i went looking at some campers today and across the street in highlands Texas i seen a small shop making some rig beds out of stainless, i will try to get some pics this weekend and post them
Yea thats how I did them 52 told me how. I used 12" long radius 90's. They worked out perfect for me because I plan on putting larger tires on later. I think that If you wanna stay with stock tires the you need regular 90's. I split them in half then I measured 5" all the way around and cut them out.
Hey 52 I was only able to get one set of 90's from my buddy but Ill have him keep a look out for some more though.
Jesco, I see you have a frame built high for your machine, what machine are you runnin' ? Are you gonna use cable spools or wraps? Really like your set-up and when I see you around town I'll give you a wave.
the bottle sit under the machine, it is as low as i could possibly make it . The oxy/act is attached with the frame as well as Swisco live reels so i can pull it off with 4 bolts and throw it on a nodwell or in the back of a truck if i got a problem with my truck. Im running a vantage 300 and its around 8 " less in height than a 200 or 300D so overall withthe bottles underneath is only a couple inches higher than if i was running a classic. Its in primer now and spools are rigged up , should be painted and rigged up by end of the weekend, i'll make sure to post some more finished pics
Swisco live reels?? I can't say I've heard of 'em. Where'd you pick those up? Will the paint be dry in time for kick-off? And I'm looking forward to those pics too! And when my deck is done I guess I'll do the same.
Never heard of Swisco Reels but am always open to new manufacturers. Have been using Shell-Ryn's for last 3 years, and am looking at AlumaReels in the future.
Yep! The fellas south of the border are gonna like your set up jesco!! I especially like what you did to the back of your deck. I've always liked when the corners are taken off. What part of the city is your shop in?
im using a buddies shop at night and on weekends inthe capilano industrial park . Finished wiring up the tails tonite . should be completely rigged by thursday. I managed to build the whole thing with just myself and some help from a buddy, farmed out nothing.
just curious how much was yours ball park? Mine cost about $8900 but i got $1100 into the stacks and $2400 into the reels too so thats a huge chunk of it plus i built everything without getting anything broke so that saved me a couple bucks for a bit more welding and finishing
An outfit called Capital Truck Body. Mines all aluminum and is slightly a bit $$ more. I've run an aluminum skid unit (ponyback in Sask.) for a dozen years and I've gotten quite tired of climbing around and trying to fit stuff back there. Switching to a deck is the obvious choice for me.
ya i hear that. Last Tig fab job i was on up in Wabasca i was getting whooped by a guy, Granted he was more exp.d than me too but he was making lots of time on me because of his deck whille i was hunting stands out from between my cabinets and peeking in my cabinets and climbing all over looking for tools and whatever. I knew after that job i needed a deck
i should have the doors on and inside cabinets all painted tommorow . I'll take some pics with the camera , i've been taking them with my phone as i go so thats why they have been low quality. I wish i could take credit for running uprght cabinets but all us canadian rig welders run them that way. You get alot of storage without taking up alot of your deck space.
Lookin' real fine Jesco. You'll definitely get alot of second looks on the rightofway AND on Whyte. Your deck design is very similar to mine(still waiting) but I'll be honest here 'cause I like how you designed the back bumper. Unfortunately, I'm a little late to ask for changes and I am on a budget.(HA! a welder with a budget). texwelder....I had a 1970 SA200, Ranger 305G and presently a Vantage 400 and strangely, the SA200 gave me grief when welding pipe. And welding 7018 vertical on pipe or structural, I could never get the smooth cap that I get with the Vantage or the Ranger.
Oh yeah the vantage is the thing to have with low high, that dude it smooth, it seems like the vantage is not as smooth with 5p+ as the older machines, may be my imagination too?
Well...my roots with 5p+ uphand or downhand saw a huge difference when I welded using Chopper technology. But to be fair, I haven't tried a Miller yet and fellas will swear by them too! For the time being I'll just keep using whats keeping me on the jobsite and food on the table.
That maybe but, have you ever walked by a pipe pro at high idle.? I guess thats another reason why I'm enjoying my vantage. But how pricey is it where you are?
I checked their website and $14,845(US) is their price for the base model. Heck, up here we can expect they'll add $2 grand more to cover shipping and other costs. And yes, I found buddys pipe pro was kinda "knocky" on the last site I was at, and louder than my Vantage.
i started out witha sa200 when i broke out and then it broke, bought a 305g and never looked back , i always hear lots of inspectors and such saying they wont hold up but the little kohler is very tough . I have abused mine for months in the bush , went so far over on oil changes it should have had 3 done to the one i just did and it weld exactly the same at the end of the day. I would have got a 305d but the vantage 300 is same price and prettier and basically the same board
I shoulda kept that 305G. I used to cringe at the idea of arc gouging with my 305 until I saw another guy using his to gouge. He told me that he had spoken with the Lincoln rep here and he said to just back it off about 15 on the dial instead of full out and carry on. I gave it a whirl and with 3/16 gouging rod that machine moved more metal than I expected. Shortly after that , I started a pipe job and the test qualifier was 2" sch. 40. I was concerned if I had messed up my machine with all that gouging I wouldn't be making todays test.Well.., not a bit of difference, in fact, it seemed better. Makes me think I should of kept it for a back-up. Hindsight is always 20/20.
i kept mine for a backup . That little machine made me so much cash im almost a little partial to it ( plus i bought it when the us $ was high and they're only 4000 brand new at continental now. Last job i did with it was 100% carbon tig root / 7018 all the way out , and not a single repair. Plus the thing only weighed 500lbs! I could have threw it in a toyota in a pinch and still worked. Honestly if it was a diesel I would still be running it till this day.
After work today I stopped by the shop thats building my deck and next week I should have it on. They have a guy thats polishing up the aluminum gravel boxes and I'm going to have him polish up mine when it's done.What do you guys think? Waste of time or not?
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