ranchhopper

Im getting the truck ready for parade season next spring I have the fifth wheel sitting in the shed Im going to section out three feet of a fourteen foot cargo bed this spring and weld it back together paint it the same color as the truck add some aluminum diamond plate to it and mount it to the frame. I am going to make it removable so the fifth wheel can be reinstalled at any time Im in the process of machining oak slats for the troop seats in the cargo bed this truck will be used to transport military veterans in parades through the summer and haul toys for the toys for tots rides held in our area. Just before Christmas in the coming years it will haul stock piled food and toy donations from our village hall to the lions club where it will be distributed to the needy as we used to do with my military truck. I wanted a truck I would love to drive and could be proud of and could be put to good use helping others this truck will fit that bill perfectly. I know as in other hobbies there will always be the purists who would not want it changed at all and that's why everything I take off this truck will be saved and stored for reassembly if it comes to that someday but for now Im going to enjoy it.

Its a four inch exhaust the engine has flex pipe coming from it to the pipe mounted to the frame then the Y pipe is mounted to the frame the cab is mounted solid on rubber bushings so not much flex there but I added stainless flex pipe from the rigid mounted Y pipe to the stacks so any flexing will be taken up between the Y pipe and exhaust stacks.

I have been working for days putting on a new exhaust in the damp nasty weather caught a cold in the process but I think I have it where I want it and achieved the look I was after. I fabbed up some brackets out of steel I had laying around hours of fitting measuring welding than taking it all apart and painting them these stacks are really attached solid I couldn't believe what that little piece of steel flat stock bolted under the hand rails does to stiffen it all up. I have the exhaust running down the frame rail its attached rigid to the frame I will be welding up a bracket to attach the Y pipe to the frame cross member tomorrow all stainless steel hardware took the rusty bolts out holding the hand rails to the cab and reattached them with stainless steel bolts and washers with any luck it will be finished tomorrow.

Back in the old days I used to see those deans trucks a lot I worked for a place in palatine called wente trucking hauled 40 foot flatbeds from klehms production farm in Woodstock six loads a day to the sales yard in Arlington heights went right down 47 through Huntley always saw deans macks running that way.

Harry Kuhn had a couple superliners pulling lowboy and Ray Ravagnies RS700L were about the only big power I remember back then.

Its been a long time since I have seen a 1970 tractor with that clean of a cab the door was on it the other day after you shown an interest in it they probably took everything off it right away that was spoken for. They said the engine was never destroyed but couldn't sell it whole as it was one of the conditions of the sale now after looking at the pics she sent me the cab is at an angle the drive axles were already gone.

A friend of mine told me of one of these in northern IL said he could get it from the company he works at for next to nothing its an old semi tractor converted to a water truck been sitting out back for many years.

The pictures she sent me Monday were taken that day and the only things missing were the battery box covers and the chrome tool box under the passenger door the driver seat was still in it too.

All that stuff must have been pulled off yesterday I almost asked how much for the cab I know they wanted 1200 for the hood.

Here is a couple pics of the inside.

Glad you could work out something with them and at least save most of it got to save the good old ones.

I told a member here where it is he is probably going to try to save it the battery box covers, chrome tool box and chrome stack are gone now but its a nice old steel dash truck had a nice steering wheel on it too only saw one crack down by the horn center cap.

Those old Es sound really nice when those roots blowers on the twin 567s start to whine I saw your truck this year didn't know whos it was at the time.

Saw that on truck paper too.

Had a 41 Studebaker president years ago no title all the chrome was on the car I tried to sell it whole on ebay wouldn't even get to a more than fair reserve so I parted the same car out on ebay got three times the reserve price I was asking for the car as a whole.

I will take pics tomorrow it does have a crack at the top and bottom on the flanges.

Truck came from iowa I have other pics they sent me and the name and town are still painted on the door Im sure they would sell it whole if the price were right..

All I was told is they buy them to take them apart when I asked them the same question.

I found this truck that's being parted out Im buying the front bumper and exhaust bracket kind of a shame though don't see many steel dash RL700Ls around.

I may be selling the one on my RS I found a chrome one at a pretty good price.

That's the truck dale essling had it I wonder what ever happened to don esslings superliner I was at that show at the rail museum this year Im a member out there Im there all the time I think we were riding around in the silver pilot (A unit locomotive for the Nebraska zephyr) that afternoon.

I see that superliner a lot running to their yard on melms road what ever happened to the burgundy superliner that sat in the field just north of 88 on route 47. I believe there was a father son team that hauled gravel and grain the father had a green superliner and the son had that burgundy one sitting in the field .

Just tell the wife the more trucks less grass to mow.

I was picking up odds and ends cleaning up looks like I left the castor shims out have to unbolt the axle and slide them in tomorrow.

I got ambitious yesterday and pulled the truck up into the drive in front of my little shop and started the front axle swap yesterday was teardown day. I blocked up the truck and removed the front hubs and one U-bolt for a pattern 3/4 inch stock size was upgraded to 7/8 for the heavier axle in the truck now got all four new with hardware for 80 dollars cash and carry that was yesterdays work believe me blocking it all up using a bottle jack and blocks takes time had a set of 10 ton jack stands that were placed under the frame just behind the rear front spring hangars. Today unbolted the shock mounts and cut the old U-bolts and removed the original axle and installed the replacement axle using the tractor with the bale forks axle was an easy swap the axle could be slid one way or the other easily on the steel forks. Tomorrow will be spent installing the new hubs and wheels I just got done polishing to a mirror shine. I am going to sell the original 10,500 pound axle and Dayton hubs if anyone is interested I bought an 18,000 pound axle at a great price which had budds hubs on it for the swap I am going to sell the original budds hubs from this axle as well I went to hub piloted disc wheels I would have preferred a 12,000 pound axle but I needed one that had a spread of 34 1/2 inches from center bolt to center bolt with a 3 1/2 inch spring this was the only one I could find with both those measurements. I also got lucky enough to be able to use most of the steering linkage on the replacement axle the ball was the same size on both steering arms so I disconnected the drag link from the original and popped the replacement axle drag link right back on the steering arm.