Cummins Canoe (A Stepvan Story)

[PlethoraOfGuns]

No no, no need to replace the box! The box is perfect to live in!

Replacing the fold up jump seat? Oh my, that would be amazing! I don't know, but that sounds like a great idea! I'm on it...

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Work has begun. First thing is to clean and strip things.

[size=small]Use some compressed air to blow all the dirt and debris out. These angle iron thingings are cute, but super useless, so they gotta go.[/size]

[size=small]Bimetal corrosion sucks. These bolts and self tapping screw were very stubborn. I ended up just cutting most of them off.[/size]

[size=small]We'll have to clean up these holes and probably weld them shut later. Don't let me forget to do that.[/size]

[size=small]Once the metal bracket things were gone, it was time for a good scrubbing.[/size]

[size=small]Never really took a power washer to the interior of a vehicle before. I've always seen photos and videos of silly people supposedly not knowing how to clean their cars and you seen them power washing the entire interior of their new Landrover or whatever. You know what, I think they were onto something because this was wicked easy![/size]

[size=small]Nice and clean! Ready to start making the real mess...[/size]

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

More cleaning. Boy this thing was dirty!

[size=small]Years of grease and crud in on the cab floor.[/size]

[size=small]

[/size]
[size=small][size=small]Power washer does great on the outside too.[/size][/size]

[size=small]

[/size]
[size=small][size=small]Looking from a distance, you really couldn't tell how dirty this thing was.[/size][/size]

[size=small][size=small]

[/size][/size]
[size=small][size=small][size=small]Once clean, we made our first delivery! Because that's what you do when you own a delivery van...[/size][/size][/size]

 

[buckwilk]

that military truck again.  I want it.  highdesertranger

HDR, you might poke LowTech He runs a deuce and a half and is dialed in (or was) to the military iron world. He may even have a military p.u. that would work for you.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Ok, so the real work begins. Lets see what we got under this girls skirt...

[size=small]These wheels are super safe. They lug safety keepers![/size]

[size=small]All jacked up and ready for work.[/size]

[size=small]One of the exhaust hangers is pretty rusty. That needs to come out and get painted.[/size]

[size=small]With all this out of the way, it will be easier to do all the other stuff.[/size]

[size=small]The fuel sending unit crapped out on the way home when we bought the van. Plus it was in the way for other stuff. Unfortunately, both tank straps broke while removing tank.[/size]

[size=small]Taking the fuel tank out revealed some serious issues! Not looking good. Maybe we should just scrap this thing? Swap the Cummins engine into the Jeep? Get a Sprinter van like everyone else? The future is so uncertain![/size]

 

[highdesertranger]

that's ugly. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

What do the spring mounts look like? I assume this came from some place with road salt? Was it just behind the tank or is it a large section of the frame? Are there replacement frames available? I know the Safety Kleen company got rid of a lot of these at one time, maybe someone is using one for storage that had a bad drivetrain you could get the frame from? Lucky you found it before it failed.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Very ugly. The rest the of the frame is pretty spotless. Just a problem in the area behind the fuel tank, you know, the area I couldn't see when I crawled under to do my inspection when I bought her. She spent her life as a bread van in the Carolinas. 400,00 miles of bread delivery though. The spring mounts are on the outside of frame and they are fine. The area between the spring mounts, where the fuel tank is mounted, the frame has a smaller section of c-channel riveted inside inside the main frame. I guess they did that to stiffen the frame up in that area. Well, all the flaking rust is all in between those two pieces of metal that have been sandwiched together. Moisture got in and kinda sat there. What a bummer...

 

[bullfrog]

It is probably possible to repair that section but will most likely require extra overlapping supports and gussets as it is apparently it is a problem area as well as being a high stress area. A frame repair/heavy truck trailer shop should be able to do it. A professional welder as long as he has good metal to weld to most likely will be able to make improvements to make the repair last. Not an ideal situation but there are lots of custom/modified frames out there. Apparently even the factory was concerned enough to strengthen the area so regular inspections after getting repairs would be a good idea. I’ve built and driven several vehicles with modified/custom built frames and several Class C motorhomes have lengthened frames. Maybe other owners of these vehicles should drop their fuel tanks and take a look!

 

[Matlock]

Yea, that's ugly.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Ok, well before we quit on this thing, lets dig a little deeper and see how bad it actually is. Need to rearrange things in order to do a better inspection.

Going all out I think. Lets remove all 20 body mount bolts.

[size=small]Took some scrap metal...[/size]

[size=small]

[/size]
[size=small][size=small]And made this thing...[/size][/size]

[size=small][size=small]

[/size][/size]
[size=small][size=small][size=small]Which, according to the theories in my head(not the conspiracy ones, but the mechanical ones), will securely hold the steel rod centered and in place on top of a hydraulic jack so we can safely lift the body off the chassis little at a time to get up on blocks. Gosh, this thing is scary being up on jack stands like that![/size][/size][/size]

[size=small][size=small][size=small]

[/size][/size][/size]
[size=small][size=small][size=small][size=small]And having the body up on blocks will make it easier to work on chassis.[/size][/size][/size][/size]

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

The undercarriage carnage continues.

[size=small]The chassis between the shackles for the rear leaf springs was reinforced with smaller c-channel inset into the main chassis rails. Moisture got in there and did terrible things.[/size]

[size=small]Needle scaler and air chisel worked wonders on removing the flaking rust crud. The steel under the rust was in better shape than I had originally thought.[/size]

[size=small]The rest of the chassis looked like this.[/size]

[size=small]And cleaned up very well.[/size]

[size=small]Unfortunately, in the rear, widthwise under the rear barn doors, part of the aluminum body substructure did not fair so well. The plastic insulator that is supposed to stop the aluminum and steel from corroding with each other, was basically gone. This will require extra attention.[/size]

 

[bullfrog]

What is the weight rating of the truck? Seems strange to see an 11 spring leaf pack and what appears to me to be a small reinforced frame. I guess a light aluminum body allows that? Are these designed light for light weight cargo? How heavy can your build out be?

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

I suspect they have reasons for reinforcing the frame. The GVWR is 12,300 pounds. That's a lot of bread...

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

To save the chassis from any further doom, we decided to clean and paint it. Ordered a product called Rust Bullet. Got 3 quarts and their cleaner they call metal prep.

[size=small]While we wait for paint to get here, lets give this rear bumper some attention.[/size]

[size=small]

[/size]
[size=small][size=small]Pulling the rubber bumper condom off came off too easy. Several of the self-taping screws broke off. Nothing a lil heat can't take care of.[/size][/size]

[size=small][size=small]

[/size][/size]
[size=small][size=small][size=small]With these out, we can drill and tap the holes for some stainless steel bolts later.[/size][/size][/size]

[size=small][size=small][size=small]

[/size][/size][/size]
[size=small][size=small][size=small]This thing was a rusty mess. But just surface rust.[/size][/size][/size]

[size=small][size=small][size=small]

[/size][/size][/size]
[size=small][size=small][size=small][size=small]The welds were atrocious. I guess as a bumper step, it's ok, but we got it out and up on horses, so we're gonna fix it right. Maybe retrofit this for a tow hitch as well?[/size][/size][/size][/size]

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Lots of welding going on while we wait for chassis paint.

[size=small]Did a few cover passes to fix those booger welds.[/size]

[size=small]Little bit of reinforcement here.[/size]

[size=small]More welds there.[/size]

[size=small]Even a hot spicy one for good measure![/size]

[size=small]And voila! Got ideas for a hitch receiver and I ran with it. Just had to weld in a piece of square tubing to support the one end of the receiver tube and weld a bunch more stuff and boom, class whatever hitch receiver.[/size]

[size=small]Bumper seemed too bland.[/size]

[size=small]So I welded on some random hooks. Not sure, maybe they will come in handy some day.[/size]

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Bumper is good, but we're thinking the van chassis could use some reinforcement.

[size=small]Welded up these diagonal brackets in hopes that it will stiffen up the bumper mounts, which are just 3/8" steel plate welded vertical to the chassis rails.[/size]

[size=small]And then it started raining, a lot. So good time to wash stuff![/size]

[size=small]First we sprayed everything down with the metal prep spray. Super nasty stuff with acid, where goggles and such, don't be a hero.[/size]

[size=small]After 20 minutes of letting it eat away at stuff, hose it off with water and let it dry.[/size]

All ready for paint!

 

[Pleasant Travels]

What is this metal prep spray you speak of? I have some nasty rusty stuff that could benefit.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

This is the stuff I used to eat the rust. It dissolves all oils and rust, real nasty stuff. But it works great! You still need to paint the metal after you clean it obviously as this is not a rust converter.

https://www.rustbullet.com/product/metal-blast-gallon/

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Well, hurricane season is coming to an end, but it got us this time...

Wind was gusting, didn't think it was that bad, but was apparently bad enough. Blew the rig off the jack stands!

Nobody got hurt, and the collapsing jack stands added cushion to the falling mass of metal.

Only damage was a dent to the front crossmember under the engine. It's very thick steel, thank goodness.