Part 12: Tool  Boxes and Super-Single Tires

20110109-0204

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The Trip

We continued our enhancements to the 1017A.  Generally speaking, we were limited by the ability of our parts vendors to deliver our needed components to us in a timely fashion.  Once we had all the necessary stuff, things went pretty smoothly.  This section of enhancements was focused on installing body-mounted tool boxes and the super-single tires/wheels.  We ordered 8 tool boxes with the intention of installing 5 on the camper body and 3 "big" boxes on mounts attached to the frame itself.  Mounting the camper boxes was a challenge due to the odd geometry of the camper.  We did not install the bigger boxes during this segment due to the arrival of the wheels and tires.  The wheels were ordered through our parts supplier and were delivered through Mercedes in Germany.  The whole cycle took almost 4 months end to end.  The tires were purchased online and arrived after only a week or so.

The Photos

The photos below are what we saw.

For the cab, we ordered 3-24"x14"x16" boxes and 2-30" boxes.  One 24" box was used for the utility connections and the 30" box will be used for general storage.  Brackets were fabricated and welded to the camper frame.  The boxes were mounted flush with the underside of the floor of the camper between the frame rails.

The rear mounting frame was much more complex and had to be fitted, fabricated and primed before welding to the frame.  Above, the final fabrication actions are performed prior to welding the frame into place.

The frame was welded into place and the welds were then primed prior to painting.

Whoa!!  WTF is this??  This gnarly insect is about 1.5" inches long and I discovered it between my knees as I was working under the truck.

After the 3 tool boxes were installed, we moved on to tires.  I traded Roberto Espinoza for 4 Michelin 395/85R20 XZL tires that he had.  His office was flooded during the recent rains, so I was storing them for him.  After the balance of my tire/wheel parts arrived, I traded him the 4 I had for 4 more that were ordered online.  These tires are brutes; big and heavy.  Notice the diameter of the tire relative to my car carrier trailer.

The first thing that had to happen was a "test fit" to insure that the over-sized tires would fit as needed.  To do that required removal of the existing 22.5" heavy-duty truck tires.  These lug nuts were TIGHT and required several cascaded cheater bars to provide sufficient torque to crack them loose.  The bar that came with the truck did not fare well, so we resorted to using an X wrench that came with my 1300.

The bar that came with the 1017A was not up to the task; it was just not robust enough to handle the torque.  It bent like a pretzel under stress.  The photo above shows the bar AFTER it was straightened.  I have subsequently purchased several hardened bars to use with the cheater.

The test fitting went OK, there were no "unknown" interferences.  In the photo above, the tire is not fully mounted.  There is no locking ring on the tire and no valve stem in the rim.  See below for details.

The special valve stems needed for installing the tires were ordered but not here, so we moved on to electrical actions.  High-current  cables were strung from the 24V battery array to the cab of the 1017.  Mounting posts for the electrical connections were attached to the fender and preparations were made for the final run of cable into the cab.  The mounting boards for the electrical components were cut and the components were mounted.  Above are 2 boards that will be attached into the "cargo bubble" on the back of the cab.  The bubble has a vertical stiffener and on the driver's side the left board will be attached.  The other board will be on the passenger's side.  The left board has the 24V->12V converter, echo charger and 24V enable solenoid.  The right board is the 12VDC circuit breaker panel and 24V->120VAC inverter for cab appliances like laptop and cell phone chargers.  I did not complete the electrical installation as the remaining tire components finally arrived and we switched back to that task.

The front of the truck was jacked up and the OEM wheel was removed.  The 1017A has drum brakes all-around and these are big drums.

Why is that shovel in all these photos?  The answer is that it is the trick to changing large tires.  A standard #2 spade-point shovel provides an excellent lifting method for large tires.  It takes a hard task and makes it easy.  In fact, you can change a tire with only one person if you have a shovel and the truck is not jacked too high.  In addition to lifting, in also acts as a "sled" to slide the tire away from the wheel when removing the tire from the hub.  Frankly, I doubt that it would be possible to do this action without this sort of tool.

The new super-single wheels are made of 12mm thick rolled plate.  These wheels are very, very heavy.  These are 4 part wheels:  the cup, the sealing gasket, the outer flange, and the locking ring.

The inside of the wheel has protection plates for the valve stems.  The corner of these plates would be ground down to provide clearance with the brake drums.

These valve stems were destined for a US military 6x6, but also fit these rims.  These were about $35 each, but a far cry from the $100 each that Mercedes wanted for something that could only be filled from one side of the wheel.  The bar on the left of the photo above is my new Ken-Tool hardened bead breaker/cheater bar for cracking lug nuts.  I got it online from Gempler's.  They have tons of industrial tire tools and fast delivery.

The mounted tire valve stem before the corners were ground off.

To make the stems fit, a trough in the drum was cut with a pneumatic die grinder and carbide bit.  I used layout dye to test for mechanical interferences with the stem.  A number of grinding passes were required before the trough was deep enough.

The front tire was installed after the hub fit in the trough.  These big tires totally fill the wheel well.  In fact, portions of the fender will have to be cut to eliminate possible intereferences when the truck is off-camber.  Note the electrical cable coming out of the underside of the cab cargo bubble.  This is the 12 echo charger cable to change the house batteries when the truck is running.  The cab is 24V, so a voltage conversion is required as well as a charge controller circuit (echo charger) to accomplish the mission.

In the rear, the truck was equipped with dual wheels when shipped from the factory.  2 rear wheels were replaced with one super-single.  Note that the "cup" is in on the rear, out on the front.  In the cavity above the wheel is the house lift hydraulic pump.

The first tire that we installed developed a leak due to operator error, so we pulled it off the rim and addressed the situation.  Afterwards, we pulled the truck into the street as a test.  Note that the truck is now quite high relative to Kathleen's 5'8" height.

None of the tool boxes on the passenger's side have been mounted yet. But at the rear, under the camper, you can see the mounting frames for the leveling blocks and the storage area for the stairs.

The 3 tool boxes on the driver's side are clearly visible above.

Next up: body work to cut a portion of the front fenders to remove the possibility of mechanical interferences with the tire.  We will also remove the leading mud flaps on the front of the tire.  The cab electrical must be completed as well as the mounting the remaining 5 tool boxes.


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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2011, all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.