Another reason to measure before buying

[DoubleE]

Figured others can learn from my mistake. The skilcraft water can doesn't clear the door if you're planning to use the running board holder. Good can at a great price, just don't plan on that location.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Figured others can learn from my mistake. The skilcraft water can doesn't clear the door if you're planning to use the running board holder. Good can at a great price, just don't plan on that location.

Just cut an inch or two off the bottom....... .. .. ..

 

[wsucougarx]

The LC Industries water cans fit.

 

[DoubleE]

I got it through LC, but it's about 1/2 an inch too tall for the door to open. I don't think my running board is bent because I checked it on both sides

 

[Recovry4x4]

I have never liked that location. If it's just water, add some racks to the back of the rear mudflaps. I stopped storing fuel in plain sight a while back.

 

[BBQROD]

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showpost.php?p=1584076

I sell these for they bolt behind rear mud flap and they are side loaders. 200.00 for the pair free shipping

 

[clinto]

I have never liked that location. If it's just water, add some racks to the back of the rear mudflaps. I stopped storing fuel in plain sight a while back.

What do you not like about (other than the obvious: 5 gallons of explosive liquid 2' under you thaqt's in a prime location for being hit in a t-bone style accident)?

I like the water cans on the flaps. A truck that holds 8 gallons of coolant and springs a leak-you're going to need more than a Circle K Big Gulp worth of water to get home.

I did a second jerry can holder on the passenger side of mine for extra fuel:



I figure at some point, if you run it out of fuel, a vehicle that gets this kind of fuel mileage will need more than 5 gallons.


And when I added a toolbox to the bed, I added a third jerry can holder to it. I could add a 4th jerry can holder to the drivers side, but I've debated how much of the area I want to fill. When I buy things that longer (like 12' lumber) I can still use the bed by putting the cargo on either side of the box.



I am still debating whether I want to add a couple of rear mounts for additional water. I'm a little concerned about them getting hurt offroad.

 

[Jeepsinker]

I just put a 100 gallon aux tank where Clint put his toolbox. No more fuel woes for me. Well... There weren't until my towbar slid into the bottom corner of it and cracked a weld...
I keep two water cans on the right side of the aux tank and an empty fuel can on the driver step mount.

 

[73m819]

I carry 6 jerry cans, 1 on each of the forward mud flaps, 2 off the right step, 1 on the left step (oe holder), 1 on the right side of the bed by the tool box.

 

[rustystud]

I carry 6 jerry cans, 1 on each of the forward mud flaps, 2 off the right step, 1 on the left step (oe holder), 1 on the right side of the bed by the tool box.

Could you post some pictures please !

 

[Recovry4x4]

What do you not like about (other than the obvious: 5 gallons of explosive liquid 2' under you thaqt's in a prime location for being hit in a t-bone style accident)?.

Well, besides all the things you mention, I find the step better used as a ..........step! All the years of driving the M275A2 which doesn't have a can mount there, acclimated me to using the whole step. I too, have a 100 gallon transfer tank I use. What sucks is when the Fillrite pump stops working and you have to improvise. Been there before. Clinto, nice bed box. Chrome stack soon?

 

[clinto]

Clinto, nice bed box. Chrome stack soon?

Oh, you so funny.

Eventually when I paint the truck (I'd say I'm about 80% done with the truck), I'll do a build thread, but since you've called me out (et tu Brutus!) I'll have to defend myself now.

So, after owning a couple of these things, a few truths came to mind.

All the ways you use the truck-


Sometimes, you just have to towbar a deuce from Juliette, Ga. home. So you need to have the towbar, safety chains, towlights and some basic tools in the truck.


Sometimes, you have to get rid of all the pallets that clintogf accumulates from buying metric tons of surplus. So you've gotta have straps in the truck.


Sometimes, you've gotta' recover Jeeps, so you've got to have straps, 24-12V converter for the civvy trailer, axle straps, etc. in the truck.


Sometimes, when you get a 9K, 2 post lift for your future shop, you've gotta' have a way to get it home. So straps are needed again and you can't use 'em if they aren't in the truck.


Sometimes, your buddy is on a job site putting out rip-rap (big rocks) in a detention pond and the berm he's driving the skid steer on collapses and there's no way to get closer than about 150'. His 2WD dually with a tow strap won't cut it so out comes the deuce. So you've got to have chain, straps, d-rings, gloves, etc. in the truck.


Sometimes, your skid steer burying buddy says "A guy has an old Dodge school bus with an A540 5speed and it may be an overdrive. We can have whatever we want but in return, we've got to move the school bus, which hasn't moved in 20+ years, to a point where they can get it out and take it to scrap. So you've got to have air hoses, tire inflation chuck, some basic tools, chains, straps, clevis', d-rings, etc., in the truck.


Sometimes, the same buddy who buries skid steers and rides the short bus says "hey, I'm gonna' buy a Dodge W500 and it doesn't run and we'll need to winch it onto the trailer with your deuce because my deuce doesn't have a civvy hitch or a winch". So you need chain, load binders, straps, axle straps, snatch blocks, d-rings, etc., in the truck.


Sometimes, when it snows, you want to go to Waffle House, so you need tire chains. And again-they don't do you any good at home. They have to be in the truck.


Sometimes just a trip to the lumber yard for 12' boards-which means you need 12' of unencumbered space....... in the truck.


Sometimes, you have to buy $50 part Jeeps. And they don't roll, so you need a come along, ratchet straps, etc. in the truck.




After going through these and many other missions, I realized it was impractical to keep all these items in the shed. Because many of these missions are done without much warning, so you're in a hurry and you're trying to load all of this up and even if you don't forget something, you still have to spend the time loading it and when you're done, unloading it again. So I began trying to formulate a way to keep all this stuff in the truck. Since I use multiple trailers (see above pics of car hauler and equipment deckover for example), the ratchet straps and related gear need to stay with the truck (and not in the trailer tongue for instance).

For offroading, the treesaver straps, recovery straps, d-rings and snatch blocks need to be in the truck.

The various cargo type straps need to stay in the truck.

Some basic tools for emergencies need to be in the truck.

So, once I had thought all this through, the first thing that I came up with was that I needed more storage. These trucks have an amazingly small amount of onboard storae. Just the OVM box on the drivers side running board. You need dry, preferably lockable storage for all this stuff. I didn't want to lose the 12' capability-that's a big perk of owning one of these. So I had to find something that left 12' of open space, meaning a bed box that wasn't full width. When my employer of 10 years folded in 2013, part of my severance was the unused diamond plate tool box that had been sitting on a shelf for 10 years. I had to buy a new latch for it but that was it.

Although it was hideous polished aluminum diamond plate, it would do for now for a newly unemployed person. The eventual plan when I paint the truck is to blast it and shoot it with the correct primer for aluminum and CARC it. If that doesn't stick, I'll Line-X it black.

The toolbox is removable by myself-I used captive nuts welded to the bottom of the bed so I could unbolt it from the top without a helper on the bottom with a wrench.


Inside the box, I use milk crates to separate the various classes of straps-recovery straps, cargo hold down straps, chain, etc.


Since my truck is a USAF truck and didn't have a pioneer rack and the space a rack would have been installed was now being taken up with one of Gimp's storage boxes (see below), I mounted a rack on the box and I mounted a jerry can bracket on one side. This so far has left me with enough 12' open space for all the long lumber/pipe runs I have encountered.


I also added a storage box to the underside of the bed, where the pioneer rack usually is. Can't take any credit for this-Gimp's idea and he got the box for me. He doesn't have any more so don't bother blowing up his inbox.


With all of these additions, I am close to getting all my necessary gear on the truck, in dry, lockable storage, so that whenever a last minute need pops up, all I have to do is pre-flight the truck and roll out. No loading up of gear and no worry of forgetting something.



tl;dr

The toolbox was free and when I paint the truck I am going to sandblast it and either paint it or LineX it. Geez louise!

 

[DoubleE]

That's a lot of sometimes. Looking at the pictures I'm definitely jealous of M35A2C owners. The toolbox is a good idea, I've got one kicking around I might have to put in back.

 

[Recovry4x4]

OK, sounds great.............however, if I were you and you were me, I would have simply said "My truck and tool box, don't like it, go pound sand" lOL

 

[clinto]

My post, my keyboard, go pound sand

That's a lot of sometimes. Looking at the pictures I'm definitely jealous of M35A2C owners. The toolbox is a good idea, I've got one kicking around I might have to put in back.

No grass grows under HQ43. It gets used a lot. I don't own a regular pickup anymore, so if it's a mission that requires something more than a Honda Civic, 43 gets the call.

 

[Scar59]

Go Clinto, Go Clinto, Go Clinto..... I love taking an an MV to do chores, keeps my nice pickup in the garage. You never run out of "room" w/ a MV.

 

[DoubleE]

That's another place I go wrong, not taking pictures. HQ 89 was great scaffolding for tinning the roofs of some of my smaller buildings last summer.

 

[wsucougarx]

The LCI labeled water cans fit all my deuces no problem.