trimster

Question about deck plate. I'm changing to 3/16" aluminium. My design has full bed-width sections removable for access. I calculated the weight of steel deck plate per sq foot. Sections come out just too heavy to be easily managed. I was concerned about deflection where the Smart car would set. That area under each tire, would be 8"x20" supported on 4 sides. Seems like the deflection would be <1/16 at 800 lbs. which is more weight per wheel than the Smart will exert. Thoughts &/or concerns welcome.

With the snow flying, I started fabrication of the wheel chocks. They will get powder coated and the rachett assembly mounted. I had a few 5"x5"x ¼ chunks of angle kicking around.

We had a Ford Tarus we converted to CNG. It still had the gas tank so we had the best of both worlds...and a long range to boot. It was my daily driver, roughly 80 miles per day. And we have a ton of NG here in Utah...as does the country. While fueling CNG, I saw more and more semis (mostly in state runners) fueling a large stack of tanks behind the cab. The guys loved them. Mixed burn of diesel and CNG. HP and MPG were way up. The installation cost (mostly the DOT compliant tank racks) is significant. Here in Utah we can go from Salt Lake to LA (I-15) on just CNG. I-80 to Reno and Sacramento is a CNG waist land. Like getting enough juice off the grid to recharge millions of electic vehicles, it's infrastructure. Utah is a good state if you want to run CNG. Unfortuantely, every state has their own CNG refueling compliance rules/regulations, unlike gas. I had to have several credit card like things. Nothing special for Utah. Calif is tied to the states natural gas provider to the home. So you need to be a customer...unless you live in So Cal where you can just drive up and swipe your credit card. Colorado has some differences even by county. That 'politically stupid' mindsets needs to be fixed. The price gap between gas and CNG has closed to it's hard to justify putting a conversion on a car today. But diesel to diesel+CNG seems economically viable over a 5 yr period. I played with hydrogen generators on a car. My tinkering was very primitive 12 yrs ago. Saw MPG and power increase. My build was so small and fiddly, it was more a information gathering hobby. Was chatting with a rather bright physicists at the University I taught, asked about storing hydrogen for that first start in the morning. "Easy" she said. "Metal Salts". About 20 min later and 3 napkins, I understood what she was getting at. Smart people those Physicists. If only I was better way back in the day at math, I could have been a contender. (oops, movie reference). As for Tidal power just mentioned.... an article yesterday about some Scottish distilleries are now using tidal turbines to generate all their energy needs. There is a lag at tide change, but unlike wind, tides are predictable.

"We don't need no stinking badges (brakes)." Sorry. Could not resist the movie reference.

Cool. Thanks all. I think I have a line on a 3500lb unit.

What capacity winch should I get to pull a Smart car onto the bed? Smart tips in at 2000 lbs. Thanks.

So my Volvo 670 has a factory dinette table. It's a rather cool system that's easy to use. And I have seen others like in available in travel trailers. Instead of mounting to the floor with a post/tube, they have a mechanism that mounts to the wall and lowers down to the bed position. The Volvo table mount is similar...but on steroids. Way better built. It mounts to the back wall of the compartment below. One easy pull of the handle under the edge of the table and it lowers (level) down to make into the lower bunk. I understand that Volvo thinks highly of these systems and charge accordingly if you were to hit the dealer up for a turn-key solution. That being said, they might be found at a semi wrecking yard. They are quite literally 4 bolts to mount up. Setting sideways for those rear passengers, can be weird for some. I would think it could enhance motion sickness, maybe. But I am not going to change the seating. Our grand kids will just have to deal with it. Adult passengers are not that frequent and typically riding to a eatery or attraction...so short trips. Our biggest irritation with the sleeper area is the lack of windows. We have upper bunk windows, and only the tilt out vents at the table level. That will be fixed in the future. I'm going to put in lower windows and possibly a rear window. So...your venture into interior mods is both fun and frustrating. It will work out for your needs. Just needs some noodling....and maybe beverages of choice.

...and we take a break while mother nature makes a statement...

Question(s).... to support the 3/16 deck plate...how many supports should I put between the 2x2 cross ribs? Spacing? I was thinking 2x2x thick angle between, spaced every 15 to 20". Also, I need a source for rubber strips. 2"x 1/8". This will go between the bed ribs & the deck plate to stop rattles. Bob

Fully understand. I'm learning on the fly. Building a few metal working tools. But I found my limit. I'm having a fabricator do the parts way out of my tool shed & skill set. The savings so far have warranted the learning/failure curve. Being retired helps. Keeping out of the wife's hair...priceless. Next week, if I can find a time schedule at the fabrication shop (they're really busy here) the credit card gets a big hit.

....and blood has been spilt on this project. Thanks for the good vibes.

Update...found a way to make the ramp boxes removable. They will bolt in and slide out when unbolted. This solves the maintenance access to stuff below the bed. The deck plates will be screwed down, like my last truck bed decking. So lots of drilling and tapping in my future.

Good weather today so the steel came out of the shop and got tack welded to the subframe. So far, stuff is going together as planned. One more cross member and some bits for the tail end, and it's ready for the fabricators to finish off. It will end up being 101" wide when the outside C-channel railing is attached.

My truck had a really messed up passengers side headlight. Previous owner drove through a sand storm. Ya, sandblasted the plastic lens. And they dropped the turn signal bulb into the housing so it's totally destroyed the turn signal lens from the inside. Time for a new headlight assembly. Purchased one off ebay. Knockoff. About $140 with bulbs. Matches the aftermarket driver side. It's a nicely built unit. I then purchased HID H11 replacement system with canbus correction so it won't trigger the truck computer. 5000k color temp. This is for the projector low beams. Installed without a hitch. The power supply even fits inside the housing and mounts with really good 3M 2 sided tape (not provided). I like the 5000k color temp. Not to blue but white'er than halogen. Then purchased LEDs 9005 bulbs for the high beams. Actually I ended up with H11s, then got the adapter to convert to 9005. I specifically got the ones with LED elements on all 4 sides. Light pattern off the bulb is more like the stock bulbs. These are 5000k color temp as well. The LEDs have a fan on the back for cooling and this fits nicely inside the housing with the cover in place. There's about 3/4" clearance from the back of the fan and the cover. Enough to move air. But then, the High beams are typically not on that long anyway. Then I replaced the turn signal bulbs with these LEDs. Spendy'er than most but they are well built and bright. https://www.amazon.com/SYLVANIA-Amber-Bright-Lights-Contains/dp/B01CO1FQV0/ref=zg_bs_15730301_13?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=8V6HCV7EDD14JH20F9PH&th=1 So the result... WAY! brighter lighting. The beam pattern is same a stock. I have not personally seen what the SpaceLight units look like at night. But this effort (1x headlight housing, HIDs, LEDs) was under $250. No computer error. Your mileage may very...of course.

Ya, looking for something that will work. The wood has been sanded smooth with the edges rounded. It's smooth right now.

Cool. Easy. Thanks.

Seems that the last owner didn't replace the upper power steering hose... just put a clamp on it. It's now starting to leak a bit. How hard are these to replace? seems rather easy from the looks of it. and Once replaced, is there any trick to bleeding the lines? Thanks all.

whoohooo... load of steel to start the cross ribs and bed rail. Nothing like the smell of steel in the morning!

Worked out a seat belt install that I think will suffice. I bought the longest generic seatbelts I could find... https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Point-Non-Retractable-Lap-Seat-Belt-Universal-Fit-Seatbelt-Select-Color-60/262512326086?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 But i now find 72" versions.. but those would still not be long enough. It would eliminate the need for the lap belt extensions however.. Even they were too short to fit around anyone setting at the table when bolted directly the cab floor under the seating area. So I got 1/2" x 12" eyebolts to extend the the belt mounting point, up. The load on these is vertical. Big fender washers on the underside of the cab floor. I cut slots in the boards that create the bench seats to put the belts through. Bolted them to the eyebolts... (3600 lb sheer, 1800 lb load strength) Now they are long enough to comfortably strap in an 'average girth' person. If you have had a few to many beers (if that is possible when working on our trucks), you will need a 9" or 10" lap belt extender to help circumnavigate the average American old-guy. Probably not ideal, but so much better than not having them at all.

Thanks all. I think I'll do a combo of a pre-ramp and increasing the hinge angle. I will have a winch-on option as well to help with the Smart total weight.

Soooo, my bed height with the bags aired down, looks to be 42-43". 12' ramps are appropriate to 40". Higher than that, the break at the top is too much for clearance of the Smart. Discount ramps has ramps for Smart cars and HDT, and they have been helpful...but... they only have 12' lengths that fold. Here's my thoughts and/or questions: - Are there other sources for ramps that might fit the bill? (14' foldable that carry 2k lbs) - Will the 12' ramps work if I build a brace to the ground at the hinge point to force an arch in the ramp? Their motorcycle ramps have a 12* arch. The Smart car ramps do not have an arch. Thoughts and suggestions welcomed.

Photos? Might be a good idea to ask what the truck has been pulling. Maybe attempt to find out how many owners. You can get a RigDig report that should list major stuff and infractions with the law, the truck has had. Things of interest are when the truck gets shut down because of an inspection. Have those things been fixed or just patched. Trucks running south of hyway 40 tend to have less rust issues. Owner operators tend to take better care of their rigs. Not always true but better odds. But if it's registered as an RV, then it's a private owner selling it...I guess? Dumping the commercial hitch is a good idea. I had the dealer I bought mine from remove the hitch but leave the hitch rails. Good mounting points for the bed build. The commercial hitch is worth the price of scrap, so no resale value there. And it's a heavy dude to remove. I kept mine dual axle. Might single. Need more road time to figure that one out. Good luck. Keep us posted. It's and adventure.

Sub-frame for bed all finished. We had 3 days in the 40's. Tolerable. Next weather break is a week away if one believes the weather dudes on the tube. Decided not to do a beaver-tail. I think it's a good decision all around. Next up... the 2x2 cross members. I'm having a fabricator look at the stuff I need them to do. The ramp boxes, rear tool/generator boxes, tread plate deck and the finish plate work across the back and over the tires. More info and photos as I progress. Didn't think I would enjoy the welding part as much as I have been. And so far, I have been able to save a good chunk on the steel by finding rems. Not going to be able to save on the 2x2 however. Need to much of a certain length to find it in a Remanent pile.

.... and it's cold here in Salt Lake. For you folks in warmer places... a reminder of why you are there. And why we wish we were as well. Bob & Lisa... throwing another log on the YouTube 4k streaming fireplace.