peterbilt project

[thejudges69]

I'm not familiar with that site, I will check it out, I'm not one to take criticism kindly of my work or equipment, I will admit though that in the past I have passed a lot of criticism upon others but i try anymore not to judge or make comments, NOW on the other hand there are sometimes I just can help myself when I see something that is just ungodly BAD or wrong to maybe make comments among friends. BUT, anymore I try to refrain from bad remarks. My issue is that most people passing judgement upon my work are the type that drop the truck off, pick it up 2 weeks later and write the check, those are the guys that piss my off the most. Again, I am much better now then I was a few years ago.

I will certainly check it out though.

 

[walrus]

Is there any advantage to having such a long wheelbase other than that huge *** sleeper?. Thats the biggest sleeper I've ever seen, must sleep 4 in comfort

 

[J_G]

Are you referring to bushings? Alignment? Or just the fact they been unbolted?

More the fact that everything was unbolted and reinstalled. Bushings I know are new, and I know the alignment needs to be done, just didn't know if you had any concerns of someone else dismantling it or not?

 

[thejudges69]

Is there any advantage to having such a long wheelbase other than that huge *** sleeper?. Thats the biggest sleeper I've ever seen, must sleep 4 in comfort

Ya thats the reason I have the long wheelbase, some guys do it for the long and low look, but thats kind of getting played out in our field. I have the long and low look with a big house.

It will sleep me, the wife and 4 sharpeis comfortably. J_G has spent some time in there with the wife and I eating dinner and stuff and theres still plenty of room.

 

[thejudges69]

More the fact that everything was unbolted and reinstalled. Bushings I know are new, and I know the alignment needs to be done, just didn't know if you had any concerns of someone else dismantling it or not?

Not really man, everything is tight and I don't really have any great concerns so to speak. I've been all over the truck and today I saw the first part that they missed a little paint on, but its on the underside of a crossmember and hidden so still not concerned.

 

[J_G]

Really? No update? I waited all day to sit down on the crapper at the truck stop and see what was new in Don's World, and there's nothing here! SMH...

 

[walrus]

Ya thats the reason I have the long wheelbase, some guys do it for the long and low look, but thats kind of getting played out in our field. I have the long and low look with a big house.

It will sleep me, the wife and 4 sharpeis comfortably. J_G has spent some time in there with the wife and I eating dinner and stuff and theres still plenty of room.

I don't know diddly about trucks but doesn't that long wheel base make it harder to get to a loading dock? What about axle weights and such at a weigh station?.
Cool project, glad you're posting about it

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

I don't know diddly about trucks but doesn't that long wheel base make it harder to get to a loading dock? What about axle weights and such at a weigh station?.
Cool project, glad you're posting about it

Pfffffttt......I'm not a pro driver, but I have been around trucks all my life an spent most of my limited driving in tight quarters moving stuff around shops / yards - positioning a trailer is one of the things drivers are either good at and really are "one" with their machine....or they struggle with it most of the time......It all depends on the driver!

 

[thejudges69]

Sunday was a pretty good day, the wife was able to help me put in the sleeper boot. It ended up being a several hour job. I would not wish that onto anyone without patience. The sleeper boot is a difficult job and does require patience, it is a bulb type sleeper boot and with lots of tire soap, a couple blunt ended bars and a rubber mallot and we got it installed. I ended up having to pull out the boot that I had in the truck and had to replace it with a different one that my brother had. The original one that was in the truck had a bad tear in it that would have eventually became a hole so instead of dealing with it later we swapped it now. The boot seems to be the best design for sleeper boots for any truck that has a removable sleeper. The boot that was in the truck was from a 96 model truck and I put one in there that was out of a 94 model truck, they last that long, much better then the ones used to be back in the 80's.

While the wife and I were installing the sleeper boot my brother took on the job of installing the front seal. we installed new alternator belts and got everything tightened up and finished. We ran into a snag on the low water sensor at the rad, the truck originally had the old style sensor in it that I converted to the new style, the only way to do that is to splic the wiring which I did near the rear of the engine. about a year ago I bought a new wiring harness from Detroit diesel and had been carrying it around in the truck, I figured this was the time to fix the problem. After that was all complete we went ahead and installed the hood as well. It is all bolted on and the passenger side hood rest had to be raised to meet the hood. I went ahead and leveled up the cab the other day so now the hood didn't quite line up right. Now its all good.

Yesterday we spent the latter part of the afternoon at the weld shop in town. When the truck went to get painted the paint shop was suppose to fix both of the front bumper mounts, one of them got broke before the frame was painted so they gave it to me to fix. Yesterday we went ahead and fixed it and and then I had Randy weld gussets to the bumper brackets, it never fails, the slightest tap on them and they get broke. Most guys don't run bumper braces though and that don't do them any good. We also installed the headache rack on the frame, we had to weld the air line bracket to the bottom of the rack and make sure that it was short enough for the deck plate to fit under it.

Today, was not a very productive day. I started the day by removing the old passenger side fender off the hood. only to discover that the inner hood support was bent in a 1/4" just enough to make the fender crooked. Well, a call to a friend of mine in indiana and some blocking and a rubber mallot and the panel was straight once again. we jeopardized the outer panel to straighten the brace but my dad and I were able to do no damage to the outer panel.

Right the moment I have several jobs started and none finished, Tomorrow I'm going to start finishing things up and getting the truck done. I will finish up the wiring and air lines under the headache rack and move onto the generator and so on to the front of the truck. I have to figure out the front turn signals as well, the law says we have to have them but the blinker bars that I wanted to use will not fit the front of the hood properly, I hate turn signals under my bumper but may not have a choice this time around. I will get some pics tomorrow of things done as I get them finished.

 

[thejudges69]

I don't know diddly about trucks but doesn't that long wheel base make it harder to get to a loading dock? What about axle weights and such at a weigh station?.
Cool project, glad you're posting about it

the wheelbase does not hinder me, I've learned to drive the truck with the way that it is. I don't do much dock loading or unloading since I pull an open trailer, when deflated my trailer is around 33" off the ground, about a foot lower then most loading docks.

The axle weights are tricky sometimes, with my length I have to keep the loaded weight off the steering since I'm over weight on my steers when I'm empty but I know how to load the trailer to keep it straight, all in all, just another day in paradise.

 

[thomfr]

Great Truck and a superb written report (like the detail and problem solving).
Such a truck would be impossible for commercial use here in Europe (dry weight/payload capacity and length).

Thom

 

[J_G]

I still have to figure out the front turn signals as well, the law says we have to have them but the blinker bars that I wanted to use will not fit the front of the hood properly, I hate turn signals under my bumper but may not have a choice this time around.

I think a lot of the lighting laws are at an officer's discretion, tho they are required. As you know, I was DOT inspected twice in 2 weeks, in both NY and PA, and still do not have any front, corner markers, which are part of the 22 required lights, per DOT. Neither officer said a word about them, but the officer in PA was looking in the area of the headlights when directed to flash my turns. Continuing to look, I actually had to point to my mirror, where my turns are mounted, and he simply nodded his head, and continued with the inspection. I don't remember what you decided on for a bumper, but you could always put your own holes in it for a light, versus mounting some type under, or on the end of the bumper. I've done it before...cover with masking tape, cut, and seal the edge with silicone, and never had a problem with the chrome cracking. I guess about the only other option is the mirror I guess...is your truck pre-wired in the dash for mid turns? Just a thought, what about a 359-style fender marker, wired for turn, instead of marker. Wouldn't be very conspicuous tho. I know you'll figure it out, it's looking good, as always!

 

[Grizz1963]

What a beauty.

My brother would have repeated little *** wee's if he saw that.

Thanks for the thread and sharing.

 

[O_M_Jeep]

what about a 359-style fender marker, wired for turn, instead of marker. Wouldn't be very conspicuous tho. I know you'll figure it out, it's looking good, as always!

If you mean the 359 marker light that wraps over the edge of the fender in front(ish) I dont think it would be visible from the front very well, and wouldnt be visible at all from the opposite side front. Even if legal I think you would get pulled in a lot because they dont see it right off.

you could put the fender top turn lights on the step under the headlights, but again, they would be visible only from the front, if you did both, that would satisfy all of DOT's requirements, be off the fender top and not be on the bumper.

I just looked at the pic again, those JJ headlight brackets will make space kinda tight, but if you use a 2" round and mounting plate on the step it should be unobtrusive and bolt right through the step.

 

[thejudges69]

the center 359 turn signal will never be an option on any 379 or newer truck I own, I love them on the 359 but its not meant for the 379. The JJ bars are what I'm going to use but I'm going to use the double light flange mount and mount them to the bottom of the bumper. the oval lights in the front have always gave a nice appearance and I like it the most.

Jim, Pennsylvania is the only state that has hassled me on front turns, its just easier to deal with them now then after I get a ticket. I was trying my best to avoid drilling BIG holes in the bumper but hadn't ruled it out but after remembering the JJ bars I think it will look good up there.

 

[thejudges69]

What a beauty.

My brother would have repeated little *** wee's if he saw that.

Thanks for the thread and sharing.

Not a problem, not finished yet so stay tuned lol.

 

[J_G]

I used to love this truck in the late 90s, early 00s, but haven't seen it in several years now. I seen it at shows and on the road and was always sharp. I think the colors are different, but look awesome! It went through several different light and panel combos, but here it is when he had the JJ covers everywhere, even on the cab and bunk panels.

 

[thejudges69]

Well the last few days been pretty good, I got the generator running, fenders fit and some other odds and ends finished.

The generator wasn't a big deal, I had a minor wiring issue that I had to complete and the almost cost of a transfer switch. I couldn't remember where this one wire went to but after some research and thinking I figured it out. The guys at Martin Diesel were as helpful as always. Paul is usually my go to wiring guy but he's out this week so Mike helped me out, which he builds them so he knows whats going on too. There are 3 10 gauge wires that run to the sleeper from the electrical box on the bunk, a black, white, and green wire. Well, I knew where everything went except the green, I figured it was a neutral but if it would have been neutral it would have had a ring terminal on it, when I disassembled I did not cut wiring, I undid it and removed it the same way it went back in. Well, I found out through the transfer switch in the bunk that the green wire was actually hot wire #2 for the transfer switch. SO, after hooking that up, the bunk came alive, I now have everything working inside the sleeper and ready to go there. I still have the fridge to install but thats a few minute job.

Everytime I service this generator I forget to fill the fuel filter, so the only way to get the thing running is to keep holding the start stop switch for less the 10 seconds several times. The fuel pump is electric and will run for 10 seconds, then the generator will turn over. Since I don't like to crank on the starter anymore then necessary it would sometimes taking me several minutes to get it running. Well, Mike at Martin asked me why I didn't have a priming switch for the fuel pump, apparently a year or so after mine was built they started putting a 3rd switch in the electric box and that was only for the fuel pump, he walked me through hooking it up, it was a matter of 2 wires about 6 inches long, and 1 spring loaded peterbilt toggle . So now I have a primer switch to run my fuel pump, no more start stop switch holding.

The wiring and fuel lines to the generator came out a lot better this time then the original time I did the install. I think the first time I was just in a hurry to hit the highway and didn't take the extra finess to make it nicer. this time went really good and came out nice.

Well, after my dad and I straightened the hood side things went smooth from there, we pulled it back out that 1/4 inch and man it was a good thing I was able to do that, otherwise these fenders would look queer. I got both fit last night and they are going to a paint shop today to get painted, I'm then going to work on the front bumper and finish up some odds and ends so the truck will be done when the fenders get back.

here are a few shots of some of the wiring in the frame, I've got everything ******* and tight so this will be how its rolling. I will tie up by the air line union today or tomorrow, I have to find an 8 gauge wire connector so that I don't have to cut the wiring anytime I need to remove my light bar.

 

[thejudges69]

Here are a couple night shots of the headache rack installed, it went smooth and I was real happy with the way it came off and went back on, I couldn't have done it that good with a forklift. The KC lights are hooked up and the lightbar will be done today or tomorrow.

AHHH yes, the battery box, anyone that does not know these wires can do serious damage to my truck, sleeper and generator. I have to finish tieing these together today, I'm also putting a loom clamp on the back side of the box to hod things steady going down the road. right the moment it looks like hell, BUT it will look better when I'm done with it. One thing I am is a wiring fanatic (incase no one has noticed) it has to be neat or I go ballistic.

J_G I know I said that I was going to use the JJ brackets but I think that idea has gone by the wayside, you have to do to much drilling to make them work and there all big holes I figured the hell with that, if I'm going to drill all them big holes I might as well put ovals in it. BUT I came up with a couple other idea, 1 is 2 surface mount cab lights on the front, 2 on each side,

OR, I found these the other day also, there stainless but very small and a little pricey but still keeps ya legal.

and lastly, Chooch (the wife) if your reading this, that means your creepin, but just a special thanks to you for not killing me this last 2 months or being upset with me about the build. Love ya babe!!!

 

[bigbubba]

Keeps looking better and better!

 

[J_G]

Personally, I'm not a fan of the cablights on the bumper. I've seen it done a few tunes, and it just looks odd to me. Those look like the little Roadworks lights? There are several different designs of those slim lights from different mfgrs. If you decide to go that route, you have a couple different mounting options as well, depending on whether you wanted to mount in the bumper face, edge, or underneath.

 

[thejudges69]

Well, first off lets start out with some interior pics, I was asked a couple times about the inside of the sleeper and was able to get them pics yesterday. I got the fridge installed and the plywood under it trimmed so that the air circulation should be much better to the cooler. I'm really surprised that it cooled at all with the lack of air flow. Its really good that it didn't burn it up. Anyways, I have it hooked up and running on the battery power to make sure that it cools ok. I know for 3 weeks it was plugged into the wall and cooled better then ever so I knew that it was 2 things, an air flow issue and I believe an electrical connection which I experienced in the past. It has been running all night so we will see how well its cooling.

I also got the bumper installed and man let me tell you, that baby is solid. I had a little minor adjusting to do to the bumper braces that keep it from moving going down the road but it all worked out and went together great. I tried something new on the back of the bumper, being that they never chrome the back I tried some rubberized undercoating on the back of it with hopes that it will hold up to the abuse from the steer tires. I don't know how well it will work but lets hope it works good. I still have a front turn signal dilemma that I'm working on but haven't got that figured out yet but will keep GJ posted as I do.

20" boxed end chrome bumper from Peterbilt, got a smokin deal on it, I'm curious to see how it holds up through the winter.

I had to drill the new bumper brackets that we welded on and I used an old smashed bent bumper for the job. The wife snapped a pic of me doing that and thought it would be a good post. I had to notch the bumper to fit around my braces so it would be easier to drill the brackets.

 

[thejudges69]

Well, we are getting down to the wire on this build for now. few things left to do, but nothing major. over the weekend I got the front fenders mounted, tha painter did an awesome job, I really wish he had the man power to paint my whole truck I would let him in a minute.

Also, I wanted to reseal the fantastic vent on the roof of the sleeper. I got up there to do just that and found a complete disaster. The manufacturer says to put the fan down on the roof with the foam seal that they offer. then go around it with Dicore lap sealant and its good to go. WELL, ICT put it down with about 10 gallons of silicone and 3 gallons of rolled tar. I had a hell of a time getting it all cleaned off as best I could. Apparently your not supposed to seal the doam on top of the vent, well ICT had it sealed which in turn holds water inside and moisture and can create leaks. Fantastic Vent was a huge help, I called them with my situation and told them what I found and that there was 1 very small crack in the plastic housing right by a screw, there response....Well, why don't we just send you a new housing and start ya out fresh. Most people with RV's don't know that fantastic vent has a lifetime warranty on there structure and 2 years on the motor. I will be up on the roof today so I will get a completed shot of the job. I did not take one when I started, probably cause I was so pissed of the mess they made up there.

Just have to mount my front turn signals when they get here, mount my rear mudflaps, do an alignment and fill up my headache rack and we should be good to go.

 

[J_G]

And the verdict on the front turns is?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[thejudges69]

Going with the matching cab lights for the bumper, took 2 days to find them in stock but got them coming.

 

[nissan_crawler]

butyl tape is better than the foam seal

 

[thejudges69]

butyl tape is better than the foam seal

Butyl tape is what got me into this mess in the first place, I spent hours cleaning this roof just so I could reassemble. I will stick with the manufacturers suggestions on this part. The foam was simple and the dicore sealant worked perfect.

 

[redcorvetteman3]

How did you stretch the frame?? double rail? or ??? looking into doing this right now on a Freightliner to become a wrecker.. right now we plan to make it 305" wheel base. Double rail , 45 at the joints and 3/8" wall 3"x8" tube running from the the front shackles to the back shackles. Installing a Zack lift 303

 

[thejudges69]

How did you stretch the frame?? double rail? or ??? looking into doing this right now on a Freightliner to become a wrecker.. right now we plan to make it 305" wheel base. Double rail , 45 at the joints and 3/8" wall 3"x8" tube running from the the front shackles to the back shackles. Installing a Zack lift 303

We cut mine in a S pattern, we have cut some up and down straight but really got away from that for strength purposes. The reason we did this was to give the frame the added strength it needs. When we cut the new frame we made it a tight fit and then welded it. This way the stress is on the whole frame more then just a weld. See I believe with a 45 degree angle there is no where for the stress to stop pushing. Its really hard to explain, but basically with my frames being butted tight together, when any stress is put on that weld it won't be able to break unless it breaks all the way from top to bottom because the stress is on the weld at the bottom but pushing on the frame at the top. with a 45 the stress is constantly on the weld because is has nothing solid at the top to stop the stress, it always ends up on the weld. ALSO, we ALWAYS and I stress ALWAYS put a crossmember centered over the welds. this gives added strength as well. We also would stitch weld our sleeve in and bolt them as well. We only stitch the top and bottom flanges, if you weld the ends it makes the frame to rigid and eventually the frame will break at that point.

My sleeve is only 1/4" and it is 56" long, it goes 24 inches in front and behind the welds. I think with a wrecker, if your going to be working the truck hard then a full sleeve is the best way to go, If its just a spare to pickup company truck once in a while then I think you're wasting your money with a full sleeve. I used to pull a detach and saw a lot of loads where I was over 100K and never had so much as a sag in my rails.

Also, I've seen to many hack jobs on frames, Freightliner is a tricky one, they used to be a 33 1/2" frame truck and recently went to a 34" wide frame, they also had odd size flanges, make sure you get the right size rail for your truck, also some of there rail is 5/16" thick and some more recent trucks are 3/8" you'll want it all the match for the best job.

 

[redcorvetteman3]

By sleeve do you mean a 1/4" plate on the inside of the rails? then bolted thru? We plan on plating the inside of the rail and running a new rail on the outside of the factory frame from under the cab all why the back. Making it a double rail bolted with frame bolts.

 

[thejudges69]

yes a 1/4" plate but C shaped like the rail. I can see what your doing, just keep in mind that the suspension and stuff it setup for a factory size so a channel on the outside may disrupt the fit of some things, mainly in the suspension area. everything else should fit fine. if your at a 33 1/2" frame and add a 1/4" to each rail and stay under 34" then you should be able to make everything work just fine. Alot of people ad a full liner to the inside from the engine back but I think that either way is acceptable for what you are going to do with it.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Judge - Just thought about your project as I begin a job -- installing on board scales for a customer....pretty slick system once they are set up

 

[thejudges69]

Were you installing something like the air weigh setup? I'm currently in jersey with my truck, she ran perfect coming out here, the maiden voyage on all the new parts is going good so far.

 

[Stick]

Judge - Just thought about your project as I begin a job -- installing on board scales for a customer....pretty slick system once they are set up

Tell me about it, I'm currently installing a steam generator van body on a 2012 International Durastar chassis. Took the flatbed off last week and started drilling holes in frame rails for the mounting system I'm fabricating. They want to be able to switch back and forth between the van body and the flatbed for summer/winter use. I also have to Fab up a rear bumper, because the van body doesn't have one built for it. I'm roughly 40 hours into it so far, but I'd be further along if I didn't keep getting pulled off to work on other projects...

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Were you installing something like the air weigh setup? I'm currently in jersey with my truck, she ran perfect coming out here, the maiden voyage on all the new parts is going good so far.

Sounds good!

Yeah, for my job.... Air Weigh....Of course the job stalled them moment I opened the box and saw it was for Hendricks tandem axle -- the customers truck is single axle on leaf springs ....I'm not gonna say who screwed that pooch, but it wasn't me the right kit should be here in a day or 2.

Tell me about it, I'm currently installing a steam generator van body on a 2012 International Durastar chassis. Took the flatbed off last week and started drilling holes in frame rails for the mounting system I'm fabricating. They want to be able to switch back and forth between the van body and the flatbed for summer/winter use. I also have to Fab up a rear bumper, because the van body doesn't have one built for it. I'm roughly 40 hours into it so far, but I'd be further along if I didn't keep getting pulled off to work on other projects...

I'd be interested in the quick change mounts you come up with. I'm sure you do have mag drill for the frame.....I did 'em for years by hand with
and I feel your pain on the time issue: our shop is a constant circus of fire drills - pull ya off a job to handle something else - makes it really hard to get big jobs done....sometimes I wish I weren't as good - then they'd leave me alone to do LOF's in peace

 

[thejudges69]

I personally can't see spending the money for a air weigh setup. I run all Right Weigh Load Scales, I've had awesome luck with them and there a fraction of the cost. I like the fact that the original designer still drives today testing his gauges and I actually met and talked to him several times and he never turns his nose up at me. Air weigh is a big corporate conglomerate, I only messed with 1 of there systems on a tri axle double drop and it was a pain but I think they have since redesigned them.

 

[thejudges69]

Well, the last week has been headache free for the most part, I've had zero issues with the truck as far as what I did the last 2.5 months. I left home, went to jersey, reloaded in delaware for Pa, then reloaded in rochester ny for south carolina where I currently am sitting. I will unload tomorrow then run to Detroit diesel to get a jake solenoid. I had one go bad yesterday, the damn thing is stuck in the on position so anytime the switch is on for the jake it is working regardless of the low, medium, high setting, and it won't shut off with the throttle either. I will buy it in the morning and get it put in real quick and be good to go after that.

This is what I hauled from Delaware to north Pa, just some cooling towers that went to a packaging plant. 12' wide less the 10k.

I caught up with J_G yesterday on my way through pa, I had some time to kill so we got breakfast. He caught me going under an overpass on I-79. I have 2 plastic slitter machines on weight 12,500 a piece all tarped up and riding good.

 

[brent5631]

What kind of mileage do you get with that huge sleeper?

 

[thejudges69]

depends on the loads I haul, 6.2-6.4 is a good mileage average for me

 

[kesslerbmw]

Not a huge fan of those types of sleepers, but the work you're doing looks great. The paint on the frame and such came out awesome.

I've helped a friend of mine do pretty much all of what you've done, its a ton of work. Here's his truck. We stripped it down like yours a couple years ago and repainted the frame, had Double Eagle repaint the sleeper, and had the front and cab repainted at MHC Kenworth in KC, then put everything back together.