My money maker - Page 2

Rockin' set up!! I love the chains in the milk jugs, that is happening tomorrow at the yard!!

Area67- I got the idea from a wrecker supply catalog I was looking through, some of the chains or harnesses they sell come in plastic pails to keep them organized so I immediately went to my plastic recycling bin and stole the idea! I love being organized and i hated how my chains and boomers were always a piled up mess getting tangled together! The bright chain is 3/8" x 16' and it barely fits in the jug.

submarine, I do have a little cooler/warmer that plugs into cigarette lighter outlet, I don't use it much because it takes forever for it to get to the temperature you want and it doesn't run long with the engine off (it has low voltage shutdown to keep from draining truck battery). I do too much stop and go for it to work well for me but isn't bad for road trips.

Thanks mechanic, the plant that builds these engines is located here in town, my father has worked there since '97 as well. All of the engines that were in Dodge trucks were made for Dodge and not for anyone else to the best of my knowledge. There's always been a lot of rumors about Cummins/Dodge/Ford/International relations. What I have heard from Cummins employees directly is that Cummins originally tried to sell this engine to Ford, but cancelled the deal when Ford insisted they stamp Ford on the valve cover shroud and not use the Cummins name anywhere on it. Cummins said no way. Dodge name is allowed on the shroud but only as long as it also says Cummins. Dodge however happens to be very proud to use Cummins engines and has never tried to mask that fact and the relationship has been good. The contracts between them keep getting renewed everytime. There was talk of Dodge switching to a Mercedes diesel when the whole Daimler merger happened, but obviously they figured out that would be the end of their truck sales... Had Dodge not used Cummins back in late 1988, Dodge would probably not be selling trucks today. They were struggling hard in those days as Chevy had the junk Detroit 6.2 diesel and Ford had the International 6.9 diesel. Dodge didn't have a diesel engine yet and had lost their around or over 1/2 century contract with the military due to this fact and frankly their civilian truck sales weren't that hot either. When they came out with the Cummins equipped model it was a last resort attempt to revive the company and it worked! The Cummins was well ahead of the Detroit and International light duty engines, with big rig durability and a factory equipped turbo model. They also came out with the intercooled Dodge Cummins diesel truck in 1991, which Ford did not intercool the Powerstroke until 1999 and Chevy did not intercool their diesel trucks until the inception of the Isuzu built Duramax diesels in I beleive 2000 or 2001/2002. All the while the Dodge Cummins trucks were gaining a reputation for durability and economy and reliability the others couldn't touch! The Duramax is catching up fast. Ford still struggles with their diesel offerings which is sort of a shame because i think they have a real solid truck.

Anyway enough truck politics, back on topic!

I am in the process of building a Mercedes 4 cylinder diesel w/automatic trans and a divorced Nissan transfer case into scout 44 Dana's front and rear. A tasty 51 Willy's wagon houses these goodies. I am not a heavy hauler any more but it should be good for medium loads (3-4000 lbs). My plan is to stretch my mileage and lower fuel costs by going 50% veggie oil, the old Mercedes diesels can handle it w/o damage. I have to drive 100 miles to get anywhere and that kills the bottom line. Isuzu builds a fine diesel..

Thanks guys, again!

Oh ya Dr. Pepper, right LOL ya i love that stuff!!!

Joe, as soon as I posted it that song was stuck in my head all day LOL then of course i put 2 + 2 together, the saying "Dodge makes it, Cummins shakes it" with the song and when i'm bored i like to remix stuff in my head so it came out "Cummins shakes my money maker" ROFL!!!

A few more details on the laptop mount-
Years ago I wanted one and was looking at them on Ebay. One of the cheaper universal jobbies was very similar to what I have except the table top was slightly fancier. The rest of the kit was a bunch of plumbing parts like I have, with some split wire loom to cover it and make it look fancy. Upon realizing what they were selling I went to Lowes, this is the basic breakdown of the parts, you'll use 3/8" black iron pipe, its plenty strong and anything bigger is just bulky and ridiculous overkill.
Get 2 flange surface mounts (like I have on the floor and the plexiglass) they have a quick coupler union I don't remember the exact name, you attach it at the bottom of the pipe and on the flange (think you need to use a stubby male union to attach it here) this lets you attach the stand to the base, just finger tighten the nut it holds it in position. You can loosen the nut and swing the laptop away from you and re-tighten it. Then whatever straight pieces and elbows you need to get the platform in the general area of where you want. I got very thick plexiglass I think 1/4". Have them cut it to the size of your laptop.
Fasten one flange to your plexiglass as follows:
center the flange on the plexiglass and put masking tape on the plexiglass where you'll be drilling the holes (they say this helps keep it from shattering or cracking). Place the flange back on the plexiglass and mark the holes. Remove flange. I used some real small screws for this, with a tapered shank or head like a wood screw (but regular machine screw threads) with a flat blade screwdriver slot in them. Drill the holes for that screw size, use high speed and do not put any pressure on it whatsoever or consider your plexiglass trash. Once these holes were drilled I took a drill bit the diameter of the screw head and drilled down just enough to make a countersunk hole opening so the screw head would be flush with the plexiglass. Put washers on before the nuts on the flange side and snug them down. A drip of lock tite would probably be good but I don't think I used them. I did not use pipe thread tape on any of it, and I would not think it'd be a good idea. You will need to loosen and/or readjust them quite a bit here and there and that would ruin the tape, besides your not trying to seal off anything anyway. I grabbed some velcro strap while at Lowe's as well (sticks to itself, hook on one side, loop on the other) and I think I put sticky back velcro on the bottom side of the plexi to hold the strap in place. The very back of the bottom of my laptop (against the screen) is all just open speaker/vent space and it worked well to strap it there, I can still close the screen but it's snug while strapped to base. My previous laptop instead of using the strap I put a couple sticky back pieces of velcro on the bottom of the laptop and on the plexiglass as you can see its still there, and that held it fine too.

Hope that helps, this is a cheap fairly easy DIY project that will save a ton of money over buying one. IF i recall correctly, the kit I copied the idea from was under $60 (perhaps 30-40) and came with a nicer mount top and a variety of pipes and fittings to pick what you needed. If you don't feel like piecing it together as I did then that's a good route to go. You'll need number 8 (i think) self tapping screws probably 1" long or so, enough to go through the base flange, the carpet, padding and sheet metal of the floor of your truck. I like the ones with a 5/16" hex head on them, a socket gets a positive grip on the head VS. a phillips screwdriver head that strips out easily. Make sure there's no wires or hoses or anything underneath where truck where the screws will protrude. The shorter lengths of pipe you use especially horizontally, the more stable the mount will be.

My grandpa used to carry chains like that. He'd have them in the back of his truck, all lined up like that. My dad does it now and if I ever get any big chains like that, that's what I'll do. It's a good idea and cheap too! Nice setup by the way. I might have to steal some of that fab work for my own projects some day...

I run Numerous waste oil in warmer months, vegetable oil, motor oil, moderate amounts of transmission fluid, etc.

Forward- feel free to use any ideas and ask questions about anything!

I cant believe that thing only gets 12 mpg.My 94 gets 15 city or towing 19-21 hwy at 70-75mph

Originally Posted by Focker

I cant believe that thing only gets 12 mpg.My 94 gets 15 city or towing 19-21 hwy at 70-75mph

You probably don't have 4.10 gears or a big turbo either. This thing makes loads of power just not the best on fuel. But 12 mpg for towing I can live with especially with this much power on tap

Yeah but 2 things your are forgetting one why need all of that for a 1 car trailer when stock will do fine.12MPG towing with a cummins sucks in the mpg category.

Also on the dodges someone must have messed something up because with a bigger turbo a 5 speed that thing should get upper teens no problem.There is a few thing you can do to it to get alot better MPG out of it.

Whats the mobile file cabinet what paperwork is their other than a bill of sale and a receipt?

Holy freaking moley! I'm in awe here! My jaw is literally on the floor!

Nice trailer rig Bigblue, that't kind of how I visualized it as you described it on another thread. Are you saying that the pulley mounted on the L frame is only used to lift the car on the trailer so as to be able to remove the cat, gas tank etc.? Neat idea and saves having to offload the car is this right?

Also you referred to the occasional unwanted farm equiment. I am assuming you mean unwanted by the owner right. Most farm equipment usually has pretty good weight so I assume you take it at every opportunity. Do you often the winch for farm equipment and other miscellaneous items. Looks like there could be alot of different uses with that winch.

Very instructive and helpful.

Originally Posted by metaljacket

Nice trailer rig Bigblue, that't kind of how I visualized it as you described it on another thread. Are you saying that the pulley mounted on the L frame is only used to lift the car on the trailer so as to be able to remove the cat, gas tank etc.? Neat idea and saves having to offload the car is this right?

Also you referred to the occasional unwanted farm equiment. I am assuming you mean unwanted by the owner right. Most farm equipment usually has pretty good weight so I assume you take it at every opportunity. Do you often the winch for farm equipment and other miscellaneous items. Looks like there could be alot of different uses with that winch.

Very instructive and helpful.

Correct on the little hoist, It pins to the trailer in about 5 seconds and removes just as quick, I store it in the bed of the truck when not in use. And yes I use it to get catalytic converters or anything else on the bottom side. I don't have to pull gas tanks. This hoist lets the winch do the work so I don't have to get a jack out, try to position it carefully and attempt to lift the car with the jack. Sometimes it can be a guessing game with cars if where you've positioned the jack will be safe and whether or not it will lift the car high enough from that position, also sometimes the car will want to wiggle or lean the jack over which will cause a damaged jack and game over. This hoist is better all around- it weighs less than my floor jack, and I hook the winch directly to the wrecker hooks which are already secured to the front control arms of the car. This is strong, safe, stable and guaranteed to lift the car plenty high enough the first time. It's faster easier and safer than using a floor jack. I didn't previously offload a car to strip it, always do them on the trailer.
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Unwanted farm equipment- yes unwanted by the owner and yes I take it every opportunity I get! I use the winch for everything!!!! I could write a book on all the different things I've used my winch for that you'd never thought of... Usually in conversation if someone is telling me about something that won't budge or is not feasible, I tell them I have 10,000 reasons why I can make it happen (10k lb winch). LOL That is probably the heart and soul of this whole setup. Without it, this is just a decent truck and trailer, it wouldn't make me that much money.

Originally Posted by KZBell

Always nice when you have a truck long enough and have done enough work on it to know it inside and out to the point that any little strange noise or movement, and you pretty much where it's coming from and what might be the culprit. I wouldn't let some supposed expert touch that beast with a ten foot pole.

Amen! Believe me I know a lot of good mechanics and if I turn down a job I will refer them, but I'm pretty much the only person I'm comfortable with touching my stuff. There's nothing wrong with my truck or engine and I'm not gonna PAY someone else to go on a witch hunt to figure out why i'm not getting 20 mpg. I don't expect any better out of this truck. It's been like this since it was bone stock when I got it and when I put bigger turbo bigger injectors more timing and turn the pump up, I don't expect it will get any better LOL I'm not stupid and I know my truck and engine extremely well.

Man i am telling you just like the other guy something is done wrong to it.I know people with setups like yours and they get 20mpg like it nothing and thats with a automatic so a stick is 2-3 better mpg right anyway.With your mods i am telling you high teens should be no problem and with all of the black smoke and all of that.That equals your money going into the air because black smoke is unburned fuel.If it was tuned just right it wouldn't smoke hardly at all ever.

Originally Posted by Focker

Man i am telling you just like the other guy something is done wrong to it.I know people with setups like yours and they get 20mpg like it nothing and thats with a automatic so a stick is 2-3 better mpg right anyway.With your mods i am telling you high teens should be no problem and with all of the black smoke and all of that.That equals your money going into the air because black smoke is unburned fuel.If it was tuned just right it wouldn't smoke hardly at all ever.

Thank you..someone who agrees.

Yea the old Detroit 6.2 and 6.5's like you have need all the help they can get... The Bosch P7100 pump like mine has is pretty much the best you can get right out of the box, and has the most potential of all injection pumps, these are in high demand for competition diesels (sled pulling, drag racing, etc.). In stock form they are still very potent if you know what to do to them.