Haul #3

[lockmup68]

Just got back from a 22 hour drive in 72 hours, so wiped out. Picked up the Teton in Raleigh and towed back to TN through all the ice/sleet/snow through the mountains. Was fun! Normal 9 hour drive took 13 hours. Then I got stuck in the gravel parking lot of the storage facility. Thought I would pull straight through over the parking spot bumper and I was trying to go to slow and forgot to lock in the power divider in a pile of new loose gravel. Wife in the LGT pulled it back enough to get out of the ruts. Filling in the holes with hands and feet was fun at 11 pm in the cold.

 

When I took the trailer to my painter buddy, I shoehorned it back into a driveway and was worried about getting it out without tearing up the sides of the trailer with the trees, and I had parked it 1 foot from the house. I was worried about trying to get the jaws to latch on the hitch without pushing the trailer back into the house. With just me and my daughter, I actually backed in and latched up in one shot without even moving the trailer and pulled out in one shot, and no trees were harmed in the process. Then a relatively slow drive back, so all good.

 

A few observations:

1. need to either relocate the hitch camera closer to the hitch, or add in another camera. The current one is about 6-7 feet in front of the hitch (the ramp storage and genset long ways separates it from the hitch. My other camera is a license plate bracket camera and only helps me to see the cord hanging down from the pin box. Also need a camera on the rear of the trailer and/or other side of the trailer. Current set up, camera is at the top of the rise in the middle:

 

2. The hitch height/pin box drop still needs addressing sooner rather than later. The front of the trailer sits way too low. I will also raise the suspension to the first level of 2 inches higher. When I change out the tires/wheels, I will raise the trailer and then fix the pin box/hitch height before the first major trip. Pic from truck stop on way home yesterday.

 

3. The phantom left turn signal/brake activating is still there. I paid attention to the controller the entire trip and most of the time, when left signal is on, it shows a 0.05-0.06 brake signal most of the time. Some of the time (maybe 30% of the time), it goes up to the full, set brake signal amount, in this case, it was 6.0.

 

4. Headlights are still crappy, especially in the rain/sleet/snow with no moon. Maybe add fog lights/driving lights.

 

5. windshield leaks a bit, need to get it resealed.

 

6. Freedomline error code "CL" = clutch overload, put in N and let it cool down.

 

Mo money, mo money.......

 

Thanks and have a great day,

Shannon

[phoenix2013]

Is this Bluenoser's truck?

[SuiteSuccess]

Is this Bluenoser's truck?

 

Yep!

[lockmup68]

Is this Bluenoser's truck?

Yup. Bought it back in August. Just turned 7k miles on the last trip since picked it up. Hitch is at 41" aired up, so needs addressing.

[phoenix2013]

Ah,the body was a Wayland "creation", worked on few of these to straighten out the hitch height issues and hitch issues.

You need to raise the hitch 6 inches so it's at 47" from the ground, but before you do measure the height at which the top of the frame rails are when the truck is aired up. And before that check first where the tops of the frame rails are about three feet behind the axle, they should be at 41" at that point. Wayland would screw around with the truck leveling valve to "make things work", on one of his bodies we found it way off, which is not good for the drive shaft and other things.

If the frame rails 3 feet behind axle are at 41" then I would expect that in the area where the hitch is they would be much higher. When the frame comes up it does it in an arc and that arc where the hitch is is substantially larger because of the frame extension added to the frame. Sorry, you might have to do some crawling under the bed.

Throw a level on the bed, if it comes up towards the rear, things might be OK, if it's essentially flat then Wayland screwed around with the truck air valve to make it flat. You have to know all these parameters before you decide what to do with the hitch.

[lockmup68]

Ah,the body was a Wayland "creation", worked on few of these to straighten out the hitch height issues and hitch issues.

You need to raise the hitch 6 inches so it's at 47" from the ground, but before you do measure the height at which the top of the frame rails are when the truck is aired up. And before that check first where the tops of the frame rails are about three feet behind the axle, they should be at 41" at that point. Wayland would screw around with the truck leveling valve to "make things work", on one of his bodies we found it way off, which is not good for the drive shaft and other things.

If the frame rails 3 feet behind axle are at 41" then I would expect that in the area where the hitch is they would be much higher. When the frame comes up it does it in an arc and that arc where the hitch is is substantially larger because of the frame extension added to the frame. Sorry, you might have to do some crawling under the bed.

Throw a level on the bed, if it comes up towards the rear, things might be OK, if it's essentially flat then Wayland screwed around with the truck air valve to make it flat. You have to know all these parameters before you decide what to do with the hitch.

 

Yes, Waylan "creation" is correct. Wiring on this rig is especially "interesting." I probably need some further consulting from you on fixing the bed to work all around, in addition to the hitch. I'll take some of those measurements. Here's a few pics:

 

 

 

 

I will haul a few different size rigs, so need different tie down spot. Ideally, I would like to have versa-tie track down each side. http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/category/VersaTie-Track

 

Need to call you about a jackalopee, the current wiring is interesting (and corroded and left turn signal hitting electric brakes):

 

Don't get me started on the interior wiring and I made the mistake of taking the fairings off to look at the two battery banks:

 

 

[Broncohauler]

Wow that wiring is scary!

With out using his name, was this done by the bed builder or someone else in a hurry??

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

That's pretty much what mine looked like as well. Wayland didn't do my truck though, just another builder in Montana somewhere.

I finally ripped everything out and bought a new Volvo harness to work from. The harness is what would go to the commercial trailer plug. Ran that harness into a junction box much like you show, out of that to the Jackalopee, then on to the RV plug.

Also redid all the rear truck lights from the hack job others had done to keep the truck tail lights working...

[lockmup68]

Problem is there is no schematic and I do not know where anything goes to what. The shore power and genset work well to charge both battery banks and run the inverter off of an automatic transfer switch. It's rolling down the road without genset on that is messed up. Driving microwave and TV and such is messed up and wiring inside the bunk is bird's nest.

[Bob86ZZ4]

So you have to decide, tear everything out and start wiring up stuff as needed and doing it right, or try to fix individual wire? I kind of like the idea of tearing it all out and start from scratch. But build it with lots of capability for expansion.

[Jack Mayer]

This is the problem with "cut rate" work. Do it right, and take the time to get it right. That is a true mess. But it can be fixed.

 

I loom everything, and label the wires. When you re-work it I'd suggest doing the same. Also, put the Jackaloppee in the side box, NOT exposed. Feed it with the trucks trailer umbilical. That way you isolate everything. And I run terminal strips into and out of the Jackie. Tie all your aux stuff to that (with appropriate relays, and breakers/fuses). More can be said. I'll refrain. I just hate seeing stuff like that.

[phoenix2013]

Problem is there is no schematic and I do not know where anything goes to what. The shore power and genset work well to charge both battery banks and run the inverter off of an automatic transfer switch. It's rolling down the road without genset on that is messed up. Driving microwave and TV and such is messed up and wiring inside the bunk is bird's nest.

 

When I bought this one,

 

they tried to modify the existing truck dash (Ford conversion) and hardly anything worked. When I took the dash out I found this.

 

 

Forget a schematic or even trying to make one for this trash. I basically found the ends of all the wires and where they were going to and coming from (lights, accessories, engine and tranny sensors, batteries, etc), cut out their "wiring creation" and threw it in trash barrel. Then connected "my harness" to a custom instrument panel I designed.

 

 

Their instrument panel went in the trash barrel too.

 

When I bought this one,

 

there were some issues with the RV plugs (the truck had two). The wiring for the two was done under the dash, it was a substantial lump of wires made relatively small by the use of lots of tie wraps. When I cut out the tie wraps it literally "exploded".

 

 

I brought out my preferred tool, THE TRASH BARREL, threw this crap in it and sent the critical seven wires back to a rear compartment.

 

 

This was several years before the Jackalopee, but you can see that an idea of a "neat" box that would do all the wiring was beginning to "germinate".

 

Jackalopee was designed in response to the then "accepted wiring methods" to deal with HDTs.

 

Looking at your truck pictures, I detect certain kinship of someone who studied at the same Wiring University and I'm afraid to tell you that probably the first tool you will be utilizing will be the trash barrel. In my experience, trying to document (make a schematic) of trash like this is a waste of time. So you will know how the trash is connected and your next step will be to throw this trash in the barrel and start all over. It will take less time.

 

Wayland knew about the Jackalopee and the ET, we did talk, but let's say we didn't progress beyond the talk. Can't make out exactly what the dimensions in your pictures tell me, but there is something strange going on.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

The Trailer Saver hitch in the pic's needs to be raised. It's probably mounted on a plate that spans the bottom flanges of the frame rails. Several ways to raise it. Any competent shop can do it.

[Chad Heiser]

My truck came from 2L Custom Trucks (Wayland Long). He didn't do the RV conversion on it, but he did install a Trailersaver hitch in place of the gooseneck ball that was there. The gooseneck ball was mounted to a 1 inch plate that sat on the lower lip of the frame rail. 2L simply mounted the Trailersaver to this same plate in place of the ball. This put my hitch height too low. I fixed it by going to my local welding shop. I had them build me a box out of four inch tube steel. They drilled holes in this box to match the holes in the plate the hitch was previously mounted to and placed the box between the plate and the hitch. The new assembly was bolted back together with (longer) grade 8 bolts. It was simple and easy and has worked well for the last 4+ years.

[phoenix2013]

Looking at your hitch it would seen that it was mounted on the bottom flanges of the extension, since TrailerSaver is 11-12 inches high when inflated and so are typical truck frames (although I don't know how he fabricated the extension). The TrailerSaver mounting plate would have be remounted 6 inches higher. The last Wayland truck I worked on he went the other way,

 

 

This was our starting point, the fifth is level, the king pin plate is at 47 inches, the hitch head is about 5 inches too high. The hitch is ET Jr., which is the same height as Trailer Saver.

 

'Twas a fun project, as a TV character used to say...................

But ..................................................

[Heavymetal]

Seeing all these pictures of the work done by others sure makes me glad I do my own work. Thinks to products like the Jackalopee (which from these post was brought about by a jumble of unmarked wires) the job of converting to a hauler is much simpler then it was when Jack and others started years ago.

I will say that I have learned a much over the past year, after I walked around the ECR eyeing all the HDT's and then crawling back into my F350 for the bumpy drive back to Texas. It was coming down to finding a new way to tow our RV or stop RVing all together, my spine is all wired together and I could not take going through Shreveport, LA one more time and thanks to the HDT we have done more miles this year then any other and I have enjoyed all of them.

So thanks to Gregg, Jack, Henry, and Cole (from NH) I now tow with a HDT and thanks to Rick Olsen for telling me about the ECR.

[GoldRush]

 

When I bought this one,

 

they tried to modify the existing truck dash (Ford conversion) and hardly anything worked. When I took the dash out I found this.

 

 

Forget a schematic or even trying to make one for this trash. I basically found the ends of all the wires and where they were going to and coming from (lights, accessories, engine and tranny sensors, batteries, etc), cut out their "wiring creation" and threw it in trash barrel. Then connected "my harness" to a custom instrument panel I designed.

 

 

Their instrument panel went in the trash barrel too.

 

When I bought this one,

 

there were some issues with the RV plugs (the truck had two). The wiring for the two was done under the dash, it was a substantial lump of wires made relatively small by the use of lots of tie wraps. When I cut out the tie wraps it literally "exploded".

 

 

I brought out my preferred tool, THE TRASH BARREL, threw this crap in it and sent the critical seven wires back to a rear compartment.

 

 

This was several years before the Jackalopee, but you can see that an idea of a "neat" box that would do all the wiring was beginning to "germinate".

 

Jackalopee was designed in response to the then "accepted wiring methods" to deal with HDTs.

 

Looking at your truck pictures, I detect certain kinship of someone who studied at the same Wiring University and I'm afraid to tell you that probably the first tool you will be utilizing will be the trash barrel. In my experience, trying to document (make a schematic) of trash like this is a waste of time. So you will know how the trash is connected and your next step will be to throw this trash in the barrel and start all over. It will take less time.

 

Wayland knew about the Jackalopee and the ET, we did talk, but let's say we didn't progress beyond the talk. Can't make out exactly what the dimensions in your pictures tell me, but there is something strange going on.

I bought a Dodge chassis Class A one time and this wiring looks great in comparison. My motorhomes birds nest was 3 times larger and ALL of the added wires were RED!

[dblr]

It alwasys amazes me to see some of the work a lot of you have done, I do know first hand how good and detirmend Henry is while working on a project after seeing him and Tom install my hitch at a ECR Rally a couple of years ago, nothing stops them, might slow them down for a while but NEVER STOP THEM. My current wire job seemed fine but now with a new rig and back up lights ( that do not work) on the camper I see a new project in the future, can you say Jackalopee, but will probably need some expert help for that, any volunteers? Good luck on your project and will be watching for updates.

[GlennWest]

Only issue with mine is location of jacolee. Under bed behind axle. Very neat, used all new wire harness. I may change mine but much later. Too many projects now

[lockmup68]

.my spine is all wired together and I could not take going through Shreveport, LA one more time and thanks to the HDT we have done more miles this year then any other and I have enjoyed all of them.

 

I'm also titanium rods, screws, cross members, and chicken wire, so can appreciate this. Air ride is wonderful (and a good chiropractor for the non-solid parts).

[Broncohauler]

This is the problem with "cut rate" work. Do it right, and take the time to get it right. That is a true mess. But it can be fixed.

 

I loom everything, and label the wires. When you re-work it I'd suggest doing the same. Also, put the Jackaloppee in the side box, NOT exposed. Feed it with the trucks trailer umbilical. That way you isolate everything. And I run terminal strips into and out of the Jackie. Tie all your aux stuff to that (with appropriate relays, and breakers/fuses). More can be said. I'll refrain. I just hate seeing stuff like that.

My Jackalopee is up under my bed where I thought it would be ok, but it collects a lot of condensation.

I totally agree with Jack mount it inside and I totally agree with everything else he had to say along with refraining

[Heavymetal]

This time I mounted my Jackalopee on the ceiling of my rv's front storage bay and wired in the commercial steel 7 pin connector. I placed the connector between the 1/2' air couplers that I used for the Blue Dot air/hydraulic brake conversion this way I use the complete commercial electrical/air line hookups. I then replaced all the glad hands with 1/2 air fittings that I recessed into the new bed so they would not be knee knockers this way I can unhook all my lines in a few seconds and stow them quickly.

[lockmup68]

Ah yes, I remember looking at that wiring mess and telling Jay that it was .... a mess. Used stronger adjectives though. We managed to the the inverter working, looked under the cabinet behind the passengers seat and about barfed my cookies. Especially liked the power change over plug arrangement. (NOT).

 

Told Jay that the best thing would be to start over and keep only the hard parts (Inverter, generator, batteries) and buy lots of new wire. Nothing is labeled, mechanically protected, fused proper, and it was designed (cobbled) to get out the door. Warranty, service stopped at the first curb, or end of the drive. I think (if I remember right) JW had to build removable side panels to get the tires off the rear.

 

As Jack said, It can be fixed, but it is going to take time and effort.

Yes, ^^^^this . But I know my limitations and I am no electrician, However, I can follow a schematic, run, pull, crimp wire, get dirty, and hook it up, but I would need someone to design it and schematic it out.

 

I spent some time behind the refrigerator at the rally in KS tracing the birds nest and finally got the couch working, got the 2nd inverter working and capped/taped off all the exposed wires to eliminate the sparking, but other than that, haven't messed with anything. Now the 2nd inverter is intermittently working. Fortunately, the shorepower and genset, and transfer switch still work and still run the microwave and refigerator.

 

I'm willing to put in the time and effort, but need the plan to follow. I'm willing to compensate for the design. Any takers? Project for the ECR?

 

JW's fenders are very nice. I spoke to him a while back about fixing the bed/hitch and he's in SD running about 200 trucks for the foreseeable future.

[lockmup68]

This time I mounted my Jackalopee on the ceiling of my rv's front storage bay and wired in the commercial steel 7 pin connector. I placed the connector between the 1/2' air couplers that I used for the Blue Dot air/hydraulic brake conversion this way I use the complete commercial electrical/air line hookups. I then replaced all the glad hands with 1/2 air fittings that I recessed into the new bed so they would not be knee knockers this way I can unhook all my lines in a few seconds and stow them quickly.

 

Can you please share pics of both? Appreciate it.

[lockmup68]

The Trailer Saver hitch in the pic's needs to be raised. It's probably mounted on a plate that spans the bottom flanges of the frame rails. Several ways to raise it. Any competent shop can do it.

 

Yup, but the domino effect comes in to play here. I raise the hitch, then I cannot drive over the top of it with the Escape ('68 Bronco and '96 Bronco have plenty of clearance), so then the bed needs to be fixed to drive over the raised hitch. If the bed is raised, can I still get to the ramps and the genset? Dominos and mo'money.