rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[rattle_snake]

Another horse camp trip in the books. Met some friends near Oracle AZ.


Had room in the trailer so brought another 50 hp on wheels


Lots of trails of different types to ride. Strapped the RC crawler on the back fender and found some cool rock formations. Steering gear stripped out so not much action other than working on it.


I did about 25 miles on the bike, and on Sunday we went for a 5 mile horseback ride. I like this area as it is steep and nasty, not boring. Everything has thorns, chaps or destroyed jeans.


Beautiful views and sunsets.


Snow level came down near our level. Mt Lemon at 9k ft. Did catch some snow/ice while riding around. Landscape creates some odd patterns and would only come down in one spot.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

I give up - what is a "hose camp"?

 

[rattle_snake]

I added the 'r', horse..

copy of disclaimer on post 1
Disclaimer:
I am an incompetent hack. No responsibility is taken for any content in this thread. View at your own risk. Do not look directly at any of my welds. Grammatical and speeling errors should exist. Do not apply any techniques obtained in this thread to your personal property. No warrantee is expresses or guaranteed.

 

[ntsqd]

I just assumed they were rounding up errant Canadian comedians.




















Sorry, was that too much of a reach?

 

[rattle_snake]

Emptied first tank of fuel (87 octane) and calculated consumption rate. City was 7.0 MPG, up from 5 MPG, so that is 2/5 = 40% increase !! Super happy with results. Highway was about 8.5 so given similar increase should get around 12 MPG.

40% range increase is much better solution than carrying 40% more fuel weight, which was a plan at one point. Build a custom in-bed fuel cell, gravity feed to main tank. Filler neck through bed, ethanol fuel going to **** quickly in secondary tank.

Fuel tank is a 'Burb 31g with OEM EFI pickup modded for a 340 lph pump. Fuel light comes on at 5 gal remaining. Once down to 3 gallons it will **** air when cornering. So effective capacity is about 27 gallons.

Range calcs
7 m/g * 27 g = 189 m
12 m/g * 27 g = 324 m

Cost analysis (yes a joke on a big block, haha)
Built C6 cost me 1900 all in
6R80 was 5000, so difference is $3100. Fuel is around $3.50. So can buy 900 gallons to break even. 900g * 8 m/g = 7200 miles, one year for some, more like 2.5-3 for me.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I drive 7200 miles in around 6mo with my daily commute, you need to up your game!

40% increase is awesome, glad it's working out. Imagine if you were on stock rubber/ride height...that would put you near hybrid numbers I'm sure

If you can pull off 12mpg on the highway, that's a win in my book! Best I've ever done with the BBC in the 'burb was 14mpg running 68mph. mid-to-upper 70s is always around 12.5-13.2 depending on wind.

 

[ntsqd]

Don't know what vintage Burb you stole the tank from, but for the square bodies there was the optional 40 gal. tank that fit in the same spot....

 

[rattle_snake]

I drive 7200 miles in around 6mo with my daily commute, you need to up your game!

40% increase is awesome, glad it's working out. Imagine if you were on stock rubber/ride height...that would put you near hybrid numbers I'm sure

If you can pull off 12mpg on the highway, that's a win in my book! Best I've ever done with the BBC in the 'burb was 14mpg running 68mph. mid-to-upper 70s is always around 12.5-13.2 depending on wind.

The problem is that my solution is multiple vehicles and motorcycles. I can drive something different every day, so miles are split up across 4+ for me. I drive the 72 ford the most.

Don't know what vintage Burb you stole the tank from, but for the square bodies there was the optional 40 gal. tank that fit in the same spot....

I am using a 1987 version (new Specra unit) that was 1st year EFI (86 back is carb style pickup). There are 3 sizes, 25, 31, and 40.
The 31 is a deeper version of the 25, so hangs down farther. The 40 is a longer version of the 31, by a fair amount. 40 won't fit between axle and bumper on my truck or I would have done that.

Now I have the equivalent of 31*1.4 = 43.4 g without the extra weight or cost to fill.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

The problem is that my solution is multiple vehicles and motorcycles. I can drive something different every day, so miles are split up across 4+ for me. I drive the 72 ford the most.

I am using a 1987 version (new Specra unit) that was 1st year EFI (86 back is carb style pickup). There are 3 sizes, 25, 31, and 40.
The 31 is a deeper version of the 25, so hangs down farther. The 40 is a longer version of the 31, by a fair amount. 40 won't fit between axle and bumper on my truck or I would have done that.

Now I have the equivalent of 31*1.4 = 43.4 g without the extra weight or cost to fill.

I get the multiple vehicle thing, I usually switch to different wheels on the weekend. The Tundra houses my normal day-to-day gear and the long gun for those pesky coyotes, so easier to just drive it every day. With the brake swap nearing completion on the Z28 (and the headliner done) I'm looking forward to putting more miles on it, once the weather starts cooperating.

 

[PhantomEB]

My brother once told me his thoughts on bigger tanks…..

if you don’t got many gas stations on your routes, then it makes sense to haul the extra weight, if gas stations are more frequent, then it’s usually cheaper and more fuel efficient not to haul the extra weight.

 

[ntsqd]

The way that I see it is that with a bigger tank you get to choose where you add fuel rather than having to get fuel where you need it. For instance at the "Indian Truck Stop" on 395 just North of Independence, CA rather than at the fuel station at the corner of June Lake Loop and 395 where it was almost $2.50/gallon more. Guess where we had to buy fuel?

You don't have to top off a large tank every time if you don't want to. Not hauling the additional weight makes sense, but having the range when needed is important.

 

[phred]

I’m in the same boat with my bronco. Built 351m, 456 gears, 35’s on heavy beadlocks. Swapped in a zf5 to replace the np435 and mileage barely moved. 8 mpg city or highway. Looking at swapping in a 33 gal tank to increase the range just a little.

 

[zmotorsports]

My brother once told me his thoughts on bigger tanks…..

if you don’t got many gas stations on your routes, then it makes sense to haul the extra weight, if gas stations are more frequent, then it’s usually cheaper and more fuel efficient not to haul the extra weight.

I would have to agree for off-road rigs. I despise carrying extra fuel in my Rotopax carriers on the Jeep and only do so when we are going to an area I am unfamiliar with as far as distances or we go to the San Rafael Swell area as it is so remote. Other than those places I generally don't like carrying the Rotopax fuel containers. I see many people with fuel jugs around the Ouray area when we go each year and I just haven't experienced anytime I was much less than half a tank in the 16 years we've been wheeling in the area. With Ouray and Silverton or Lake City in such close proximity it doesn't make much sense to be carrying all that extra weight on the back of the Jeep.

As far as my 2006 Duramax, I added a 52-gallon Titan tank shortly after purchasing the truck back in 2009 because when dragging our race trailer to the sand drags there were a couple of times it was closer on fuel range than I cared for. Now with 52-gallons I can fuel at my discretion but as a daily driver/tow rig I look at fuel capacity a bit different than an off-road rig.

 

[ntsqd]

I like to have at least a 400 mile range, further if its a rig that SWMBO rides in because those tend to be epic trips. Right now our CTD/pop-top is good for 700 at the mileage that I use to calculate that sort of thing and 1040 at the best ever recorded mileage. That's down from before we had to modify the tank to fit the GV-OD and I haven't had the opportunity to find out how having a compound OD has affected our range. Better efficiency is better than hauling extra fuel, but a whole lot harder to do.

 

[PhantomEB]

I would have to agree for off-road rigs. I despise carrying extra fuel in my Rotopax carriers on the Jeep and only do so when we are going to an area I am unfamiliar with as far as distances or we go to the San Rafael Swell area as it is so remote. Other than those places I generally don't like carrying the Rotopax fuel containers. I see many people with fuel jugs around the Ouray area when we go each year and I just haven't experienced anytime I was much less than half a tank in the 16 years we've been wheeling in the area. With Ouray and Silverton or Lake City in such close proximity it doesn't make much sense to be carrying all that extra weight on the back of the Jeep.

As far as my 2006 Duramax, I added a 52-gallon Titan tank shortly after purchasing the truck back in 2009 because when dragging our race trailer to the sand drags there were a couple of times it was closer on fuel range than I cared for. Now with 52-gallons I can fuel at my discretion but as a daily driver/tow rig I look at fuel capacity a bit different than an off-road rig.

yup 20 gallon tank in the bronco, 5-10 more onboard if I figure I need em.

I do hear you guys on being able to be picky but with 900 km range….. I only wish my local Costco had diesel. Got a UFA card too for farmland card stations.

 

[Bob Heine]

I have the opposite problem. Filled the tank in the Corvette in May 2021, the Cadillac in October 2022 and the PT Cruiser in January 2023. I need to keep better track of how much STA-BIL I've added to the tanks.

 

[rattle_snake]

Spend long weekend in the dunes, guys trip, Glamis. Was a busier weekend but not out of control. Had multiple issues and problems but trip finished out OK. Rode with BIL towing his new (to him) 32' 5th wheel toy hauler. Ram 2500 was only getting 5-6 mpg, even though we stopped twice for fuel we rolled into camp with milage counter expired and there is no fuel for 40 mile or so. Found a decent spot at wash 15 but BIL got truck/trailer stuck in soft sand so we un-loaded RZR and tried shovels for a bit instead of airing down to move short distance. '4x4 temporarily unavailable' message was then displayed, so took a break and a neighbor gave us a tug. Toy hauler has 25g fuel station so transferred a few 5g tanks into truck.
BIL has little experience with OHV/RZR and none in dunes so we planned training session in the morning before going out for the day. But coffee run before that ended in roll and bad tumble. Buddy hand smashed on roll bar/sand impact. Rear CVs destroyed, tire of bead, and so on so machine down for the weekend. Instead of aborting BIL rented a Cam Am and rode passenger to observe. We salvaged a day and had some fun. A few guys hadn't been to Glamis so I took them out to China, Olds and into some of the high dunes, big bowls. It's an amazing experience to power up the huge dunes and make the 'transitions' over bowl ridges. Not for everyone. Driving a sxs is a breeze compared to riding a bike.
As we left the check engine light came on and trailer brakes kept disconnecting. Had one more close call on fuel but made it home safe. BIL learned a few life lessons the hard way, and gained some respect for the dangers of the sand. He got to hear some sobering stories of other's misfortune to put things into perspective.

Had to ride solo as by other biker buddy's hand was injured. No broken bones. Got my 50 miles in. Sand was drier, softer and ruts not so deep so eaier to ride on 2 wheel this trip. Mods to paddle tire allowed mud flap to stay intact.


China wall, steep, fun.


Ended up having recovery service drag machine back to camp and stuff in toy hauler. Luckily it was insured decently.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Dunes can be a pretty scary place for sure.

Sounds like quite a learning experience for a first trip. Glad your mods worked out on the bike!

 

[zmotorsports]

Dayum. Hell of a first trip for him. People don't understand nor respect the sand and they surely don't realize it is a completely different surface to ride on than a solid surface such as fire roads.

We were fortunate, lucky or something else because in the 25 years that we duned we never had an accident or even injury with the group we ran with. Had a few that had issues on other trips but none in our immediate group ever had an accident, serious or minor. Although, maybe we got out in time. Glad you at least got some good seat time in Justin.

 

[rattle_snake]

2014 F250 was up for some maintenance including oil change and fuel filter service. Knocked out the oil change without making a huge mess. Chassis fuel filter is a messy job, but got the 2 filter swapped in. Didn't tighten housing enough so prime cycles introduced air into high pressure side after startup. Dooh! Resolved that and found crusty battery terminal so did service and a deep clean on both batteries. Checked the rest of the fluids. Filled out maintenance log and see that tire rotation is needed so a bit more to go.

 

[rattle_snake]

Dunes can be a pretty scary place for sure.

Sounds like quite a learning experience for a first trip. Glad your mods worked out on the bike!

Yes it was....
Happy tire shave worked , needs a touch more to handle WOT full bump/full droop situations that the dunes present at times. Other wise bike performed great again this trip.

Dayum. Hell of a first trip for him. People don't understand nor respect the sand and they surely don't realize it is a completely different surface to ride on than a solid surface such as fire roads.

We were fortunate, lucky or something else because in the 25 years that we duned we never had an accident or even injury with the group we ran with. Had a few that had issues on other trips but none in our immediate group ever had an accident, serious or minor. Although, maybe we got out in time. Glad you at least got some good seat time in Justin.

The other guys got to see the madness of multiple people driving every which way at full throttle on China. Few close calls, a bike wheelie wipe out at the top and so on.
We also went to see drags at pad 1. 2000 hp TT V8 rails wheeling at 100 mpg over the whoops. The far end is bumpy and many about loose control at high speed. Only saw chopper come in once, which is never a good thing.

 

[LXCam]

Damn shame about your trip not going all that well. Been there myself a few times with a group. And I have no doubt you were there to save the day to the best of your ability Justin, which is such a fun ****.

Please tell me your buddies don't live up my way. Yesterday when I left the office sigalert showed the 17 screwed all the way from Black Canyon up to the top. So I took the west side home which is normally a safe bet. Holy ****!, it was a **** show all the way. Oh there was the occasional here and there I was able to get around the really slow ones. But the real topper was when I ended up a dozen cars behind a returning home Glamis caravan just outside Skull Valley allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way into Prescott. Two fifth wheelers, one older motorhome and a couple trucks with open trailers, one 3/4t with a buggy and a SXS and a 1/2t with a SXS. They all turned off towards Williamson Valley.

 

[DeeDubz]

I miss going to the dunes. Wife an I would go prior to having rug rats. We had the full set up 40ft toy hauler with quads, motorcycles ect. Our family quit going so we sold all of our toys. Kids aren't into either. We had a lot of good trips but lots of horror stories of ppl getting hurt or killed. Wife was pregnant on one of our last trips we cruised into imperial sand dunes at night going to roadrunner. IT was dark I saw a bunch of blue lights on the paved road headed to camp. I thought it might be a DUI check.... Nope Chp investigating a death. Right next to the pavement about 40 ft off. Come to find out this guy was camping right next to where we were. We had mutual friends. I cant remember the gentleman's name but he was from Germany. He would go to Glamis every yr. He was riding at sun down probably pinned and hit a berm. He didnt even see it. Probably left from kids just riding in a circle in a camp. Very sad...

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I had some buddies out there this weekend; one of them let his 12yo son drive his turbo RZR and he rolled it. No injuries, but popped a bead off a rear tire, did a bunch of plastics damage, and bent the light bar tabs on the cage.

We stuck to Florence area this weekend and it was pretty busy, but not crazy.

Luckily, we didn't have to deal with Fiat's......

 

[ntsqd]

Our General Contractor for the house remodel was made a paraplegic at Dumont long before we ever met him. Haze on the crest meant he couldn't see the actual top and went WOT right over it. Those dunes are razors, he fell a long ways. Long enough for him to contemplate his future and if he was going to have one.

They were there to test an ATC that a mutual friend had built out of a Honda CBX. The mutual friend later built this:

 

[LXCam]

Well since we're on the morbid discussion trail. I know three guys that lost their lives there. Two from getting hit in the dunes and one was shot and killed after a disagreement in camp with the neighbor. We used to play there for a few years but I refused to go on a weekend, let alone a holiday weekend. It was always during a normal work week and always had a blast.

BTW, same goes for Havasu.........well unless its a guys trip then its ok

 

[rattle_snake]

OK back to scheduled programming
Made a decision and ordered a new bench seat for the '72 Ford. I considered a few options from re-foam/upholster to the existing, rebuilding a 90 style bench. Foam is expensive and to get custom upholstery locally is big bucks. I found a manufacturer online that builds all new benches for not that much more. Going with something like this minus the cup holder. 4+ month lead time.

 

[bigsteve2011]

Is that from TMI?
They look very nice.
Looked at them for once my old POS truck is finished.

 

[rattle_snake]

Snowden

Custom Bench & Bucket Seats | Chevrolet C-10 Trucks | Snowden Custom Seats

Discover the perfect custom bench and bucket seats for your Chevrolet C-10 truck at Snowden Custom Seats | Order today for exceptional quality & service!

www.snowdenseats.com

and yes they make Ford versions of the track/slider assembly.

 

[LXCam]

I don't know if this would help Justin. But a couple months back I met a premier interior guy at duckbills place who's shop is in your neck of the wood. Terry is a rockstar.

Let me know if you want his contact info.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks Cam, I already pulled the trigger. I called several local places, a few never responded. The others are super busy, which quotes and lead times reflect.
Guess I should have contacted you sooner as you have all the hook ups in the biz... I'll keep this in mind going forward appreciate you reaching out again.

 

[rattle_snake]

Got the tires rotated on the '14 Ford. Wish the lift would handle it, but can't ***** given use of it for free.
37s on 8 lug is a bit more work than the norm, but all maintenance is done and truck has no issues. A few weeks back I had Ford replace DEF sensor under recall and had a new windshield put in. So 9.5 years and 65k before a trip to dealer, why I bought a Ford

 

[rattle_snake]

Back to wiring on the '72 Ford. I don't want any aftermarket switches on the dash so I am using ash tray to house a bank of switches. Will control rock lights, digital dash, and so on. AoH press has me spoiled now.
Cut some 16ga on CNC. after some experiments I got it to cut decent.


Friction fit in the ash tray. tight fit to work around the existing items.


paint it black and put it back. Will swap out some of the switches for other types, colors.

 

[zmotorsports]

Love the ashtray switch console Justin. Much better use of the ashtray without cluttering up the dash.

 

[slodat]

Chris Snowden is a good guy. I can't make a seat and pay any bills for the price he's able to sell them for. They are nice seats and you'll love it!

If you want the switch panel laser engraved, send it and some artwork to me and I'll send it back!

 

[rattle_snake]

Chris Snowden is a good guy. I can't make a seat and pay any bills for the price he's able to sell them for. They are nice seats and you'll love it!

If you want the switch panel laser engraved, send it and some artwork to me and I'll send it back!

Thanks I will probably take you up on that offer, once I settle on configuration. Have already re-arranged the switches twice. I'll sent you a PM, appreciate it.

 

[rattle_snake]

Swapped out some of the rockers for momentary push button switches and built wire harnesses. Temporarily using 2 positions for the transmission shift up/down buttons until the steering wheel project is a reality.


Drilled a hole in the back for wiring, don't see ash filling up to where it will pour out any time soon.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Wiring looks nice and clean Justin!

 

[XJSuperman]

That is so very clean. I'll be stealing this idea in one of my rigs I think.

 

[zmotorsports]

Switch console looks great Justin.

I used a momentary toggle with return to center for my transmission up/down and it's worked out great so you're two buttons should perform in the same manner.