Gary Lewis

That really looks good, Cory! Those welds of the rolled edges are great. Well done!

This forum, like most forums, doesn't read the camera's orientation info in the picture. So you have to orient the picture in another app, like I did. I opened the pic in Photoshop and rotated it 90 degrees. Then I used the Levels tool to make the paper white and saved it.

Good job, Carl. But I rotated it to make it easier to read.

You may be right. But the beauty of this approach is that if overlanding never happens, and there is a good chance it won't, then I don't need to buy the rack, the RTT, nor the storage system. Having said that, my son loves the idea of a pull-out storage system, so maybe I can entice him to go with me if we add one of those to the truck. It'll have to be fairly low 'cause right now the large spare tire would ride on top of it. But, if I ever get the bumper/tire storage thing built it would go back there. Anyway, I like the idea that I can buy something now to which I can add on to later.

No Gary, you're right! One died and another doesn't work. So, perhaps the "known good" one mistakenly got installed wrong. I know these are in a tough spot and I usually just cut the fender liner back after removing the passenger wheel. But it is still akward. Yes! That's what I was thinking - the known-good one missed the cam.

Angelo - Those wheels are going to look really good on the truck! As for the engine, my question is what are you going to do with the truck? If a daily driver the 300 would be quite adequate. But if you are going for "fun", the 400 will be a whole lot more power. And you know what people think of the 400, so it would be cool to show them up.

Well, the new backup light switch came in yesterday so I installed it today, and now the lights come on in Reverse. (That emoji is entitled "Beam". ) I checked, and for the record the backup lights are angled out at 16 - 18 degrees as best I can measure. Seems to give a nice even light, and they go way to the sides. Then I added a tab to the 1" bump stop spacer and put a padded clamp on the OX actuator cable. The cable doesn't touch anything, anywhere. The closest spot is where it wraps around the spring, but even with it on the lift, as shown below, it doesn't touch. And as the weight comes down on it the cable moves away from the spring. So I think that exercise is done.

Jim - You are right. I thought he'd said he put a new pump on and it wouldn't pump either, and I was thinking the first pump died and the second pump got put on incorrectly. But that's not what he said.

Alan - Thanks for the info. Don't worry about getting the detailed pics as I hope to go another way. I hope to use the t-slots now available on some of the tonneaus that will let me use commercially-available racks. Here's a pic of one version, but this wouldn't be adequate for a RTT. However, it does show the Pace Edwards Explorer rail system and states it works with Thule & Yakima.

No, it wasn't slick. It seemed to seal the rubber and give it a nice finish. But it was still pliable and not slick.

Don't miss that he's in California.

I'm going to ask Alan/Blacktop to tell us about his roof top tent, his Unistrut rails, and his plans for a rack. Perhaps that will help with my thinking?

That's cool, John! But I wouldn't quit you day job as I can't see you making a go of it. I know what you mean about the steering wheels. I fought and fought with the one that was on Big Blue and it kept feeling sticky. But before I put the later model one on from Huck I really, REALLY got serious about cleaning it 'cause it was gross. Don't remember what all I used, but it was probably Dawn & SEM Soap with a toothbrush. Whatever I used it was a battle, but it finally got it clean and I then coated it with 303 protectant and it seems to have done the trick. Anyway, it looks like you found a good solution, pun intended, so that is good to know. Thanks!

Bob - Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am finding two different ratings. But what is confusing is that there are just two ratings. For instance, Yakima says their OverHaul HD Tonneau Set will "Carry up to 300 lbs. of gear on-road and up to 180 lbs. off-road." That seems to work as their Skyrise Medium tent weighs 115 lbs, and you might have a few accessories, like pillows, blankets, sheets, etc in there. But so far nothing says how much weight the supports can take when sitting still. One of the Yakima RTTs can handle 3 people and 600 lbs. But can the supports? This is a whole new world to me. It appears that I can get a tonneau with tracks and later add the right bits and pieces to have a RTT - assuming that I get someone to go with me. But there are soooooo many details on the RTT and supports to be worked out that it gets confusing. Here's one: Yakima's OverHaul HD Tonneau Set says "Specifically designed to fit Retrax XR series, Pace-Edwards (except 2004+ Ford F-150), and Ford Embark LS tonneau covers". And I'm looking at the Pace-Edwards. But on the Yakima page it says "Does not fit your 1985 Ford Pickup, Full Size Std. Cab." I would think that if you have a Pace-Edwards with the tracks then it'll fit, regardless of what truck you have. Doesn't that make sense? As for the bed, I was asking about Fords. And I had forgotten that '97 was the change. So apparently Retrax hasn't addressed the earlier beds. My plan for tomorrow, among other things, is to call Retrax and confirm that. And call Leer re the Pace-Edwards and confirm my expectation that I can mount their box against the toolbox. And ask about the drop-in liner. Then I may call Yakima and find out why their system won't fit my truck.

I'm pretty sure that's what it is for, Jim. On the early EFI trucks there was a line coming off the heater hose and going through the throttle body and then into that port. But they discontinued that on the later EFI trucks. So it should be able to be sealed off. I've wondered about tapping it and running a pipe plug in, but am afraid it is too thin.

Interesting. Yes, I remember the problems of getting the tip under the cam. The pump did not work. So that could be the issue. The original pump died and the replacement's arm went above the cam.

So what is this anode going to do for you? I know the rod is to take the punishment and not part of the system so what part are you trying to save? What line do you want to "tap into" and why? The controller should have 2 adjustments if you want to call them that. 1 is how much total power goes to the trailer. A heavy trailer would have more total power to the brakes than a empty trailer. This may also tell the controller how fast to "ramp up" if it is the cheaper time based controller. The other is a manual lever or slide to applies the trailer brakes with out touching the brake pedal. IIRC there are 4 wires power in ground brake light and line to the trailer brakes. Now the only wire the rheostat controls is the line to the trailer brakes why would you want to tap into it? Me I would not. The trailer brake controller is just for the trailer and nothing else gets put on the wires for it in my book. If it warms up enough to day maybe I will finish my controller install? Dave ---- Dave - Didn't see your post before I replied, but I think Scott is just wanting to put a connector into the circuit so he had remove the part easily. Not tap into the circuit. At least, that was my guess and the reason I responded the way I did.

Scott - I'm sorry to see that the cap leaks. But at least the drain worked well. (My drain is laying on my computer table awaiting its installation.) But I didn't follow what you were talking about doing on the port in the neck. If you are thinking of inserting the anode in there I believe it would work. However, is there a circuit or something to go to it? Like a ground? I'd think you'd need to insulate the anode from the radiator. Maybe if you had just the right size of rubber hose to go in that fitting and put the anode in it. Then put a hose over that onto the fitting. But how to seal it on the end? On the brake controller, you can put a connector in, no problem.

You are asking questions I can't answer. I don't know how a fuel pump for an IDI works, so don't know if there even is a cam lobe. But, if there is I'd think it could go flat. On the other hand, what drives that cam? As for what electric pump, I have no idea what pressure an IDI needs at that point. Do you?

Yes, plating like nickel or copper is easy. Did a bunch of it in Jr High and many of my father's tools were copper plated. I'll bet his hands turned black when using them. Powder flows at something a bit less than 400 degrees, so I don't think it would work. And Jet Hot is expensive and does take time, like Jim said. I think it cost me ~$600 for the headers. But the wait was several weeks.

Jim - I really don't know that much about the YFA's, so didn't know if it was a solenoid or stepper. Anyway, your question about pump or carb is good. Perhaps the ticking noise is just a result of not having fuel, and we know the truck will start if it has it. Andrew - We need to ascertain if the fuel pump is working. There is probably a steel line going from the carb to the fuel pump, but it is possible that someone replaced it with rubber. Can you loosen the fitting where the line goes into the carb and crank the engine to see if fuel comes out there? The best would be to take the line off of the carb and put it in something like a coffee can, but some times with a steel line that is hard to do. But you don't want fuel going everywhere either. So if you can't get it into a can then put the fitting on but loosely so it'll leak a bit.

That is ingenious! Well done!

Yep, those look like the ones on Big Blue. Well, maybe better as his have some places where they've gotten a bit hot and warped. Can't wait to see what they look like when you are done.

Yes, that's a bummer about the motor. But you will like a ZF5. Drop it into 5th and motor on down the road. So, I hope you can find the right truck with a good engine and tranny and a shot body. Marry the two and you'll have it made.

Bill - A 2wd truck wouldn't make it very far where I hope to go. As for the headers, Scotty thought I ought to have them. I'm not sure, but I have them and sure hope they don't leak. The last set of L&L's didn't, surely due to the 1/2" thick flange. But I will say that the truck sounds GOOD when I ease into it a bit. There were a couple of guys eyeing it the other day, so I let them hear it. But might there might be other things Darth doesn't have? Like a 3000 watt inverter? Dual batteries? An air compressor?