bobbing mah deuce

[jesusgatos]

Decided to swap my M109 motorhome box over onto an M939 series 5-ton, so mah deuce is getting bobbed. Plan is to set the wheelbase somewhere right around 12ft, and use an M103A3 bed, cut down to 8ft, with a 5-ton-style spare tire rack between the cab and the bed. Also going to cut-up an M101A3 bed, basically removing the floor, then set that on top of the M103A3 bed. But the bedsides will be removable, as I'd also like to be able to install a 5th wheel plate and I've got a few questions about that.

First, I've taken a bunch of dimensions from the 5th wheel plate and mounting setup an M931A2, and I'm wondering if the 2.5-ton and 5-ton trucks use the same 5th wheel parts. Are the 5-ton parts bigger/heavier? If that's the case, might want to get 2.5-ton parts, as I won't be pulling any super-heavy loads with a bobbed multifuel deuce.

Also wondering about the wheelwells on the M108" 3A3 bed, and whether they might be a problem. The wheelwells are 13" tall, and the 5-ton 5th wheel plate trailer coupling surface sits about 12 5/8" above the framerails. The stock M101A3 trailer bedsides are 18" tall, but like I said, those will be removable, so they're not really factor as far as 5th wheel clearance/interference is concerned.

The 5-ton 5th wheel plate is mounted about 4 1/8" in front of the bogey, and I've read that 2-4 inches in front of the rear axle is what's generally recommended. Figure I ought to go further forward than back, in order to distribute weight more evenly between the front/back axles, since there will only be a single rear axle. Any advice?

 

[jesusgatos]

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, the M101 bed is a bit narrower than the M103 bed, so instead of centering it, going to put it all the way over to the driver's side, which will leave me with almost a whole foot of the M103 bed exposed on the passenger's side of the truck.

 

[Jeeperjoe]

What's the purpose of having the bed off center?

 

[sigo]

This is big news. Haven't you been working on yur deuce for awhile? Seems like I've read about your very meticulous planning and exceptional fabrications for quite some time. Why the change to a 5 ton?

 

[jesusgatos]

What's the purpose of having the bed off center?

Because having just a few inches of the M103 bed sticking out on either side wouldn't be very useful, but if I offset the bed, I can mount fuel cans and all kinds of things on the other side that I'd rather not store 'inside'. Maybe even an auto-crane, but at the very least, a towbar davit-crane.

Oh, forgot to mention that I've got one of these hardtops that will be installed on top of the M101 bed sometimes. Also thinking about picking up an S250 shelter that I could put in the bed, which is another reason why I want to make the M101 bedsides removable, just to make everything as modular/versatile as possible.

This is big news. Haven't you been working on yur deuce for awhile? Seems like I've read about your very meticulous planning and exceptional fabrications for quite some time. Why the change to a 5 ton?

Yeah, almost 5yrs! Was just thinking about what I was going to end up with and decided that a 5-ton would make a better platform for the motorhome. Nothing is going to waste though, except that I'll probably end up selling the custom wheels I built with the 11.00 T831's so I can stuff some bigger tires under it. Now that it's not going to be carrying everything I own, it's likely to get driven a lot more and used a little bit harder, so I'm eliminating the fuel tanks and storage boxes and everything that hangs down below the framerails, and will be making a bunch of other modifications to make it more capable off-road.

 

[Another Ahab]

Decided to swap my M109 motorhome box over onto an M939 series 5-ton, so mah deuce is getting bobbed.
Any advice?

No technical advice to offer, but I do want to cheer you on. It's tough sometimes to get a project launched, but I applaud you for stepping out.

I like what Mark Twain said once:

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do, than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Let us know how it all shakes out. Go for it, Brother!

 

[peashooter]

Wow, that is big news. I started reading your build thread before I even bought my 109 and converted it. I know both your trucks will turn out great but I had been looking forward to the final mah deuce camper.... It's sort of like having one of your favorite tv shows cancelled after 5 years I'm sure the 2 new trucks will soon make up for the loss of mah deuce though.

 

[LowTech]

Wow, that is big news. I had been looking forward to the final mah deuce camper.... It's sort of like having one of your favorite tv shows cancelled after 5 years

I've been waiting for you to get that rig out there so that we could do some trips together, . . . and make fun of you for how long it was taking
It'll be interesting to see how much you over-engineer this one opcorn:

 

[jesusgatos]

I know I know. But it's not building the motorhome that's taking so long. It's everything else that's been going on in my life. Have been putting most of my time/money into a new business that I'm helping my brothers get started (GatosBros), and there are always other projects. Too many projects. One of the most appealing things about the 5-ton is the fact that it's done. Just plop my camper on the back and go. Finished all the bodywork on the M109 box last week and it's getting painted right now. Almost everything inside the box has been done for a while. Just need to take it over to my buddy's place so he can help me finish-up the electrical stuff, and I've still gotta do the plumbing. The deuce is almost done too. Not gonna get too crazy with it right now. Have to install the hydro steering and hydraulic plumbing and I'm just gonna throw some leafsprings under the rear axle for now, so that's no big deal. Having an open bed also means I don't need to build a rollcage inside the cab, which is nice. Spending more time thinking about how I wanna build it than I'll probably spend working on it.

LowTech, did you see that I cut the cabover rack off? Wouldn't work with the 5-ton, so had to go. Was able to remove it so that it's reusable though, if someone wanted to mount it on another M109 box. You want it?

 

[LowTech]

Thanks, but no. The one on the She Beast keeps evolving, and I'm going to cage mine plus some kind of sleeper.
Did you cut it, or did you remove it from the lift points?

With all that speeded up it seems like you could be out and about next year. But now you'll have to pay to feed your Mech

 

[jesusgatos]

Yeah, based on how things have been going, that sounds about right. Will be able to start using the motorhome much sooner though, even though it won't be 'finished'. Cut the front part of the cabover rack off, kept the tubes around the top of the box. That's gonna be the foundation for the party platform, solar panel mounts, etc. Not too concerned about fueling the 5-ton. Won't be driving it enough that it'll be a deal-breaker, and the 8.3L is awfully similar to the 5.9L, which tolerates alternative fuels pretty well. Only thing I'm really giving up is the ability to burn gasoline, which isn't what really appealed to me about the multifuel anyway.

 

[jesusgatos]

Purchased an M1031 to build this truck. The aluminum utility box is getting installed on the M101A3 trailer chassis that I'm pulling the bed and hardtop off to use on the deuce, and wanna install the 12KW PTO generator on the deuce too. Already have a transfer-case PTO unit, and I can put the generator between the framerails right behind the cab, under the bed, but would rather mount it above the framerails next to the spare tire. Thing is, it would have to be turned 90-degrees to fit. Have done a little bit of searching and see that there are a few diff/erent types of 90-degree PTO power-transfers chingaderas available. Can anyone tell me more about them, and which ones, if any, I ought to look for/avoid, and how much I should expect to have to spend on something like that?

 

[jesusgatos]

After taking some measurements, any way I try to drive this generator mechanically is going to be tricky. Easiest way to handle this might be to just use the PTO to drive a hydraulic pump, which I wanted to install anyway, and then drive the generator with that?

 

[jesusgatos]

So this is where I'm at. Just a very rough conceptual model of how I'm thinking about putting things together. Frame shortened 23". Wheelbase set at 144". Sketch lines around the tires approximate 43/46/49" tall tires (has 43" tires on it right now). Will probably end up putting 46" tires on it, mostly for gearing and the additional payload capacity. Only reason to consider putting 49's on it would be to run the same wheels/tires as the 5-tons, and don't think that's worth it (each wheel/tire weighs 500lbs). Rollcage behind the cab, mounted directly to the frame. Rocker panel guards tied into the rollcage and extend forward, following the lines of the cab. Nothing mounted below the rocker panel guards, with spare tire carried within the rollcage on the driver's side and 50-60 gallon fuel cell on the passenger's side. Front fenders trimmed so as not to extend down below the cab, possibly even trimmed more aggressively for additional tire clearance. M103A3 1/4" steel plate trailer flatbed deck cut down to 8ft long, mounted right on top of the framerails. 5th wheel plate mounts through the bed, directly to the frame with appropriate bracing. Modified M101A3 bedsides, made to be removable, and mounted to the the M103A3 flatbed using stakeside pockets, with the whole M101A3 bed offset all the way over to the driver's side of the M103A3 bed. Dashed sketch lines approximate the dimensions of the M101A3 hardtop, and the grey box represents the dimensions of the S250 shelter. The box below/between the framerails is where I am thinking it might be easiest to mount the PTO-driven generator, driven by pulleys off a driveshaft mounted to the transfercase-mounted PTO, which might pass all the way through the generator box and drive a hydraulic pump directly off the back of the shaft (outside the box).

 

[jesusgatos]

Took some measurements off my M103A3 trailer while I was over at the Section 8 storage yard. Going to modify the 1/4" steel flatbed and put that on the deuce after I bob it, so took some measurements to see how that would add-up (it doesn't). The outboard trailer spring-hangers tuck the leafsprings up next to the framerails, which would cause the rearend to sit several inches too low. Looks like a lot of people are just cutting-up the trailer frames and mounting them under the deuce frames, but I don't want to do that. The outboard springs would also force me to mount the shocks inside the framerails, and would prefer to mount the shocks out as close to the wheels as possible. Think I'll just buy another set of front leafsprings and hangers. See how that works out. Will almost certainly end up linking/bagging it eventually, but would also like to get it back on the road sooner than later.

 

[jesusgatos]

We also went and picked up this S250 shelter, which we bought primarily to turn into a mini-camper and take down to South America in back of Blackmore's chevy, but it will also fit perfectly in the back of the deuce. So the deuce will still be used as a motorhome from time to time. Anyway, Robo-Boogie and I drove out to Mike's place in Winters to pick-up the S250 shelter and we used his wrecker to load it. Mike's a real enthusiast and he's in the middle of restoring that wrecker. The deuce and a half behind it that he rebuilt suggests it'll be done right too. Mike wasn't planning on selling this shelter, but when he heard that we were looking to find something to turn into a mini-camper to put in the back of Blackmore's truck and take down to South America, he offered-up this one. Gave us a great deal too, and it's in fantastic condition. Thanks again Mike.

View attachment 465931View attachment 465938View attachment 465939View attachment 465940View attachment 465932View attachment 465933View attachment 465934

 

[jesusgatos]

Had to remove the M101A3 bed and hardtop so I could install the M1031 utility box on the trailer chassis. Planning on cutting-up this bed up to make make removable bedsides to that will fit on top of the M103A3 bed that's going to be mounted on the back of the deuce. Make sense? No? Swapping so many things around right now it confuses me too. But the idea is that these removable bedsides will turn the M103A3 flatbed into an 8ft pickup bed, and then I'll have the option to install this hardtop, which will give me a nice enclosed space to haul my dogs, dirtbikes, etc. Imagine that's going to be the most useful configuration, and will probably be how the bed it set-up most of the time. Haven't made-up my mind yet, but have a while to think about it. For now, it's sitting on blocks, off to the side of the fab slab. Serves a nice windbreak, and makes a great place to store all the deuce parts I've been stockpiling.

 

[ivbeenrokd]

Looks like you've been busy. Keep it up!

 

[Another Ahab]

So this is where I'm at. Just a very rough conceptual model of how I'm thinking about putting things together.

View attachment 465925

And with the hoops backboard folding in behind the cab, you'll be all set for instant recreation anywhere you roll!