Big Rigs. What do you prefer

[durallymax]

Is that just the canola 'husk'? Looks plenty full, what did you gross?

No its canola meal which is whats left after its been processed, we feed it as an alternative to soybean meal.

I was only 80k.

 

[GM Guy]

I thought about posting this in off topic, but figured it would be best here.

on the thread title: "Big Rigs. What do you prefer "

I would prefer if someone bought me this: http://www.rbauction.com/2002-peterbilt-379-tri-drive-sleeper?invId=3734052&id=ci

69,000 rear end group, souble frame, tri drive. hyd. retarder AND a jake, C16 cat and a roadranger 18spd good for more than 2,000 ft/lbs. and best of all, its an 02, so no ACERT egr crap. with the lower miles, what do you think it will bring?

 

[3500GMC]

^^ Heavy haul spec. Kind of a niche market, many of your average OTRs won't like the extra weight just to pull a normal platform, tank, dump or van. It could turn some buyers away. Although in those kinds of equipment auctions, it stands the best chance of selling. I'd own it..

 

[btfarm]

You might get contract hauls out of somebody like Keene if you had a stout lowboy and certs but "might" ain't making the payments. Low mileage on standard loads. Nice outfit though if you have $ to blow.
I put a couple of pics up in the post. Cool to see a tri screw.

 

[GM Guy]

well, you guys were right, too heavy, and drove guys away. 59,000

back in Idaho where 4 axle trucks are allowed it would have made a heck of a field truck with a quad axle trinity eagle bridge, but too much money for me. I am an under 5,000 dollar cabover peterbilt type of guy. get the classy well built peterbilt, but get the one no one wants, and get it cheap!

 

[btfarm]

Well one thing about cabovers, you get to be the first one at the wreck... :nonod:

 

[RI Chevy Silveradoman]

That rig looks like a good rig for pulling a low boy flatbed trailer for hauling construction equipment.

 

[durallymax]

well, you guys were right, too heavy, and drove guys away. 59,000

back in Idaho where 4 axle trucks are allowed it would have made a heck of a field truck with a quad axle trinity eagle bridge, but too much money for me. I am an under 5,000 dollar cabover peterbilt type of guy. get the classy well built peterbilt, but get the one no one wants, and get it cheap!

My neighbor has 4 pete cabovers now. Just keeps collecting them. His working trucks are new KWs though.

He got to experience being the first at the wreck over a year ago in a snowstorm. Shattered his hip socket, messed up his knee and hand. Then he thought the truck was on fire and flopped out the side and knocked himself unconcious. Had hypothermia by the time they got there. He is still recovering from the surgeries.

Believe it or not, the truck had a 36" sleeper

 

[RI Chevy Silveradoman]

Youch. Looks like a crushed tin can.

 

[GM Guy]

that isnt a pretty sight, glad to hear he made it out alive.

we have 2 pete cabovers, a 74 with a 1674 (fore-runner to the 3306 I believe, very unique motor its DOHC, starts at 20 degrees unassited with the OEM glow plug, has a grumbly cackle that goes away under load, loud turbo whistle, very fun to drive.) and a RT9513 and 4.33 geared eatons on pete 4 spring, it has a bed and a hoist, 22 ft. Original frame is inside, extension bolted on, so a guy can unbolt everything and go back to a twin screw tractor. after dad tried to roll it (pulled over to let someone go by on dirt road, roadside started to give out, was able to get back up) the bed is a little tweaked, but truck seems fine, so it may go back to a tractor.

the other is an 84 with a 300 Big cam 3 855 cummins with 350 injectors, originally a 9 speed direct, now RTOO9513 fuller (3 total overdrive ratios, 100 mph truck) 3.70 geared single axle on Pete air trac. link cabmate air ride cab kit, and air ride seats, so it rides good. factory 200 gallon fuel tanks. down right now, needs OH due to cavitation erosion.

both are 90 inch cab, 74 is white with red stripes, and 84 is gloss white. both run 24.5 rims, 74 11R's 84 Lo Pro.

looking for a 362 twin screw to do some part time heavy hauling for the neighbors, might get 10-20 loads a year. 855 cummins and 13 speed preferred of course.

 

[durallymax]

Took a pic of his today while I was cutting hay. You cant see his nicest one which is inside the shed though. Grey one has a 3406a, brown and burgubdy are cummins and his nice one is an n14, the one he wrecked had a series 60 in it.

 

[durallymax]

Polishing Aluminum has always been rewarding for me. Its the one thing you really see a big turn around on and I just like working with it. Over time I have acquired the tools and products to make the process faster.


I recently got into more sanding to get rid of heavy defects. Below is a wheel I polished to use on one of our semis as a steer.


Here is how the wheel started out. It was an outside dual so this side of the wheel suffered a lot of abuse and would not have been taken care of. It also has a machine finish as there is no point in having a mirror polish in between the duals.





Here is the wheel after a bath in a diluted Hydroflouric & Sulfuric acid mixture. This may scare some people as the general trend seems to be pH balanced cleaners, however in this case of a raw Aluminum wheel, nothing cleans like Acid. Remember to use proper safety equipment and handling procedures when using this stuff if you try this on your own. I do use a scour pad to agitate it just a little bit, but the Acid does most of the work on its own. Let it sit on there for about 5 minutes then wash off.





Make sure you mask any areas you do not want the Acid to effect. Here is what it will do to a polished wheel.





The corrosion on the face of the wheel was very bad and very deep. I tried numerous steps until I settled on my most agressive approach. 40 grit sandpaper on my DeWalt Rotary polisher. I'm sure a few cringed at that, but don't worry, I'm working with Aluminum that is an inch thick, not microscopic clear coat. 40 grit on the 3M DA sander just wasn't fast enough. I'm lazy but at the same time I am not, I am very picky about using the best products and technique, but don't like to work any harder than I have to. After sanding away with the 40 grit for awhile I was able to knock down most of the pitting on the face. I left the deeper stuff that will be hidden by the nuts.











I then went over the face with the DA and 40 grit to make sure everything was smoothed out from the polisher.





Then I went to 80 grit on the rotary





Then 80 grit on the DA. I will be skipping pictures on some of the steps from now on as the camera really doesn't show drastic changes.


Then I went over the entire wheel with 180 grit. Then 240 grit.


Then began wet sanding with 320, then 400 and finished with 600. Here is the wheel after the last stage of wet sanding.





Then it was time to move onto the compounds (Rouge to some)


Starting with a Blue Air Way wheel and emery compound. Here is a picture of the wheel after this stage. It may look shiny, but it still has a long way to go.





Then I went on to using Tripoli with a Yellow Air Way, then I skipped the green chrome rouge and used white chrome on a spiral sisal wheel. I then followed that up with the Max Red platinum compound and a very soft cotton wheel. For the final step I used Pro 40 polish to seal the finished product.


Its far from perfect and you can still see plenty of deep defects, but it looks good from 10'. Honestly, unless you have a fleet of trucks to do, after the investment in time and equipment, its just cheaper to pay someone to put it on their machine the cut the wheel down. Heck you could even buy a new polished rim.







Also please do not forget PPE if you do this on your own. I see plenty of videos out there of people polishing away with no protection. Aluminum Oxide is not good for you, wear a respirator and goggles. My choice is a nice full face respirator. I just got this one to use instead of my half mask. Its a 3M Ultimate FX. Very nice, the sheild stays very clear. In this case I was only doing one wheel and I was out of suits, but I like to wear disposable coveralls with hoodies. Even if not for safety it makes cleanup easier because you will get dirty. You will also want ear plugs and gloves.





You will get dirty, no I am not wearing a long sleeve shirt, the picture does not show my neck which looks like my arm. This is just after one wheel, you will be black from head to toe if you work all day on an entire truck.

 

[RI Chevy Silveradoman]

Wow! Looks real good Vinny. Thanks for taking the time to show all of us how it is done. :thumbsup:

 

[3500GMC]

Lotta Lotta work. The front bumper on the Paystar is aluminum, should have hit it with acid and DA like you did first.. Way too much work going through all the different compund bars. Still not happy with it. Haven't even started on the wheels...


A few before pics, still working on getting it clean and mean..

Maybe I'll find a truckstop with some buffer wielding mexicans...
.

 

[3500GMC]

My neighbor has 4 pete cabovers now. Just keeps collecting them. His working trucks are new KWs though.

He got to experience being the first at the wreck over a year ago in a snowstorm. Shattered his hip socket, messed up his knee and hand. Then he thought the truck was on fire and flopped out the side and knocked himself unconcious. Had hypothermia by the time they got there. He is still recovering from the surgeries.

Believe it or not, the truck had a 36" sleeper

How is this cab over pete fella doing, Vin? Just an unreal wreck to see. I was (and still am) picking my jaw off the floor when I see that truck.