New Haul and Tow RV transporter truck build..... Season II

[pmmjarrett]

Welcome to season II ....... It's time to build another truck. For those of you who joined me on the last build I welcome you back. Y'all seemed to enjoy the last build so much here that you are getting an exclusive.

I am not posting this on 3 forums like I did last time. I simply don't have time with the RV industry going gangbusters this year to the point that the transport industry is having trouble keeping up with industry and dealer demand as about 1/2 to 2/3rds or the transporters went out of business in 2008 when the RV industry came to a grinding half because of the credit crisis.

For those who havn't seen the last build or those of you that have recently joined you can read about the last build here............. All 35 pages and here's a little about me. I'm a retired 82nd Airborne paratrooper and a professional RV transporter operating in 49 states and all provinces of Canada.


This build will not be as time consuming or in depth as the last build as this truck is almost ready for a body as is.



The victem........ a 1999 Freightliner FLC112 Century mini condo.

Specs

• CAT C-12 445 hp engine
• Jake brake
• Fuller RTLO 16913 13 speed double overdrive transmission
• 3.42 rear gear ratio
• differential lock
• Single rear drive axle with 20k tag axle
• Aluminum Frame
• All aluminum wheels
• 255 70R 22.5 tires ..... 36" tall tires from the factory ;-)
• 48" double bunk integrated mini condo sleeper
• Dual 100 gallon fuel tanks with Arctic Fox tank heaters
• Air ride
• Air ride cab
• Dual air ride seats
• 160" cab to rear axle.

Truck already has the correct wheelbase for a 26' body, already has trailer light wiring to the back of the frame and it's already a single drive axle so no driveline or frame modifications are needed. Just take off the inside rear tires and fifth wheel and it's ready for a body........ I could knock off the tag axle, move the drive axle back and add a 60" section of driveshaft if I choose to do that also.

This truck also came with the correct size tires and gearing also........ 55mph is a mere 1250 rpm.... 1500 rpm is 65, 1800 rpm is 77 mph........ and if I had CAT crank it up to 2350 rpm it's a triple digit truck....... that ain't gonna happen..... Fortunatly I am smarter than I thought I was 20 years ago LOL




Truck is already the company colors so the boss might like it and best of all .......... IT'S PAID FOR !!!!!.......... all $6500 of it..... that is not a typo. I stumbled onto this mini condo today shortly after taking a similar speced 2000 Freightliner Argosy mid roof for a test drive. Both trucks needed TLC this one had better tires and much better brakes and no oil and coolant leaks like the argosy had leaks for $4500 less..... With my Arthritus getting much worse this winter and the argosy being a much harder truck to climb into........ It was a no brainer. I can put the extra $4500 into making this truck pretty nice.

Here she is...... It'll be a few weeks before I get it home from Oregon to start working on my masterpiece so here are a few pics to tease ya and wet the taste buds.

 

[jimtoo]

Hi pmmjarrett,

Have not seen anything of you for a while and now your gonna do another one.... Glad your back, hope all is well with you and the family. It will be interesting to watch another transporter build. That is one fine looking truck. Your making me want to find something like that also, just to tow my 3055.... Looks,,, prestige.... get out of my way....

Thanks for including us in your project.

Jim M

 

[pmmjarrett]

Hi pmmjarrett,

Have not seen anything of you for a while and now your gonna do another one.... Glad your back, hope all is well with you and the family. It will be interesting to watch another transporter build. That is one fine looking truck. Your making me want to find something like that also, just to tow my 3055.... Looks,,, prestige.... get out of my way....

Thanks for including us in your project.

Jim M

Hi Jim,

It's my pleasure to share here as this is as fine a group of people that I ever had the pleasure of meeting and talking to.

All is well on my end and hope all is well on yours. I've been so busy since I put the last truck together I mostly lurk anymore and pop my head into the chat room once in a while. I talk with JimB every once in a while and think he was laughing at me so hard last night he dropped the phone or something while he was trying to say something while laughing......

Yep that conversation was getting stupid when it got to the point of him talking about me with a Barrret M82 sniper rifle in a Guilly suit dressed as a bush next to the driveway waiting for my daughters boyfriends to show up to scare the poo out of them as she is coming of age waaaaaaaaaay too fast.

 

[CrazyScotsman]

Mike you won't know how to act pal, being able to stand up in the cab.
Whats with the RICH Mans engine?
Good luck with it pal, look foreward to your post's on the build.
Be safe out there, cheers Ken

 

[Netem]

Hey Mike glad to see you back. Good looking truck but this doesn't look like much of a challenge for you after the last build. It will be interesting to see what you can do with this one. Thanks for keeping us intertained.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Way to go mike. Looks like a good base for you to build on. It will be a freeway flyer and comfy. Nice ride and plenty of power. Looking forward to the build and pix. Bob

 

[pmmjarrett]

He Ken. Your one to talk smack about a rich mans engine. I can do an inframe prolly for what it costs to replace just your particulate filter...... or just buy another truck. That D16 finally staying together for ya.

I've had better luck with gold plated Kittys than I ever had with oil slinging Detroits or those polish detroits (Cumminski) and ain't even thinking of giving Volvo a shot at my wallet.

Stay safe, winter ain't over yet.

 

[CrazyScotsman]

Mike, the cost to replace the DPF on that D16 Volvo motor is $15,000. I know because they wanted to replace it up in Canada, instead of just cleaning it out.
The last Volvo and the KW 900L I owned both had Detroit 500 hp motors in them, and that motor didn't give me an ounce of problems till one of my drivers decided to just keep the money for himsewlf, instead of getting the oil changed, so at 1 million miles it decided it had , had enough and blew.
Anyhoo good luck keeping the freightshaker together
Yes I know winter isn't over, we are under a winter weather watch this weekend, 66 yesterday, 33 todays high, go figure.

 

[irvin56]

nice to hear from you again.

Another project to tackle.
This one looks good already.
take care.

Hows the first one working for you?
Are you going to keep it, or sell after this ones built?

 

[pmmjarrett]

$15k for a DPF Cripes, I can replace the whole truck twice for that. That's insanity.

The budget for my entire build will come in at around $20 - 25k depending on how carried away I get. I could do the build for $15k if I scabbed out my current truck for the straps, center channel, ball stands, hitches, winch etc.....but I plan to sell it complete turn key so somebody new can get into this section of the business without breaking the bank and have everything they need to get on the road as soon as they put plates and insurance on it.

This truck goes up for sale in about a month.

 

[dewwood]

Mike,

Good looking rig! I can't wait to see how you modify it to fit your particular needs. What was the original use of the truck? It looks like the tag is split back more than a normal tandem. Does that qualify for a spread axle for weight purposes? I know weight is not your big concern but just wandered about the configuration. Good luck with your build, will be looking forward to updates.

Dewey

 

[pmmjarrett]

Mike,

Good looking rig! I can't wait to see how you modify it to fit your particular needs. What was the original use of the truck? It looks like the tag is split back more than a normal tandem. Does that qualify for a spread axle for weight purposes? I know weight is not your big concern but just wandered about the configuration. Good luck with your build, will be looking forward to updates.

Dewey

Good eye Dewey. This truck has a 60" spread between the tandems.... or what I call a Canadian spead, Really need Rigmover to pop in here and he might be able to set the record straight on why they do this, my guess is higher load limits on the tandems than the 34,000 lbs here in the US.

The truck was used for heavy haul into Canada, I can't remember what the dealer told me they were using it for exactly. There also used to be a steerable pusher axle in front of the drive axle that was removed by the previous owner which is why this trucks frame is a bit longer than your standard road tractor. giving me 160" from the cab to the center of the rear axle which is exactly what I need.

 

[pmmjarrett]

Here's the plan for this truck.......... hmmmmm let's see how far off track I get on this one.

1. Fix up truck a bit..... She has several minor (hopefully) nickle dime stuff that needs to be addressed like the missing passenger wiper arm, sticky and non operative dash swtches like the cruise, jake, wiper delay, info center etc (looks like the last driver spilled pepsi all over the dash), replace the drivers seat and the air ride base for the passenger seat, replace the broken lid on the pull out shelf in the sleeper, replace the tires.... at least the steers, replace the mattress, replace radio.
2. Driver comfort......replace lower bunk with a booth dinet, intall refrigerator and printer stand, install wall to wall carpet and insulation.
3. Chassis....... remove tag axle and move drive axle to the rear hangers, remove fifth wheel, move battery box back 36", intall my 150 gallon fuel tanks and put the 100 gallon tanks on the Ford, both have the same fitting locations, fill location and tank heaters in the same spot.
4. build 26' bed that can load up to a 11'2" tall x 30' long trailer legally...... with ramps that come out the back bumper, aero fairings fo close the gap to the trailer on top and a few other changes to make life easier I have thought up since building the Ford.
5. Freshen up the paint a bit paint the bed red to match and polish the aluminum and add a few basic chrome goodies to spruce things up.

 

[CrazyScotsman]

Mike , I think on the spread you can have 20,000 # per axle as opposed to 34,000# for the normal set up. well, thats the way it works on a spread axle trailer. Imagine it probably is the same on the tractor. Of course Canadian axle weights are different than what we run in US.

 

[shriver63]

The spread has to be over 96" to be considered a seperate axle

 

[nhunter]

Last time I went through a scale we were allowed 17,000kg / 37400lbs on a tandem. Most of the heavy hauls in Alberta run tridems. This build should be a piece of cake for you.

 

[pmmjarrett]

Last time I went through a scale we were allowed 17,000kg / 37400lbs on a tandem. Most of the heavy hauls in Alberta run tridems. This build should be a piece of cake for you.

Now if you were sitting at the Petro Canada this afternoon you would have seen me go through the scale by your place... Oh yea the coops there were wide open for business today.

On my way back to Coburg OR to grab one last pair of trailers to deliver in Airdrie on friday.

Then I plan to go back and grab my Freightshaker monday and head out on the 3000 mile maiden voyage home if things go as planned.

 

[pmmjarrett]

Well, things ain't going as planned. Old white truck got squished Monday evening while parked in a truck stop. Lost a $4200.00 2000 mile run to Texas that I was dispatched on because of this. I ain't a happy camper.

Speed Racer hit it hard too, there is a lot of damage you can't see in the pics.

Cleaned her out and am running the Freightliner home now, White truck is at body shop waiting on estimate and insurance adjusters. I needed another couple months out of the white truck to raise capitol to build the new truck the way I want too. Now I get to sit at home polishing wheels, selling stuff on evilbay and staring at the new truck while I wait for the dust to settle seeing that I am now out of business until the white truck is fixed or I have the funds to build the new truck. This stuff can take months to settle.

 

[Rickhansen]

Ouch. I'm sure this is not the best time of year for you to be taking time off. The pictures don't show a tragic amount of damage but the tie-rods and linkages of the left front wheel likely took a stress test in the encounter. Good Luck wading through the red tape.

 

[Bob&Patty]

WOW, Mike, that really sucks. Must have been a rookie. How could a driver not see "Big White". Hope things get settled in a hurry for you.