What did YOU do today?

[scotts90ranger]

So far got the big board flipped first thing but there was still dew on it so I jumped on the tractor and mowed the back area, noticed there's a gopher back there so gonna have to pay attention to that... Now back to painting the plywood...

 

[pjtoledo]

Quality, but not quiet, time in the back yard today.

I'm nice and calm now after working out my frustrations.

 

[Sharky]

well the weather forecast was wrong again ! . per the forecast there was supposed to be a break in the rain from 6 am to 1 pm or later.
I also checked the radar forecast & it showed the same thing.
due to this forecast the group I shoot sporting clays with went to the club & got drizzled on from station 2 to completion
I still had a decent score but didnt enjoy getting my gun & myself wet !

 

[scotts90ranger]

Got the painting done but judging from the fact that the paint brush wasn't completely dry from last night and I was able to use it again I'm going to say this paint is going to need a bit to dry so I'm not going to put the wood in the boat tonight... So then I continued on the mowing, got done with everything I think I can do without getting the tractor stuck (wasn't in the mood...), probably could have done a couple more rounds but no use pushing things...

Here in a couple minutes I'm going to go mark the crossmembers in the boat so I know where they are when I put the wood down and will make a "map" of the current holes so I don't chance having bad luck putting screw holes in since I'm making holes in the foam too with finish washers...

Oh and I noticed yesterday one of the rear tires on my '97 Ranger was low so I aired it up today and saw a bolt, I aired it up but not sure if it's too far out for a tire store to fix (I could but they're better equipped) so I might as well try... if I get up enough energy I'll put on one of the old tires and take it in tomorrow if not I'll do it Tuesday...

 

[sgtsandman]

I got the carport tear down finished and got it stored away until late fall.

The grass got double cut because it was so high. First pass with the side chute, second pass in mulching mode.

The windbreak panels from the front porch have also been put away until fall.

The extension from Rotopax came in. So, I put that on. It worked exactly how I wanted. 3 gallon can first with the 2 gallon on top.

Now, it's time to sit by the fire and relax. The majority of the week is looking to be too wet and rainy for staycation. So, today was a take advantage of it while I can kind of thing.

As long as the weather plays nice enough, I'm hoping to get a rig made up so I can lift the fiberglass caps and make a cart for moving them around while they are off the truck. It sitting on the garage floor with no easy way to move it is getting in my way.

If that works out as planned, I'm hoping to get the drawer box made for the 2019 in the garage and not be subject to the whim of Mother Nature.

 

[Rick W]

I love Craigslist/marketplace….

I bought a 48w x 19h x 16d diamond plate toolbox in great shape for $35

I was looking for another one that I could mount sideways underneath the Road Ranger step trailer, in front of the rear wheels and fender, so the door opens down like a shelf.

The one I have now is about 32x16x13, 13 inches vertically, so this will be 16, but I think that’s still a safe distance above the road (I’m not driving through the woods). If I put it a few inches ahead of the rear fender, the spare tire holder will still clear it in the front. When I mock it up, if it’s hanging too low, I might just notch it on what will be the top side, so it straddles the frame (upside down). And yes, I will mount it more securely for when I run over the next tire tread, the same way I’ll fix the existing one.

If you look real close at the lid corner closest to the camera, there’s a little dent that I believe I can just tap out. The latches were disabled because the left one sticks, but it’s easily opened with the right one. I’ve pulled them out before, and fiddled around with them, and made them work. I already have a lock, and I probably have a replacement latch if I can’t fix it.

& That’s a high dollar polished pretty hasp, with a swivel padlock hole, that will go, but that will get used somewhere else. It may be hard for all to believe, but I’ve been slowly throwing stuff out from the shed of miracles, but this is a keeper.

 

[sgtsandman]

I got most of the cart for the bed caps and the RTT storage done. Weather permitting, I'll finish that up and get the eye bolts installed for strapping them down so that the cart can be tipped up on it's end like a hand truck. A real big hand truck.

Weather not permitting, I'll start working on cradle?, harnness?, I'm not sure what to call it. Anyway, it will have some thick stainelss steel pieces of metal with the ends bent over to act as hooks. They were originally made to hang rather large emergency eye wash stations on to a rack. So they should be up to the rltask of holding a fiberglass bed cap. Three of them will hook under the cap and I will build a wooden structure with large heavy strap hinges to connect the sides with the hooks to 4X4s spanning over the top of the cap for a large eye hook that the chain hoist can latch onto. In theory, it should work. If it does, I'll have a way to safely get the caps on and off the trucks and the cart will be the place they get stored so I can have an open garage. I'll just lay a tarp on the cart, lower the cap on to the cart, lay a moving blanket or two over the cap, wrap the tarp around the cap, and strap it down. Hopefully it will be as easy as it sounds.

The cart has big 10" pneumatic tires on it with castering ones on the pushing side. Those should make moving it around the gravel driveway easy enough.

 

[Rick W]

I got most of the cart for the bed caps and the RTT storage done. Weather permitting, I'll finish that up and get the eye bolts installed for strapping them down so that the cart can be tipped up on it's end like a hand truck. A real big hand truck.

Weather not permitting, I'll start working on cradle?, harnness?, I'm not sure what to call it. Anyway, it will have some thick stainelss steel pieces of metal with the ends bent over to act as hooks. They were originally made to hang rather large emergency eye wash stations on to a rack. So they should be up to the rltask of holding a fiberglass bed cap. Three of them will hook under the cap and I will build a wooden structure with large heavy strap hinges to connect the sides with the hooks to 4X4s spanning over the top of the cap for a large eye hook that the chain hoist can latch onto. In theory, it should work. If it does, I'll have a way to safely get the caps on and off the trucks and the cart will be the place they get stored so I can have an open garage. I'll just lay a tarp on the cart, lower the cap on to the cart, lay a moving blanket or two over the cap, wrap the tarp around the cap, and strap it down. Hopefully it will be as easy as it sounds.

The cart has big 10" pneumatic tires on it with castering ones on the pushing side. Those should make moving it around the gravel driveway easy enough.

I did something similar to hoist the cap off my F250 by myself, but something simpler. Long bed F250, with a full-size Leer cap.

You know the galvanized flat stock, about 1/8” x 1“ x 6‘, that you slide in the end of a chain-link fence where it meets the pole, so the fence stays stretched tight? I used that to make my hooks. The hook is about 10 inches long, with two 90° bends. I made the bottom of the hook extra wide, not just the width of the bottom of the cap where it meets the bed, and I only turned it up about an inch on the inside. I drilled about a 3/8 inch hole on the tall side of the hook, and then de-burred the hole.

I used some quarter inch or such poly rope. On the roof rafters that go over the end of the carport on the side of the shed of miracles, I mounted four little swivel pulleys that hang by a hook so they can flop around. I located them a couple inches inside the width of the truck, so the ropes pull in a little when it’s hanging, but it is also in the shape of a trapezoid, which eliminates 99% of any sway from side to side, and by using four lifting points instead of a central point, you will eliminate all the wobble and all the swinging around and such, and, you need less overhead height. By the back rear corner of the truck, I mounted a couple of larger “collector“ pulleys, two ropes over each. If you think about it, I could pull my cap all the way up to just inches below the rafters.

I don’t pull my cap off very regularly, maybe once every other year. I have a couple 2x4s cut about 8 inches wider than the width of the bed. I take the hold down clamps off, and climb in the bed, put my shoulders on the inside of the cap, and push it up with my legs. So far, I’ve been strong enough to pop it loose, and then I put the 2 x 4 crosswise underneath it. Then I do the same thing to the other end. The foam tape seal gets a little messed up every time, and I just fix it or repair it after I drive the truck out from underneath.

The 2 x 4 is large enough for me to insert the hooks between the cap and the truck. If I had to do over again, I would make the inside vertical on the hooks about 4 inches tall, so they would stay in place more easily when I insert them before I put tension on the rope.

Without any serious effort, I can pull all four ropes at the same time, and easily pull the cap up about 6 inches. I have a cleat mounted close by to tie off the ropes.

Then I drive the truck out from under.

You get the idea. No big chain fall hooks, no chain fall, no spreader bars, four little pulleys, two bigger pulleys, and a piece from a chain fence. A cleat. It’s an absolute minimum investment, that works like a charm. I leave the cap hanging there, but you could just as easily drop it down on your buggy. I’m pretty sure I can still do it now, as beat up and I as old as I am, but if I thought I would have to do it more often, I might install the winch like one uses on a boat trailer for the lifting part.

And yes, the rope, all the pulleys, the stock for the hooks, all out of the shed of miracles…..

Hope it helps, always just my two cents

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

@Rick W , I know your propensity for cheap… but I gave up on the foam cap tape years ago and went to the bulb style camper seal tape. It doesn’t get messed up and stick to the truck like the foam tape. Wasn’t that expensive at the time I did it compared to the foam tape and it was really cheap when you consider that I don’t have to spend time fiddling and replacing the tape every time the cap comes off.

 

[Rick W]

@Rick W , I know your propensity for cheap… but I gave up on the foam cap tape years ago and went to the bulb style camper seal tape. It doesn’t get messed up and stick to the truck like the foam tape. Wasn’t that expensive at the time I did it compared to the foam tape and it was really cheap when you consider that I don’t have to spend time fiddling and replacing the tape every time the cap comes off.

Thanks, good advice, but again, I only take the cap off rarely, I don’t think I’ve had it off for four or five years now. I patch with the foam tape, and after the second or third patch, I have stripped it all off and redone it. I imagine if I take the cap off now, the foam will be in little pieces, so I’ll try your trick. May never happen again in my lifetime…

But your comment made me think. What I do have a problem with is the seal around the fold up back window. From road vibration, the seal on the bottom of each side of the window gets eaten up, and that leaks.

One problem was the cap would widen outward from road vibration in the back. For years I just used the provided aluminum clamp things to hold the cap onto the truck bed. I have a bed liner that goes up and over the bed rail, so the cap sits on that, and that is more slippery than just the paint. A few years ago, I drilled pilot holes and then put in some fairly substantial self threading screws so the cap would not spread out over time. That seems to have worked. Of course I set the width so the back window is perfectly aligned with the frame.

I have tried the stick on square cross-section foam tape, and I also tried the bubble material you’re talking about. But over a short period of time, it’s still just crumbles. I only need the bed dry once in a blue moon, but when you need it, you need it. Any suggestions on how to improve the seal would be appreciated.

And no, I haven’t called Leer if I could get a replacement seal. Every time I talk to them, they want to sell me a new cap, or at least a whole new window assembly, of course with all the identical parts that don’t work right now.

Suggestions? Solutions?

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Thanks, good advice, but again, I only take the cap off rarely, I don’t think I’ve had it off for four or five years now. I patch with the foam tape, and after the second or third patch, I have stripped it all off and redone it. I imagine if I take the cap off now, the foam will be in little pieces, so I’ll try your trick. May never happen again in my lifetime…

But your comment made me think. What I do have a problem with is the seal around the fold up back window. From road vibration, the seal on the bottom of each side of the window gets eaten up, and that leaks.

One problem was the cap would widen outward from road vibration in the back. For years I just used the provided aluminum clamp things to hold the cap onto the truck bed. I have a bed liner that goes up and over the bed rail, so the cap sits on that, and that is more slippery than just the paint. A few years ago, I drilled pilot holes and then put in some fairly substantial self threading screws so the cap would not spread out over time. That seems to have worked. Of course I set the width so the back window is perfectly aligned with the frame.

I have tried the stick on square cross-section foam tape, and I also tried the bubble material you’re talking about. But over a short period of time, it’s still just crumbles. I only need the bed dry once in a blue moon, but when you need it, you need it. Any suggestions on how to improve the seal would be appreciated.

And no, I haven’t called Leer if I could get a replacement seal. Every time I talk to them, they want to sell me a new cap, or at least a whole new window assembly, of course with all the identical parts that don’t work right now.

Suggestions? Solutions?

I don’t take my cap off as often as I used to. Back when I had my first Ranger I took the cap off frequently when I’d need an open bed. I used to wax the heck out of the bed rails to try and keep the foam tape from sticking so bad. Now when I need an open bed I just take the F-150.

I did find that the bulb style seal almost requires extra clamps. Or to bolt it down.

Setting a cap on a plastic bed liner is a recipe for problems, you will never get a good seal for one reason or another. I’ve always either used no bed liner or one that fits inside the bed and not over the rails.

I have found that older caps have a tendency to leak around the windows and stuff, especially fiberglass caps. It’s sometimes really hard to notice. I haven’t done it yet, but I’ve heard you can pull the trim, pull the screws and replace the seal there with butyl rope.

I would try a local cap/camper store for the seals. A good shop will sell you the stuff without a hassle.

 

[sgtsandman]

I did something similar to hoist the cap off my F250 by myself, but something simpler. Long bed F250, with a full-size Leer cap.

You know the galvanized flat stock, about 1/8” x 1“ x 6‘, that you slide in the end of a chain-link fence where it meets the pole, so the fence stays stretched tight? I used that to make my hooks. The hook is about 10 inches long, with two 90° bends. I made the bottom of the hook extra wide, not just the width of the bottom of the cap where it meets the bed, and I only turned it up about an inch on the inside. I drilled about a 3/8 inch hole on the tall side of the hook, and then de-burred the hole.

I used some quarter inch or such poly rope. On the roof rafters that go over the end of the carport on the side of the shed of miracles, I mounted four little swivel pulleys that hang by a hook so they can flop around. I located them a couple inches inside the width of the truck, so the ropes pull in a little when it’s hanging, but it is also in the shape of a trapezoid, which eliminates 99% of any sway from side to side, and by using four lifting points instead of a central point, you will eliminate all the wobble and all the swinging around and such, and, you need less overhead height. By the back rear corner of the truck, I mounted a couple of larger “collector“ pulleys, two ropes over each. If you think about it, I could pull my cap all the way up to just inches below the rafters.

I don’t pull my cap off very regularly, maybe once every other year. I have a couple 2x4s cut about 8 inches wider than the width of the bed. I take the hold down clamps off, and climb in the bed, put my shoulders on the inside of the cap, and push it up with my legs. So far, I’ve been strong enough to pop it loose, and then I put the 2 x 4 crosswise underneath it. Then I do the same thing to the other end. The foam tape seal gets a little messed up every time, and I just fix it or repair it after I drive the truck out from underneath.

The 2 x 4 is large enough for me to insert the hooks between the cap and the truck. If I had to do over again, I would make the inside vertical on the hooks about 4 inches tall, so they would stay in place more easily when I insert them before I put tension on the rope.

Without any serious effort, I can pull all four ropes at the same time, and easily pull the cap up about 6 inches. I have a cleat mounted close by to tie off the ropes.

Then I drive the truck out from under.

You get the idea. No big chain fall hooks, no chain fall, no spreader bars, four little pulleys, two bigger pulleys, and a piece from a chain fence. A cleat. It’s an absolute minimum investment, that works like a charm. I leave the cap hanging there, but you could just as easily drop it down on your buggy. I’m pretty sure I can still do it now, as beat up and I as old as I am, but if I thought I would have to do it more often, I might install the winch like one uses on a boat trailer for the lifting part.

And yes, the rope, all the pulleys, the stock for the hooks, all out of the shed of miracles…..

Hope it helps, always just my two cents

The solution that works for you would work for when the carport is up. In the garage, because of the structure, layout and style of the garage door, and because of what is already hanging, there is only enough room for a chain hoist. Even with the garage door closed, the rail for the garage door opener is in the way. So, a single point is the only option and the cap can not stay hanging there, thus reason for the cart.

Cap or RTT, it's going to have to be stored outside if they aren't on the truck and to minimize drive way restriction, has to be stored on end.

Storing them in the backyard isn't an option at the this point either until I can do something about the fence. The access way between the house and the garage is fairly narrow and the gate is a standard gate. Once I replace all of that and make something like a pasture gate, it should be able to go back there and not clutter up the driveway. At this point, that may be a next summer project. It has been a limitation I've been dealing with for a while and it's getting about time that it needs to be fixed.

EDIT: It stayed dry long enough to finish the job and get some pictures.

You can also see the completed rafter rack that still needs a cover. Yes, the tarps covers on the end rafters needs replaced. My calculations were a bit off on making that rack big enough. There was room for all but one. So, I used some brackets normally used to bar a door with a 2X4 to hold the final one.

Also, the fence and gate I mentioned are in the pictures.

 

[superj]

Bought a cheap gas weedearer from the local pawn shop. 65 bucks and it started on the first pull, its a troybuilt .

The plug in weedeater finally broke the head and i couodnt find a replacement. Even the aftermarket ones didnt fit. The battery powered one cant even do the dog's yard on a charge so we needed good ol gas.

The rest of the yard is fine with the riding mower. Half acre so i need stuff that doesnt run out of battery half through the job

 

[Blmpkn]

I hit the east side of the LBC.

I happened to be on a mission to find Mr. Warren G.





No dice.

 

[Rick W]

The solution that works for you would work for when the carport is up. In the garage, because of the structure, layout and style of the garage door, and because of what is already hanging, there is only enough room for a chain hoist. Even with the garage door closed, the rail for the garage door opener is in the way. So, a single point is the only option and the cap can not stay hanging there, thus reason for the cart.

Cap or RTT, it's going to have to be stored outside if they aren't on the truck and to minimize drive way restriction, has to be stored on end.

Storing them in the backyard isn't an option at the this point either until I can do something about the fence. The access way between the house and the garage is fairly narrow and the gate is a standard gate. Once I replace all of that and make something like a pasture gate, it should be able to go back there and not clutter up the driveway. At this point, that may be a next summer project. It has been a limitation I've been dealing with for a while and it's getting about time that it needs to be fixed.

EDIT: It stayed dry long enough to finish the job and get some pictures.

You can also see the completed rafter rack that still needs a cover. Yes, the tarps covers on the end rafters needs replaced. My calculations were a bit off on making that rack big enough. There was room for all but one. So, I used some brackets normally used to bar a door with a 2X4 to hold the final one.

Also, the fence and gate I mentioned are in the pictures.

Wow, it looks like you’ve got more work and effort in that thing that I have in the whole Missing Linc!

You know, a good coat of rustoleum, and that thing will last forever.