M1010 expo build. The Mountain Turtle

[stevo-mt]

After 4 months I made it back to Montana to start working on the truck again. After sitting for that long I reconnected the battery and before the engine could make a complete turn over it fired right up! I managed to get a couple of things done before the snow started, but its starting to look like the rest of the build is going to be a bit chilly. I managed to get the cross over steering installed along with a new heavy duty power steering gear box. The 37's turn pretty easy now Quite a bit of improvement, but I lose the sway bar due to it. I guess you pick which one you want, to steer or sway a little bit. If I would of realized I wouldn't be able to utilize the sway bar I wouldn't have bought a sway bar disconnect kit. So if anyone needs one let me know. I managed to get the rear zero rate block installed and moved the back axle back an inch to center it into the rear wheel well.

I started on the rear winch mount that will be a two piece mount that fits up in between the frame rails in the rear. The rear winch will then have an additional fair lead that is directly beneath the rear stairs. Its a straight pull to where the rear fair lead will be installed. I will reinforce this area with some steel since I will be building a receiver hitch as well.

When I got back there is a giant mound of parts to install. Pretty overwhelming really. But one day at a time

For the short term goal list this week I am going to try and get the following put in:

Finish the rear winch mounting bracket
Get the rear winch prepped (change oil and gear case grease) install new 12v motor
Build and install receiver hitch
build and install swingout spare tire carrier
Install 20 gallon secondary fuel tank

Then if I get a couple nice days of good weather I am going to strip the inside of the things that don't need a new coat of paint sprayed on them and shoot a new coat of battleship grey enamel marine topcoat. I received the aluminum framed ocean hatch from Lewmar and my new RV windows from Motion windows so it a matter of cutting out the holes, spraying the paint, then installing the windows.

My solar panels showed up too. They are Global Solar PowerFLEW 90W 12V flexible solar panels. I was tempted to go other routes but these were pretty reasonable on price and made in the US, so I went with them. Look good. I'll get them installed once the ocean hatch has been installed. Many more pics to come. I finally got my good camera out and i'll try and get some better photo's of the truck.

It's good to be back working on the truck, but I will be much more excited when its done and I can get back to AK and do things like fly in my friends PA-12. But hopefully I have my pilots licence by then!

 

[stevo-mt]

Progress is starting to show. I finished the receiver hitch, forgot to get a finished picture of course, mounted the winch mounting brackets for the rear, and I am about 3/4 of the way completed on the swinging spare tire carrier. I am using bearing similar to what a stub shaft axle would use. I have a piece of 3x5x1/4" rectangular tubing that will be supporting the giant spare. The swing out portion will pivot with a 1.375" stub shaft that goes into a set of bearings that will be adapted into the 3x5" tubing. That way it will allow me to have a large stub shaft that can go through both the horizontal and the angle supports of the swinging portion. This is vs. the common kits where you just weld your square tubing onto half of a pivot point. (It will make more sense when I post some pictures of the completed carrier.)

Things are on schedule to finish up the spare tire carrier tomorrow. Then I will cut the windows out and prep the inside of the camper by Tuesday! Which is good because the snow returns Wednesday...

I am also going to have my rear drive line in the shop to get little TLC. When I lifted the truck the angles were changed so the drive line will get shortened and a cv joint will be added. (Double carden joint if you want to be technical.)

 

[stevo-mt]

The Lewmar hatch is in! I still need to make the trim for the bottom were it interfaces with the ceiling inside the camper box. I have a bug screen/ black out screen that will be installed under it. The hatch opens about 20" x 20" on the inside. I can squeeze through it if I need to so it can double as an escape hatch or something.

The swing out tire carrier is finished and painted. One block of plastic needs to be machined still that will provide an interface where the carrier will be at rest and locked in place. Hopefully tomorrow gives me a window before it decides to rain to finish the solar panel install on top. They are pretty straight forward and roll on. I want to try some plasti dip on the roof around the hatch and solar panels to add another layer of water proofing. Everything is pretty water tight as is, but I kind of like the theory of how that stuff works. I plan on painting my trailer with it, since it is camo and I'm not too keen on camo. The truck is pretty neat as far as construction goes. There are 16" on center aluminum studs everywhere with insulation that is placed between them.

 

[chilliwak]

Stevo you have really made some big progress on your rig. I like the look of the fabrication of the rear bumper. Also the new roof vent will probably keep your insid temperatures down and add some extra light. Looking good my friend. Lets keep those updates/improvements coming, even if the snow is on the way. Cheers, Chilli...

 

[stevo-mt]

I managed to get the solar panels mounted on the top of truck the other day when there was enough sun to make them stick well. I had time afterwords to tape up everything and shoot a few layers of plasti dip on the roof. I'll give that a try to see how it will hold up. It gives an additional layer of sealant at the least. Immediately after I finished painting it decided to rain. The plus side is the roof doesn't leak after I cut a big old hole and installed the hatch!

The receiver hitch is bolted on and ready to go. My M1101 trailer doesn't take a whole lot to pull, but with the installation of the receiver hitch I tied it into the pads on the back that were used to pull/tie down the truck. I'll get to try it out at the end of the month helping my friend move.

The spare tire rack is painted and installed. The only things I am waiting for on that is a 3/8" spring loaded retaining pin to show up and also tap the wholes to 9/16" NF thread to install bolts to hold the tire on. I'll have them come through like studs and then use regular lugnuts to hold on the wheel. Seems to work well though. When the retaining pin shows up I can determine the place for the holes to keep it in the swung out position, so it won't crash into the truck or door when parked at angle.

The weather wasn't very cooperative today so I worked on some of the things were needed to be done before I can paint the inside of the camper box. I cut out the old steel brackets that used to hold the oxygen bottles and equipment like that in the ambulance. That made everything square at the front of the camper where shelving, batteries, and closet will go. I also removed the passenger side of the box's back rest. It won't be needed due to the kitchen equipment being installed there.

I need to figure out a new tail light/brake light arrangement on the back now. I'm looking at a couple of different surface mount LED sets. I might just mount the stock one on the swing out tire carrier if it looks decent. I am eventually going to make some storage under the back corners of the camper box so they will need to be moved eventually anyways, so I might as tackle that sooner than later. I think there is a set that will fit on the back bottom of the truck and be protected and tucked away. I'll do some measuring and double check that they will work. I guess add it to the list...

 

[dblsprt68]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE WHAT YOU ARE BUILDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to watch this and see what else you come up with!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[stevo-mt]

I've been hopping around this week on different parts of the truck. I pulled the alternator apart and need to replace the front bearing. I will be installing a second leece neville alt. for the back batteries. I decided due to the limited room in the engine compartment that the york air compressor is going to have to get axed. I will have two alternators, one dedicated to the rear batteries and find something along the lines the the twin ARB air compressor. the small compressor I have would work, but I like to take the air out of the tires when needed. The ARB is about the fastest one out there to re-inflate them.

I got my spare mounted up on the tire rack and it seems to work pretty well.

I also fabricated the rack that goes over the cab. It will hold the little honda generator on one side and a few jerry cans on the drivers side. I'll mount that up tomorrow on the truck now that its painted and see how it goes.

Monday was pretty rainy so I started the console for the stereo and circuitry. The aluminum is all fabbed up and is ready for wiring when I get to that point.

 

[redthies]

What are you planning on powering with that rig? Solar, dual alternators, and a gen set?? You must have a hankerin' for blender drinks!

 

[stevo-mt]

The over the cab roof rack is mounted and the gen compartment is mostly complete.

I wanted to keep the rear batteries separated from the front unless needed to jump start the truck. It was easier, and significantly cheaper, to do the dual alternator setup than trying to get one high performance one that would handle charging both engine and cabin batteries. The M1010 was originally designed with a 12v/24v system and originally had two alternators. I am simply just re-installing a second back in the empty bracket. My dad had a spare 130 amp alt. on the shelf in the shop, so that is the other reason it went in. They are heavy truck alternators vs. your light truck/car size or frame. One of my toys is a Zero Electric Motorcycle, so its kind of handy to have the bigger inverter to charge it while I'm driving. The little Honda gen. isn't necessary either. It is 100% for redundancy, plus I end up doing a lot of work out in the hills/woods so I would pack a generator anyways so I might as well make a carrier for it that lets me take it in and out easy. My friend and I always have the conversation about being prepared since we both go a little overboard. It seems like when we go flying we appear that we're going camping when we are heading out only for a couple hours. I've been in the situation when I was winter camping and my battery and alternator took a dive in about -10 degrees F. The only reason I was able to get back without having to call for help is my cordless spotlight had enough power to run the fuel pump and we were able to push the truck back down the trail and get it going. Things break, that was even an expensive battery in the truck too. I figure if I get stuck or breakdown or run out of fuel in the middle of winter I'll be able to stay warm one way or another. The gen set can also charge batteries or run the engine block heater, which is really why I feel the urge to bring it. I sometimes don't have good luck when I park my vehicles for a few days to go hiking and go to start them.

I could pretty well easily live without solar panels on top, but they don't weight much and provide enough power to keep my fridge going without any issue. The other benefit is when my truck is parked for 5 months without me touching it the batteries should be in good shape when I get back. Plus when I go to build my cabin it will be nice!

 

[redthies]

Darn, I was hoping for Margaritas! The Zero bike is a cool idea, and obviously the whole build is well thought out. Your fab work looks great too.

 

[Hootowl]

i want one... stupid rules saying us Canucks can't import vehicles from south of our border.

Not accurate but you may not be able to import the vehicle you want. First, search out the CA regulations on this and if it appears to be a possibility for your chosen vehicle, follow up with a visit to a CA customs office. You will likely find one at your local airport. I found some procedural steps were required that were not documented in the regs. Fees for me were trivial and no duty on import but would have been a hefty tax if I had sold my Xterra while in Ontario.

 

[Hootowl]

The Lewmar hatch is in! I still need to make the trim for the bottom were it interfaces with the ceiling inside the camper box. I have a bug screen/ black out screen that will be installed under it. The hatch opens about 20" x 20" on the inside. I can squeeze through it if I need to so it can double as an escape hatch or something.
m.[/QUOTE]

You could find it usefull to rig up a removable insulation plug to slip fit into the interior side of the roof hatch. Naked, the hatch is going to be a big heat loss in the winter and if you go the opposite with some hot country in the summer will add lots of heat. This will just add a little trimming to the temperature management. Think about how even the thin stuff of a moon roof sun shade dampens out some extremes.

Kudos for using marine grade gear in key places. It's far superior to lots of automobile and RV grade gear.

 

[E.Roy]

I like the design of the swing away spare tire mount, nice work

 

[stevo-mt]

I have been working on some more of the types of things to keep the truck drivable lately. I was planning on putting a CV joint in the rear drive line since I moved the axle back an inch, but that didn't work out. The driveshaft is too long and with the slip yoke it wasn't going to work well. So I ended up moving the axle back an inch forward to its original position. The tire sits about 3/4" forward in the wheel well and you cant even tell unless you are looking forward, but redoing work bug's me terrible! While I had the drive shaft out I put new grease-able u joints in and cleaned everything up. The transfer case and the transmission oil's were changed as well. I had the best weather day for a long time today, but unfortunately I spent 6 hours trying to change the oil. The filter was stuck on so bad I had to air chisel it off. Every trick I knew couldn't get the thing off so I took a cutting tool and cut the darn thing off! Doing that I boogered up the threads on the oil filter connecter, so thats on the overnight mail to my house to get it back up and running. Just a good reminder to change your oil yourself, and to oil the O-ring! Everything else is looking good and in pretty mint condition. The only thing is much of the parts with old rubber goods are tired and need updated or replaced. Mainly due to age vs. use. My u joints were in great shape, but just dry on grease. I know if I put too many miles on them something would happen. So I am just taking care of that stuff now.

On the Lewmar hatch, I used to do that trick when I was living in my toy hauler while I was onsite at work. I cut out a piece of foam board insulation and just stuffed it up in the windows during the winter and it worked pretty well. Saved on heating for sure. I have a screen that provides the trim for the hatch. It has a bug net or white curtain type thing that closes to black out the window. I think that the screen will keep a lot of the heat in during the winter by minimizing the airflow in the area near the window.

When I put the spare tire carrier on I knew I was going to have to figure out a new tail light system. I ended up finding some nice LED tail lights that I cut into the steel on the back bumper. They turned out pretty good and are really bright. While I was at it I installed a Rigid Tech. LED back up light also. I could have done a pair, but one is pretty bright on its own. The licence plate light is an LED, but I know the plastic mounting hardware will not hold up. I am going to fab a piece out of aluminum to toughen it up.



I have been bouncing around. I am working on some of the electronics and the console before I take the truck on a trip somewhere around the 1st of Nov. I wanted to have my stereo ready, so I figured I would wire up the center console and get that mocked up and prepped out. There was a steel mounting bracket that the truck used to have radio's mounted. I am using that as a base for my stereo and wiring. I put some usb chargers and switches for the various gadgets for the truck. The air comp, locker, dome lights, etc. will have aircraft switches to operate them. I also have a breaker panel it to help save on switch space and circuit protection. It eliminates a little wiring.

It seems like things are taking longer than they should for the truck. I have hit several snags along the way, but just keep working through them. I try to take a page out of the Henry Ford book. Whatever materials I have on hand is what I design the truck around. I buy the critical components, but most things just kind of come together depending on what raw materials that are on hand. I am building a set of steps that will be electric. Totally a luxury item, but it's tough for folks like my dad or someone to climb into the truck to get up that high. So I am going to try and end up with something like the rock slide engineering guys have, but with the caveat that it is made of something else that my dad has laying around his shop.

Fun stuff as always.

 

[ersatzknarf]

Hi Stevo,

Thank you very much for sharing this.
What a great project ! ! !

Please can you tell us about the solar panels ?
I did a search of the thread, but could not find anything...

Thanks !

View attachment 190758

I managed to get the solar panels mounted on the top of truck the other day when there was enough sun to make them stick well.