Fill's Bedford

Thanks PDU. The picture of that truck, was the look, that I was going for. But it would look wrong on my tray. Only because of the joist set out on my tray. The clearance above the tyre on my truck has to be at least 125 mm ( five inches ) so that the buffers on the diff are able to bottom out, before the tyre hit anything above it. The green guards are the right size for the tyre.But yes they look too big. Thanks for every ones input. Cheers Fill

Fill, can I add another hic up to your dilemma, Yes.... right oh.... have you checked to see how much offset your axle is to one side, they all are, and not really a problem or even noticeable until you put 12 inch wide tyres under your Monaro, or in my case the Mighty ACCO with its current (previously modified) tray. With about 6 tonne on it the inside edge of the coaming rail just leaves a clean line on the edge/face of the tyre on the drivers side. inch and a half to spare on the other side. (tray to chassis is dead centre)

Would not want you making nice round guards to have them rub on one side. :sick:

Good luck.

Chop the top out of the guard and lift it up? :whistle:

Hi PDU That is very cleaver to cut the mudguard down on the computer. But I have decided to have conventional guards. They are going to be brushed stainless steel, I might paint them white and the ends of the joists white See how I go. Cheers Fill

Hi all I have started the tow bar

100_3202 by fill quinn , on Flickr
The tow bar that I got. Is rated at 1800 kg braked and 700 kg not braked. The only thing that I think I will be towing is my braked camper trailer.The tow bar came off a single wheel ute, so it was plenty long enough for a dual wheel truck

100_3204 by fill quinn , on Flickr

I cut new brackets ( you are right they might have to be steel and not craft wood )

100_3203 by fill quinn , on Flickr

100_3205 by fill quinn , on Flickr

100_3208 by fill quinn , on Flickr

Love ya work

Lots of good tips in this story.

Jarrod.

Fill your motoring right along and it all looks good to me, great stuff and keep at it you will have the camper hitched and off to a show in no time

Paul

The towbar rating would only apply to its original (intended) application, and considering the way your crossbar will fit into the end plates would probably be capable of towing well in excess of 1800kg.

Perhaps the removable tongue section is the only give-away that it wasn't constructed in the 60s, well before ratings were required. :whistle:

Thanks ASW Mrsmackpaul and PDU. PDU I know, I should have the seats belts ticked off by an engineer. The window rubber covers the mounting bracket that I got welded in. I have taken photos, showing the weld with a ruler next to it. With the tow bar, I was going to leave it craft wood and when I get the truck de-rated, I was going to see what thickness steal, where to put bolts, what size of bolts and rating on bolts, thickness of gussets, and where to put the gussets by the engineer. I have decided to take the truck to the engineer finished. Get it de-rated and see what he thinks about the seat belts and the tow bar. It costs about a thousand dollars to get a truck de-rated, to be able to drive it on a car licence- the same amount it would cost me to get a truck licence. To get a truck de-rated you have to make a physical change to the load carrying capability. You can not just change the load capability of the tyres. Most take out the over load springs. When I was thinking about taking out load springs, a spring man said it was a big job. He said in the early days, he would get under the truck with a nine inch angle grinder and wrap him self in a blanket so not to catch fire. He said to be safe he had a spotter with a bucket of water and one hand on the wall switch. Being a carpenter I know if a rafter is just under the span limit. If the house has eaves that can help in your favour because it makes the rafter stronger. I have cut 900 mm ( three feet ) off the chassis to make it more usable. It took the third engineer to agree with me, that I have made the chassis weaker. I have done this aso to make it more usable. I have cut 75 mm (three inches) off each side of the tray also. There are a lot of advantages to have it de-rated. You can park it on the road for more than two hours, any one can drive it and you can sell it easier (not that I would ). If I got pissed my wife could drive it. That is a fair bit of typing. Thanks for reading. Cheers Fill