The latest from OZ,

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

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #25 – October 15, 2013, 11:53:55 am

Brian, GAS ( LP ) in OZ must be different. In the US BUTANE is almost unknown as a fuel, it is still used in some applications as a propellant in spray cans but even that is being phased out. Our GAS is primarily PROPANE with a little butane in some areas. LP is a great fuel as it burns clean and reduces oil contamination, it is difficult to transport and its very nature makes it absolutely necessary to handle safely.
Gary B

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #26 – October 15, 2013, 12:19:33 pm

Kind of curious, Brian. What is going to be under the fulcrum point for support? The coach and ramp are going to put a tremendous amount of weight at the two fulcrum points. Are you putting down concrete pilings to absorb the load?
I imagine 22,000# for the coach and whatever the ramp weighs will punch quite a nice set of holes in almost anything but steel or concrete.

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #27 – October 15, 2013, 12:46:39 pm

Quote from: Gary Bouland – October 15, 2013, 11:53:55 am

Brian, GAS ( LP ) in OZ must be different. In the US BUTANE is almost unknown as a fuel, it is still used in some applications as a propellant in spray cans but even that is being phased out. Our GAS is primarily PROPANE with a little butane in some areas. LP is a great fuel as it burns clean and reduces oil contamination, it is difficult to transport and its very nature makes it absolutely necessary to handle safely.
Gary B

Gas for cars is Butane, Half the price of petrol, I run it all my V8's, Work horses, It actually goes a bit further in miles,
But you lose a bit in Power, Not enough to worry about, I was always overloaded, So I was aware of it,
But the price of it, Worked out cheaper than running a 4 cylinder car,

Bottled Gas is Propane by Law, Its for all other things except Cars,
And Big Fines if caught using either in the other bottles,

Our Gas Laws are very strict, It must all be inspected and approved by a Licenced Gas Fitter,

My big gas bottle in my Coach, Wont be approved here,

I need Propane for the fridge and stove Etc,

Separate Butane tank for the Genny, But I think that Genny might be running on Propane, The Genny is Hidden in a bay,
They wont even know I have a Genny on Board,

None of my gas installations have ever been inspected by any one since they were installed, 35 years, Other than the 10 year inspections and updates, Recertification on the Tanks, $100-00 per Tank per 10 Years, Pretty cheap I thought,

My V8 253 Cube, Holden Monaro, I drove for 30 years, 3/4 Million Kays on gas, was never checked or inspected in all its time since it was installed, It had a Stainless 70 litre Tank, Nothing ever went wrong with it, Same motor too, Untouched,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #28 – October 15, 2013, 12:57:54 pm

Quote from: nitehawk – October 15, 2013, 12:19:33 pm

Kind of curious, Brian. What is going to be under the fulcrum point for support? The coach and ramp are going to put a tremendous amount of weight at the two fulcrum points. Are you putting down concrete pilings to absorb the load?
I imagine 22,000# for the coach and whatever the ramp weighs will punch quite a nice set of holes in almost anything but steel or concrete.

I have a concrete Plinth laying here, I will put the fulcrum point on it when I set it up,

That is going to be my biggest and only problem with it, 12 ton sitting on two small points, It will sink chronically,

I may just have to lay a concrete slab to sit it on, Depends on how compacted my fill is there where it is going to sit, The fill is about 15 feet deep under there, Thats one of those wait and see things, How long is a piece of string, Hahahaha

One leg sinking, is not a thought that I like to contemplate, Its down right Scary actually, But I will make sure it dont happen,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #29 – October 15, 2013, 02:36:18 pm

Could you possibly run a beam crossways, under the ramp, attached to the fulcrum points and sticking out a ways from the ramp on both sides? This would help stabilize your ramp and distribute/spread the load out along the beam instead of only two points.

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #30 – October 15, 2013, 04:26:46 pm

Quote from: nitehawk – October 15, 2013, 02:36:18 pm

Could you possibly run a beam crossways, under the ramp, attached to the fulcrum points and sticking out a ways from the ramp on both sides? This would help stabilize your ramp and distribute/spread the load out along the beam instead of only two points.

A big long beam sticking 3 or 4 feet out each side would do it, No hope of falling over sideways then,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #31 – October 17, 2013, 11:23:57 am

A few progress Piccys, I am up to the stage of getting the Coachs Balance on the Ramp, So I know where to put the Cantilever legs on,

Its sitting on my car ramps there, The tractor is just to make sure the ramp dont roll forwards, The bucket is under the ramp, Safety Safety, I dont squish good,

I stuff up here, It wont Buff out, Hahaha

Yes, I did gave to back it off again and move the Clevis point a foot further forward, It started to lift the back end of the ramp up under the coach,
Its all very much trial and error on the balance point,

The tyre guides at the front will have to come off, they are too narrow, Shame, an inch extra would have been fine,

The weather is improving, 29 +C on Saturday, I am sick of the rain and slop in the yard, Makes it hard to do things,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #32 – October 27, 2013, 08:49:33 am

Here's a few more piccys of my progress so far, The rain has been Woefull,

Nearly two weeks before the ground was solid enough to drive the tractor on, down my bank to get the steel I needed for the Ramps,
I will need an adjustable leg on the front to hold the front up, while I load the coach onto it, Thats easier than welding another Metre on it, 3 feet,
Any more weight and I would not be able to move it, The Coach will, But I dont have the room for the Coach to be pulling it around,

The tractor was well over its limitations, Rolling it over and then Back again with all the legs on, Bit Scary,
YES, I do know what can happen if things go wrong on the tipping point, Whipping Chain is not fun,

I had the back wheel of the tractor in the air, with the load on the front, Dont try this at home, Hahahaahahhahaha,

Tomorrow, Hahahaha,, Load the Coach onto my new Ramps, Fingers crossed,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #33 – October 27, 2013, 09:23:44 am

Brian,

You know we are following your progress, and everyone wants to see the first drive on. Get your coffee cup filled, and head out to do the test. Love your photo updates.

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #34 – October 27, 2013, 10:47:11 am

I want to see the oven you're gonna build to powder coat it in...

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #35 – October 27, 2013, 10:58:46 am

No Paint, I like the Rustic look, Hahahahahaha Plus paint costs money, It cant be seen with the Coach sitting on it,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #36 – October 27, 2013, 11:52:32 am

Brian, looking good, but how about putting a couple of pieces of angle on the centre legs at 45*to the ramp channel. You have them cross braced but maybe these would stop any chance of the 2 middle ones kicking over slightly when coach is climbing up the ramp.

Just a thought.
John H

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #37 – October 28, 2013, 06:49:35 pm

Hahahahahaha,

With the ramp at a higher angle then my test run, I drove onto the ramp,

The engine skid bars dug into the Ground, and I am now bogged on the end of the Ramp,

Have to jack it up, pack under the back wheels to get it off the ramp,

You have problems with your step, My door is 4 feet off the ground,

Enough, I am going for a ride on the bike, I need to unstress myself, Hahahaha

It is trial and error, But it will work, More later,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #38 – November 01, 2013, 08:14:51 am

I jacked it up and packed under the wheels, Its now unbogged,
It was just a dip in the ground, wheel dropped into it,

We dont go any where, Hahahaha,

Its there, So I took it to the end to try it out, The back end is just to heavy with the front on, It wont roll over onto its feet,
I will just have to back it onto the ramp,, it will work then,

I got the new Regulator from Foretravel, Its different to mine, Connected it all up temporary, and it works, Nice to have a win,
Its not putting out power tho,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #39 – November 01, 2013, 08:38:25 am

I'm trying to think of some funny caption to go with that crazy photo of your coach on the ramp.......

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #40 – November 01, 2013, 08:55:06 am

Quote from: cajk – November 01, 2013, 08:38:25 am

I'm trying to think of some funny caption to go with that crazy photo of your coach on the ramp.......

Date line South Pacific, Australia.

The Amazing Brian, today ramp jumps his coach over his barn. His amazing feat was witnessed by no one, and yet sets a new world record for height and distance traveled, south of the equator.

With his ZeeDee awnings for flight control he experience no problems and a smooth landing. Next is his Blue Mountain flight.

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #41 – November 01, 2013, 09:03:33 am

Backing it on is probably a better solution anyway. You don't want it any steeper than it is. You might even find that you don't want it to drop down, more room with it up (assuming you have complete trust in the two pivot legs.)

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #42 – November 01, 2013, 09:07:34 am

Backing on should work a lot better as the rear axle weight is almost double the front. Question is will it try to tip too soon?

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #43 – November 01, 2013, 12:09:52 pm

Hi Dave,
If, when backing on the ramp, it tips to soon, it would make removing/working on the front wheels very easy!

Then you just drive forward to set the coach down. This is an amazing amount of work. A lot of trial and error. I hope it works well.
Raymond

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #44 – November 01, 2013, 12:34:51 pm

Caption, I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #45 – November 01, 2013, 01:50:21 pm

Quote from: Raymond Jordan – November 01, 2013, 12:09:52 pm

Hi Dave,
If, when backing on the ramp, it tips to soon, it would make removing/working on the front wheels very easy! Then you just drive forward to set the coach down. This is an amazing amount of work. A lot of trial and error. I hope it works well.
Raymond

Actually, if backing on the ramp it tipped too soon, the ramp part would hit the underbody and totally prevent the front wheels from getting on the ramp. Could do a lot of damage as well-- lots of weight/momentum.

You really want to verify that the front wheels will be at least a meter or so onto the ramp before it tilts up. That way you don't have to be concerned with small changes in how the coach is loaded, tanks full/empty, etc.

Brett

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #46 – November 01, 2013, 02:37:37 pm

Seems to me the knowing the front and rear axle weights, as well as the distance between the axle centers, the pivot point could be determined? Better than guessing?

Roland

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #47 – November 01, 2013, 03:04:13 pm

You are scaring the bejeezus out of me. If you are not dead straight on rolling onto that ramp, and skew at all sideways ... tire slips off and your whole rig is in big trouble. I think you need to do a "Haygarth" and start digging a pit!!!

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #48 – November 01, 2013, 06:06:10 pm

It may look scary, But I have been building this stuff all my life, For me its a breeze,

I have 3 inch side rails on the ramps, the wheels cannot slide off sideways,

There is no way I can get the balance point of the coach accurately, so its trial and error,

At a guess, The balance point would be about 2 feet in front of the rear wheels, But I also have the Genny and the big Gas Tank out, So the balance point has moved a lot, Its all in the rear at the moment, Behind the rear wheels,

It wont lift untill the coach is fully on the ramp backwards, It needs another metre on the start end, Then it will be right to go, It cant lift with the extra metre on it,

There is no such thing as cant in my vocabulary,

Impossibilitys, after lunch,
Miracles, Tomorrow morning,

Its all slow work, Take my time, A lot of thought, Not damaging my Coach is number one priority,

The height off the ground is just magic, I can work under there with plenty of room and safely,

The bumper Bar works well, I had my temporary wheels G clamped on the ramp and hit it with the Coach, The 75 mm RHS vertical handle was crushed and bent over, No damage to the Bumper,

A pit is not suitable for me here,
Snake and spider trap, I have five different types of venomous snakes that reside here with me, and red backs are every where,

It looks like a V2 bomb ready for launch, I might declare war on some one, Hahahahahaha

Keep in mind, That I dont have any one to help me, I do it all on my own,
There is no one around to assist me when I am putting the coach on the ramps, or moving the ramps, or any thing else I do,
So I have to think it all out before I do any thing,
Any thing goes wrong, I am in deep Doo Doo,
I keep the mobile very handy, and very close, Just in case, Hahahaha

Its getting there, Very happy with it, And its safe,

Re: The latest from OZ,

Reply #49 – November 01, 2013, 06:15:13 pm

Brian I luv it.
If I had kept digging my pit I could have come up under your ramp maybe and helped!!!
You are doing fine, and I believe you when you say it will work.
Take care now
John H

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