Project Bud

I asked little giant about a platform and the said it wasn't necessary.
Can you park the Bud on the street or parking lot put TNT in truck or van and transfer to Bud on the street or parking lot. Only problem you have to load and unload twice

One more thing. I would really recommend that you go with a heat exchanger. There's a thread about universal heat exchangers that you can check out

Cool Deal, can wait to see some pics of it now.

As far as installing the TM, if an engine hoist won't work, good 'ol man power always does...........back before I became old an weak, a friend and I lifted my TM in my new van when I was installing it.

Mo wrote:One more thing. I would really recommend that you go with a heat exchanger. There's a thread about universal heat exchangers that you can check out

Are you bailing on the heaters in favor of Hx now?

If I could get a Hx set-up that could give me a steady 210 - 220 degrees, I would go that route as well. The problem is I don't see on out ther that will work for me. The only heat sources I have is the blower and the 20 hp engine...that isn't going to light the world on-fire.

Thanks for the platform answer...that helps.

I am excited about finally getting this truck back, but it is evil that it happens when I am broke. Will be in better shape in a few weeks and then get this thing working by the end of May.

I think I'm sticking with LG.

The project Bud close now. You'll get her done and think how nice it would be to never have crawl in a van and duck

Did you pick it up. We want pictures! We want pictures! I want to see if you can dethrone AC with the nicest TM set up pic on the forum

Hey Mil, our TNT is mounted on the passenger side with no big water tank or anything countering it.

you cant see any sag in one side of the truck at all, even when the 150 gallon waste tank is full


Look at your over load springs in the back, whats the GVRW of your isuzu? I remember seeing a pic of the underside, your box looked pretty solid.

I dont think youll have an issue, my springs harldy even compress with a full waste tank

I just skimmed this thread and its a good one!....I dont have the time to read all the details but what a great project this is.....I kept asking myself why cant you just offset the weight with BEER on the opposing side then it dawned on me.....the beer side would always be empty either way. duh!


but really, I love this project Mil....I want to see more pics. Loved the rim covers!

The welder was out of town so things got delayed. I did run past it about an hour ago to take a look at the finished effort to see if it will work.

Freaking awesome! They guy was worth the wait, he made it a hell of a lot better than I expected...should work well. Should also be freaking expensive, but it is better than a hatchet job for cheap.

I should have it home this week and with luck, the TNT will be perched inside by the end of the weekend. Might be able to get it on the road in a bare bones condition in another week. Then I will find out if this idea will actually be a good one.

Sweet, glad to hear it.........can't wait to see some pics of that beast.

It's going to be fun working out of that rig

Well, it was a great day and a not so great day for this build.

First, the great day part is that I picked it up today from the welder / fabricator.  Very nice work...expensive...but nice work.  He used the aluminum panels that were removed to box in gaps left between the panels.  Then he built the platform out of 3/8 inch aircraft aluminum and 6 braces underneath.  It is a really solid build and looks factory.

Here are some before and afters: (Sorry they look slanted, I was on a hill)







I was getting ready to install the TNT using these old urethane body mounts that I had left over from a '55 Willys Jeep project (that's right, my loft of forgotten parts).



but there was a problem.....a really big problem.  The TNT will not fit through the window!!

The width was okay, but not the height.  When we found out that it would require a platform due to the lower bracing, we knew it was going to close, but I figured that I would just slide the machine forward or back to clear since it is just the motor that sits too high to clear.

After staring at it today, this is what I discovered.  The platform is exactly 26 inches on either side of the window and the window is 7 inches deep.  For those with a TNT, you might know that the motor starts right at about 26 inches and is about 7 inches deep......can't make up this stuff up!

The height of the window is exactly 2 inches too short to fit over the engine.  So, I now have to either go with a different machine or else find an alternative.  I can't cut the window taller due to the internal brace, but I can add onto the platform another 7 inches and mount the machine farther to the edge.

Adding to the platform would be the easiest, but I will end up losing space to mount the APO hose reel in front of the control panel like I had planned and it will add yet more cost to the project.

So, the project moved forward, but hit yet another delay.  The welder has no time next week to add to the platform, so I am dead in the water unless I can think of something else.

Any ideas?

Shopping around, the Sapphire 460 and 570 would be a perfect fit if I want to go with heat exchangers. Not sure what I could get with my near new TNT and #4 LG, but it might be worth it.

I should just extend the platform I guess, but with all the trouble people have been having lately with their LG heaters and the limited resource to propane in my area, I can't help but wonder if I chose the wrong machine for this project.

I can't help but remind myself that if I went with another van, I would have been cleaning already with this second truck instead of just writing checks. The biggest problem with any project is that you have to complete them quickly before the desire starts to wane.....found that out with a few classic cars and seem to be reminded of it with Bud.

Im confused kind of hard to tell with the pics. One opening is smaller than the other and it wont fit going in the taller side either? Will it fit of you remove the engine and then reinstall it after its in there?

Dude don't give up on propane there a lot of guys that love it and have no problems

Mo wrote:Im confused kind of hard to tell with the pics. One opening is smaller than the other and it wont fit going in the taller side either? Will it fit of you remove the engine and then reinstall it after its in there?

Both roll-up doors are open in the photo. The opening cut through the wall is the problem as the peak height of the TNT (motor) doesn't fit beneath the top brace.

I can remove the motor and slide the TNT back farther to the driver's side, but that would move the control panel another 7-8 inches away from the door on the passenger side....machine would be about 2.5 feet away when you opened the door. That is too far away for my taste plus I am not sure there is enough room on the other side of the platform.

It just sucked to finally get this truck home, be standing there with tools at the ready and few friends over to help lift the machine into position, only to find out that it doesn't fit.

I guess it will go back to the welder to add on another foot to the platform. Then I can bias the machine to the passenger side like I originally wanted to place it anyway. Scratch another week off my plans....

I don't fully understand either, but can you turn the TNT 90 deg. on it's side and put it in then upright it once in??

I'm really not explaining this well.

With the machine mounted to the platform, the engine can't fit beneath the top of the cut-out. So, I need to mount the machine biased to one side of the box so that the engine will not end up in the opening, but the platform isn't long enough.

Bottom line is that the engine on a TNT sits higher than the rest of the machine and just happened to be located exactly where it would not fit.

I just ran into my welder at the gas station and I explained that the machine will not fit. He followed me home and looked it over...plans to raise the height of the opening another 4 inches.

Said to drop it off Sunday and he will get it down first thing....no charge.

Find that kind of service in the big city, gang.

Wow, that is a great deal!........Prob solved huh!?

It should be.....I wasn't sure it could go any higher by the design, but he was confident that it will not be a problem.

Welder is done...was able to extend the height another 4 inches! That still only gives me a couple of inches above the air cleaner, so changing the filter will be tight.

I get it back Friday and will be dropping the tnt....I mean installing the tnt this weekend. There will be some cool photos coming....

Sweet

Did you get the TNT installed today?

Mo wrote:Did you get the TNT installed today?

Not today, I have access to a forklift tomorrow, so I should have it in by dinner.