Sleeper to cab bond

[BIGNASTY]

I have been thinking (I know I know) about the cab to sleeper connection on my Inter-trash-anol proj. Have got the rear suspension mounted and pun kin dropped in/new S cams,air brake cans,new brake shoes and drums , associated hardware,suspension re bushed, new axle bearings, air bags looked to be new. Drive shaft being built as we speak.



Thinking ahead about the cab to sleeper connection. I'm going to cut the back of the cab out the same as the sleeper. On the cab of the truck just under the rain gutter I can slide the sleeper under that lip the sleeper also has a lip that will put it at the right level. The actual connection of the two will be done with Huck-a - bolts ( I'm not sure about the spelling on that)Air craft use these big time. My question is what to put between the cab and sleeper to make it water tight. I have never had a sleeper off any of my trucks. You Big Rig mechs have had to seen whats there. I'm also extending the cab frame to support the sleeper and all will be mounted to an air ride cab suspension.



Thanks for any help



BIG

 

[mwilson]

Gail,



Edited my post, missed your second paragraph first time around. Skipped over the fact you were putting it on a sub-frame, sorry.



I will ask the body shop guys tomorrow what would make a good seal that would allow for a little flex.



There is a compound called Sika-Flex that is used on trailers. It is a sealant/adhesive product that is very strong. That might be the ticket where you are hucking it all together.





Mike.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Was thinking of extending the frame OF THE CAB I guess you could call it a cab subframe to include the sleeper and then mount the cab air ride to the rear of the sleeper sub frame and the mount to the truck frame This way all will move as one. The truck as it sits now has air ride at the back of the cab. Maybe im not conveying my thoughts but it would all move as one unit.

 

[mwilson]

Was thinking of extending the frame OF THE CAB I guess you could call it a cab subframe to include the sleeper and then mount the cab air ride to the rear of the sleeper sub frame and the mount to the truck frame This way all will move as one. The truck as it sits now has air ride at the back of the cab. Maybe im not conveying my thoughts but it would all move as one unit.

I'm with ya', see my post above... ...



Mike.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I will most assuredly TAKE A LOOK before I do any cutting. Just thinking and not very well by the sounds of it. :-laf

 

[BIGNASTY]

I was thinking of cutting out the back of the cab the same as the sleeper opening its a walk thru. We have had it in a mock up position on the truck and it actually fits the rear window of the the cab of the truck like it was made for it. The only part that we would have to cut would be the bottom of the window to the floor of the truck. and about 3 inches above the window to the roof line rain gutter. Then huck a bolt the two together but with what sealant. My Dad was a Aviation Metal smith and I have all his tools and some if sure weren't but their mine now.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Thanks for the help Mike!!!!!!!!!!

 

[NIsaacs]

So tell us more about the truck, I am an IHC fan. Year, model, power train and intended use. And some pic's... .



Nick

 

[mwilson]

More Questions

Thinking this over on the way in this morning... ... .



What brand of truck donated the sleeper???



What model IH are you dealing with??



Was the sleeper a Unimount or stand alone???



Go get us some pics of the units involved, that will help a lot.



Some thoughts on trying the Unimount subframe idea,



You will need double air bags and shocks at the rear, also a safety to keep things in place in the event of a crash or laying it on it's side.

Freightliner has a good system for that, also have a guide pin to protect against side forces.



Depending on the donor sleeper you still may be better off mounting it to the frame and using a quality OEM connection boot.



If you trimmed the cab to match the bunk opening that would be easy to do and would not require you to create some orphan ******* of a boot.



Would save a lot of fabrication time as well.



Not trying to blow holes in what you want to do, these would be the same questions I would ask you if we were leaning on the truck having a beer working through the pros and cons.



Mike.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Not such a thing crossed my mind Mike I hoped that the guys would throw questions that is the way to rethink and get new ideas going. I have been out of town for awhile and have to get back into the swing of things and rethink some decisions that the wife and I need to address and I get back on the truck redo. Truck is a 99 International 4700 with a DT466 E was a 3 axle or should say 2 axle with a tag dont ask me why anyone would do a tag on this truck it has always been my intention of cutting it down to a 2 axle as soon as we got moved to MT because I needed the weight that a 3 axle could hold for some of the equipment and toys we needed to move here. The Sleeper is a flat top (thats what I called it in the day) or cab high Pete. 40 + inch I think it is 48 I dont know how to tell if it was uni or frame mount It was off the truck in the bone yard.

 

[mwilson]

If it is a stand alone sleeper the front will be closed in with the exception of the walk-thru opening.

Also underneath it should have 4 mounts, 2 to the front and 2 to the rear. Should be about 34" or so apart to match the width of the frame brackets that would be mounted to the truck frame.



Mike.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Im sorry Mike I have been a little occupied with some things and have had no time to work on the project. I will get on it soon and get back to ya

 

[BIGNASTY]

Change of plan for now just going with flat bed and boxes under the bed this is the truck when we got it in So Ca. Changes were transmission to 9 speed and air ride seats

 

[BIGNASTY]

On bed of truck for trailer hook up BIL had the cross-member from old truck fit nice so why not it was great price FREE will butt up to headache rack at back of cab . Haven't got the boxes yet but looking at this for storage. The trailer that it will pull

 

[BSeyler]

Is that a Gooseneck brand trailer? We had a neighbor that sold quite a few of them.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Ya it is !!!! we bought it used when we added to the amount of animals that we have. It pulls nice and weighs next to nothing for being able to haul 8 horses. I put down some rubber conveyor belt on the floor because the animals were having trouble slipping. But so far so good. Also added some running lights and added some outside light to be able to see at nite. Also a rack on the top to put hay and feed. When we picked it up in ID it was coverd with at least 6 inches of CHICKEN CRAP and needed tires the owner I think didnt know that you weren't supposed to hit curbs. I have seen trailers that are alot fancier than this but the gang wont be in it for a very long ride. Just to some of the surrounding mountain states so I hope it will work. Went to SD to pick up 2 bulls with the FIL both weighed in about 2K each and it rode like a dream. The 4th Gen Dodge that the FIL has pulled it real well.

 

[NIsaacs]

Nice truck and trailer, I like it! Does it have an exhaust brake?



Nick

 

[BIGNASTY]

No thats one thing that I would like to get. But really the weight of the trailer was close to 8K without the gang but we have added another spare tire,feed rack on top,rubber floor,water tank, And then the gang is overestimating them would be 1. 5 k per so another 12K/ feed would be MAYBE 1K Gear for the trip another 1K So going way over on the estimate would be gross weight of 25 to 30 K which is not that bad for the rig. The brakes on the trailer are real good not like RV type braking I would kill to have brakes like this on my TT.



The DT466 that is in the truck was rebuilt by the shop when I worked the mech's told me to bring it in and they would do the rebuild. Well it went from a in-frame Major to out of frame and turned up the horse power it should be about 400 HP but its never been on a dyno I think the stock HP was 370. Its a DRIVER truck ya have to watch things and not get carried away with the foot. It runs GREAT and I'm really impressed with the motor.



The reason for the rethink on the truck is that we need it for some upcoming work that the FIL/BIL have going they need to move some cattle and bring some back to their ranch and take some to a feed lot They have another trailer that we will use and it can hold more animals so it will at least be interesting to see how it handles the work. When we move to MT I brought MANY overload loads up from CA on back roads to avoid the scales and the truck never once felt like it wasn't up to the task.