SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Self builds and DIY projects
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wonkywheel
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Re: SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Post: # 21476Post wonkywheel
April 20th, 2018, 10:41 pm

Phones Fixed :) new board behind the screen £40 fitted

So now I can post the photo's from yesterday.
With the cover off, and the tailgate support wires removed to allow the gate down out of the way, I put the base section in place to check fit and mark the position of the eye bolts

Image I put one of the side verticals on to see how it fitted and looked. It's the first time I have been able to do this.
You can see the gap above the tub. I am not keen on that. It doesn't look fitted to me :roll: I might need a bit of a skirt to hide it and act as a storage place for the stowed front jacks ' (That's thanks to Zildjian :ugeek: )
The side vertical standing on the base is just above the cab roof bars. Everything will be another 20mm higher when its finished because as luck would have it the centerline of the floor spars fall exactly in the grooves of the tub liner making it slightly lower.
I need 40mm bump stops on the front to hit the back of the tub when mounted so that when the turnbuckles are tightened they pull the camper in tight, and the position of the eyebolts need to be adjusted to ensure this happens.

On inspection of Richards camper, it was pointed out that there is quite a bit of wasted space between the tub and the base of the camper. I am considering trying to utilize the space for extra storage after all thats what a home build is all about.........Please yourself 8-) :lol:

Image

It doesn't look bad( even though I say it myself :oops: :roll: )
I did note that the cab over bed looked a little narrow for a double compared to others on the forum. At 4 foot it is not really wide enough unless you are very friendly but it will ok for one man and his dog ;)

On the trip to the welders, I did notice that even just with the relatively thin sections sitting on the top of the tube, visibility behind was severely reduced, as the driver going down the A45 found out when I came off the slip road :oops: All was well apart from my superb driving :lol: skills taking a bit of a beating . Its perhaps good I cant lip read :lol:

I put the roof section and the front vertical on the truck and took them for a ride
to the welders.
I am considering getting a little help to speed thing along. He didn't laugh too long at my welding efforts. For him to dress back my face welds and reweld as well as applying fillet welds for strength he quoted about £100 for each section. Not too bad :shock: for a professional job but he is soo busy he could not start until mid to late May :cry:
I need to let him know within a week to book 2 days :?:

He was very helpful in that he gave me advice on welding techniques, and also on dressing back the weld. I told him I was using aluminum grade wheels in my disk grinder but they were still clogging up and generating a lot of heat.He says to used either duck fat or tallow. It will keep the wheel clear :idea: (looks like the roast potatoes will have to be done in lard until the next shop. :)
Last edited by wonkywheel on May 8th, 2019, 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" .......(Winston Churchill)

2007 Ford Ranger "Thunder" 4x4
Camper aedificavit domum
2016 Ford Ranger "Wildtrack" 4x4

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wonkywheel
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Re: SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Post: # 21477Post wonkywheel
April 20th, 2018, 10:50 pm

This post is in two pieces because I found that I can lose data by pressing :?: :?: :?: :?: but it all disappeared, twice :evil:

On my trip to the welders, I did notice one thing.
Even though I only had two thin sections stapped onto the top of the tub, it is surprising how it affects the view in your rearview mirrors. I was not as surprised as the man traveling down the A45 as I exited the slip road :oops: Sorry
I had questioned whether extended wing mirrors were required. I now have the answer :?:
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" .......(Winston Churchill)

2007 Ford Ranger "Thunder" 4x4
Camper aedificavit domum
2016 Ford Ranger "Wildtrack" 4x4

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zildjian
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Re: SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Post: # 21482Post zildjian
April 21st, 2018, 7:30 am

What happened to the phone, have I missed something?

Welder quote seems reasonable at least (and sounds like interesting advice on the duck fat) camper doesn't look overly wide to me, SKarosser look about that width and although I manage with normal car mirrors most people add some clip on towing mirrors.

in terms of support for overcab we seldom see any link between the two as potentially you could damage one or both of them, seen a couple of different attempts with both tensioned cables and an air bag 'pillow'

there is and should be some movement there the important thing is nothing should conflict

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wonkywheel
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Re: SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Post: # 21512Post wonkywheel
April 21st, 2018, 9:34 pm

Zildjian,
The phone must have had quite a hit, although I didn't notice it.It was only when I went to take more photo's that I noticed I had only a 20% vertical stripe of viewing area. The lad in the repair shop said I had not broken the screen but the board behind it. Still, all fixed now :)
On the cab over support question :?: I was thinking that if the camper was supported at the back of the tub and on the roof bar the center of gravity must move forward :?: On closer inspection it would only make about 400mm difference so the CG would move 200mm forward :?: so .....forget it :roll:

You were right in that the good weather has prompted more activity.

There is no going back now if the Sikaflex 512 is as good as they say.
Image The checker plate and corner angle was collected up ready to put on. It took quite a bit of sorting as it seemed to be spread all over the backyard. I only managed to set up the 3 largest pieces. Some of the angle fixing holes had to be redrilled because now it is all welded there is no give in the frame to allow exact alignment.
The surface of the box section and its mating face on the checker plate were cleaned off with a flap wheel. Glued and screwed :roll: It ain't going nowhere now, which is a bit of a pity because when I stood back to admire my handiwork I realized I hadn't cut the back corner holes for the jacks to go through.
Yesterday I glued two pieces of box section together and put some dibond on some box with the 512 to test how well it performed. At the time it seemed to stay liquid and flexible for a long time and it didn't seem to be hardened off this morning. Today was a different matter. The 512 performed well. I must have been just the start of the cartridge. With the next one Ill give it a bit squirt to get it going :lol:

Image

I had decided to mount the rear jacks inboard as the would be in the way of the rear lights on the back and would need removing if they were on the sides. That will be a job for later.
These days with the good weather I have a bit of an aversion to work on Fridays 8-) . Although I made progress on the build I did get a text to say my new jack leadscrews were to be delivered to work.
On the jack build, I have a snag. At the minute the milling machine I want is set up with real work on it so I have to wait. I try to get into work early so I can do a bit each morning and hopefully I can get the leadscrews on the lathe now ;) .
I even had a go at polishing the checker plate with Solvol Autosol(remembering hours spent polishing motorbike crankcase coves etc back in the day)
You can see the shiny stipe just over half way down.
Now time for a nap ;)
Last edited by wonkywheel on May 8th, 2019, 1:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" .......(Winston Churchill)

2007 Ford Ranger "Thunder" 4x4
Camper aedificavit domum
2016 Ford Ranger "Wildtrack" 4x4

Mike
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Re: SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Post: # 21522Post Mike
April 22nd, 2018, 8:20 am

The ranger tailgate is just 4 bolts on the hinges. Looks like you have a mk3?. It's very easy. It is quite heavy but I just rest it on an old stool which happens to be right height. And that also helps when putting it back on. Once you take it off first time and then lube the bolts next time is a cinch.

Image
2008 Ford Ranger 3.0 Wildtrack
Nomad ( Ranger ) Demountable

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wonkywheel
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Re: SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Post: # 21523Post wonkywheel
April 22nd, 2018, 9:27 am

Thanks, Mike
Yes, i think its a MK 3? 2007 thunder.
I will have to have a go when I've cleared the shed to make room for the camper. I'll give the bolts a squirt of plus gas ready
Mark
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" .......(Winston Churchill)

2007 Ford Ranger "Thunder" 4x4
Camper aedificavit domum
2016 Ford Ranger "Wildtrack" 4x4

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wonkywheel
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Re: SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Post: # 21561Post wonkywheel
April 25th, 2018, 8:08 pm

A postscript to my trip to the welders.

After discussing the quality of my mig welding compared to his tig welds. Argon gas supplies came up. At present, I buy my gas from R-Tech welding supplies but the bottle and gas comes from Gas UK. I think that the welding equipment that R-Tech supplied is a good value more than capable mig welding setup. Although the gas supplied by them is the same price as direct from Gas UK I get charged bottle carrige both to and return which amounts to another £40 +vat, just about doubling the cost of a 10l bottle. It gets a little more complicated in as much as there is a returnable deposit on the gas bottle.
R-Tech charges the bottle deposit on the first purchase but allows that to roll over on bottle refills. Gas UK charge a deposit on each purchase but the credit that deposit on receipt of the empty return.
After talking to both suppliers it turns out that it will probably be more economical to change but a lot of hassle. :roll:
It turns out each bottle has an identifying barcode. So, to get my deposit back from R-Tech I need to return the bottle( and pay carriage) I can then pay the bottle deposit to Gas UK and order the Argon from them and get it carriage free :)

The lesson is, get a great welder from R-Tech, but get the gas from Gas UK
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" .......(Winston Churchill)

2007 Ford Ranger "Thunder" 4x4
Camper aedificavit domum
2016 Ford Ranger "Wildtrack" 4x4

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wonkywheel
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Re: SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Post: # 21637Post wonkywheel
April 29th, 2018, 2:33 pm

Cold and wet so no building :(

Ordered more gas and wire from Gas UK.
A little tip:- 10l bottle Argon pure, carriage free
3 rolls of .5kg wire, £6.95 carriage
10l Argon pure + 3 rolls .5kg wire £21+ carriage :o (works on weight and distance) :!: :!:

Trying to prepare for the big push towards Santa pod Main event at the end of May :shock: (Fat chance) but......
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" .......(Winston Churchill)

2007 Ford Ranger "Thunder" 4x4
Camper aedificavit domum
2016 Ford Ranger "Wildtrack" 4x4

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wonkywheel
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Re: SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Post: # 21655Post wonkywheel
May 1st, 2018, 5:37 pm

I've been dressing back some of the welds and refilling chequer plate base pieces.

The welder's tip works really well, although I used goose fat, grinding disk stayed clean while the weld and aluminium just fell off :D
Looking forward to more gas, with good weather for the long weekend 8-)
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" .......(Winston Churchill)

2007 Ford Ranger "Thunder" 4x4
Camper aedificavit domum
2016 Ford Ranger "Wildtrack" 4x4

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zildjian
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Re: SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

Post: # 21661Post zildjian
May 1st, 2018, 8:54 pm

Can't help but admire the sentiment,

Screen Shot 2018-05-01 at 20.53.03.png

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