Does the money part vs. comfort part have to be black and white? Would a more comfortable sleeper allow you to stay out longer? Would it cut down on motel expenses? I am just not convinced that it is either or.
Sprinter conversions
- Thread starter 06081956
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Me thinks there is no right or wrong here...just difference of opinion...call it business strategy...
bobwg
Expert Expediter
There are a few shippers that will not load a Sprinter that does not have a solid sealed bulk head
10 grand? Really? $10,000?
For that much it had better...
Well, it better be pretty darn good.
For that much it had better...
Well, it better be pretty darn good.
In all my years I've not once had that happen...unless it was plaque cardable Hazmat
That is what I would think. IF I were ever to run a sprinter I would insure, that at the very least, I had a bulkhead. I can see where a "nicer", maybe not 10 grand, sleeper area could be an advantage over the long term. I can even see a safety angle. A more comfortable rest area MIGHT allow for more rest and a safer drive after. Just a thought. I am not a big fan of the sprinter OR the cargo van. I think I would rather have a B+ or C- truck. Same in the straight trucks. A C+ can earn as much as a D for the most part. At least in the kind of work we do.
$10k is a lot if you have to drive for it. I don't. I can keep my desk job and have the conversion paid for before the paint's dry on it. Or, quit the job, do it myself, and six months later look at all the cash I saved.
Now if Turtle decides to accept commissioned work, that's a whole 'nother proposition....
Slo-Ride
Veteran Expediter
I assumed that,, and see that.It is a nice job on that sprinter.
Those weren't the pictures I saw but same shelf & truck I think..and what I wanted to see..
Same set up I wanna go with, but only on one side for now.
So I gotta ask Turtle how did ya trace or copy the side of the upright boards that sits against the truck wall? (So the board would follow the contour of wall.) it is tight against wall correct?
1 other Q,,have ya got in a situation where ya could not load due to width of freight.(shelf getting in the way)
On average,160,000 troops in the Iraq theater of operations during the past 22 months, and a total of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.The firearm death rate in Washinton DC is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period.That means you are about 25 per cent more likely to be shot and killed in the US capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the US, than you are in Iraq.
Conclusion: "The US should pull out of Washinton.
Just read this for the first time and I like it but you aren't 25 percent more likely to be shot in D.C. you are 33 percent more likely to be shot. 60/3 = 20. 60 + 20 = 80. That makes it 1/3 more likely not 1/4 more likely. Even more reason to pull out of D.C.
Conclusion: "The US should pull out of Washinton.
Just read this for the first time and I like it but you aren't 25 percent more likely to be shot in D.C. you are 33 percent more likely to be shot. 60/3 = 20. 60 + 20 = 80. That makes it 1/3 more likely not 1/4 more likely. Even more reason to pull out of D.C.
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My paramount consideration was to be able to sleep while loaded, no ifs, ands or buts. I spent far too long in a short wheelbase E-350 where 2 skids would be right up next to the back of the driver's seat. Too many Friday pickups for Monday delivery and no place whatsoever to sleep.
A real close second was ensuring that I had 108 inches for cargo, which would allow me space to secure the freight, and/or accommodate some of the oversize automotive skids.
So, I measured out 108 inches as the absolute, then figured out what all to do with what was left over. I laid the deck and e-track, then put in those sidewalls to protect the wheel wells, give me a place to store junk, and also aid as a guide for loading the skids.
Next was how to best utilize the leftover space for a bunk and living room. I figured the minimum size of the bunk that I could be comfortable in, which was 30 inches, and using the remaining space I figured out how wide of a fridge I could use, and be able to store the briefcase between the bunk and the fridge, lots of planning went into it. I basically have 108 for freight, 30 for the bunk, and another 30 for the living room/kitchen.
The shelving went in a year later.
Yeah, same truck, different set of pictures. The opriginal pictures you was were hosted on a site that went belly up, so they aren't in the http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/truck-talk/22494-trickin-das-sprinter-teil-zwei.html thread anymore. There is some good information in the text that remains, tho. But I've posted them here and there. Problem is, there's just too much on that guy to search for something that specific.
Here are those pictures, showing the progress of the shelving and some other things.
Sprinter Pics Small
Additional pictures of the interior, bunk and stuff.
Interior pictures
Replacement of batteries that spilled acid, the battery hookups and stuff.
Batteries
If you'd like full-size pics of anything, or if you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to PM me.
It's pretty tight. Not tight tight, but close. It had to be close enough to get the right-angle brackets on the shelf support and the wall of the van. If you have someone to help you, which I didn't, you can fashion a large compass, like you used in geometry class, a big V thing, and use that to trace along the wall of the van and have a marker on one point to mark the wood that someone holds up next to the wall.
I had to eyeball it, and get the curves kinda close, as close as I could. When cut, there were of course some really large gaps, cause I can't eyeball worth squat, apparently. To fill in the gaps I use regular ol' Bondo and built up the voids between the supports and the wall, and then power sanded them down to get a tighter fit. Some of the gaps were 3 inches or more, and were a couple of feet long down the edge of the wood support. You don't even have to be all that good with Bondo (I'm not), but the better you are the less sanding you have to deal with when it cures. But I sanded it down so that you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at it that any Bondo has been put on there, except for the different color of the Bondo, of course. But once painted, there's no way to tell.
I did get better at it after the first one or two, which is why when you look at the pictures closely (especially this one this one and this one this one) you don't see much Bondo.
If you look at this one carefully, you can see the support on the left side, at the top where the bracket is, there's about a 1.5 inch bead of Bondo on there. Same thing down at the middle of the same support. Here are closeups that show it, sort of. You can also see where knotholes were filled in with Bondo.
Top of the support
Middle of the same support
Each one really and truly had a different curve. And because the decking and e-track wasn't centered exactly, each support (and the ensuing shelves that fit to it) are slightly different depths, as well. Once I got the first one all Bondo'ed and everything, I used it as a rough ballpark trace, and then made decent enough eyeball adjustments.
Not really. Every now and then I'll get something that's on a 48" skid but it's hanging off the edges of the skid. That's as much of a problem with those little side walls than it is for the shelving. The narrowest part between the wheel wells where those sidewalls are is about 49.5 inches. So it can be a little tight. I've had 2 or 3 loads that were nearly too tight for the shelving, and it got rubbed a bit, and a couple of times where an over zealous forklift operator really hammered the most rearward shelf supports, but that's to be expected, and it really hasn't happened anywhere near as frequently as I thought it would. The rear doors open and the see all that shelving, and how tight the tolerance is on either end, and most are suddenly extremely careful.
But I've never not been able to take a load because it wouldn't fit (except for the rare occasions that I got there and it wouldn't fit in a Sprinter that was an empty shell, because a straight truck should have been sent in the first place). I remember once we had to put two empty pallets into the van and then set the freight on top of that because there was an issue with the side walls, but the shelving wasn't a problem. The freight overhung the skid, but overhung where the vertical shelf supports weren't.
That's about it, I guess.
(Nice to see Leo is on top of things, tho).
Freightdawg
Expert Expediter
Straight from the Turtle's mouth! I really like the way you did the shelving. You should sell plans!
RLENT
Veteran Expediter
If you want to make a template or guide to follow the wall contours here is how you can do it - would probably require an extra set of hands:
Pick up a roll of smaller copper tubing (3/16 or 1/4 inch)
Pick a point at the roof/ceiling where you would like to start.
Make sure the van is parked on a level surface and then tape up a piece of string, with a washer tied on the end, that almost touches the floor. You now have a plumb line, giving you a place for your starting and ending points, and the position of the inside edge of your shelving.
Starting where the string is taped to the ceiling, or anywhere along the vertical height of the string you would like, position the end of the copper tube and then work your way down the wall, forming the copper tube to the outline of the wall, to the point on the floor where the washer is almost touching.
(Have someone else hold the end of the copper up at the ceiling or starting point.)
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Freightdawg
Expert Expediter
Great idea!
Slo-Ride
Veteran Expediter
Turtle I appreciate ya taking time to reposting all that and some that I have not seen. Good thinking on the filler with the bondo.
RELENT, I was thinking bout the plumb line to hold the front face of cabinet. Just couldn't think how to follow contour of wall and hold it for each piece,sound like each one maybe its own cut now anyways.I wasn't thinking the wall would vary the whole length. Maybe just the end pieces would be different.
Leo,,Glad ya liked it. Thats whats its for,,your viewing pleasure.and sorry the math is wrong but I ain't going to redo it. Was just a copy and paste off a e-mail I received and I had a hard time getting E.O. to accept it..I think it may have had a link embedded in it?? E.O kept rejecting it and I may have moved some wrong numbers???? Its from a old magazine article. You dont think I could have put that together do ya.
RELENT, I was thinking bout the plumb line to hold the front face of cabinet. Just couldn't think how to follow contour of wall and hold it for each piece,sound like each one maybe its own cut now anyways.I wasn't thinking the wall would vary the whole length. Maybe just the end pieces would be different.
Leo,,Glad ya liked it. Thats whats its for,,your viewing pleasure.and sorry the math is wrong but I ain't going to redo it. Was just a copy and paste off a e-mail I received and I had a hard time getting E.O. to accept it..I think it may have had a link embedded in it?? E.O kept rejecting it and I may have moved some wrong numbers???? Its from a old magazine article. You dont think I could have put that together do ya.
RLENT
Veteran Expediter
Actually you could probably say it either way and it could still be considered accurate - kinda like the difference between markup, which is a percentage of the original amount, and gross profit, which is a percentage of the whole or final result.
However, no matter which one used, I agree with the overall sentiments expressed
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greg334
Veteran Expediter
On average,160,000 troops in the Iraq theater of operations during the past 22 months, and a total of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.The firearm death rate in Washinton DC is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period.That means you are about 25 per cent more likely to be shot and killed in the US capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the US, than you are in Iraq.
Conclusion: "The US should pull out of Washinton.
??
Shouldn't it read something like this?
On average, 160,000 troops in the Iraq theater of operations during the past 22 months, and a total of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm deaths rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers. The firearm death rate in Washington DC is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period. That means you have a 33% better chance of being shot and killed in the US capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the US, than you have in Iraq.
Conclusion: "The US should pull out of Washington.
Conclusion: "The US should pull out of Washinton.
??
Shouldn't it read something like this?
On average, 160,000 troops in the Iraq theater of operations during the past 22 months, and a total of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm deaths rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers. The firearm death rate in Washington DC is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period. That means you have a 33% better chance of being shot and killed in the US capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the US, than you have in Iraq.
Conclusion: "The US should pull out of Washington.
I wonder what the fatality statistics are for cargo van accidents with vs without steel bulkheads. Cargo or not, there is also the "roll bar" benefit to consider in the event of a rollover.
There are currently 60% fewer than that number of US troops serving in Iraq on our behalf.
There are currently 60% fewer than that number of US troops serving in Iraq on our behalf.
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Actually you could probably say it either way and it could still be considered accurate - kinda like the difference between markup, which is a percentage of the original amount, and gross profit, which is a percentage of the whole or final result.
However, no matter which one used, I agree with the overall sentiments expressed
Yes, it could be said you are 25% less likely to be killed in Iraq or 33% more likely to be killed in D.C. and either would be correct. It's the difference between going up or down with the difference.