New Transporter Truck

CrazyScotsman

Well-known member
Now I see how is easy it will be to change the wheel. especially with smaller ones on there. That picture gave a better angle, either that or I'm blind LOL.
Well saw it in black and white yesterday at work, that they are doing away with my job and other guy who works with me. It still has to be voted on by the union . Huge changes happening with the company I work for. I just hope it doesn't go through, if it does I'm sure I'll find something else.
Cheers, Ken
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Too bad ya can't send me a ballot. Good luck. If ya get the boot and want to seriously look into RV transporting, gimme a shout and I'll give ya the straight scoop so ya don't set yerself up for failure...... Of course unemployment bennies prolly pay better than transporting LOL....and if you go out of business you don't get to collect unemployment.


Getting creative keeping things lined up and straight as metal shrinks and moves when you weld it. This side bed rail had moved straight back 1/4" before I could get the last piece tacked in. Was wondering for a moment why the last piece of the side rail at the rear didn't fit. All good now.
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Keeping the crossmembers straight and tight to the frame to be tacked up.
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Bed frame and crossmembers all tacked into place
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This is the framework under the fenders, forgot to show this when I did the other side.
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Started on the rub rails, cut 26 of these little buggers..... Lucky 13 for each side.
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Tacked them into place.
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Started on the rail itself. Decided to quit for the day after having to cut these twice because I measured the angle wrong and ended up 1/2" short on BOTH pieces I made and ended up making new pieces. DOH!!!!
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caddojay

Tired and Retired member
Just amazing. I knew that someday I'd wish I had been more interested in shop class...instead of 16 year old girls!
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Just amazing. I knew that someday I'd wish I had been more interested in shop class...instead of 16 year old girls!

Never took shop class in school, didn't learn to weld until I was 19........... Was too busy chasing girls;)None
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Measure twice. CUT ONCE

:p Hail I measure it 3 times. Measurement was right, dead on at 35" with a 20* angle..... just marked the angle the wrong way and made 35" the long side of the cut instead of the short side.......twice:mad:...... OOPS.

At least it was the cheaper flat bar which I have plenty of and not the channel which I have no room for error on.
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Getting down to crunch time. 14 days left to finish, pack and depart and only have about 50 items left on my never ending "to do" list..... you know the one where you cross one item out and add at least 2 more.


Been burning rod for about 11 hrs today welding the left side bed up. With a clear head this morning I was able to salvage yesterdays oops and use the piece at the rear of the truck only wasting only about 2" of steel on both pieces.

Got the rub rail completely welded on the left side.
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Got the deck plate welded on the left side.
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Hoping to have all of the metal fabrication done and get it painted by thursday, button up the electrical on friday and finish the interior and sleeper this weekend so I have a week to pack it and iron out any misc items that need to be taken care of.
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Thank you.

I'm liking the way it's turning out, can't wait to see it out of the shop in paint.
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Sure would be great if Heartland would let you bring in a coach with your truck for the Heartland Rally in Goshen. We could see it in person and put a face with a name in person. Good job BTW
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Sure would be great if Heartland would let you bring in a coach with your truck for the Heartland Rally in Goshen. We could see it in person and put a face with a name in person. Good job BTW

What, only one unit.... Blasphemy... I don't move without at leat 2:D

If I'm in the area I'll bring the truck in. As far as bringing in a few units... That gets beyond mine and Jims pay grades for liability and insurance and freelancing would cost me my contract. Could be done, just has to be done right.

Thank you.
 

HOSS

Active Member
pmmjarrett,

This is addictive! Its like that favorite TV show you just can't wait to see each day to see what is going on. I can't wait to get home each day so I can see what has been added to the truck. Love the pics, can't wait to see finished. But then do I want it to be finished? LOL... Keep up the good work, got a fan here.
 

bsummit

Arkansas Chapter Leader-Retired
I'm with HOSS. I can't wait to check the forum in the evening to see what has been completed and look at the pic's. Will be glad to see the finished product. So keep up the good work.
Bill
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Thank you all for letting me share. When Jim asked me to share this build here I never had any idea it would get this much interest on a dedicated RV site.

However there are almost 4 times as many views here than on a diesel site I have been a member of for a few years and basicly running a duplicate post.

That tells me there is either...... genuine interest in the build..... or a whole lot of retired people with nothing better to do LOL None:D

As far as being finished..... It won't happen for a long time, these trucks are often upgraded and changed to make things easier or adapt to different loads. I already have modifications planned like extending the bed further forward, making a movable ramp to get stuff to the upper platform and notching the sleeper deeper to get 2 small units like the 14' Edge on the bed so I can drag 3 at a time on occassion. This modification is one reasom my winch is side mounted and when I build the center rail it will go all the way under the sleeper with the sheave mounted near the front of the sleeper for the winch cable. Will start building the center channel tomorrow, you'll see a little clearer what I am talking about.



WOOOOHOOOOOOOO The bed fabrication is finished.

Welded on the right rub rail, left deck stiffener and deck plate on the left side. Everything is ground down and ready for paint.
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Had to make what is hopefully my last trip to Northern Tool to pick up 10 more lbs of welding rod and....... Cord and connector to make the extension pig tail for the stinger. 5 more rolls of electrical tape to tape up the wire looms.
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A couple wheels for the trailer tounge jacks.... one is a spare, they don't last long in gravel lots.
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Good high strength 5/16" chain and hooks for the stinger safety chains
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License plate bracket and light to mount on the back of the sleeper
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Valspar oil base paint and primer for the frame and bed. These beds take a beating. Expensive automotive paint is a waste of money here.
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pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Bad winds yesterday and lost power until just after midnight last night. Fell asleep waiting for the power to come back on around 6 pm and woke up just after midnight with TVs blaring and all the lights on. Been up since midnight now, couldn't get back to sleep.

Also had a phone conference with my safety department and general manager about a few changes I need to make to prevent damages on the really small ultralites. I also made a trip to a local RV dealer to get measurements and see what their concern is. I am fine for the large units with my design but the small stuff just ain't happening. I find that many ultralites have only 8" of ground clearance at plumbing and steps and the actual hitch height is about 8" lower than a standard travel trailer.

Needless to say I didn't accomplish much work on the truck yesterday other than making and welding on brackets for the midship amber marker lights, fruitful discussions and planning.
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2 steps back before I can move forward again. Cutting the deck plate back out. I have a plan now to make this section adjustable for height and bolted in place with grade 8 3/4" bolts. This is killing my timeline and budget, may take the dually back out for a few weeks then come home and finish it. I will make a decision saturday morning.


Left deck plate cut out. What a PITA, I hate re-work, really kills momentum on a project as well as your mood. Nobody to blame but myself..... Don't you wish a politician had the ----- to say something like that.
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On a positive note. My tire straps came in. Nice ones too. These are built specificly for flatbed type applications using side rails like I have. 2 ratchets per strap, flat hook ends, 10,000 lb beaking strength each and a 3300 lb working load limit each. That ought to keep a trailer in place.
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Netem

Well-known member
What a bummer, nothing worse than having to cut out some nice welds and start over. With all the changes in the RV's I hope your new idea will cover you for awhile as I know you are working very hard to get this truck done.
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
What a bummer, nothing worse than having to cut out some nice welds and start over. With all the changes in the RV's I hope your new idea will cover you for awhile as I know you are working very hard to get this truck done.


It was welded good and solid, and on all sides too in most places, what a beach to cut. Got my momentum in the right direction now....

Moving forward again. Scratching the idea of a deck portion I can reposition. When I started this build I wanted something that was easy to operate with my disabilities and flexible enough to haul almost any travel trailer including those usually done with single tow behind 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. Those guys ain't gonna be happy when they see me dragging a couple of 31' travel trailers out of the yard on a nice long gravey run. Another bonus now is they will unload a bit easier with a 4* down to the 8* beavertail.

I'm simply moving the front of the deck up 6". Still can haul up to 11' tall travel trailers which covers most of them and won't rip anything off the ultralites when loading. Will be able to get ultralites onto the upper deck easily so suspension movement in transit doesn't crush anything.


Repositioned deck section, need plenty of clamps and straps to hold it in place.
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Had to remove a couple sections of the rub rail to get in to cut where I needed.
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Only 6" from the top of the fenders to the deck now
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Better side shot
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All tacked back up and ready to get the deck plate back on.
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There's going to be a lot of grinding to clean a few areas up so it doesn't look like a hack job. I hate stuff that looks cobbled up. The other side will be easier to modify now I know exactly where I'm making my cuts and I won't have to remove all of the deck plate on that side either.
 

CrazyScotsman

Well-known member
Dang I don't get on here in a few day's because I had long hours at work this week. ( Not much longer though :( ) When I do get on here to check your work out, you've dismantled your rig and rebuilt it. Bottle that energy up and sell me some. You can be a millionaire if you sell that energy that you have.
It's looking good though, keep up the good work, as the other poster says, " It's like watching your favourite tv show ".
It's looking good.............Ken
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Mike, watching your build is better that watching CSI or Law and Order. But its tied with the NFL play-offs. Man its a work of art. Bob:D
 
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