Freightliner M2 Build

[RLPRACING]

5/5/14

After 7 months of wet shoes, the steel steps were looking pretty bad.... so we fixed that.

 

[RLPRACING]

5/6/14

Installed one upper cabinet in the bathroom and installed all the trim.

 

[superbird03]

I like the improvement on the steps a lot! What did you use for material?

 

[RLPRACING]

I like the improvement on the steps a lot! What did you use for material?

The vinyl was one of those small prepackaged rolls from Lowes and after cleaning the steel, I used an adhesive called Stick-N-Stay.

 

[RLPRACING]

5/9/14

Added some ghost flames to the hood. Sanded the hood with 350 grit and filled a few rock chips. Sprayed a coat of white then started to lay out the flames. Took a whole roll of fine line tape to do it and a few hours to tape it all out. I used blue pearl in a clear basemaker. After removing all the tape, I sprayed 4 coats of clear. After that set for a day, a bunch of wet sanding with 1000 grit then 1500 and finally 2000 grit. Buffed it using a couple different compounds.
Also painted the bumper and grills silver with some metal flake in the clear. Still have to install the front mirrors.

 

[racer2e]

What wall thickness are the floor and wall tubing? Is the roof built out of the same tubing as the walls?
Jayme

 

[RLPRACING]

What wall thickness are the floor and wall tubing? Is the roof built out of the same tubing as the walls?
Jayme

The 1.5" X1.5" wall tubing is 16 gauge. The floor and ceiling is 2" x 2" and is 14 gauge. The two main rails where thicker but I don't remember what they were.

 

[johnmc-TC]

nice job i just looked at your build.

 

[andyg-TC]

Wow! Sweet Build

 

[RLPRACING]

Matt got the hickory valances built and I got the stain and poly on them. Before assembly, we had drilled holes into the board against the wall so we could hang them with screws into the steel wall studs and you cant see the screws from the front. Roller blinds where bought and cut to the correct length at Home Depot.

 

[RLPRACING]

7/7/14

Besides working on the dragsters, I've been doing a lot little stuff to the motorcoach. We built the wood framework around the bunk. I covered the bottom of the cabinets and trimmed it all with homemade molding. Also added lights under them too.

 

[RLPRACING]

7/7/14

To me the biggest challenge in doing a build like this, is routing all the utilities. Unless you come up with a tray that you can add lines at a later date when you come up with new ideas/needs, you need to know where everything goes BEFORE the build starts. One example, I forgot to route the power wire for the under cabinet lights over the dinette/sofa before the walls got paneled. It was tough running the line and hiding it. I used a corner molding to hide it in the bathroom.
Here is another example, the rear view camera lines. Its a two camera system. I placed the video screen on the dash where it was out of the road but still in a good place for the driver to see. I would like it higher so it would be like looking in a rear view mirror but didn't know where to run the lines up there. Where its at, I could run the lines straight back into the dash. I picked up the power off the cigarette lighter and installed a switch(red light in pic) so I could turn the system on/off when I wanted it rather than ignition key position. Camera cables go behind the dash toward the passenger side, down the kick panel, under the floor corner panels to the back of the cab, over the cab/coach boot. The coach camera cable then runs to the ceiling and to the back of the coach and out the rear wall. That I had done before walls and ceiling. The trailer camera cable goes through the floor into the A.C. compartment, out the side of that compartment into the center of the truck frame rails and runs the length of the truck to the trailer hitch are where it connects with the cable coming from the trailer. The main problem with running these cables are the size of the ends. You need to drill a huge hole to get the end through then only have a little 1/4" cable in the hole when you are done. Of course the coach cable was too short and the trailer cable too long so that connection is in the rear coach compartment instead of out on the hitch. I should have bought two long cables. I placed the camera at the top of the trailer and had to adjust its angle all the way up so the door clears it(barely). Drilled a hole straight into the trailer and ran the cable inside the trailer along the upper inside. Its not hidden but its out of the way and protected.
Planning, planning, planning is all I can stress.

 

[RLPRACING]

7/7/14

Here are the pics.

 

[hot rod]

I know from where you are coming. It seems like all I did was plan wiring and my project was way smaller than yours. After we did the structure and before and wood or aluminum was in I had wires pulled and running around and hanging all over the place and I still forgot a thing or 3. I made the decision to add a camera on the back of the truck to see the fifth wheel for hooking up and for a rear view when empty after I already had the walls in, and now I'm trying to figure out how to run the cable to where I want it. Fun, fun.

My suggestion when starting from scratch is that if you are pulling a bundle of wires from the dash back to the coach, or from your electrical panel to another hard to get to area, just add an extra wire or two to the bundle and leave them unhooked and mark each end. It's no harder to pull 4 wires than 3. That way when you inevitably find that thing you forgot to wire at least the hard part of routing the wire is already done. That has saved me more than once. Or if you think you might add something later, just run the wire anyway and it is there if you need it. You aren't out much, and it can save a bunch of trouble later. Sounds like you are already past that point on your project though.

 

[bushpilot-TC]

why not pull a bit of poly twine or rope and lay it w/ the existing wiring etc....you can always use it to pull wires (and another replacement string) each time you use it.

 

[Kenn-TC]

wires

I ran several wires, sizes 18 to 10 gauge in the cab overhead. My thinking was that if needing a wire later for anything I would not need to remove the headliner. I spent a ton of time thinking of things that could not be done later and still forgot. We raced in Portland over the 4th weekend and I can't believe that I forgot an outside outlet on the passenger side of the coach. I have run extra 12v wires to the bunk area and under the kitchen cabinets.

 

[RLPRACING]

9/11/14

Among a dozen other projects, I got back to the Freightliner. I installed cabinets over the heater and covered the ductwork. Inside the cabinet I installed a Jenson 12v radio which also has a dvd/cd player in it. From the ceiling I hung a mount for the 32" TV. It sure didn't feel very secure and moved pretty easy so I had my son weld up a tube/mount that connected it to the cabinet top. No more bouncing around. Any guesses on the movie?
Next up is the woodwork around the cab opening.

 

[Bob86ZZ4]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?

 

[RLPRACING]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?

First guess is right! LOL

 

[Bob86ZZ4]

One of the great theme songs.