Chef Dennis's New CargoMax

chefdennis · Mar 22, 2011

2czykats wrote:

Nice looking van. It's been awhile since I've been on here, but was this purchase a planned deal that is done every so many years or is expediting doing well enough to justify a new purchase ?

Well there were a few factors in the purchase when we did it. I was planning on buying a new van in aug after all of the tax benefits for the current van was gone. But the fact that since I contractd to Load 1 and business is very good and the money is also very good and the fact that I was losing loads to Sprinters because I couldn't haul 3 skids or taller freight that wouldn't go in a CV, made me purchase the new van sooner then planned.

It wasn't a mileage thing on the old van, just the fact the there would soon be no more tax benefit to the old van so a new van was in order.

And yes business at Load 1 is very good....

chefdennis · Mar 22, 2011

Ok, The eletronics are installed. while It's not up to the standards set my our Shelled Friend, it all came out good after a relay that was not the proper one burnt up and had smoke all over the place...I used (the right one) a 225 amp insulated relay (switched solenoid) connected from the alternator to feed the house bank batteries. Instaled the inverters , the CB and Antenna (thanks Moot for the mention of the ft fender mount) the external speakers for the laptop , the XM radio, the GPS and the backup camara. The frig and micro wave are all working and it is all good...

So here area few more pictures:

jujubeans · Mar 22, 2011

That's a nice looking ride Dennis..now I think Ken is suffering from new van envy..*L*

OntarioVanMan · Mar 22, 2011

2011 Sprinter here we come....not going to let this rookie vacation expediter show me up...*LOL*

chefdennis · Mar 22, 2011

Hey I just bought a fullsize walk in port-o-potty to mount on a "swing away" mount on the rear bumper...

Ok then!! Here are a few pictures for the wall behind the drivers seat being insulated...1st i used 1 in foam board and then covered that in foil bubble insulation then re-installed the corrugated vinyl sidewalls.

I haven't figured out how i am going to finish the curved ft section of the box where it attaches to the cab, so i won't be doing anything there yet. The side doors will get foil/bubble insulation glued to them and I have to figure out the ceiling before i insulate that. Then it will all be covered carpet.

OntarioVanMan · Mar 22, 2011

the 1/2" pink sheets of foam are pretty flexible....might work..

purgoose10 · Mar 22, 2011

OntarioVanMan said:
the 1/2" pink sheets of foam are pretty flexible....might work..

That's good. What I do is just cut half way thru the foam and it will bend. I use A/C tape the same they use on duct work. Don't cut the foil side the other side. The foil will hold it together.

Really looking good. Bet you can't wait to load it.

Jack_Berry · Mar 23, 2011

hey dennis, to attach the panels to the roof we needed to screw the reflectix into the support basses. used 1" self tappers with extra wide washers. since there really is not weight to that insulation no problem.

tried to glue them in but the body flexes over bad driveway entrances and they fell like rain leaving the house the first time. LOL. well blank!! that didn't work. LOL

ebsprintin · Mar 23, 2011

Added to the cargo van setup guide thread.

Looks like a fun project.

eb

LDB · Mar 23, 2011

Very cool and if that annoying ad pyramid didn't make the prev next buttons dead it would be even more cool looking at the pics.

Moot · Mar 23, 2011

Looking good Dennis! I've got a few questions:

Any pangs of apprehension while cutting a hole in the roof of a brand new van?

Does that material cut as clean and easily as sheet metal?

Is the driver's seat OEM? Looks nice and comfy. Is there an inboard arm rest?

Is that the solenoid on the passenger side fender under the hood? Is it controlled by a remote switch in the cab? Is that similar to the charging system in your previous van? How did you run the wiring on that side of the van? I punched through the firewall on the driver's side on my van, the passenger side had the A.C. stuff.

I'll probably have more questions later. Again, looks good and thank you for posting the pics. Have fun!

greg334 · Mar 23, 2011

I would really love to see the pictures but when I click on them this d*mn bottom popup banner has the bottom blocked so I can't click on Next. AND it is collapsed. Can we ditch it?

purgoose10 · Mar 23, 2011

greg334 said:
I would really love to see the pictures but when I click on them this d*mn bottom popup banner has the bottom blocked so I can't click on Next. AND it is collapsed. Can we ditch it?

It does the same with me. I have to close the group and reopen to see the next photo.

greg334 · Mar 23, 2011

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one.

LDB · Mar 23, 2011

You have to look at one pic then click the X to get rid of it then repeat for however many pics there are. I believe I like the old ads that popped open covering half the screen and then when I clicked the X they went away unlike the pyramid that never goes away and makes the bottom 1/2" or so dead the full width of the screen.

greg334 · Mar 24, 2011

LDB said:
You have to look at one pic then click the X to get rid of it then repeat for however many pics there are. I believe I like the old ads that popped open covering half the screen and then when I clicked the X they went away unlike the pyramid that never goes away and makes the bottom 1/2" or so dead the full width of the screen.

Sorry to make you go through all that Leo, I understand that but to me that's not acceptable. I and others shouldn't have to do that, it takes away from the visitor experience that Lawrence should be striving for above the ads.

ntimevan · Mar 24, 2011

LOOKING 4 some STRIPE pictures.

Steady Eddie · Mar 25, 2011

You guys that can't click the next button on the pics. I have no problem. The dohickythingy is at the bottom left out of the way and is only about 1/2" tall if that. I guess if your laptop has a 4" screen then I understand........har

OntarioVanMan · Mar 25, 2011

Steady Eddie said:
You guys that can't click the next button on the pics. I have no problem. The dohickythingy is at the bottom left out of the way and is only about 1/2" tall if that. I guess if your laptop has a 4" screen then I understand........har

I have a big screen and I still can't click on the pic..