I bought this truck about a month and a half ago. it only cost me 2k and ive had to replace a bit (belt, tensionor, shocks,starter, locks and ignition etc)
im an aviation support equipment technician in the navy, which is something like an auto mechanic
i just went to welding school when i bought the truck because it just seemed like the right time to finally do this!
im hoping very very soon to start the actual build!
after a bit more fixing up the truck!
hopefully i start and finish it before my membership runs out haha!
its also was the last year i could get an auto loan on through my bank, which happens to also be the last year of obd1 and makes it emissions exempt in my home state of Illinois where i will register it even though right now Iâm stationed in San Diego California
i currently have a hobart mig without gas yet though, will co2 only do fine?
my auto darken welding mask
i have an oxy/acetylene tortch which hopefully will due for cutting?
now i just need to find a place i can plug into to weld and i can actually start -_-
I canât advise on the co2 only. The bottles I use are 75% argon / 25% co2.
The little plasma cutters are real handy in building the gasifiers but I have built several before I bought the cutter. If you have a saws-all you will find yourself using it more than the torch in building the gasifier .
Marvin Willoughby is driving a ford truck and seems to be doing well with it. You may want to follow his thread.
Welcome Brandon. I tried a few of the new 30-50$ range sawzalls but wasnât too impressed. They were either cordless with low battery life/power or they got bogged down cutting up branches and thin plate that they should have easily handled. If you can afford it, THIS DEWALT for 90$ from Amazon has treated me very well and rips through trees at least 6" across and lots of steel without breaking a sweat. Also comes with a decent warrenty. Buy extra steel cutter (âBi-Metalâ, high TPI number) blades up front.
Hi Brandon,
For a highway truck it should do pretty good. I still have not gotten mine to were I can keep up on the interstates yet. Hills are rough on it. These trucks are heavy to start with, keep things as light as possible without sacrificing durability. Expect about a 35+/- mile range on a hopper of wood depending on a lot of things. A few things I would do different on a Ford next time. Let me think about it a little and Iâll get back to you on that if you want.
35 miles per hopper isnt bad but i was hoping for a little better but thats still good!
If you can recall any of those things let me know!
ive thought about dropping the off the truck bed and making a custom wood one with the cooling rails as sides.
ive also thought about using the other tank for cooling the gas, but i wouldnât know how exactly.
Iâm going to go with co2 then for cost. Wonât really get much work done till my wife who is also in the navy transfers down here to San Diego! Canât wait to actually start though!
Hadnât forgot about you, Brandon.
Mine does pretty good towing. A pop up camper would do fine I think. I would try to keep any other kind of camper as small and light as possible. Speed will be limited but you can add gasoline to make up for it.
My fire tube is 12 3/4" od 1/4" wall pipe 19" long. Doing it again for this truck I think Iâd try to find a 14" tube about the same length or add a couple of inches to the length of the 12". Look into Wayneâs Ram with the 16" tube but it adds a lot to cost.
The main things I would do different is cut a smaller hole in the bed and use the couple of inches between the bed and frame rail to funnel the char to the passengers side more. One 3" valve for air adjustment works but I think two smaller ones would be easier to adjust. I would build a cooler rack more like Wayneâs. Mine draws too much attention I think. Seems to work ok and not plug though.
Hi Marvin,
I plan on doing a 1996 F150 also with a 6cyl 302. Mine is a manual 5 speed. What type of speeds can you go a flat surfaces? How much different is it with a trailer on flat highways? What are your expectations with a 14" firetube? Are you wanting a bigger firetube because yours gets hot at cruising speeds? Or will it give you more power?
Be interesting to see how a 300 6 cylinder will do. I think the 5 speed will help a lot. It will hold 65 on flat interstate, can push it farther but not to comfortable with that for to long of a time. Have not had a trailer on anything flat for long enough to say. I âthinkâ a 14" firetube might be the difference in the extra volume of fuel these trucks need without overdrawing it.
