The latest from OZ,

Topic: The latest from OZ, (Read 3072 times) previous topic - next topic

The latest from OZ,

October 08, 2013, 12:18:10 pm

Well I am annoyed that I cant get under my Coach easily, I currently have to park it across the drive or jack it up, Neither being satisfactory for me, As well as being quite dangerous,

I need something permanent, to be able to get under with reasonable height to work on any thing that breaks under the Coach,

I have these old ramps I pulled out of a car brake repair place, Been laying there for years, Hahahaha, I can park the Coach on those, They are the length of the Coach, Just,

130 mm SHS X 4 mm on both ends, Just wide enough for the Coachs rear wheels to fit between the guides, Hahahaha,

The Plot thickens,

The Coach will drive onto the ramp, when its almost to the far end of the ramp and the rear wheels are on the ramp, The weight of the Coach as it moves forwards, Will make the ramp roll forwards and leaving the bus parked dead level on the ramps and four feet above the ground, That way, I can stand up under the Coach,

Getting the balance point tomorrow, Then welding on the legs in the right spot so it rocks forwards at the right moment,

The idea of this is I will have some where to park the coach out of the way, While I am away in my boat,

and as it will be four feet of the ground, So no vermin can get in, and I wont get it stolen, As I will weld on legs so it cant be lowered down with out cutting off the legs, Hahahahaha,

It will make it so easy to change the oils and grease the Coach, Bring it home and drive it straight up onto the ramps,

It has 3 inch side rails, So I cant slide off sideways,

Permanent staircase with a hand rail on the side for the door of the RV,

I need to get under it to fix the HWH levelor that has blown a seal, Its the one on the side of the ram, It also chopped the wires off when the spring pulled the levelor back up,

Nice to be able to fix it with a bit of spare room under there,

And all my oils need changing, its like sludge, New oil, It might cure its small smoky problem, It may have some thing to do with the age of the diesel in it tho, At least a year old,

3 seater Couch is back in, Finally its stopped raining, and my yard is finally not a slop hole, So cleaned out the Coach and all the mud mats I had down,

WOW, It looks Magic inside, Its nice and clean,

I took it away for the shake down cruise with no couch, Mud mats every where, Mud all over the floor, Piles of tools,
It was a real Pig Sty inside,
Mud and grease, I am not worried about at the moment, It gets every where, I try to keep it to a minimum, The big clean up will come at the end of it when every thing is up and running perfectly,

Making sure the Coach runs reliably and wont break down when I go away, Thats the first Priority,

Stupid Quilt that came with the Coach from new, PITA, It keeps falling off the bed, So now its replaced with a Doona,
Probably the original Mattress, Very Comfy, Its Great with my Fleece underlay,

Curtain tracks at the front need replacing, They are both bent down and twisted, I have new ones here that might just fit,

I was quite surprised that the heat from the motor into the coach and the Diesel smells also are non existant,

My boat has an external Diesel and tanks, But you can still smell diesel fumes and the smell of the Diesel oil inside,,

I need to take piccys of the Ramps,.

Last week here it was -4 C Tomorrow, Its going to be 30 + C, Bushfire season is here again, But so early, Oct, Not looking good for summer,,

The gas tank out of the Coach is a non goer here, But I can get 6 X 12 LB bottles in a row where the big gas tank used to be, That will do nicely, and it also covers our gas regs as well, Portable gas is Propane, Car gas is Butane mixed with anything that else that they can stick in it, Stuffs the Fridge Etc,

I can make a nice rack in there for the tanks to sit on, Vented straight out the bottom,

New Diaphram and Gaskets and the Genny might run, Hopefully, As its not worth repairing,

A brand new 12 KVA Diesel generator with 3 phase, 240 and 12 volt outlets, Is $999-00, So it craps out in a couple of years, Big Deal, Throw it away and Buy another one, Its still far cheaper than repairing the Diesel thats in it, And its Brand New,
8 KVA Petrol is $990-00 also, with 3 phase, 240 and 12 volt outlets,

500 Watts of Solar on the roof and MMPT controller, $600-00. Thats a Goer next, Totally self sufficient with power,

Then I can sort out the electrics, Their a scary mess, Electrics are not my Forte, As long as I can get the water up and running, I need to be able to flush the Dunny, An Esky can cover no fridge till its working again,

But I am slowly getting there, I can get stick on vinyl Murals quite cheap, One each side in the middle and one at the back,
Should set my coach off a bit, It looks so plain in the middle and on the back of the Coach,
It dont need very much or very big, Just something to kill that big white patch in the middle,

I am extremely lucky that I am qualified and have the gear to do all this work, Other wise the cost would have been horrific,
Watch this space for further updates, I will keep them all in here, They will get lost if I stick them in with other posts,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #1 – October 08, 2013, 09:16:09 pm

Brian, we gotta see those photos of your ramp. Thanks for keeping us posted.
jor

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #2 – October 09, 2013, 09:04:00 am

I will second the request for ramp photos - I'm trying to visualize how it works, and I keep thinking "SCARY".

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #3 – October 09, 2013, 10:50:37 am

Why not butt the legs and put a bolt on sister behind so you don't have to cut to get it down? Like others, I am having trouble visualizing this contraption. A good bolt will take a huge amount of shear.

I had a backhoe come in to dig out a pit. Poured it and now have 35' of full standing height to work on most anything.

Pierce

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #4 – October 09, 2013, 02:11:41 pm

Working on my ramps, It will be 4 feet off the ground to the top of the ramp,

10 tons in the air with me under it, It will be safe to my standards, My standards are extremely high,

It sits up in the air when there is no weight on it, The Coachs weight will level it off as it moves forwards on the ramp,

The coach will sit on it permanently when not in use, So it will be under my coach out of sight and not taking up any extra room in my yard,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #5 – October 09, 2013, 02:22:21 pm

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – October 09, 2013, 10:50:37 am

Why not butt the legs and put a bolt on sister behind so you don't have to cut to get it down? Like others, I am having trouble visualizing this contraption. A good bolt will take a huge amount of shear.

I had a backhoe come in to dig out a pit. Poured it and now have 35' of full standing height to work on most anything.

Pierce

Not sure what you mean here, Bolt on sister, Need a piccy for that one.

I really didnt want a hole in the ground, Not really Viable, It would also have to be fenced off here, Our Laws,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #6 – October 09, 2013, 03:50:41 pm

Nice idea, we see those here in the states, on a much smaller scale at car lots. Usually on the corner or the lot, to show off one for sale. Never though about one of the scale to carry a coach. Good luck, and all of us are awaiting photos of your beast high and parked.

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #7 – October 09, 2013, 04:13:15 pm

Quote from: MR B2 – October 09, 2013, 02:22:21 pm

Not sure what you mean here, Bolt on sister, Need a piccy for that one.

I really didnt want a hole in the ground, Not really Viable, It would also have to be fenced off here, Our Laws,

It just sounded like you were going to have to use a cutting torch to get the rig back down on the ground. Guess everyone is wondering what the drive-up ramp is going to look like.

And you don't need a permit to built an elevated platform?

Pierce

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #8 – October 09, 2013, 06:39:40 pm

I have just started to get ready to dig out a pit in the morning for working under. It will only be 14 ft long and 5' deep x 3ft wide so will have to turn coach around to work on the other end. Ruth does not want a full length one alongside the driveway area. I am pouring cement thick pad then walls and a 2ft x 10" thick footprint around the whole thing for duals to sit on. Power and air plus drain in. Luckily it is all sand here so easy digging but will need side supports to hold sand back. If I do not post after tomorrow please come and dig me out!!!!
John

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #9 – October 09, 2013, 07:32:45 pm

John,

Great news! Good to run rebar up the walls and out to the sides to keep the walls vertical. 14' feel long should be fine. I used 2x2 angle iron on all the edges and bought 1 1/4" plywood to close off the pit when I'm not using it. Had to cut the plywood in half as it is too heavy and would almost need a trolly above to lift it out of the way. I poured concrete to the top edge of the angle iron so the very top is level with the slab. . The plywood is super strong and I even drove my Case 530 out on it to test it so cars are no sweat. You can also use a trolly with wheels down in the angle iron so you can lift engine or trans without a problem. 7x1 inch or so elevator wheels have have a rubber surface with two side by side bearings. 4 would hold up the U300 if they had to. I poured stairs at one end but just use a ladder at the other. We live on a steep hill so I trenched out about 30' and installed a drain. No big deal to put a grate in the bottom with a 5 gallon bucket used as a form for the concrete. Then a submersible sump pump can get rid of any water. So far, I'm happy with it but still have not had the time to get the building all the way up. Need to in the next few weeks as winter comes early to Northern California. Let me know if you would like any photos. Make sure to take some as it progresses.

Almost forgot that local codes may require a fan to vent the air from the bottom of the pit as CO and gasoline vapors can collect there. Once I get the garage done, I am going to put an explosion proof fan to push air out through the drain pipe.

Pierce

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #10 – October 09, 2013, 08:31:25 pm

Brian,

Photos showed up and your plan looks pretty reasonable. Can see how it could work nicely with the right geometry. Steel looks pretty beefy.

Pierce

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #11 – October 09, 2013, 08:40:31 pm

I would be concerned about the legs that will be the pivot point in the center of the teeter totter. Without some heavy 45deg bracing fore and aft they may bend under load, and the deck may bend because of the long wheelbase and the total weight on only two legs. . Another thing I would be concerned with is when you drive on and reach the balance point the front of the teeter totter may drop the 4ft uncontrollably.You may be able to hold it up with jacks and let it down slowly.Gam

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #12 – October 09, 2013, 09:06:02 pm

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – October 09, 2013, 04:13:15 pm

It just sounded like you were going to have to use a cutting torch to get the rig back down on the ground. Guess everyone is wondering what the drive-up ramp is going to look like.

And you don't need a permit to built an elevated platform?

Pierce

That was the idea, While I am away sailing on my boat,
Sit the coach up on the ramp and then weld an extra, temporary vertical bar on the end so that people cannot move my coach while I am away,
It wont allow the ramp to swing down, Like it normally does, and it will need cutting or grinding off the extra bit to allow the ramp to move down wards at the back and the Coach to roll off,

Propane gas drops to the bottom of the pit, Making an explosion very possible if not vented or fanned, Electric motors do spark, so keep it out of the pit, Use a long hose for the motor, keep it away from your pit,

Propane, Petrol, Accetylene, Butane, or any flammable gas explodes like you would not believe, In a contained area, Its even worse,
I have been singed over the years, Seen quite a few carted off in the meat wagon, (Ambulance) I have been very lucky,
Being Very safety conscious has definately saved my bacon,

Permits can be got around if you know what is needed, and how to do it,

If its on wheels, or can be moved, you dont need a permit, Its temporary, I did consider putting my Garage on wheels,
So I could get the height I needed, You cant get a truck or coach into an 8 foot high doorway,

With a permit,
The most I could excavate for my house, was one metre deep, 93 Feet deep,) I wanted a flat floor thruout my house, On a flat concrete slab, Not stepped,
So before I applied to build my house, I excavated a flat area that would accomodate the whole house on the flat, And I also removed any trees that would fall on my house in the future,

I applied for a Building permit, To be built on existing excavation, No problems, Passed, With big excavation, 20 feet at the back of the house,

The year before, The previous owners were knocked back on excavating my block,
They wanted to dig out a hole and build a castle into the hole,
The Counsel in their wisdom, said No, You cant have a castle there or a hole that size, To put it in either, They sold the block to me, Hahahaha,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #13 – October 09, 2013, 11:22:15 pm

Brian,
I think I understand you plan. If so, I have one concern. The distance from the "entry edge" of the ramp to the pivot needs to be longer than the wheel base of the coach. Said another way, by the time the front axle crosses the ramp pivot, the rear axle had better be on the ramp. Otherwise the ramp will tilt too early.

The only other concern I have is if the steel has sufficient strength. That will be quite a bending moment around the pivot.
If it were me, I think I would go for a combination pit (one meter deep) with elevated (fixed) deck and use ramps to get onto the deck.

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #14 – October 09, 2013, 11:38:25 pm

Pierce, once the thing is done I will be using a temp' cover as Geoff (Brother) has offered to have a metal one (in sections) with a slight crown to cover it over made. I will take your suggestion on the venting issue as that is needed. I am not putting a building over this as our weather is very dry and mild, just will use my cover (once I figure places to cut in the roof of it so I can have plastic panels put in where the solar panels are) as I like the batteries to be charged solely by solar. Due to our holiday weekend I will have lots of time to figure out all the perimeter drainage and various power/air feed lines locations etc. I will have to shore up the sides while pouring cement and building the walls as our sand is very dry and fine and will fall in. Should be fun.
John H

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #15 – October 10, 2013, 04:37:23 am

Brian, Strike me pink, you will kill yourself. I have done all the work on my Coach while on the ground. Gas out, New locker installed, Gas refitted, Re wired rear lights from front, Full grease and oil change with filters. Just jack her up on the hydraulics, wack a block or two underneath and away you go. Cause it pays if you are a little bloke like me.

Anyway, I have done a windscreen (Bugger) Could you send me what info you have on replacement screens from the States or Aus.

Thanks
Ian

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #16 – October 10, 2013, 08:00:42 am

Why not just make it a ramp you could drive up on? Either end of the coach. In other words only raise one end of the ramp. Most likely you will only work on one end of the coach at a time anyway.
With your proposed design won't the heavier back end with the engine mandate the entire coach having to go quite a bit beyond the pivot point?

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #17 – October 10, 2013, 09:59:57 am

Firstly. I have to get the balance point of the finished ramp, So it sits up in the air empty,

Then I have to get the balance point of the Coach sitting fully on the ramp,

Tilt point will be one metre from the end of the ramp with the coach fully on the ramp, Or further back as the balance point works out,
Driving on frontwards is all I need, Most of the weight is in the back of the coach any way,

I am past crawling under Cars, Trucks, Buses, Earth Moving Equipment and Coachs. In the Slop, Mud and Rain,

I can take a stool under it and sit and do the work in comfort, and be dry as well,
This is Victoria, remember, Not Queensland, We have lots of freezing rain, Not sunshine like you lot get up there,

My levelors have blown a seal, In the rear, Thats why I am building the ramp to get under and repair it, I have needed a ramp for years, I have quite a few vehicles to repair, So it wont be a waste or white Elephant,

Windscreen is direct from Foretravel, It has to be sent in a Chemically Treated box to get into Australia, That green timber stuff,
Its a Magnificent package they sent mine in, It would not break the windscreen if they dropped it off the truck,

Mine cost $3200-00 fitted, $200 to fit it, Air Freight, Double Ouch, By ship its a lot cheaper,

But you can get a bent piece of Plastic for the curved bit, and put a divider in and use a flat pane for the big glass front,
Thats what I will be doing next time,

Ask a Windscreen Glazier about it, My Glazier will doing mine like that next time I have a broken windscreen,
He said it will cost me about $300-00 with the split screen,

Make sure your wipers dont go around the curve, They dig grooves in the windscreen, Will fail inspection, Very fine grooves on the wiper arms, so you can get them to lay flat at the bottom of the window,

JohnFritz, Been doing this work for 50 years, My pivot point will support, In full compression, Possibly Min 200 tons, or there abouts, It will have approximately 6 tons only on each side of the ramps, Includes the ramp weight,

9 inch Channel, fully boxed in with 3/8th plate at the pivot point, Sitting on 6 X 4 inch RHS legs, With 3/8 thick walls, With 1/2 inch thick base plates,
Sitting on a concrete plinth, Basically to stop it sinking, As it will have the full, approx 13 ton rocking on these legs,

The 9 inch Channel on edge with 5/16th Chequer Plate fully welded the entire length of the ramp, Both sides,
Then a 3 inch wide strip of flat Bar, 5/16th thick, on edge, Welded along the full length of the ramps as well, So the Coach tyres dont run off the ramps, Either side,
All welds min 3/8 th, Then 6 inch X 3/8th stiffeners at right angles at every 3 feet,
All my welds are Certified,

Its Substantial enough for me to climb under, Plus its just scrap steel I had laying about from old building sites I brought home,
So all up, My ramps will cost me about $50-00, Steel, Fuel, Electricity, Welding Wire, A few Cut Off wheels for the 9 inch Grinder,
Where I live, The only way you will see this ramp or my front garden is by Helicopter,

Its pouring rain here and Freezing cold, So no work today,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #18 – October 10, 2013, 10:21:18 am

I have added an item to my BUCKET LIST. Visit OZ and see the mods that Brian has made to his FT and shop. At the rate I am filling my list I will be 115 years old when I get there, wait for me Brian.

Gary B

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #19 – October 10, 2013, 11:52:34 am

Quote from: Gary Bouland – October 10, 2013, 10:21:18 am

I have added an item to my BUCKET LIST. Visit OZ and see the mods that Brian has made to his FT and shop. At the rate I am filling my list I will be 115 years old when I get there, wait for me Brian.
Gary B

If I am not dead in the mean time, I am hoping to be fit and healthy when I crack the Ton, 100 years Young,

I am an Engineering Blacksmith, Gary,
I make every thing for myself, House, Boat, Tools, Cranes, Pressure Vessels,
My house is Concrete, Steel and Glass, My own design and Build, I will finish it off one Day, The Kitchen is Wood,
We have Termites, They love to eat Wood, But they have to get thru the slab first,
Mono rail in my workshop, I have had 3 ton hanging off it, 4 X 4 inch Universal beam, With a 3 inch X 3/8 stiffener welded underneath, full length, Hahahaha, Other wise I would have had to use a foot high beam, I just dont have that height in my workshop, Its also 7 metres long or 26 feet wide,
I can make Left and right handed screw drivers, Left and right handed, Hand and Sledge hammers, Shifters, (Cresent spanners I believe you call them) In left or right handed,
I cant make stripey or checker Paint, Hahahaha,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #20 – October 10, 2013, 12:18:21 pm

Left handed SLEDGE hammer ? That is one tool I do not have, oh well back to the store.

Gary B

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #21 – October 10, 2013, 12:25:40 pm

Don't forget. Down under even water circles the other way in a drain.

It's really just an ordinary Right Handed sledge ;o)

best, paul

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #22 – October 12, 2013, 07:22:20 am

Quote from: Paul Smith – October 10, 2013, 12:25:40 pm

Don't forget. Down under even water circles the other way in a drain.

It's really just an ordinary Right Handed sledge ;o)

best, paul

Wrong, The slot is off sided to either one side or the other, In the shops you buy an ambidextrous Hammer, The slot is dead centre,

You swing a 7 Lb Flogging hammer all day, or a 14 Lber, You have left and right handed Sledge Hammers for the Strikers,
I did work out of a Forge and on an Anvil, and have made Left handed Hammers and Tongs for my Strikers,

Half an hour, and there's your Brand new Hammer head, How ever you want it, Depending on the height of the striker, I will Make the slot a little high or low, So that when the Striker is standing in front of the anvil hitting on a job, the head of the Hammer hits Flat, I dont want Dents in my work, And face hardened as well, Bucket of Cyanide beside every Forge back then Hahahaha, Case Hardening on the spot, While you wait service,

For Practice one day, I cut a 4 inch square Billet of steel off, White Hot, on an anvil using four strikers at once,

WOW, I would not like to have had to do that every day, That was Scary, One hit a second, Till I said stop, Phew,

Most of the Railway workshop shed I was in, gathered around to see it done,

I used the four best strikers in the place, Two Strikers at a time was common,
But four at a time hadnt been used in about 20 odd years, Then it had been common, four at a time,

Possibly a Minute at the most, It was off and on the ground,

All five of us were really proud of our selves, We pulled it off with no mistakes, No broken handles on my Hot Set, And no misses on the Hits,
One Blacksmith and four strikers at once, You wont see that any where Today, Its all gone,

FWIW, The Blacksmith in a workshop is the little skinny one, The Striker is the Big Hefty one, He's the one that swings the hammers,

But I did swing a 28 Lb Monday for about five minutes at a time doing up the Die Bolts on a Drop Hammer, That was swing full circle and then, From vertically above your head, Slam it down hard, Hitting the head of the Spanner on the Bolt,
It was all very Hard Yakka back then,

Left handed Screw driver, The twist will be opposite to the way you use you right hand,

The Flutes are straight up and down usually, But when they put a twist on them, its fluted to the left or right,

If you ever come across a twisted flute on a screw driver, You can do it up with one hand, But you have to undo it with your other hand, as the hand that did it up, will slip on the flutes and you cant get a grip on it,

Bahco of Sweden make left handed Shifters, As Standard, I have a couple, Good quality, Last a lifetime if not stolen,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #23 – October 15, 2013, 07:37:12 am

Outstanding! I do believe this man is capable of building a ramp for his coach.

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #24 – October 15, 2013, 11:42:56 am

Its been raining Heavily here, So no work outside,

She stopped coming down today, So its already set up to weld,

I can get the balance point on the ramps while its still sitting there, Then I will drag it over into the middle of the yard, Put the Coach on it,
Make sure the balance point for the coach is right, The Coach has to be fully on the Ramps before the ramp starts to roll forward,
Then I have about 1500mm or 5 feet to roll forward to make the Ramp lower at the front, and sit level,

Needs a good ton or so counter balance to keep the ramp up in the elevated position all the time, Moving the Balance point forward will do this, Safety Factor built in, A car will have to be at the end to make it lower down,

A cuppla days Mate, You will see my Coach up on its stand, Then I can fix the levelor with the blown gasket, Change all the oils,
And just have a good look under there, Its very interesting, Lots of stuff I have never seen before,

Have the gas bottles ready to go in, A bank of six, Swap and Go Bottles, 12 Lbers I think they are, Fit nicely in the Bay,
Just gave to make a solid bracket to hold them in,

Swap and go Bottles are Propane,
Car gas is Butane or what ever else thats handy and cheap they can chuck into it, Could be any thing,
Butane is not good for the fridge, Etc, Clogs it up with crap, From the Gas Man,

The hard part in all this, Is finding steel in my yard to build it out of, I have been bringing off cuts and bits and pieces home for years, Left over from Construction sites I have worked on,

No Oxy Cutter these days, So I have to cut the steel to lenght with a cutoff wheel in the grinder,

1 mm Blade in the grinder, Still takes a while to cut 8mm or 3/8th thick steel Angle, 4 MM thick SHS,

I found enough Chequer Plate to do the Ramp extensions, Just,

Weld the Chequer Plate on tomorrow, Wheel stops on the front, Then Its just getting the central legs in the right position,
I even found a short set of steps that can be welded on the side under the door, So I can get in and out of the Coach up in the air, He He He,

Yep, You guessed it, Im a Tight Wad,

Total cost of ramps so far, All Inclusive,
Electricity, Welding wire, CO2 Gas, Butane Gas, Petrol, Diesel, Steel, DLI Certified Welder, Engineers Time, Calculations and Approval,

Its getting expensive now,

I must be pushing 50 Bucks worth, for these Ramps,
But the cut off wheels were $25-00 for 20, so they will last a long time, That also was my biggest cost,

Stayed Tuned, Completion is not far away, Hahahaha

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