1994 International 4700 Conversion Begins

rossvtaylor

Adventurer
That helps immensely! Not running on, at all - I appreciate the detail. Thanks for the link and the additional photo. We like how you did that and we will be copying it, down to the same flare material. I may not have to worry about the AZ heat as much as you (you ought to come up sometime), but we also like the idea of it looking smooth. I like that diamond plate protective rail your rig's got, by the way.
 

scooter421

Adventurer
You bet, I need to remove both of the rear rails make a slight modification, weld them back up put back on. You can't see it in the pic very well but to even up the wheel well cut I had to go beyond the rail about an inch. So, that inch of the rail is closer to the tire than the well cut out for now. I don't like it but it's going to be a work in progress for a very long time! I would love to come up sometime. Come August, maybe sooner.....I will be headed up camping. I usually camp near Bear Canyon or Chevelon Lake.
 

rossvtaylor

Adventurer
I also had to cut our rails today, but they're aluminum and rubber so it was easy. I like the look of yours, even if it was harder to modify. I wish I could weld aluminum and help you out... But, if you need any steel welding done (stainless or carbon) just come on up to the cool mountains.
 

scooter421

Adventurer
Ah....the mountains. How the valley ended up getting settled is beyond me. I guess it's easier for modern capitalism but it's hard to beat northern Arizona for year round comfort. I appreciate the offer on the welding, you never know!

I see you are making progress on your ambo, awesome! Despite the heat I've been slowly playing with a few ideas on mine. Working on building up an exterior removable table (easily removed but mounted to the trucks exterior somehow) to reduce my dependence on the folding plastic type. They are great but they take up a lot of space. I am trying to free up the interior space when packing for road trips. So, an exterior table and installation of an underbelly propane tank is slowly in progress now that I have clearance to do so.
 

scooter421

Adventurer
Well, took the grocery getter out for a ride and decided to look for sunshades. To my surprise, there was nothing I could find to fit! So, rather than hide in the A/C I made some cheap ones my self. Nothing fancy, it's a roll of heat barrier which can be found at Home Depot and Lowes 2' by 10' and it was enough to do the front and both side windows. Been looking at Iron Bull bumpers here in AZ. They make some nice bumpers and I've contacted them to see whether or not they'd be willing to make one up for the truck.
shades.jpg
 
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scooter421

Adventurer
No kidding! I looked online for hours and could not find a darn thing that I was sure would fit properly! I will have to check it out, thanks OZ!

Scooter...
 

rossvtaylor

Adventurer
... installation of an underbelly propane tank is slowly in progress now that I have clearance to do so.

I'm sorry I didn't see this post until just now. Do you have a tank yet? I'd be curious to follow your progress. We planned on using regular portable bottles, to make them easy to refill. But I'm still toying with a mounted tank. If you need a bracket or mount welded up, just let me know. I'll gladly do it to steal your ideas. A win-win!
 

scooter421

Adventurer
Hi Ross, unfortunately not as far as I would like! I've been toying around with different ideas and have an excellent location to mount the tank. I would be doing a lot more if it were about 40 degrees cooler! I've done some test fitting with the standard bottles and they will physically fit great in the location I have available underneath the truck. I was reading that the standard propane tanks are not supposed to be used on their side though. Mine, will be on it's side. I've been looking at fork lift tanks and tanks made for mounting under vehicles. Trying to refill the standard bottles in place could be interesting and I don't want to have to get under the truck to remove the bottle when empty every time. Sorry, at this point I have more questions than answers!
 

rlrenz

Explorer
I had considered an underbody mounted tank, but the high price and the fairly small sizes available pointed my to a standard 20# BBQ tank - I could get them anywhere, I could buy a trade-a-tank package, whatever. As my plans evolved further, and since I have an electric water heater, I decided to go with a 1-gallon propane bottle to supply my propane cooktop (here in MN, the list of requirements for an RV license plate includes a "propane fueled cooking appliance")
 

scooter421

Adventurer
Yes, those underbody mounted units are pricey! I am getting hung up on possible DOT regulations as well. There are a few propane conversion places around the valley here and I will be contacting them to see what they say. I think a forklift tank would be a great fit for my application and they are designed to sit horizontal so I should be good. I need to make some calls before I spend the money and get it all mounted up. Do you have your 1 gallon tank horizontal or vertical?
 

rlrenz

Explorer
Any propane bottle that is designed to be portable will have to come out for filling so it can be weighed. You can buy larger propane tanks designed for permanent installation, but filling becomes a headache. Consumption isn't bad with a stove or a water heater, but a propane-fueled generator can really drain tanks fast, which is why I went with a gasoline generator. By the way - check out a Frazer Ambulance (www.frazerbilt.com). All their modules are totally powered by a 5.5 kW Onan gasoline generator - they went with gasoline due to the noise from a diesel generator.

My 1-gallon tank sits in one of the cabinets that I can access from either inside or outside the module. The propane bottle (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SKX63U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) fits nicely in a compressed gas bottle holder (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009G6FLIU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) that I bolted to one of the existing shelf supports. A short high pressure hose leads to a wall-mounted regulator, then through the compartment side wall to the cook top.
 

guidolyons

Addicted to Gear Oil
Yes, those underbody mounted units are pricey! I am getting hung up on possible DOT regulations as well. There are a few propane conversion places around the valley here and I will be contacting them to see what they say. I think a forklift tank would be a great fit for my application and they are designed to sit horizontal so I should be good. I need to make some calls before I spend the money and get it all mounted up. Do you have your 1 gallon tank horizontal or vertical?

Most forklift tanks are liquid draw/ have a suction tube to draw liquid propane to the vaporizer/mixer. Typical BBQ/RV tanks are vapor draw tanks. Liquid propane in a vapor draw system is bad ju-ju.

Some forklift tanks have a vapor port and liquid port, so make sure you are tapped into the correct port.

Propane-Tank0507.jpg
 
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Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
I went with a 30# bottle (just because of the cabinet height). I would love to be able to tell you how long it lasts but I don't have that info. Never had to fill it yet and that has been about 5-6 weeks of travel in the boonies. I do have a little 5# bottle just for the stove/bbq so I can take them further from the truck when doing a quick cookup.

A 40# bottle would fit with a squeeze in the same place but it is a bit big to comfortably carry around when using palapas etc.

But I am still interested in a mounted system if someone comes up with a good idea.
 

rlrenz

Explorer
A few years ago, you saw quite a few commercial trucks setup to run on propane with a fairly large tank mounted where the truck's normal saddle fuel tank would sit. I haven't seen any in a few years, though. Maybe they're running compressed natural gas or something else these days.

You might check with both local propane conversion companies, and also look at junk yards to see if they have any truck-mounted tanks.

Even if you find one, though - there's still the challenge of getting it filled. One bit of good news, though, is that any mounted tank will be filled by the gallon instead of by the pound, so you won't be penalized for having a partial tank filled.

That's a standard GOTTCHA when you have a tank filled at the gas station by weight - by definition, your tank is empty, even if there are still a few pounds of propane left in the tank. You may have paid for 20# of propane, but only wound up getting 15# or so.

The cheapest place I've found around here for a tank fill is Tractor Supply. Even though they fill small tanks on their scale, they sell by the gallon, so they don't penalize you for having some left in your tank.
 

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