ReelMobile
New member
Hi Everybody! Gosh I hope I can get some guidance here because there's only so many google searches one can do before you want to give up and just lie down on the cold uncarpeted metal floor of your cube.
What can I say about my new truck. She's just my pride and joy. When I look out of my apartment down to the street and see her sitting there, I actually giggle a little. She's loud and proud and has had many interesting uses before I got her this month.
For 6 years, I have wanted to create a mobile 'self-tape' studio for actors. This truck has been the missing piece, and once I saw her online, I went to the lot that day to look at her.
She was used for some sort of government surveillance business(Cool!), because they had wires along the ceiling and outlets along the walls, an eye wash station, and a place for a generator.
It was a whirlwind romance- The bones were great and the test drive was awesome, so I immediately made my rounds to my credit union to secure the a loan. The truck was too old (2011) and had too many miles (120,000) to qualify for a car loan, so I had to use my paid-off personal vehicle as collateral to secure the cash.
The Pros- She was definitely taken care of, and has the maintenance records to prove it. She came with a sidedoor, full-size cab access doorframe, and a roof AC. There's a backup camera, but I don't know if that counts because it doesn't work...
The Easy Cons- The Side-door needs a new lock rod clip, so right now, I have that bolted shut so it cant fly open on the freeway.
There's loose wires and outlets hanging out of the wall, and a smattering of fiberglass insulation peaking through the corners of the ceiling.
The rolling cab-access door is MIA, and I'm pretty sure the work was done out-of-state, so I have no idea how to replace that.
Graffiti- I live in Los Angeles- I'm used to packages being stolen, but when I came out on day 2 of owing her and had some stupid taggers write nonsense on the side of her, I almost lost it. Does anyone have any magic potions that either remove graffiti or something you can put on the body to dissuade paint and oil markers from sticking?
The Less Easy Cons- The car lot who sold her to me had some eccentric mad-scientist-electrician cut all the wires out of the cube, some of which I'm pretty sure didn't need to be cut (ie, camera cable?).
There was some snakey looking wires coming up through the floor of the box, and as I followed them under the body of the chassis, they were zip-tied all along the bottom, then into the engine, where they were attached to my truck battery. I found that out the hard way when I tried to cut them in the cube and they sparked. Woops.
The roof AC doesn't work, which wasn't a huge surprise, but trying to find where THAT wire goes has been tricky. And that REAR CAMERA- I see the camera, I see the screen in the cab; but where they connect, I have Zero Idea.
The Biggest Challenge- I am not an electrician, a mechanic, or a woodworker. I can handle a drill, basic sawing, and framing, but when you live in a crowded area, people don't look kindly on power tools at 10 pm. I really want to get to the fun stuff, but I cant do the insulation or the carpeting until I can safely back the truck up (camera) and get that cab door on.
I hope to find a lot of cool resources and ideas here from people who have done the trial-and-error before me! Cheers!
PS- I've of course added some photos. She really is special.
What can I say about my new truck. She's just my pride and joy. When I look out of my apartment down to the street and see her sitting there, I actually giggle a little. She's loud and proud and has had many interesting uses before I got her this month.
For 6 years, I have wanted to create a mobile 'self-tape' studio for actors. This truck has been the missing piece, and once I saw her online, I went to the lot that day to look at her.
She was used for some sort of government surveillance business(Cool!), because they had wires along the ceiling and outlets along the walls, an eye wash station, and a place for a generator.
It was a whirlwind romance- The bones were great and the test drive was awesome, so I immediately made my rounds to my credit union to secure the a loan. The truck was too old (2011) and had too many miles (120,000) to qualify for a car loan, so I had to use my paid-off personal vehicle as collateral to secure the cash.
The Pros- She was definitely taken care of, and has the maintenance records to prove it. She came with a sidedoor, full-size cab access doorframe, and a roof AC. There's a backup camera, but I don't know if that counts because it doesn't work...
The Easy Cons- The Side-door needs a new lock rod clip, so right now, I have that bolted shut so it cant fly open on the freeway.
There's loose wires and outlets hanging out of the wall, and a smattering of fiberglass insulation peaking through the corners of the ceiling.
The rolling cab-access door is MIA, and I'm pretty sure the work was done out-of-state, so I have no idea how to replace that.
Graffiti- I live in Los Angeles- I'm used to packages being stolen, but when I came out on day 2 of owing her and had some stupid taggers write nonsense on the side of her, I almost lost it. Does anyone have any magic potions that either remove graffiti or something you can put on the body to dissuade paint and oil markers from sticking?
The Less Easy Cons- The car lot who sold her to me had some eccentric mad-scientist-electrician cut all the wires out of the cube, some of which I'm pretty sure didn't need to be cut (ie, camera cable?).
There was some snakey looking wires coming up through the floor of the box, and as I followed them under the body of the chassis, they were zip-tied all along the bottom, then into the engine, where they were attached to my truck battery. I found that out the hard way when I tried to cut them in the cube and they sparked. Woops.
The roof AC doesn't work, which wasn't a huge surprise, but trying to find where THAT wire goes has been tricky. And that REAR CAMERA- I see the camera, I see the screen in the cab; but where they connect, I have Zero Idea.
The Biggest Challenge- I am not an electrician, a mechanic, or a woodworker. I can handle a drill, basic sawing, and framing, but when you live in a crowded area, people don't look kindly on power tools at 10 pm. I really want to get to the fun stuff, but I cant do the insulation or the carpeting until I can safely back the truck up (camera) and get that cab door on.
I hope to find a lot of cool resources and ideas here from people who have done the trial-and-error before me! Cheers!
PS- I've of course added some photos. She really is special.
