Saga of the Truck - Chapter 7

 

Whoop there it is!

And just like that, it's done.  Even the owner of the conversion shop was surprised at how quickly things came together.  There were no uh-oh's, unplanned delays (when was the last time something didn't happen to slow a project you were working on), labor shortages, nothing.  It just all went great.

How about a tour? (you can click on any picture to see them full-screen)

Lots of storage compartments.  A couple are already spoken for, the Honda 2200 generator is going in the large front compartment on the driver's side.  It did work out that both the fuel door and the DEF door (the two round, chrome doors) are on the same side.  A nice touch is the chrome edge protector to keep the flying rocks from chipping the paint.

Storage space is repeated on the passenger side.  The horizontal compartment above the rear wheel is going to be for my specialty tools like the torque wrench and Fluke multi-meter to name a couple.

Also, not real clear, but full-length running boards (required by and chosen by Cyndee).  These are built in a way to keep rocks and debris that the front mudflaps don't catch from dinging up the rocker panels.

Here you can get a peek at the 60 gallon auxiliary fuel tank and 5th wheel hitch with air bags.  Also, first time seeing the itty-bitty tailgate and bumper installed since being selectively coated with bed liner.  Under the square panel in the center of the bumper is access to a class V hitch receiver.  That puppy is rated for trailers weighing up to 12,000 lbs.

Speaking of hitches, this is what I chose to replace my current hitch.  It has the Binkley head, which I love, and is articulated by riding on airbags.  This model comes from the factory with two air bags and rated for king pin weights up to 5,000 lbs, which is what my current hitch is rated for.  My king pin weight just happens to be 5,000 lbs so I have been operating at 100% capacity all these years.  Not a good place to be but that was the best I could do when the original purchase was made.  This hitch from TrailerSaver however had an option.  A third air bag could be added and it would raise the king pin rating to 7,500 lbs.  And that is exactly what I did.  I don't expect to be bottoming this hitch out every time I hit the uneven pavement to cross a bridge.

Down inside the bed is a service light and one of two trailer power point connections.  There is another one on the back, just above the bumper.  No matter how your trailer wiring works out there is a convenient power plug to use.

And now for the tiara, aka headache rack.  There is a lot going on here.  We have brake lights, turn signals and backup lights that come standard.  Then there is the "large can" camera (the black box, top, center).  It will provide a full bed view and beyond all displayed on the truck's (huge) factory installed display.  I'll be able to see the hitch when hooking up now.  And finally, the two service lights mounted just below the brake lights.  Not sure how these are switched.  Hope they used one of the built-in upfitter switches.

The use of the auxiliary fuel tank is not fully automatic.  One has to turn on the fuel pump to move fuel from the auxiliary tank to the main tank.  I'm waiting to get my hands on the operator's manual to understand if it manages itself from there or if I have to manually shut it off when the main tank becomes full.

Like I said in one of my first posts upon acquiring this truck, this thing is like a spaceship on the inside compared to my 2006 truck.  As best I can tell, they did an aftermarket add of the TransferFlow controller and the Keldermann air ride controller.  So maybe all the auxiliary lights are integrated into the factory switches.

So that's it until I bring it home.  My son has graciously agreed to make the road trip with me, relieving Cyndee of an uninteresting drive.  Just when that is going to happen is not well defined, somewhere around the middle of June if all continues to go well.

Saga of the Truck - Chapter 6

Things are happening, fast!

What I was told would be weeks of work has seemingly gotten well underway in just days.  My last post saw the truck just arriving in Valparaiso from the body shop in Elkhart, ready to be fitted with auxiliary equipment.  The question was whether or not all the parts had arrived.  Apparently they have.

60 gallon auxiliary fuel tank, fuel pump, electronic controls
and wiring.

Tiara add-ons - Rear View camera, service lights, control modules,
cameral wiring harness to attach to in-dash display.

Bedliner sprayed onto top of bumper.  No scratching of paint 
when you use the bumper as a step into the bed.

Fuel tank and hitch mounting rails fitted to freshly sprayed
bed liner.

The folks at Classy Chassis didn't fool around, if they had parts to work with they got on it.  And with this amount of progress I had to make a call and ask if the completion date of late August was still the target.  Happily the answer came back "no".  We are now looking at the end of June.  Fine by me.  Now I just have to step up my game on finding a buyer for my existing truck.

There was no way I was going to part with my 2006 F550 until I had a truck in hand to replace it.  So up until now the things I need to do to get it ready to sell have been way in the back of my mind.  Time to move that thinking forward.

Saga of the Truck - Chapter 5

 Progress!  And sooner than expected.

The moving of Quasimodo from the conversion shop in Valparaiso to the body shop in Elkhart happened as planned.  It was expected that at least three weeks would elapse before the next sign of any progress in the build.  However progress was seen in days instead.

 

Evidently the body shop had started fabricating the tow body in advance of the arrival of the truck.  The all-aluminum construction looks pretty rough in this stage but it undergoes a major transformation and refinement as progress continues.

The tiara (also called headache rack) is also well on its way.  There is still lots of work left to do but at least it is just a matter of doing it and not waiting for weeks on end for backorders to be filled.

Once fabrication is complete then all these bare metal parts will be prepped, primed and painted to match the cab of the truck.

And that happened pretty quickly.  The next thing I knew there were photographs posted on the Classy Chassis Facebook page showing a shiny, deep red tow body ready for fitting to Quasimodo.  It's getting real folks.

Another ten days or so go by and then again, sooner than expected, Quasimodo is back at the conversion shop in Valparaiso.

A peek at what the almost finished job looks like.

I'm really going to have to come up with a new name for the truck, and soon.  Quasimodo is no more, it's a full fledged truck now.  All that's needed are some finishing touches.  However these finishing touches entail a lot of work, patience is still the order of the day.

The patience needed though is not for want of work getting done.  The finishing process started almost immediately upon return to the conversion shop.  There is a ton of wiring and fitting of bolt-on equipment to be done and it has to be done in a choreographed manner.  Hitch rails, lights, camera, service lights all have to be located and drilled, dry assembled and then taken all apart so that the bedliner can be sprayed in.  This assemble, disassemble, reassemble process happens about three times before it is all said and done.

Quasimodo moved indoors almost immediately.
Tiara and factory installed running boards removed.

New hitch arrived just in time.
Similar design to the one in Big Gulp but beefier with higher load capacity.

Hitch being fitted.
Tailgate and bumper removed and rear panel taped off for
spraying in the bed liner.

Quasimodo moved to the spray booth and getting final masking
put in place.

Rear bumper and tailgate in spray booth and masked off 
for having bedliner sprayed on some selective surfaces.

Patience has been easier for me to come by with Classy Chassis' posting of these progress photos.  Still saying August for a completion date though.  I think they are setting expectations to exceed them.  Customers love that (the exceeding part).  I know I do.