Allison M916 + Mk48 Cab = 6x6 "FEMTT"

[ghettoct]

wow... great work! loved reading this thread today! you sir have mad skills. reminds me of the saying ....if there is a will there is a way. you should be proud.

 

[M920]

It would be cool Soni to have ALL the pictures of your various builds in one place. You do some amazing and inspiring work with very little help. AND OUTSIDE! Lol thanks again for sharing with the rest of us.

Thanks again everybody for all the very flattering compliments! You guys sure have a way to make a fellow MVer feel better, when things are not quite going the way he would like them to be going...... Thank you all a bunch!

Oh, and I will see if I can round up any pics of some my past projects......

Soni

 

[R Racing]

I think we all live vicariously thru you Soni lol.

 

[M920]

Operation "DUMBO EARS"......

So after having had a chance to 'work' the FEMTT on the mountains for some months, my biggest complaint was that the rear view mirrors were hitting everywhere on the trails. I was annoyed by the fact, that whenever the passenger side mirror got pushed in by a tree or some heavy brush, it left my right side totally 'blind' until such time that I could stop and rectify the situation. I thought that this was just unavoidable when driving a wide truck on a narrow trail and therefore did not think much more about it.

Until the other day, when I looked at an old photo of a cabover Peterbuilt and realized, that there was no need at all for the big protruding "DUMBO EARS" looking rearview mirrors on the FEMTT!

So I took some extra HEMTT mirror brackets that I had and cut 8" out of the top and bottom leg.
This turned out to have several exciting advantages:

-Reduction of the FEMMT's overall width by 16".....a big deal on narrow overgrown trails!

-The short mirror brackets practically eliminated any vibration in the mirror heads, thus making it much easier to see.

-Due to the fact that the mirror heads are closer to the driver, the field of view is expanded substantially.

-With less leverage on the shorter brackets, it takes more brush to fold the mirrors back.

I got to test the new setup in action today and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!
I'm really not sure why the MK48 and the HEMTT have such long mirror brackets.....

Here are a few pics:

 

[Tinwoodsman]

How they say???? Problem Solved. Great job and eliminating the vibration is a real plus.

 

[grendel]

Why not go with cameras and a screen?

 

[maddawg308]

The HEMTT and PLS series trucks are LONG and often tow trailers. Perhaps the reason they have the wide west coast mirrors, is to allow the driver to see wide around the back around when towing, much like you see with pickups that are towing horse trailers, etc. I agree, though, a narrower mirror would be better for your application, Soni.

Great work, once again!

 

[Hoefler]

The MK48 is a strange beast when backing up. Given its articulation, the rear of the vehicle goes out of sight quickly. Perhaps thats why the big brackets.
They do stick way out. I have broken the small spotter mirror because it sticks so far out and hangs up on everything.
Pete

 

[patracy]

The small round mirror on my passenger side simply fell out last summer when I was parking it once.

Hurray for the lowest bidder.....

 

[Shark Bait]

I've considered the shorter lentgh on my HET. I don't plan on adding a trailer anytime soon and the narrower back roads here have them continuously being beat by limbs. I had not thought of using a spare set and cutting them down.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[grendel]

For the record, I'd be interested in one, turn key.

 

[M920]

I've considered the shorter lentgh on my HET. I don't plan on adding a trailer anytime soon and the narrower back roads here have them continuously being beat by limbs. I had not thought of using a spare set and cutting them down.

Thanks,
Dave

Funny You say that.....I was going to tackle the HET mirrors next! I actually have hit a traffic sign in Santa Fe with my right mirror!
The lanes there on St. Francis Drive are very narrow and the sign post is right at the edge of the road. It slammed the mirror in to my side window but luckily it did not brake anything......
It did scare the crap out of me though!!!

Soni

 

[agazza2]

Yes I will post it for both, the airline fittings and the electrical plugs, as soon as I got the info confirmed. I will also post the part numbers for the mating Deutch connectors, that fit the ones on the cab.


Soni

Soni, Have you finalized what the airline ports on the MK-48 cab go to in post 286? If so, do you have a copy you can post? Thanks

 

[M920]

Soni, Have you finalized what the airline ports on the MK-48 cab go to in post 286? If so, do you have a copy you can post? Thanks

Yes, I got them figured out. I will look at my files and see if I can post them here.

Soni

 

[M920]

Fire Suppression Module

Sorry for the 'slump' in the FEMTT thread but I had several other jobs that I had to focus on.

Anyway, we are having a very dry Spring here in Chama and I figured that it would probably be a smart idea to finish the 'FIRE SUPRESSION MODULE' for the FEMTT.
It comprises of a 1200 gallon stainless steel tank off of a 2.5 ton fuel tanker truck and a diesel powered water pump with a power retracting 1" hose reel and some 1.5" sectioned NH attack hose, including the appropriate nozzles.

Here are some pics from the last couple of days.....

Soni

 

[bikeman]

Man, that is a sexy looking truck...

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Soni,
I kinda doubt your onboard crane could hoist your firefighting module if it was full of water.

Do you have plans for Quick-Transfer/Loading of your H2O in the event of a fire response need?

It would be a shame to have all the parts and pieces but funk the response-time-test.

I love the idea of swappable mission modules.

 

[wreckerman893]

Soni........you never, ever cease to amaze me.

 

[Tinwoodsman]

I agree with WM. Your attention to detail stands in a class all by yourself. I consider myself to be a detail person but I could not hold the proverbial candle to you. Great job.

 

[M920]

Soni,
I kinda doubt your onboard crane could hoist your firefighting module if it was full of water.

Do you have plans for Quick-Transfer/Loading of your H2O in the event of a fire response need?

It would be a shame to have all the parts and pieces but funk the response-time-test.

I love the idea of swappable mission modules.

Thanks everyone for the nice comments!

I have not had a chance to try it of course, but theoretically the crane should be able to lift the FSM (Fire Suppression Module) with a full contingent of water in it.

The empty FSM weights 3200 # and 1200 gallons of water weigh in at 9960# for a total of 13160 #.
The Ajax MHC has a capacity of 13200 # at a 9.5 foot radius.

So it is very close. I think if I don't fill the tank to the brim and make sure to grab the FSM, as close as feasible, over the right side of the FEMTT (the crane is offset to the passenger side by almost a foot), I think the FEMTT will be able to self-load the FSM with H2O.

Only time and an actual test will tell though......lol

Soni