Topic: What did you do to your non-motorcycle vehicle today?

[grcamna2]

Very true Bill, I’m sure it was useful to whoever welded that monstrosity to the original hoop, probably for carrying pipes I suppose? Regardless I’ll be happy to convert it into scrap metal and turn my little truck into something a tad more attractive.

I bought some new headers for it when I bought the new cylinder head, so I’m thinking that a sports exhaust might be the next thing I put on it, just for fun. I’ve got to install the new Pioneer stereo my family bought me for father’s day 7 years ago, and some better speakers than the OEM ones that are definitely beyond their prime.

Terry,you might/could sell both those racks to a plumber 
I hope the header you purchased for the truck will allow you to keep your low-midrange pulling power/torque when going through the gears,to be able to short-shift it to save $ on fuel mileage.
I found some headers seem to want to cause the operator to spin the engine to achieve it's designed power-curve.

[Kelly E]

Thanks guys, I’ve decided that I’ll drag my big engine hoist out of its slumber and haul it up the driveway to suspend the front of the tub up in the air so I can drive underneath it. I don’t have the ability to hang anything from the rafters of my garage, but the hoist should do the trick. Getting the old tray off will involve several floor jacks and my big grinder with a cut off wheel, and some violence.

That reminds me, they used to sell an "H" shaped steel tube frame for pulling off full size pickup truck beds with an engine hoist.
You can see a picture on the Summit or Jegs websites.

[ekpent]

No engine in it but been giving my trusty trailer some much needed love. Hauled a lot of bikes with this thing over the years. Pulled it out earlier this month to take a bike up north for a week and no tail lights etc on the left side (driver side). Played with it a little but had to go and ran dirty. The wires run through the frame and it seems a lovely rodent got in there through a small hole and was livin' large, chewed it right in half. The right side had some chew marks and bare wire also in a couple of spots.
  So far I have removed the rotten flaky wood from the deck and sides. I prepped up the frame and slobbered by hand close to a quart of gloss black rustoleum on it, love that stuff. Ran a nice fresh new wishbone wiring harness through the frame topped off with some new yellow LED side markers (which never worked before) and a pair of LED rear waterproof sealed tail lights. Holy crap are those things bright and all that for a 50 dollar bill. Thanks Amazon and delivered the next day !
  I got some major sticker shock pricing out some 4x8 sheets of plywood (I paint it well top and bottom before install) but I am a bargain hunter/picker anyways. There was an estate sale this morning just down from my house and what do you know, there was a nice batch of clean unused 3/4 inch stuff priced right just sitting there for the pickin'  Whoo Hoo    Should be enough to do it.
   I'm hoping the bike God's reward me when I'm done soon and a nice Kaw Z1, H2, Sandcast or other cool bike pops up that I can haul in my pretty trailer home.  A guy can dream , right ? 

[grcamna2]

Thanks guys, I’ve decided that I’ll drag my big engine hoist out of its slumber and haul it up the driveway to suspend the front of the tub up in the air so I can drive underneath it. I don’t have the ability to hang anything from the rafters of my garage, but the hoist should do the trick. Getting the old tray off will involve several floor jacks and my big grinder with a cut off wheel, and some violence.

That reminds me, they used to sell an "H" shaped steel tube frame for pulling off full size pickup truck beds with an engine hoist.
You can see a picture on the Summit or Jegs websites.

Terry,you might raise both those racks up to a certain height to help hold-up your rear 'tub'.   

[Terry in Australia]

No engine in it but been giving my trusty trailer some much needed love. Hauled a lot of bikes with this thing over the years. Pulled it out earlier this month to take a bike up north for a week and no tail lights etc on the left side (driver side). Played with it a little but had to go and ran dirty. The wires run through the frame and it seems a lovely rodent got in there through a small hole and was livin' large, chewed it right in half. The right side had some chew marks and bare wire also in a couple of spots.
  So far I have removed the rotten flaky wood from the deck and sides. I prepped up the frame and slobbered by hand close to a quart of gloss black rustoleum on it, love that stuff. Ran a nice fresh new wishbone wiring harness through the frame topped off with some new yellow LED side markers (which never worked before) and a pair of LED rear waterproof sealed tail lights. Holy crap are those things bright and all that for a 50 dollar bill. Thanks Amazon and delivered the next day !
  I got some major sticker shock pricing out some 4x8 sheets of plywood (I paint it well top and bottom before install) but I am a bargain hunter/picker anyways. There was an estate sale this morning just down from my house and what do you know, there was a nice batch of clean unused 3/4 inch stuff priced right just sitting there for the pickin'  Whoo Hoo    Should be enough to do it.
   I'm hoping the bike God's reward me when I'm done soon and a nice Kaw Z1, H2, Sandcast or other cool bike pops up that I can haul in my pretty trailer home.  A guy can dream , right ? 

That trailer looks fantastic Eric, good job! What are you using the plywood for?

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I’ve decided that I’ll drag my big engine hoist out of its slumber and haul it up the driveway to suspend the front of the tub up in the air so I can drive underneath it. I don’t have the ability to hang anything from the rafters of my garage, but the hoist should do the trick. Getting the old tray off will involve several floor jacks and my big grinder with a cut off wheel, and some violence.

That reminds me, they used to sell an "H" shaped steel tube frame for pulling off full size pickup truck beds with an engine hoist.
You can see a picture on the Summit or Jegs websites.

Thanks mate, the tub has tie down points in 6 locations, so my intent is to use 4 motorcycle tie downs (one in each corner) to lift the tub by them as evenly as I can. The "boom" extends a fair bit from memory, so I should be able to balance it as best as I can. I'm hoping that I can use it to lift the old tray off as well, not that I'm too fussed if it gets scratched and dented during the "operation".

[ekpent]

No engine in it but been giving my trusty trailer some much needed love. Hauled a lot of bikes with this thing over the years. Pulled it out earlier this month to take a bike up north for a week and no tail lights etc on the left side (driver side). Played with it a little but had to go and ran dirty. The wires run through the frame and it seems a lovely rodent got in there through a small hole and was livin' large, chewed it right in half. The right side had some chew marks and bare wire also in a couple of spots.
  So far I have removed the rotten flaky wood from the deck and sides. I prepped up the frame and slobbered by hand close to a quart of gloss black rustoleum on it, love that stuff. Ran a nice fresh new wishbone wiring harness through the frame topped off with some new yellow LED side markers (which never worked before) and a pair of LED rear waterproof sealed tail lights. Holy crap are those things bright and all that for a 50 dollar bill. Thanks Amazon and delivered the next day !
  I got some major sticker shock pricing out some 4x8 sheets of plywood (I paint it well top and bottom before install) but I am a bargain hunter/picker anyways. There was an estate sale this morning just down from my house and what do you know, there was a nice batch of clean unused 3/4 inch stuff priced right just sitting there for the pickin'  Whoo Hoo    Should be enough to do it.
   I'm hoping the bike God's reward me when I'm done soon and a nice Kaw Z1, H2, Sandcast or other cool bike pops up that I can haul in my pretty trailer home.  A guy can dream , right ? 

That trailer looks fantastic Eric, good job! What are you using the plywood for?

Those metal mesh bottoms are very flimsy feeling so a nice solid deck to mount chocks and hold kickstands etc. and some good wood sides to keep valuables, firewood etc. actually in the trailer where they belong.

[Kelly E]

No engine in it but been giving my trusty trailer some much needed love. Hauled a lot of bikes with this thing over the years. Pulled it out earlier this month to take a bike up north for a week and no tail lights etc on the left side (driver side). Played with it a little but had to go and ran dirty. The wires run through the frame and it seems a lovely rodent got in there through a small hole and was livin' large, chewed it right in half. The right side had some chew marks and bare wire also in a couple of spots.
  So far I have removed the rotten flaky wood from the deck and sides. I prepped up the frame and slobbered by hand close to a quart of gloss black rustoleum on it, love that stuff. Ran a nice fresh new wishbone wiring harness through the frame topped off with some new yellow LED side markers (which never worked before) and a pair of LED rear waterproof sealed tail lights. Holy crap are those things bright and all that for a 50 dollar bill. Thanks Amazon and delivered the next day !
  I got some major sticker shock pricing out some 4x8 sheets of plywood (I paint it well top and bottom before install) but I am a bargain hunter/picker anyways. There was an estate sale this morning just down from my house and what do you know, there was a nice batch of clean unused 3/4 inch stuff priced right just sitting there for the pickin'  Whoo Hoo    Should be enough to do it.
   I'm hoping the bike God's reward me when I'm done soon and a nice Kaw Z1, H2, Sandcast or other cool bike pops up that I can haul in my pretty trailer home.  A guy can dream , right ? 

That trailer looks fantastic Eric, good job! What are you using the plywood for?

Those metal mesh bottoms are very flimsy feeling so a nice solid deck to mount chocks and hold kickstands etc. and some good wood sides to keep valuables, firewood etc. actually in the trailer where they belong.

Nice job on the trailer. We just got done rebuilding our small trailer we built. Our old plywood deck lasted about 10 years with fairly regular waterproofing treatments. This time we decided to use 1/8" steel diamond plate. Gulp, it cost $950 for the 3 pieces.

[Stev-o]

Nice job on the trailers, boys!   

Gonna do some maint on mine next week, been running "dirty" the last couple times I've used it  [registration expired and left light not working]

[ekpent]

No engine in it but been giving my trusty trailer some much needed love. Hauled a lot of bikes with this thing over the years. Pulled it out earlier this month to take a bike up north for a week and no tail lights etc on the left side (driver side). Played with it a little but had to go and ran dirty. The wires run through the frame and it seems a lovely rodent got in there through a small hole and was livin' large, chewed it right in half. The right side had some chew marks and bare wire also in a couple of spots.
  So far I have removed the rotten flaky wood from the deck and sides. I prepped up the frame and slobbered by hand close to a quart of gloss black rustoleum on it, love that stuff. Ran a nice fresh new wishbone wiring harness through the frame topped off with some new yellow LED side markers (which never worked before) and a pair of LED rear waterproof sealed tail lights. Holy crap are those things bright and all that for a 50 dollar bill. Thanks Amazon and delivered the next day !
  I got some major sticker shock pricing out some 4x8 sheets of plywood (I paint it well top and bottom before install) but I am a bargain hunter/picker anyways. There was an estate sale this morning just down from my house and what do you know, there was a nice batch of clean unused 3/4 inch stuff priced right just sitting there for the pickin'  Whoo Hoo    Should be enough to do it.
   I'm hoping the bike God's reward me when I'm done soon and a nice Kaw Z1, H2, Sandcast or other cool bike pops up that I can haul in my pretty trailer home.  A guy can dream , right ? 

That trailer looks fantastic Eric, good job! What are you using the plywood for?

Those metal mesh bottoms are very flimsy feeling so a nice solid deck to mount chocks and hold kickstands etc. and some good wood sides to keep valuables, firewood etc. actually in the trailer where they belong.

Nice job on the trailer. We just got done rebuilding our small trailer we built. Our old plywood deck lasted about 10 years with fairly regular waterproofing treatments. This time we decided to use 1/8" steel diamond plate. Gulp, it cost $950 for the 3 pieces.

Yes I was watching the nice job you were doing on yours. Gave me a little extra motivation plus I hate running around without good lights etc.. Figured while I had it out and parked at my house now was as good a time as ever.

[Kelly E]

No engine in it but been giving my trusty trailer some much needed love. Hauled a lot of bikes with this thing over the years. Pulled it out earlier this month to take a bike up north for a week and no tail lights etc on the left side (driver side). Played with it a little but had to go and ran dirty. The wires run through the frame and it seems a lovely rodent got in there through a small hole and was livin' large, chewed it right in half. The right side had some chew marks and bare wire also in a couple of spots.
  So far I have removed the rotten flaky wood from the deck and sides. I prepped up the frame and slobbered by hand close to a quart of gloss black rustoleum on it, love that stuff. Ran a nice fresh new wishbone wiring harness through the frame topped off with some new yellow LED side markers (which never worked before) and a pair of LED rear waterproof sealed tail lights. Holy crap are those things bright and all that for a 50 dollar bill. Thanks Amazon and delivered the next day !
  I got some major sticker shock pricing out some 4x8 sheets of plywood (I paint it well top and bottom before install) but I am a bargain hunter/picker anyways. There was an estate sale this morning just down from my house and what do you know, there was a nice batch of clean unused 3/4 inch stuff priced right just sitting there for the pickin'  Whoo Hoo    Should be enough to do it.
   I'm hoping the bike God's reward me when I'm done soon and a nice Kaw Z1, H2, Sandcast or other cool bike pops up that I can haul in my pretty trailer home.  A guy can dream , right ? 

That trailer looks fantastic Eric, good job! What are you using the plywood for?

Those metal mesh bottoms are very flimsy feeling so a nice solid deck to mount chocks and hold kickstands etc. and some good wood sides to keep valuables, firewood etc. actually in the trailer where they belong.

Nice job on the trailer. We just got done rebuilding our small trailer we built. Our old plywood deck lasted about 10 years with fairly regular waterproofing treatments. This time we decided to use 1/8" steel diamond plate. Gulp, it cost $950 for the 3 pieces.

Yes I was watching the nice job you were doing on yours. Gave me a little extra motivation plus I hate running around without good lights etc.. Figured while I had it out and parked at my house now was as good a time as ever.

Thanks, glad we could help.

[Don R]

 40 chevy report.  The alternator belt has been squealing since I took off the old Hitachi compressor.
  I got a properly sized fan belt, width is a half inch, it doesn't ride in the bottom of the groove like the old one and is the perfect length. As small as one will go on for length, so as it wears it can be adjusted. This bracket has little adjustment so this one is perfect
 I drained the gas tank into 5 gallon cans and replaced the fuel hose between the tank and fuel filter. Now all of the fuel system rubber is fresh except the Holley mechanical fuel pump diaphragm. I'll order one with my next Summit order. The 2013 license plate will take a little doing to update. 

[Kelly E]

You can't just go buy new tabs for 2022 or does the state want all the money for the years it was not driven?

[ekpent]

Spent a little time this evening in our nice cool Michigan weather whackin' up some sheets of plywood and chip board. Deck got the good stuff. Time for a painting party on both sides and edges of the wood before final securing. Can't make up my mind -- Flake Orange or the fastest color Honda ever made, Candy Bacchus Olive - Hmmm -

[Terry in Australia]

I hope the header you purchased for the truck will allow you to keep your low-midrange pulling power/torque when going through the gears, to be able to short-shift it to save $ on fuel mileage.
I found some headers seem to want to cause the operator to spin the engine to achieve it's designed power-curve.

Thanks Bill. The truck is an auto, so no options as far as shifting goes, but a nice note would be good. I think it'll be fairly economical anyway as it's only pulling 1750 RPM @ 60 MPH, much lower than either of my Subaru's or the wife's Hyundais. I did think about converting it to a manual box, but my knees are shot, so driving in city traffic with continual up/down shifts would be a painful experience. Because it didn't come with any luxuries (aircon, cruise control etc) I'm thinking about getting aftermarket cruise control installed. I use it on my other cars all the time and it's great on long trips for fuel economy and just the ability to take my foot off the gas pedal on a long drive.

I had after-market cruise in my first Toyota Hilux work truck that I inherited from the previous manager, the company we worked for cheaped out when they bought the Hilux and didn't tick the "Cruise Control" box on the order sheet, but as both of us had an hour's drive to work and back each day, cc was a "Must have", for good fuel economy and it also kept us from attracting too many speeding fines. It was pretty expensive to get it installed from memory (the original unit sh1t itself and I had to get another one fitted) so that might rule it out, but I'll do some shopping around on the internet and see what I can find. If I do any interstate road trips to pick up bikes or parts, cc will be a "must have".

Aircon would be nice too, but I'm not going to bother with getting ac installed, and it's just one more thing that's sucking power out of my little 146 cubic inch/145 BHP engine. (I just saw a Youtube vid of an LS converted one, that would be cool, but I can buy a turbo kit for a couple of grand which would be easier....) I adjusted the ignition timing by ear yesterday and raised the idle to 600 RPM, and it's idling much smoother now. The TV in the wife's lounge room (I'm down the other end of the house) sh1t itself yesterday so I drove the truck over to the shop to buy a new one this morning, then over to the lumber yard to buy a nice slab of redgum timber to sit it on (different legs on the new TV too far apart for the little stand that houses her DVD player etc) so once again the little truck proved how useful it is.

[Kelly E]

I bought my 1 ton in disguise 93' Ford F-250 4x4 diesel in 98' when we started getting ready to buy a house on acreage. Owning a home without owning a pickup truck sounds difficult. You name it I've likely hauled it in the truck, I even use it for a tractor when my little tractor can't get the job done dragging big logs or whatever.

Ekpent I just noticed the boat cleats on your trailer, nice. Now that the trailer is much more useful you might want to go with the next size up wheels and tires on your next set. We went from 14" to 15" wheels and tires for more load capacity because our axle is rated at 4500lbs. The pair of 14" tires weren't rated that high. Nothing worse than a trailer tire blowout when loaded up. I've seen a couple of bad accidents and that was the cause.

[scottly]

Kelly, how much did the diamond plate weigh?

[grcamna2]

I hope the header you purchased for the truck will allow you to keep your low-midrange pulling power/torque when going through the gears, to be able to short-shift it to save $ on fuel mileage.
I found some headers seem to want to cause the operator to spin the engine to achieve it's designed power-curve.

Thanks Bill. The truck is an auto, so no options as far as shifting goes, but a nice note would be good. I think it'll be fairly economical anyway as it's only pulling 1750 RPM @ 60 MPH, much lower than either of my Subaru's or the wife's Hyundais. I did think about converting it to a manual box, but my knees are shot, so driving in city traffic with continual up/down shifts would be a painful experience. Because it didn't come with any luxuries (aircon, cruise control etc) I'm thinking about getting aftermarket cruise control installed. I use it on my other cars all the time and it's great on long trips for fuel economy and just the ability to take my foot off the gas pedal on a long drive.

I had after-market cruise in my first Toyota Hilux work truck that I inherited from the previous manager, the company we worked for cheaped out when they bought the Hilux and didn't tick the "Cruise Control" box on the order sheet, but as both of us had an hour's drive to work and back each day, cc was a "Must have", for good fuel economy and it also kept us from attracting too many speeding fines. It was pretty expensive to get it installed from memory (the original unit sh1t itself and I had to get another one fitted) so that might rule it out, but I'll do some shopping around on the internet and see what I can find. If I do any interstate road trips to pick up bikes or parts, cc will be a "must have".

Aircon would be nice too, but I'm not going to bother with getting ac installed, and it's just one more thing that's sucking power out of my little 146 cubic inch/145 BHP engine. (I just saw a Youtube vid of an LS converted one, that would be cool, but I can buy a turbo kit for a couple of grand which would be easier....) I adjusted the ignition timing by ear yesterday and raised the idle to 600 RPM, and it's idling much smoother now. The TV in the wife's lounge room (I'm down the other end of the house) sh1t itself yesterday so I drove the truck over to the shop to buy a new one this morning, then over to the lumber yard to buy a nice slab of redgum timber to sit it on (different legs on the new TV too far apart for the little stand that houses her DVD player etc) so once again the little truck proved how useful it is.

Terry,auto-trans Does come in Quite handy in traffic ! 
I like the custom cruise control you mention.

[grcamna2]

Kelly, how much did the diamond plate weigh?

I'm curious if aluminum diamond-plate would be any less $ ?

[Kelly E]

The 1/8" steel diamond plate added a little over 500lbs. Not an issue with the 4500lb axle and the swap from 14"to 15" wheels and 10 ply tires. Empty weight before we started was 1200lbs and we removed the two layers of waterlogged 3/4" t&g plywood.
We were afraid to ask how much for aluminum diamond plate which would have to be thicker.
I can haul my 72' MGB GT on it no problem, it has electric brakes.

[Don R]

You can't just go buy new tabs for 2022 or does the state want all the money for the years it was not driven?

I'm sure there will be an argument of some sort. The car wasn't licensed for 25 years but they wanted back pay for the three years between the time I bought it and got it rebuilt. I wrote a book about the restoration on the back of the page and they finally relented. If they mess with me too much, I'll call Vermont.

[RAFster122s]

You can't just go buy new tabs for 2022 or does the state want all the money for the years it was not driven?

I'm sure there will be an argument of some sort. The car wasn't licensed for 25 years but they wanted back pay for the three years between the time I bought it and got it rebuilt. I wrote a book about the restoration on the back of the page and they finally relented. If they mess with me too much, I'll call Vermont.

Wanting money for every day between last registered and current is California's standard operating procedure unless you had a non-op filed. That's why many Californians won't touch some sales or back out of them...

[Kelly E]

You can't just go buy new tabs for 2022 or does the state want all the money for the years it was not driven?

I'm sure there will be an argument of some sort. The car wasn't licensed for 25 years but they wanted back pay for the three years between the time I bought it and got it rebuilt. I wrote a book about the restoration on the back of the page and they finally relented. If they mess with me too much, I'll call Vermont.

Wanting money for every day between last registered and current is California's standard operating procedure unless you had a non-op filed. That's why many Californians won't touch some sales or back out of them...

Here in Washington I can just go to the independent licensing office and transfer a title or buy tabs for a vehicle that has sat for 20 years. No back penalties or fines.

[Terry in Australia]

Well it was a crappy day today so no good for riding that bike. I wandered outside and dragged out my big engine crane and some tie down straps to see if I could use it to raise the tub for my little truck up high enough so that I could then lower it onto the Triton's chassis.

I was surprised at how easily it lifted the tub, so, buoyed with new found enthusiasm, I quickly unbolted the tray from the little truck and jacked it up to make sure there was nothing else important that needed to be removed before I separated it from the chassis.

I disassembled the tray as much as I could whilst it was still hanging from the engine crane and with the help of my son Tim, leaned it against the fence until such time as I can either give it away or chop it up and send it to scrap metal. I then lifted the tub up in the air, and with Tim's help again I reversed the truck under the tub, and with some jiggling and only mild cussing, we were able to locate the 8 bolts into their holes in the chassis, and the fuel filler tube into it's recess, and bolt everything down before it got dark. Job done!

[RAFster122s]

Congrats Terry and Tim... Job well done!
Glad it went well and you were able to get it done pretty quickly...