Maybe I'll work on my..... something.

View out my kitchen window.

 

Not much to update. Back to work until my next back surgery, just setting $ aside and squaring some things away. I'll be back out to my property next year to see how much progress the county has done to get rid of the increased number of people who set up junkie camps between my property and town.


My folks are selling their place and were having to go back and forth to storage to get things they needed as they cleaned out the house to minimal every day necessities so it is clean and ready to be viewed. So, I bought another trailer for them to keep at the house and move stuff that they didn't want to put on my open trailers.

I went ahead and got the extra height because it only cost me $300 more. I did buy new Maxxfans for my camper (wanted white tops), and transferred the old smoke top fans to the new trailer for ventilation. I picked up a good used RC 20" tongue box that matches the diamond plate perfectly and is the same height at the as the guard. It will house the battery for the fans with a 50w solar panel above it.

 

Decided that since I am adding efi to my car, I'd update the vent. So, I put together a charcoal canister for it instead of using an open vent.
Used a universal 2L overflow tank, added a couple fitting and some plugs, put an inch of activated carbon mat on the bottom and a 2x2 piece on the side at the top by the top fitting, then filled it with activated carbon pellets. The mat will prevent the pellets from getting into the fitting and line while also allowing the fumes to dissipate across the whole surface rather than just one point.
I don't plan to run a purge line as while the engine runs and fuel is used, it will draw fresh air back through the canister and into the tank. It won't be as effective as it would with a purge, but it will still be effective enough for me. Once the pellets get saturated, it is cheap and easy enough for me to swap them.
It will be mounted in the trunk with the inlet and vent running through bulkhead fittings through the metal and a K&N style filter on the vent side.

 

Well done Mr. Chris. Well done.

 

Back was feeling not so bad today, so I decided to do some work on the car. Made the rough panels for the trunk wall. Making them to fit around all the cage bars is a PITA, but I'm getting close.
Now, back is feeling not so good. Couple hours of work and I am back to shooting pain in the legs and having to use a heating pad on my back to get rid of the pain and stiffness.

 

Likes, but no likes! I got the same thing going on. I don't dare add heat, it just makes things swell up more! I admit the heat feels great, but have better results using a cold pack.

Heal up and keep the progress posts coming!

 

I did ice for a while to help with the swelling from surgery. But, once the swelling was down, ice pack actually increased the nerve pain and worsened the pain going into my groin. Imagine laying a baseball bat on your leg up to your groin and then have someone stand on the bat.
Tomorrow, I will finish up the clearances for the roll cage and the overlap joint on my bead roller. If I am feeling up to it, I will work on getting stuff welded up.
I already have additional floor mounts and the floor panels made. I didn't install them yet so I could stand through the frame to do the back wall. So, those should go in quickly.

 

Opted to use steel 3/8 pop rivet the back wall on. No reason other than it was easier. I did add in structural support to take place of what was removed when I installed the cage.
I'm now working on the floor. I'm adding floor supports on the outside edge and adding 2 body mounts on the inside edge of the floor paneling to provide additional support. I didn't prestretch the metal, so the beads did cause some tin canning, but I am not worried about it.

 

Finished up welding on the 4 floor supports and roughing the sheet metal in on the passenger side. Had to stop because it got too painful to keep working. Going to give my back a rest for a couple days. I may redo the passenger side panel to match the one I replaced on the driver side.

 

I got the same problem. Back tells me I'm done and I need to go for a long walk to loosen up.

Hitting the recliner is the wrong thing for me to do.

 

Well, floor and trans tunnel are welded in. I have the last major piece for the back wall roughed up with 3 beads for strength, just need to put a slight curve in it and open it up for the driveshaft tunnel to weld to.
I have the metal cut for the driveshaft tunnel, but I am fighting to get it formed. I wanted to do a 1 piece instead of a 3 piece, so forming the arch is a PITA by hand. Unlike the smaller pieces, shaping in over my leg doesn't work all that well.
I tried shaping it against a telephone pole out by the street, but without having a backer on it, it just started to buckle. I might try to find a 5 inch peeler core or fence post. Or, I might find some other odd misuse of something to make it work. Who knows.
I am going to try to get all the remaining floor pieces done by Monday so I can drop them off at the sand blasted to get grayed for POR15. I forgot how good that stuff sticks to grayed metal until I overpainted one spot and had to remove the paint to weld, wire wheel and flap disk didn't do squat. Had to pull out a grinding wheel to get it to bare metal.

 

It was a royal pita. Taking a lunch break, then I'll go back to fitting everything together and make a couple angled tie rails to attach the floor and the driveshaft tunnel together as the steel angle won't work.

 

I hear you. I just got done changing the starter in my 08 Tundra. It sucks! I'm not ready to give into the aches and pains.

 

I'll get it over to the sandblaster tomorrow to grey the metal, then paint where it won't be welded, then weld it all together.

 

Car is back alive with fuel injection. She starts easier, and runs better. I have it set to run a little on the rich side. I still need to clean up the wiring, but will wait until after I pull the dash to do some work on it so I can add hangers to mount the wiring to.
I put the engine management component under the dash to keep them dry, clean, and cooler. It also helps clean the engine bay up a bit. I mounted the set with 1" spacers, this will allow mounting of thermal barrier and carpet.
I am going to change headers again and will custom fit the spark plug wires once I finalize my choice of headers. For now, I just have them so they don't rub or burn.



I also added a 33ft Arctic Fox trailer to my list. Got it cheap due to water and rodents. But my plan was buying it for the frame and shell, so even with all the work needed, it was a good deal at a grand. It will get completely gutted including the floor, interior walls, and ceiling. All insulation, wiring, and interior will get replaced. I already pulled off the underbelly cover and 4 bags of water soaked and rat infested fiberglass insulation. I will be gutting it and turning it into a essentially a park model without self contained tanks. It will then be put out on my "Private RV park" (yes, I had my property zoned as an RV park) as the host quarters.
I will say, I don't know how the hell someone was living in it. I have already removed atleast a hundred rodent bodies, lots of garbage, and contaminated soft build components like carpet and fabric accents. And yes, those are floating vinyl planks screwed to the floor with drywall and deck screws.

 

Looking forward to the rv repurpose.

We have 2018 Arctic Wolf. It, like most rv's is crap. I've been steadily repairing all the slap dash construction procedures. I know for a fact there are no building codes that need to be followed.

My last project was to install a 12k BTU mini split. Honestly, these things should be standard.

We tested it over the winter and left it set at 75*. I was skeptic, but even on 0* days it was still putting out heat. 20* it's down right cozy and it's so quiet. You won't miss the craptastic heating systems they come with after running a mini split.

 

Yeah, I'm going to install a 2 zone mini split. Roof mounted ducted AC and floor ducted furnace are going away. I will stay in my conversion while building the big one, probably swap the roof mounted ac for a mini split in it also.

It's going to be like going from an apartment to a mansion. 7x16 up to a 8x33 with 2 slides. I'll have a full bedroom, even bigger bathroom, and separate living room and kitchen. I will also be installing a high efficiency fireplace in the living area.

 

Because of the roll cage, I couldn't use the full length handle for the cowl vent and leaning over to open it was painful. So, I did a thing.
https://youtube.com/shorts/4IefXbfU-dc?si=a1smy3i0N_SEUhG7