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Trailer Main Page |
Truck Modifications
The Hydraulic Trailer Project:
1991 Ford F600 Modifications
Background | Afterwards
| Details
The project within
the project was the Ford tow vehicle. While
the rack body and hydraulic lift gate were handy,
the truck was too long to use effectively as a
tractor for the new trailer, and wasn't ideally set
up for this. Some modifications were in order.
I spoke at length
with Steve Morse about how to idealize this truck
for towing. He was full of suggestions, and in
the end we decided on these basics:
1. Shorten
the frame to make the wheelbase 10' (4' shorter than
existing)
2. Remove
rack body and lift gate and construct basic cargo
deck
3. Install
12V electric winch, 15,000 lb. capacity (for
detaching trailer for launching ramp retrieval)
4. Install
vertical exhaust stack to replace undercarriage
muffler and exhaust
5. Install
12V air compressor system to recharge air system in
trailer
6. Install
17,000 lb. capacity pintle hook hitch
7. Ancillary
additions and changes as required
Here are a few
photos showing the truck in its original, unmodified
state to serve as a record. |
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My first call,
incongruously, was to Bob Emery, my house
builder/contractor and friend who seems to always
have an idea who to call for just about any possible
task. I'd talked with him previously about my
thoughts for the trailer and truck, and he was
familiar with the truck. He didn't let me
down: of course he knew someone; within 2
hours, he had physically brought his mechanic friend
Joel out to my shop to take a look at the truck.
That Bob...what a guy. Always above and
beyond.To
Joel, the modifications were straightforward, and
after talking things over for some minutes, we
agreed that the work would take place at his shop
beginning August 21, 2007. |
Meanwhile, I purchased
a 15,000 lb. electric winch for the truck. I
chose the
Warn M15000. |
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I
delivered the truck to Joel on Sunday August 20, and
picked it up on Friday the 24th. During that
time, we had a few conversations about one detail or
another, but he knew what I wanted and worked
efficiently to shorten the truck and complete the
other work necessary.
On Thursday, the major
work was complete, though Joel was still waiting for
the air system (to recharge the trailer's air
system), but suggested that I take the truck for the
weekend so that I could paint the new steel
framework for the bed. So we drove out on
Friday to pick up the "new" truck. I was
pretty excited to see how things had turned out,
actually.
The truck looked
great. The first thing I noticed was my new
chrome stack--OK, maybe this is mostly a cosmetic
change, with the ancillary effect of raising the
exhaust discharge above the head of anyone standing
on the ground and working on the trailer, but
nonetheless it was pretty cool. Nice work.
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The shortened wheelbase ended up at 10', 0-3/4".
This part of the job ended up being fairly easy, as
Joel was able to use the existing holes in the frame
to reposition the double leaf springs; the back end
of the spring ended up aligned with the old forward
holes, reducing the number of new holes required to
be drilled--not a fun job in the hardened spring
steel frame.
The guys said the
work was easy because the truck was in such great
shape, having come from the desert of New Mexico;
like boats from fresh water, all the nuts and bolts
came out easily, without corrosion, making the
entire process as easy as could be. |
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The new steel bed frame looked great: 4"
steel channel all around, with good welds.
Nice. I planned to build a basic wooden deck
and rails for storage of blocking or stands, or what
have you. (Why wood instead of steel?
Cost reduction, both in labor and in materials.
I can build the wood deck cheaply and easily.) |
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The business end of the truck is the aft end, where
the new 1" steel hitch plate is now welded to the
frame and supported with gussets at the bottom
inside edge. I specified a 20 ton pintle hook,
19" off the ground to match up with the trailer
height that Steve measured for me. In
addition, I requested two additional sets of
holes--2" above and 2" below--in case the pintle
hook needed any adjustment up or down once the
trailer was complete and we saw how it all worked
out with the truck.
There are two new
receptacles: a 7-pin connector for trailer
brakes and lighting, and a 2-pin 100A connector for
the trailer's hydraulic pump. |
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The truck in its
shortened configuration is light, light, light.
Lacking any weight on the rear wheels or suspension,
driving the truck felt like driving a farm
tractor--no suspension give at all. This will
improve once the 3000-4000 lb. tongue weight of the
new trailer is figured in, but obviously the new
rear end is far lighter than the old rack body and
life gate.
The lightness was also noticeable in terms of the
braking system. With a brake system designed
around the original weight of the truck, and
particularly with the GVWR of the original
configuration, I found I needed a very light touch
on the brake pedal to prevent lockup while driving.
But otherwise, the truck felt like a sports car (of
sorts), with that short back end. I couldn't
even see the back end of the truck in the side
mirrors.
Redneck Alert:
The new stack sounds really cool too, enhancing the
throaty exhaust note and encouraging the whistling
whine of the turbocharger. One might as well
have fun, even with a work truck.
Over the weekend, I
primed and painted the new steel--exciting stuff. |
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Though the major work of the
truck conversion was complete, there were some
details remaining that, because of parts
unavailability at the time, weren't completed during
the initial visit. So a week or so later, I
brought the truck back to Joel's so that he could
install the air pump system and winch, as well as
some rings for the trailer's safety chains that I
had forgotten to mention before.
The air system,
required to recharge the air tanks on the trailer,
is an Onspot 9001-MB, and comprises a small 12-volt
compressor (mounted inside the cab) and an air tank.
When turned on, the compressor will fill the
truck-mounted tank as a reserve; or, if the air
connection between the truck and trailer is open,
the compressor will keep the air reserves topped up
at all times, running onlky when necessary.
The air connection
to the trailer is supplied via a glad hand
connection at the truck and a flexible hose from the
trailer. |
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The Warn 15000 lb. winch required some substantial
mounting steel. Joel did a great job mounting
the winch, including modifying the rear cross brace
in the truck frame to let in the steel for the
winch, keeping the installation below the level of
the deck frame so that I could deck over the whole
area. Nice. The roller fairlead supplied
with the winch fit nicely in the gap between the
hitch plate and the frame.
Finally, we added some
welded rings so that I could attach the safety
chains from the trailer. I'd forgotten to
mention those when I brought the truck in
originally. |
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With that, the truck was done and ready for the
trailer. I still needed to install a wooden
deck over the new steel frame--nothing fancy here.
With luck, perhaps I'll get to that soon.
I was really pleased
with how the truck turned out. Joel did a
great job and was highly competent. His
welding looked second to none, and the work was
completed efficiently and for a reasonable price.
The end result was better than I'd hoped for, and
clearly I had one serious towing rig on my hands
now. |
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