while winching to prevent any damage? I can't copy and paste this text across in my phone, but here is a PDF file I found that addresses some updated information about towing the new smart... http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/forums/attachments/f208/22137d1476194765-453-official-flat-tow-instructions-453flattow_ke_pm.pdf DougFrequent "lurker"Occasional posterFirst step towards the RV setup complete: 1 smart car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgiaHybrid Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Roger, Just curious. Since the 2017 can't be towed four down because of the trannie, do you have to leave the car running and in neutral while winching to prevent any damage? It hasn't hurt ours Carl, For a very short distance, I just leave it in neutral with the switch on and the engine off. 2017 Kenworth T6802015 DRV 38RSSA Elite Suites2016 Smart Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabbie Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 I believe any auto or manual or auto/manual can be pushed or pulled a few dozen feet with no issues. I have towed them for a few miles to get my broke down cars home with no issue. The issues come when you tow one for a long distance, with no fluid to lube up the internals is not a good thing. Pressure build up from continual towing creates a lot of heat which is also hard on seals, which can be another issue as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted December 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 Just got back from Three Point Motors...re Smart car. Here are some answers direct from the Mechanic. An automatic can be towed for 30 miles or kms at no more than 50 kms an hour. I think it was kms not miles. A standard can be towed no problem. Winching up a ramp without engine running, no problem. Wrap was done here in Victoria about 2300$ Can, 3 days. Graphic FX. They also re did some of the buzzard decals on the Rv that were letting go around hatches. This time I removed the hatches and windows, ran the decal thru then re-installed the hatches and windows so nothing can peel back. Pretty much any Graphics outfit could do the car. They have difficulty doing some compound corners and curves. It puts the vinyl under a lot of stress and may tend to let go. This happened on the convex plastic window frame in the man door. Several attempts were made to wrap it but all eventually failed. What did work was some of this rubber spray paint. clean, 2 coats primer, 4 coats of red and a couple of coats of clear gloss top coat. All in rattle cans. To caulk the windows, I used fire caulk, it's the only reddish caulking I know of. It has silicone in it. First I put masking tape on both sides of where caulking was to go, apply caulking, gish it in then remove tape. Leaving clean bead, no smearing. Hitch was done by the Parts Manager at Three Point...another Bmzero 2.0. Bolts on with 6 bolts, winched car on once works fine. I may have to stand the A frame off the truck a bit more so the pulleys on the A frame and car don't collide at the end of the pull. 18" hitch ht, same as old car puts pulleys in line on both the old and new car. He's working out costs, mine was a test, there will be modifications to round off the outside corners so as not to come so close to the inside of the bumper. Mine will get modified after I get back from Tampa and area. Less than 500$ complete, just bolt on and cut the hole, no assembly of parts. The trick is cutting the hole in the bumper, how do you find center when the hitch sticks thru the bumper??? Trying to get reference marks from any point or points didn't work. The body panels are slightly adjustable and the way to find center of the hole is to put hitch on, use a 2 line laser to mark center of the hitch, remove the 6 bolts and pull off the hitch, put on the bumper. Laser is still on and still lighting up center, drill pilot hole then use a hole saw. Take off bumper, re-install hitch then re-install bumper. Use grommet material to protect edge of hole in bumper. Sidenote, be careful when removing front hood for service the windshield washer hose can pull lose. The front hood in latches from the front grill and completely separates from the car. I'll try posting pics of front grill painted red and also red and white seats and red instrument bezels. The idea was to break up the oppressive black interior. Also took a pic of the underbody lites on tonight. I'll try to post close up pic of hitch rt side Friday pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gell Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 Roger, Looks great. How many inches, if any, does the receiver add to the length of the smart car? Jim 2001 Volvo 770, Detroit 60 Series, Gen 2 Autoshift Passenger assist elevator to enter cab - for when we need it, or sell it? '05 Travel Supreme Select 40 RLQSO 5th wheel 2016 smart car We started full timing on December 1st 2014 Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness - Mark Twain Not all that wander are lost - J. R. R. Tolkien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted December 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Tubing is 2 x 2. Cross piece is welded to short return to base or foot which bolts to body or frame. Another pce of 1/4" flat bar welded over the open end and returns to foot or base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted December 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Red grill sprayed with rubber paint and underbody LED lights programmable for any color or combination of colors. No I don't drive it on the street with them on...I already got a message from Randy. Will make up some cartoon eyes to put in the car window for when underway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted December 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 The red and white matches colors of the retro dining set in the trailer. Bezels were sprayed . The idea was to break up the oppressive black. Turned out better than OK for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Dreamer Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Car looks great. Hopefully the parts manager made a template of the hitch and can make more of them. I wonder in an inexpensive wrap for the bumper showing hitch location and locating from another fixed point would work for locating the hole. It could be included with hitch if they ever start selling them. Dave 2005 Freightliner Century S/T, Singled, Air ride ET Jr. hitch 2019 46'+ Dune Sport Man Cave custom 5th wheel toy hauler Owner of the 1978 Custom Van "Star Dreamer" which might be seen at a local car show near you! Check out http://www.hhrvresource.com/ for much more info on HDT's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted December 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Protrudes about 3" beyond bumper. I overhang about 6" on either side of the truck. Needed to adjust the chocks to even up the overhang.. My deck is 96" wide I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted December 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Car looks great. Hopefully the parts manager made a template of the hitch and can make more of them. I wonder in an inexpensive wrap for the bumper showing hitch location and locating from another fixed point would work for locating the hole. It could be included with hitch if they ever start selling them. Dave He has the hitch template. I did suggest right from the get go we provide a template of some sort. but he said the body placement varies slightly. The panels are designed to be able to be shifted some....Thinking more about that... All the template would need to do would be to get you inside the receiver area. Poke a hole and widen the hole the size of the square. The problem now is you have lost your pilot hole for the hole saw. Unless a square plug with a pilot hole in the centre was used. Maybe not the best idea but someone else can improve on it. Hence my idea of a laser , either crosshairs or a single dot, Either way, it's do-able. I'm trying to make it easy for someone without metalworking tools or skills. Instructions could be provided with pics and description of how to remove the bumper plus other steps. Even the Torx bits and necessary bolts plus xtras could be provided. Sean already has modifications in mind. The outside corner of the hitch needs to trimmed back 'cus it's too close to the inside of the bumper. They could be packaged up complete, all one piece and shipped long with all needed parts, pieces and instructions. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Roger, that is a very nice job on the car. It looks great, IMO. I've seen some pretty nice custom smarts, and this is right up there with them. Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Heiser Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 I can say that it looks great in person, although I only got to see it on the back of Roger's truck. The hitch was very well done as well. 2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift 2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard 2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan 2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage) 2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)My First Solar Install ThreadMy Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the buildMy MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet! chadheiser.com West Coast HDT Rally Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted January 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 Thanks, Btw made it to Indio by 1am Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Heiser Posted January 15, 2017 Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 You put in some long hours. 2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift 2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard 2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan 2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage) 2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)My First Solar Install ThreadMy Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the buildMy MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet! chadheiser.com West Coast HDT Rally Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted January 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 200 miles from Houston tonite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Heiser Posted January 15, 2017 Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 You going to get your lunch with Big5er? 2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift 2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard 2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan 2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage) 2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)My First Solar Install ThreadMy Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the buildMy MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet! chadheiser.com West Coast HDT Rally Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdickinson Posted January 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 No contact info. Deleted to clear pm message file. Can you send my contact info to him?? I buy this time. Should be late am at Houston San Antonio or better tonite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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