Rounding up parts to build the Smart Car, deck, info needed.

[mr. cob]

3 hours ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Wifi too slow, follow the link to PhotoBucket album of deck. Work upstream to find pics of other smart related stuff, RV reno;s, etc.

Howdy Darryl,

Thanks for the photos, so I take it that you drive your Smart Car up the ramps, are the ramps 12 foot or 14.  My ramps are 12 foot long, 19 inches wide, I don't know if the angle will be to steep to drive up I am planing on setting up a winch system.

Dave

[Darryl&Rita]

Both. It's been driven on, winched on, driven on backwards, and off backwards. Mostly we winch, but it's all about options. I flat-out refuse to be caught flat footed, because of limited options. Always have a backup plan. Better yet, have two.

[alan0043]

19 hours ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Both. It's been driven on, winched on, driven on backwards, and off backwards. Mostly we winch, but it's all about options. I flat-out refuse to be caught flat footed, because of limited options. Always have a backup plan. Better yet, have two.

Hi Darryl,

Thank you for the link to your pictures. I was looking at the pictures and came to the end. I was hoping to see how you attached the winch to the car. I read your description how you did it and I think I understand how it was done. But a lot of times pictures work better for me. I do have a questions or too for you. Did you get another tow hook for the car so you can have a total of two tow hooks that you are using on the rear of the car ? I know the tow hook for my smart car is not that easily found being 5/8"-11 BSW (British Standard Whitworth). My second question is. How did you make the electrical connections to make the winch portable ? Did you use the car battery for power ?

Any input would be great,
Al

[billr]

These guys https://smartmadness.com/shop/index.php?category_id=&route=product%2Fsearch&keyword=Tow+hook&category_id=0&Submit=Search

have tow hooks and bolt adapters that screw into car tow hook points and have a standard thread exposed to adapt to whatever you want to bolt to it. 

I attch my winch bar to them with bolts that came with the adapters. 

Nice products.

Smart dealers have the std hooks as well 

[rickeieio]

So, much has been said (written?) about the fragile nature of the smart clutch.  I get that.  But how difficult, and expensive, is it to replace?  Has anyone ever heard of a failure?

And where am I going with this?  Well, I'm thinking of the whole driving v. winching thing.  What's a winch cost?  How much other "stuff" do you need to make it work?  How much time spent rigging v. just driving it up?

And again, I would think having 19" ramps makes that decision much easier.

[Jack Mayer]

The 453 is VERY simple and reliable to drive on. I did a video on it...

It is also a lot faster to drive up, IMO, and I have done both a fair amount.  Not that you need be in a hurry when doing this stuff. 

The 451 is more difficult to drive up because you really have to do it in a single shot...no stopping part way up and "thinking about things". The clutch is not going to like it. Will it do it? Yes. But it will complain.

Here is the loading video if you have not seen it.

 

[hone eagle]

The smart car clutch is not 'fragile' but 'protected' from abuse by the driver ,it will not let you do anything that will overheat it.

Starting on too steep of a hill more then once .... it will refuse to engage , so no damage.Never tried but I bet if you waited long enough (cool down) it would happily continue up the ramp ............ once. 

 

I have stopped on the ramp and it resumed from a dead stop even rolled back a bit ,but not the second time.

[mr. cob]

Howdy All,

Again THANKS for all the replies to this thread.  In anticipation of eventually building my Smart Car deck today I took the first step and ordered the Jackalopee Kit from Henry.  I must have been the first one to order the "KIT" as he had to email me a special invoice to make it happen as the kit is not listed on his web site.

I am NOT one to be trusted with anything electrical, or computerized, but after reading through the instructions I think I can handle this task without burning the truck up, I hope.   Suggestions on "where" to mount the Jackalopee are encouraged, thanks.

Thanks Henry, for making this kit available I am sure it has saved many people a lot of frustration when it comes to wiring our RV haulers.

Dave

[billr]

If possible mount the Jackalope inside luggage storage on drivers side. You may even be able to run the OEM truck umbilical from the rear of the cab inside to connect up to the Jackalope.  

Keeps everything dry and clean. 

[billr]

Had a premature engine failure in our 2011 Smart 451 last year due to a blown head gasket. 

MB covered the eng replacement under the Ext warranty. Wow. 

Note: we winch up and drive off  

Ok so they asked me if I wanted the clutch replaced as it was worn out. Of course yes. Eng was out. New eng going in. Cost was like $400 for parts I think. 

The eng has to come out to replace it. If your paying the dealer to do it huge $ labour. At least 8-12 hrs at MB shop rate plus the parts. 

Like $1800 plus job.  Wow. 

Unless you can do it yourself. Or get a mech to jump in there. Not much luck after they look at it. 

I have worked on our Smarts a fair bit and I can say it’s terrible doing most anything. 

So would I drive up sure. But over time I think winching cuts my losses a bit more. 

Each to their own though. I have not heard anyone killing the clutch driving up. As Ralph said it should be self protective. 

Cost to winch not even close to one clutch job  

I would drive the 453 cars up though  I hate the time and messing around winching  

 

[mr. cob]

34 minutes ago, billr said:

If possible mount the Jackalope inside luggage storage on drivers side. You may even be able to run the OEM truck umbilical from the rear of the cab inside to connect up to the Jackalope.  

Keeps everything dry and clean. 

Howdy Bill,

Thanks, I was thinking along those lines, I need to figure out where I am going to mount the inverter and would like to keep all this kinda stuff in one place.

Dave

[billr]

33 minutes ago, mr. cob said:

Howdy Bill,

Thanks, I was thinking along those lines, I need to figure out where I am going to mount the inverter and would like to keep all this kinda stuff in one place.

Dave

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/112516511238375316586/album/AF1QipMcQmUcKek7n0RDjiPSNumFJV3YuuU7WoCGPIEv

Dave

Here is a link to my Elec panel build ten yrs ago. Lol

Built in the house and installed later. I did put plexiglass across any areas that had open terminals. Easy to remove. 

The outets and junction box is for my red neck shore power  I just plug into outlets if on shore power or inverter if not  remote switch in cab for inverter  

The extra fuse panel is for all my add on 12v users  

Most items are Blue Sea products  recommend by Jack Mayer  

I also used a Hoppy to convert wiring for trailer plug as back then there were no Jackalope. Lol I still have the original Hoppy. Have a back up in the package but this thing is still solid. 😳

Older trucks before 2004 I think.... can use a Hoppy. Newer trucks with multiplex syst with monitoring can not. Hence the creation of the Jackalope. 

Anyway, keeping this stuff inside has kept it problem free. Also not breaking into Anything Volvo was suggested to me by very wise men. Rick and Jack.   I’m a believer. 

That wiring diagram is courtesy of HDT resource guide It worked perfect. 

[mr. cob]

9 minutes ago, billr said:

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/112516511238375316586/album/AF1QipMcQmUcKek7n0RDjiPSNumFJV3YuuU7WoCGPIEv

Dave

Here is a link to my Elec panel build ten yrs ago. Lol

Built in the house and installed later. I did put plexiglass across any areas that had open terminals. Easy to remove. 

The outets and junction box is for my red neck shore power  I just plug into outlets if on shore power or inverter if not  remote switch in cab for inverter  

The extra fuse panel is for all my add on 12v users  

Most items are Blue Sea products  recommend by Jack Mayer  

I also used a Hoppy to convert wiring for trailer plug as back then there were no Jackalope. Lol I still have the original Hoppy. Have a back up in the package but this thing is still solid. 😳

Older trucks before 2004 I think.... can use a Hoppy. Newer trucks with multiplex syst with monitoring can not. Hence the creation of the Jackalope. 

Anyway, keeping this stuff inside has kept it problem free. Also not breaking into Anything Volvo was suggested to me by very wise men. Rick and Jack.   I’m a believer. 

That wiring diagram is courtesy of Mark Bruss web page. It worked perfect. 

Howdy Bill,

Thanks so much for the photos and the wiring diagram.  To tell you the truth just looking at the first photo showing all the components and tools scared me, the second photo of the wiring diagram had me going into an anxiety attack.  One of my favorite movie lines, spoken by Clint, the man himself, "A man has to know his limitations............."  If I can weld it, machine it, hammer on it or put a wrench to it I stand a good chance of success, if it involves wires of any kind I turn into a blubbering school girl.  For many years, the sacred smoke has always escaped from anything I have touched that has wires attached to it.

Dave

[rickeieio]

1 hour ago, mr. cob said:

Suggestions on "where" to mount the Jackalopee are encouraged, thanks.

Dave,

Consider mounting the Jackalopee on the rear of the pin box.  That way, your trailer can be pulled by any semi tractor, yet still works for a smaller (LGT) unit should you ever need assistance.

Since I now have BluDot, I'll soon relocate my Jackalopee.  Right now, only a hand full of trucks can safely move our trailer.

[mr. cob]

5 minutes ago, rickeieio said:

Dave,

Consider mounting the Jackalopee on the rear of the pin box.  That way, your trailer can be pulled by any semi tractor, yet still works for a smaller (LGT) unit should you ever need assistance.

Since I now have BluDot, I'll soon relocate my Jackalopee.  Right now, only a hand full of trucks can safely move our trailer.

Howdy Rick,

Forgive my ignorance, I am having a hard time following your reasoning for this, when you have time can you enlighten me and I am sure others, thanks.

Dave

[rdickinson]

On the back of the cab.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

I'd put it inside.  I helped replace one that was mounted outside in a "Protected" area.  There was a rusty water line inside the box.  The guy bought a new assembly from ET and I helped rewire it and mount it inside.

[rickeieio]

I too have had water inside, but it was my fault as it was mounted face up out in the open.

Dave, if you mount the Jackalopee under the nose of the 5er, you open yourself to having nearly any truck pull your trailer, whether they have a commercial plug, like your Pete, or a RV style, like any pickup.  Just put a commercial female plug on the input side and a RV female plug on the output side.

While this has little potential benefit to those with electric brakes, it opens doors for those of us with air actuated braking systems.

[rickeieio]

On 12/24/2017 at 6:50 PM, GlennWest said:

Glenn,

How is that ratchet attached?  It appears that it's fastened to an angle which is bolted to the bed?  If so, do you unbolt it for loading and unloading?

[GlennWest]

Yes. I use stops on all 4 wheels. I drive on and off same side. So just one side is adjustable. Slotted bolt holes. May not be necessary. 

[noteven]

If the winch was lined up to the single tow point on a 453 rather than the center of the car would that work?

[GlennWest]

Unfortunately that is in line with rear axle. Can't mount winch there. Would have to rig up pulleys to line up. 

[Scrap]

If it helps for wiring, you can buy Peterbilt harness # 16-08101-06700.  You unplug your white plug on the firewall (your trailer connections) and plug this one in.  The new harness is just the six ring terminals without the trailer plug.  This one can be run inside the cab and you can skip one of the holes in the floor.  The ring terminals bolt to the input of the light converter and route it right along with however you'd route your brake controller line you have to make.

If you want it outside and still want to keep your two trailer connectors as stock then order harness 16-08396.  Same story with the white plug and it is the same trailer harness you already have but it has a breakout with the six ring terminals on it.  Replace what you have now with this one and all the splices to get to the light converter are done for you.

One thing you have that isn't on all the other trucks is the ISO 3731 plug.  Your ABS power is on the center pin of the yellow plug and not the black one.  You still have aux power in the center of the black but it isn't the 50A of clean power that a black only truck would have.  I don't know if that maxes a difference or not.  If you do need those circuits and use the ring terminal harnesses then you need to get two of the 08101 harnesses and click the two blue lines into the empty cavities of the white connector.  If you need the 50A aux power and want to use a trailer coil cord then I'm not sure how you'd do it.  Buy a green coily and a yellow coily and run them both through the floor and into a converter?