M46A2C Brutus lives on

[TB58]

I picked up Brutus a few weeks ago and have been doing some small things to get him ready for the up coming trip the end of the month.

There was already un upper console installed with switches to run the lights and spots for a radio and speakers. The center portion was made with 1/4" plywood. The switches were single pole double throw toggle switches, but only operated one item per switch. I decided to swap it out for some sheet metal and the switches with a waterproof switch panel. Also added a stereo, Cobra 29 CB and an Alinco 2m/440 ham radio. Sorry for the quality of the photos, ten at night and a cell phone camera isn't the best combination.


At some point some one decided they didn't like the turn signal control being in this vehicle and cut the wires and took it. I was able to pick one up down in Anchorage and played musical wires until i figured out which ones went where.


Before we left Anchorage the wife managed to clip the ladder that came with it with our Subaru and broke it up pretty good. I decided to go with a set of folding steps from an RV supply place. takes up less room and is a little easier to move around.


Also went through and greased all the points underneath. Ive been going through the wiring, with the modifications through the years it has taken a bit to figure out what gets power from where. He is spending the weekend in the shop getting a new roof A/C unit (the one on there went t/u and since it is so old they can't work on it). The wife has gone crazy with her sewing machine and made me some curtains and new cover for the bench in the back.

I have a line on some 11.00x20 NDT's for a real nice price, will be swapping out the front axel tires since those tires are weather checked and cupping pretty bad. I have the spin on filter kits on order. This coming week Ill be taking a look at the brakes, and fluid changes. Also going to be looking into putting solar on the roof to see if i can run the a/c and fridge while we drive.

As I do more Ill add pictures and word vomit here.

 

[Jeepsinker]

Pretty cool man. Get us some pics of your spread in the camper if you don't mind.

 

[TB58]

here are a few pictures of the inside. first one is looking forward. The sleeping area above the cab can be a bit tight but quite comfortable.

this one is looking back. Stove, sink, microwave, pantry and fridge. The bathroom is to the left of the pantry

here is a close up of the curtains the wife sewed for me. If you look close you can see how much my wife likes Dr Who.

Also replaced the weather checked and cupped tires on the front axel. The shake at 30-35 is gone now. Slowly getting it ready for the the trip.

 

[Jeepsinker]

Cool. That is nicely fitted out. I hope you are going through all of your hubs before you make the trip.

 

[m109a2]

A lot of thought went into the living quarters well done.Also the jeepsinker hit the nail on the head about the hubs a lot of guys told me to put your paw on the hub that will tell you what you need to know.But in my case this was not going to happen almost my little thousand mile trip was done below zero.I bought a cheap if thermometer worked well for me and I did not have to take off my hand shoes.While I was under there checking for leaks I shot everything.Oh and buy the way bring a tarp and get some cardboard

 

[m109a2]

Is Brutus for sale?

 

[TB58]

On the trip up from Anchorage the front hubs were about ambient temp and the rear were warm but not at all uncomfortable to touch. Though they weren't excessively hot I will be pulling each wheel assembly to check the bearings and the condition of the brakes. I plan to repack the bearings with http://www.greengrease.net when I reassemble. meant to start today but have a honey do list that will come first

I bought Brutus already built. A lot of effort was put into making him very comfortable to live in. Very well insulated and plenty of lighting to make it comfortable despite how cold it might get.

No he is not for sale, I just bought him about a month ago.

 

[Jeepsinker]

So you run everything from a generator while stopped, or do you run some things from a battery bank and inverter? You should be able to run everything you need from solar with enough battery bank and good panels.

 

[TB58]

I will be taking him in tomorrow to have solar panels and an inverter installed.

The generator that came on him went t/u after running for about 5 minutes. I haven't had a chance to dig into it but would rather remove it and put a tool box in its place.

The A/C unit uses a lot more juice than I expected. Between the A/C and fridge it looks to be about 800w. Then throw in a microwave, stove, water heater and toaster oven, it really adds up quick. going to take quite a bit of batteries and a big inverter to run everything. Will start with one panel and possibly have the 14v off the engine gen charge as i drive as well.

I knew a vehicle this old would have rust some where, today I found it. Both windshields were cracked so I got replacements and went to install them today. Went to remove the drivers side and found that all 7 of the bolts were horribly corroded. All but one barely had heads on them any more. Had to drill them all. Cleaned up the frame and painted over the exposed metal and installed the new windshield. So nice to have a nice clean window to look through.

Ive made the decision to change the color of Brutus. One too many people comment that it is an awesome zombie apocalypse rig. I think if it weren't black people wouldn't jump to that conclusion. Also in the sun he gets really hot. I am going to stick with a solid color. I am thinking either desert tan or Arctic white. I am liking the idea of white. Nice and cool and with primarily living in Alaska it will fit in well. This is obviously way down on the list of necessities and probably won't happen for a long time but good to have a plan right?

 

[Jeepsinker]

You'll want more than one panel. Probably four at the least, at 250 watts per panel. You want to have more charge capacity than your minimum draw with the fridge and air conditioner running, this way the batteries recover quicker.

 

[rustystud]

On the trip up from Anchorage the front hubs were about ambient temp and the rear were warm but not at all uncomfortable to touch. Though they weren't excessively hot I will be pulling each wheel assembly to check the bearings and the condition of the brakes. I plan to repack the bearings with http://www.greengrease.net when I reassemble. meant to start today but have a honey do list that will come first

I bought Brutus already built. A lot of effort was put into making him very comfortable to live in. Very well insulated and plenty of lighting to make it comfortable despite how cold it might get.

No he is not for sale, I just bought him about a month ago.

We've been using "Green Grease" at the transit agency for years now. We call it "Green Slim" . The stuff is fantastic ! I tried to buy it for my personal use but could not find anyone selling it for public use. Thanks TB5B for the link !

 

[TB58]

I am going to start with one panel for now. Once I get to the lower 48 I can expand without paying the Alaska markup. I should be able to pick him up tomorrow afternoon from the solar guys. Been weird not having him to work on when I got home from work today.

no problem rustystud, I am pretty sure I picked it up at the local AutoZone. Good to hear that it lives up to the hype. A few of the bearings had me a bit worried, after about 5 or 6 pumps fresh grease finally came out. No old grease to be seen. who knows how long they have been run dry like that.

 

[TB58]

jeepsinker - My math was way off. You are right, one panel is about pointless with the amount of draw my system currently has. I will be going with three panels rated at 1000w total.

 

[frank8003]

I plan to repack the bearings with http://www.greengrease.net when I reassemble.

GAA
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?1936-GAA-Grease&p=1719106#post1719106

 

[Jeepsinker]

Glad to hear you got the solar figured out. There are a couple other members here building campers and incorporating solar systems, and it seems that minimum panel requirement is around 1000 watts unless you like pi*sing in the wind.

 

[Jeepsinker]

When are you coming south again? I forgot. If you have time, and I'm healed up when you come through, we can put a nice paint job on your truck that won't cost you a fortune. That is, provided you have time.

 

[TB58]

The biggest problem with solar is running the A/C. The stove top and toaster oven are run for such short amounts of time that they don't have that much impact on the batteries. The A/C on the other hand will be running just about constant which means the panels need to at least match the draw. I will get pictures of them when they are installed, but they will take up about 1/3rd of the roof.

We should be going through New Orleans around the 20th of June. We will be there a day or two to visit family then I have to be to Rucker on the 23rd. I may take you up on the offer of help with the paint. How long do you think it would take for prep and paint?

 

[Jeepsinker]

If your current paint job doesn't have any bad peeling or chipping spots it could take 3-4 days. Generally a week of straight work and good weather is what you should budget for. If your paint now is in real good shape we could probably do it in 2-3 days.
I get high quality PPG paint cheap too.

And this is all assuming that I am healed enough to function properly by then. It is really holding me back right now.

 

[rustystud]

If your current paint job doesn't have any bad peeling or chipping spots it could take 3-4 days. Generally a week of straight work and good weather is what you should budget for. If your paint now is in real good shape we could probably do it in 2-3 days.
I get high quality PPG paint cheap too.

And this is all assuming that I am healed enough to function properly by then. It is really holding me back right now.

Garret don't push it. Let your body heal or you'll reinjure yourself.

 

[TB58]

For the most part the paint is in decent shape. There are spots that are peeling and at one point some one put inspiring on and the outline shows through. Would probably be easiest for me after my course at Rucker, I will have about 30 Days between the end of the course and reporting to Bragg NC. We'll see how timelines work out.

Got a few packages in today with parts for Brutus. Once the house is packed out I'll be able to focus fully on going through the inspections and improvements.