IH 1969 Loadstar 1700 Shop Truck Build

[AirheadNut]

Got a bit of work done modifying the generator mount for the new generator. Because this one has a built in fuel tank it has to be able to slide out enough to refill. I went through a lot of options in my head before settling on the most basic solution: weld a pair of angle iron tracks on the bottom of the fixed frame and have the generator mount frame slide on them. Has been too hot during the day to do much welding, I had to wait for night when it cooled off a bit.

Once I have the generator mounted I can work on building a mount for the AC unit, the truck should be pretty nice to work in then.

 

[AirheadNut]

A couple of daylight photos of the mount. I need to get some angle iron to mount the generator to the sliding frame and then install some pins to prevent the frame from sliding out.

 

[AirheadNut]

Since I was waiting on materials to finish the generator mount I shifted to the AC mount this evening. The frame will be covered with sheet metal on the outside, then fastened with the bolts that held the original refrigeration unit into the front of the box. Foam insulation board will go on the inside around the AC unit.

 

[AirheadNut]

Haven't done much to the truck other than work out of it lately. Got the second string of 12v LED lights stuck to the ceiling, just need to finish up the wiring and add a switch by the door. That should get done in conjunction with the rest of the low voltage house battery stuff, hopefully I'll get working on it soon but it seems like there is always something more urgent to fix.

The little crane on the rear step has proven to be an excellent addition. The "temporary solution" ratchet strap support is still being pressed into service for heavier loads until I can finish a mount plate on the wall.

Spent this evening wrapping up the generator mount. I welded pieces of angle along the front and back of the generator frame to create a bracket that the generator can rest on. Two bolts hold it to the sliding frame. The whole unit slides in and out easier than I expected and feels quite solid.

Plenty of travel to access the fuel cap.

 

[AirheadNut]

Now that the days are getting shorter and I am spending more time working in the dark I decided it was time for some exterior lighting. Stopped by Harbor Freight today and found some 12v LED flood lights for $10.99 each so I grabbed a pair to mount on the back of the truck. Luckily the way the box is constructed there is a row of 3/8" bolts fastening the rear corner extrusions together, I was able to simply remove one of these on each side and replace them with the M8 bolts provided with the lights. I didn't have the correct terminals for the plugs on the lights, so I just cut them off and replaced them with some waterproof 2-pin connectors I had lying around. Still undecided on how to route the wiring and where to put a switch, but I temporarily hooked them up to a battery. Quite pleased with the outcome, but I can see myself getting a couple more long term. Can't have too much light when working outside at night!

 

[Mike NXP]

Sick ...wont lie, I have now added "box truck" to my daily craigslist'ing ...lol although I dont think im crazy enough to follow through with it....awesome to see how good this setup is looking and working out for you

 

[AirheadNut]

Sick ...wont lie, I have now added "box truck" to my daily craigslist'ing ...lol although I dont think im crazy enough to follow through with it....awesome to see how good this setup is looking and working out for you

Daily craigslist'ing, now that sounds familiar! The main struggle I have with this setup is that I can't seem to get enough time away from fixing my other vehicles to finish all the projects on the truck.

 

[AirheadNut]

A little more work this evening, finally starting to get the battery system put together. Mounted the inverter/charger and made up some 2AWG cables to hook it up to the batteries. I emailed the manufacturer to see if I can get a user manual to make sure I get the settings right for the type of battery I have.

The OSB panel will house a couple of busbars and a fuse/relay panel to run the lights, heater and whatever other 12V accessories I come up with.

A while back a coworker gave me some leftover shelf brackets, they were the perfect fit for bracing up the storage shelves. The 2x3's were a little on the light side for the amount of weight I put in those blue bins, the brackets significantly stiffened up the shelves.

 

[AirheadNut]

I've been chipping away at getting the rest of the electrical system put together. The main priority was to finish installing the AC side of the inverter/charger for the battery bank. This consists of a 10/2 wire from the generator to a kill switch, then to the charge input of the unit. The kill switch allows me to shut off the battery charge function while keeping the unit powered on so that I can divert generator power to the welder outlet as needed.

The AC output from the inverter goes to a single outlet, which powers an outlet strip mounted under the front edge of the workbench.

Got it all wired up this evening and powered everything on. Fortunately it all seems to work as intended, the remote monitor is super handy for keeping tabs on the state of the system.

 

[AirheadNut]

Finally got my diesel heater installed, it is super nice to have some warmth inside now that it is getting colder outside again. Planning to eventually semi-enclose it under the bench, but it works well enough as is for now.

 

[AirheadNut]

Helped @2gbFlashDrive build a fan shroud the other evening, had trouble getting my finger brake to turn out consistently crisp bends. I had a closer look at it last night and discovered that the parts I thought were for backstop guide rods were actually stops to adjust the depth of the fingers, varying the bend radius and compensating for material thickness. I got a little carried away and tore a bunch of parts off, cleaned them and put it all back together. The brake is missing quite a few little bits, I'm hoping to piece them together over time.

These are the parts for the stops, missing both adjustment screws and one shoulder screw and spring.

I dug out a couple of generic 5/16 bolts that will do for now, but I'm assuming the originals were probably knurled knobs.

At some point I'd like to take the whole thing apart, clean it and repaint it, but that will have to wait.

 

[AirheadNut]

Yesterday I fired up the generator to charge up the battery bank in the truck. It ran great, but the inverter/charger kept switching on and off. I checked input voltage and found that the generator was only putting out ~38VAC on the 120 circuits and ~76VAC on the 240 circuit. I found a diagnostic manual for a very similar model of generator and did some tests. Everything seems to check out inside the "alternator" portion of the generator, I haven't checked voltage output at the stator yet, but everything seems to point to the AVR (automatic voltage regulator) being the culprit. I found a cheap one on Amazon and ordered it, hopefully that solves the problem. Pretty tired of dealing with non-working generators!

 

[AirheadNut]

Popped the new AVR into the generator this afternoon, fired it up and it made 225VAC. There is a tiny voltage adjustment screw on the back of the voltage regulator, a couple of turns had it sitting steadily at 240VAC. I ran the generator for over an hour to get some charge back into the batteries, so far it seems to be working quite well. I'll probably go back and bump the voltage up a little more to about 250VAC under no load, that will net 125VAC on the charger input and outlets, and my welders won't mind running on 250 either.

 

[AirheadNut]

Well, after about 4-5 hours of runtime my new AVR in the generator quit, this time pumping out 177VAC on each leg. Luckily the charger has over voltage protection, so no damage was done. Did some more research and ended up buying an OEM Generac AVR, hopefully that will solve the problem.

 

[AirheadNut]

Got the OEM voltage regulator installed on the generator about a week ago, have probably 4-5 hours runtime on it and so far it's been just fine. I've mostly been working on getting the new donor engine for the LandCruiser put together, which has taken up most of the free space inside the truck. It has also put a limit on what else I can do inside since I don't want to create any dust or grit that will get inside the open engine. WIth the cylinder head reinstalled I could close it up a little bit, still waiting on lifters and cam bearings before I can button up the top end.

Spent an afternoon cleaning up and strapping things down and then fired up the trusty SV345 to move the truck to a different parking spot. It runs pretty good apart from a tendency to bog on initial throttle. I think the electrical issues are causing a few of the gauges to misbehave, the oil pressure (which was great the last time I had the truck out on the road), now barely moves past 20psi, even when cold. I'm tempted to snag a cheap oil pressure gauge to stick on just to make sure.

Found a third, smaller filing cabinet to use for storage until I can get around to building some fitted drawers under the workbench.

 

[AirheadNut]

Spent the evening adding some more lighting. So far only the front half of the box had lights, I would either work with the door open or use a rechargeable work light in the back half of the truck. Two LED fixtures on each side of the door tracks made a huge difference, and having the switch next to the door instead of at the front wall by the bench is really handy, too.

I’m using a knockoff Carling Contura style switch, I need to find some kind of surface mount enclosure for a pair of them next to the door. The second switch will be for the exterior work lights.

 

[AirheadNut]

Picked up some steel tubing the other day to build shelves above the workbench.

Broke out the metal chop saw and cut out parts for the frame, then broke out the TIG welder and got some practice. Really liking the Fireball fixture plates.

Discovered that the load rails have the perfect size holes to store the 3/4" tooling for the fixture plates.

 

[AirheadNut]

A bit more progress on the shelves this afternoon, and then the generator ran out of gas which put an end to the welding.

 

[AirheadNut]

Finally got the shelves finished up and installed, just need to figure out a way to retain all the stuff when I drive the truck.

Managed to clear out an entire filing cabinet of stuff onto the shelves, will be nice to free up space under the bench.

 

[BILT4ME]

Finally got the shelves finished up and installed, just need to figure out a way to retain all the stuff when I drive the truck.
View attachment 4111483

Managed to clear out an entire filing cabinet of stuff onto the shelves, will be nice to free up space under the bench.

The guy that outfits our jobsite trailers basically installs all the shelves upside down so there is a lip that keeps thing from sliding off.
Some have mesh doors that lock, depending on who needs to be in them.
He has also standardized on containers.

For example all your hardware in smaller containers would live together in one larger tub, but in their separate containers in the tub.

Then he uses tubs and bungee cords to hold them in.

I thought I had a couple pics to share, but cannot find them.

You could weld a 1" tall 12 ga "kick plate" on the outside of the sq tube with it above shelf level so you must lift every box up 1" before pulling it out. Then weld chain links on edge every 12" along the face so you can make "X"s with bungee cords in front of every box.

Look inside campers and travel trailers at how everything has a latch, door, or hook so everything stays attached, so during travel, it reduces the chance of things launching out of their designated areas.

We have hooks on the wall that hang welding cables, drop cords, safety harnesses. Some of these stick out 12" with a 3" turn up on the end so they may swing, but not fall off.