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Air Conditioner: AIR CONDITIONER One of the first things we did to the truck was to get an Air Conditioner for it. The A/C system was also one of the most time consuming parts of the whole project. The van box is basically a big green oven. I took the front window and frame out and measured...

Cabinets and Appliances 2: I spent quite a bit of time trying to find a good deal on a 2 or 3 way rv fridge (propane & Electric). However they proved to be super expensive even for 15 year old ones. Besides the price, they require a good deal of venting and access panels to use them and are...

Cabinets and Appliances 1: I also searched for some nice used/surplus cabinets, but gave up. I found what I liked and was the best value by getting some cheaper pre-finished cabinets from Menards. They are US made and hardwood fronts, but the sides and back are MDF. They were prefinished which...

Electrical: OUTLETS For the electrical, I chose to just start from scratch. I used the thin metal outlet and switch boxes that are all surface mount, but I ran all the wires through the wall and have everything on ground fault circuits. I also added some of the outdoor outlet boxes. There is...

Interior Van Box Work: INTERIOR PAINTING Since I was using galvanized sheet metal on the interior (because of getting a screaming deal via craigslist on it) I learned you cant paint it with any oil based paints. So I cleaned the galvanized sheet metal with white vinegar to "etch" it some...

Insulation and Sheetmetal 2: SHEET METAL The walls had a lot of holes in them now from the angle iron pieces I removed that originally ran the length of the side walls for work tables I believe. There were many holes from the original electrical, and dents all over the place including the rear...

Insulation and Sheetmetal 1: After taking some of the interior panels off the van box in order to put in the sink, wiring, and roof vents; I noticed more issues which lead me to keep stripping things down. Eventually I chose to just gut the entire box. I found 2 wires running down the wire...

First Attempt Interior: This is what the interior looked like in 2011 when we used it for camping. Basically the air conditioner was added, some carpet rolled out, and a $40 futon bunk bed from craigslist was used as our couch/sleeping area. The “camper” wasn’t much fun to be in with this...

Gauge Enclosure: Here is one of the Steering Column mounted gauge enclosures I made as first posted here: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?100145-New-Gauge-mount-Enclosure-attaches-to-steering-column-W-new-EGT-amp-Boost-Gauges&p=1278514&viewfull=1#post1278514 I've really found it...

Cab 2: A few other things done this spring to the cab were modifying the spring seat into an air ride seat. Got the idea from this thread: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?106124-Reworking-Deuce-spring-seat-into-an-air-ride-seat&p=1349561&viewfull=1#post1349561 Found the parts off...

Cab 1: This spring I got around to refinishing the cab interior. I had some gauge issues before and trouble getting nice replacement gauges (NOS ones were junk so they got returned). I also wanted something more reliable than the electric senders on the pressure and temp gauges. I decided on...

MRAP wheels: Like many other folks, I was looking to put some nice wheels on my truck but didn’t have the money for the recentered HEMMTs and some of the other options out there. I had been bidding on lots of MRAP wheels out of Redstone for months and never came close to winning any. One...

Paint 2: I removed everything I could, sandblasted the smaller pieces, and masked off everything else.

Paint 1: I used about 2 gallons of Rustoleum rusty metal red primer to do the whole truck & wheels (outside). I ordered 4 gallons or RAPCO 383 Green CARC Substitute and used about 3 on the truck itself. I also ordered some cans of the 383 green spray paint for the smaller projects. I really...

Leak, Roof, and Body Repair: The truck had some repairable rust spots, some holes, and some general leaks. I wanted to stop the leaks to prevent future rust so I opted to reseal the box. I was able to buy 3 gallons of HERCULINER bed liner off of craigslist for about the cost you would pay for...

As Purchased in 2011: The truck is a 1988 Air Force M109a3 with winch and more importantly (to me) the dual circuit brake system. I believe the frame and box must have been originally made in 1972 due to the serial number and some other indications on the van box, but everything else has 1988...

Current Interior: This is our second attempt at an interior as you will see in some later posts. We have a family of 4 and needed all the room we could get. Basically the interior has a sectional couch that has a large storage area under one side plus the bed pulls out into a queen size...

Here is a massive Load of pictures I've taken since I purchased the truck a little over 2 years ago. I wasn't too interested in taking pictures along the way because it can be tough to make time to take and post them. The good news is they are all bunched together at the beginning here and you...

I'll work on a new thread dedicated to my truck build and put pics on that. Once I get it going,I'll put a link here to it.

Here are a couple pics of the a/c and related stuff (over the last 2 years). Basically I built a cover for the outside to protect it while driving mainly. It has a 24vdc linear actuator that lifts it up when we are parked to run it. Its always worked well.... however, we started taking longer...