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Old 02-17-2008, 09:05 PM   #361
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate


All right, let’s wrap this up. The Komf-O-Krate has been cluttering my front yard for a week -- long enough!



A big mystery was “Where Is The Water Tank? Turns out, that’s one piece that I could never have removed without chewing away the rest of the trailer first. The fresh water tank was three inches thick and sandwiched under the floor between the frame rails. Must have held several... pints of water.


It helps to have help:



My neighbor Mishawn sometimes comes over to assist on my projects. Here he wields the magnetic sweeper, which picked up fourtyeleven gazillion rusty staples and assorted other ferrous debris from the Komf-O-Kamper - keeping said pointy things out of Millicent’s tires. When Mishawn helps, the work slows down, but it CHEERS HIM UP, which is rather more important, since it is probably not all that much fun to go thru life as a permanent Short Bus Student. A little bit of my time... cheap. The grin on his face when I call him my Chief Assistant Project Helper... priceless.


All done:



Nekkid. Ready to become a bumper-pull flatbed. No, the frame is not bent -- the factory kicked it out in the left rear corner to make more room for the sewer tank.

Big dirty job. Didn’t take all that many hours, but quite unpleasant work -- except for the fun of DESTROYING THINGS.
Demonknight is taking the windows and Captainkf is taking the furnace. I’m gonna go take a shower.

Now back to our regular programming!

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Old 02-17-2008, 09:28 PM   #362
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

hate to point this out..thats kind of a wimpy looking frame...hope the one under my butt is a bit stronger....I have hopes of turning it into a car trailer...
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Old 02-17-2008, 09:51 PM   #363
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate


Yes, that trailer frame is on the flimsy side. The factory probably counts on the stiffness of the "house" to keep it from flexing. I'll be building a whole new frame on top of that frame, so it will be fine.

The wheel bearings are scary loose -- need servicing before use. Tires are petrified -- replace. Then it will make a great Kinetic Racing Sculpture hauler.
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Old 02-17-2008, 10:10 PM   #364
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

there will have to be duty on that furnace if its coming up here to bc canada..... plus where captainf is that furnace could be on double duty! nice work spreading the parts elliot global!
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Old 02-18-2008, 01:19 AM   #365
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

I have family in spokane, so I get things shipped there. Then when I go down to visit (we live on the border, so 2 hrs to spokane) we pick whatever is waiting. If we stay down there for 48 hrs, we can bring back $400 worth of goods duty free. This is much cheaper than shipping. I have had ups charge up to 80% of the value of an item for brokerage fees. they're theives as far as i am concerned.

- Richard
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Old 02-18-2008, 05:51 PM   #366
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

I have to admit to reducing a "not quite good" trailer into it's component parts as well. The trailer was made into a radio shack by a bunch of ham radio fanatics in Bellevue (the town, not the mental home) and was a gift when they got space in a converted bus for disaster drills. Since I've gotten it, it has been a construction office out at my property, and has yeiled the roofmount A/C (110 volt unit, and is mounted in the rear bedroom of old #36) - the sink is remounting later this afternoon into the bus, and the two 40 gallon fresh tanks and battery powered pump now act as a self contained water source in the 8 x 12 shed next to the bus that houses our bathroom (temporary water hoses to it have been frozen for three months here just outside Spokane).

I was GOING to try and re-use some of the cabinets, but the build quality of them is just so poor as to not bother at all. I used "freebie" and "cheap" cabinets either left over from my own remodels, or found in various places. They do better, although the bus is still what I consider VERY rough. The frame (about a 20 footer) has tandem axles, electric brakes, and is destined to become a trailer for my 1931 Chris Craft replica runabout (funny.... HIS wife said he had to get rid of the boat, or her.... glad he liked his wife better!).

We have lived in our bus (sister to Elliots first one - old #35) since last spring - through heat (had to put a tent over it to cut the temps) and a few feet of snowfall (little woodstove half surrounded by concrete blocks for thermal mass when it was -8 degrees Fahrenheit) and it looks like I'll be in it for at LEAST another year. So this weekend my wife and I have started planning on making some PROPER modifications to this road-bound spaceship - including more insulation and a possible radiant floor. Still thinking about whether a roof raise is warranted - I've gotten used to the ceiling and the smaller cubic area is easier to heat/cool - I will have to think how much room I will lose in the extra flooring.

I still haven't mounted my amber rotating lights on top - but I think I will HAVE to. Don't forget, Elliot - I have a pair of light bars (front and rear) set aside for Millicent, as well. If nothing else, I can bring them with me to Davinci Days in July!
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Old 02-18-2008, 07:34 PM   #367
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate


Hey, Kevin, how are you! Finally dug your computer out of the snow, eh?!
Trade you four drive tires for those light bars at Corvallis in July.

Now, here is the first item from the Komf-O-Kamper that is installed on Millicent:



Not a big deal, but finally some Progress again!
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Old 02-19-2008, 06:58 AM   #368
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

Great sermon, Elliot! Yeah 90% of every job is the 10% at the end. Anyone can start a job, but it takes patience and perserverance(sp?) to see a job through to its completion.

Alas...there is no sister to Julie.....but she does get a dreamy look in her eyes every time she looks at Millicent.....
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Old 02-19-2008, 11:37 AM   #369
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate


Now stop right there, Reprobate -- I'm no home-wrecker! So you better tell Julie that Elliot says she is fat-ugly-and-stupid, and then you spend the rest of the day convincing her how wrong Elliot is. Hopefully, that will cure her of Millicent envy.

Yeah, it was Sunday, and the only church I attend is the one with the giant pale blue ceiling (and stars at night), so I figured I'd try my hand at preaching to the entire world via the internet -- a bit about finishing projects and a bit about being neighborly. Won't happen again until next leap year, I promise.
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Old 02-19-2008, 08:00 PM   #370
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate


The second Komf-O-Krate item has been installed; convertible table.



Serves as table, and...



...as bunk for Sam -- Peter and Jerri’s little sprout who joined the team on Christmas Eve.
The now-unused seat on the right will be replaced with something more practical -- it already proved not-very-useful.
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Old 03-30-2008, 09:16 PM   #371
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate


Somebody stop me before I scavenge again!



It's rough, but I got it for $200,-. Said to be 1984 or -5. Now I just have to find a buyer for the hood! Short Peterbilt aluminum hood, cheap!
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Old 03-30-2008, 09:27 PM   #372
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate


After removing a few rivets and bolts:



I may need to shorten it a tad. Or the bumper. Or maybe a few inches off each.
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Old 03-31-2008, 06:04 PM   #373
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

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Old 04-01-2008, 03:09 PM   #374
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate


Quote:
I like your front storage idea, but it will look kinda funky!
Well, now. Look at the second photo again. The hood is going to recycling. Only the grille is going on Millicent, and will stick out only something like three inches beyond the bumper. Then I'll shim the bumper out four inches, and it should look perfect. (And not exceed 40 feet overall by more than an inch or two, which I can probably get away with.)
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Old 04-01-2008, 06:43 PM   #375
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

Geezer #2 here, I love the tribute grille,But it should really be 'Elliot and Peterbuilt'...
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Old 04-01-2008, 06:54 PM   #376
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate


Whymcycle... sounds familiar... ... PETER!

Fancy meeting you here!

Hey folks, Peter is my Chief Assistant on The Millicent Project. You've seen him many times in the pictures. Stand by for occasional wicked critisisms and other wise cracks, now that he is here on the forum. If he can find time in between baby feedings, that is.

We could call Millicent a "Peterbird", but I think we really ought to have a name plate that says... Millicent. That would eliminate the need to paint "Millicent" anywhere else.

To clear up any confusion -- or create some -- the truck brand Peterbilt was founded by a Mr. Peterman who owned lumbermills. He needed better trucks to haul his logs and lumber out of the rugged woods, so he started his own truck factory. The Peterbilt brand was since sold, but I just saw a lumberyard with Mr. Peterman's name on it down in Southern California.
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Old 04-01-2008, 11:05 PM   #377
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate


Here is the Peterbilt emblem:



What we need is a similar one that says Millicent. The same style of script would work nicely.


Here is what will make this grill thing work:



That’s Millicent’s REAR bumper, mounted on the front, about six or eight inches ahead of the original. It wraps along the side about a foot, to where it meets the body, making it look like it’s supposed to be there. The overall length will be something like six inches over 40 feet, but I bet I can get away with that. The brackets sort-of lined up, using a pair of angle brackets I salvaged from my first bus.

The open corners of the bumper will be covered with deck plate, making a perfect place to stand on when cleaning the windshield.
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Old 04-02-2008, 01:03 PM   #378
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

Something like this?




I've got an art student from the local college who works as an intern here at the school (whom I'm trying to convert to kinetic lunacy). Want me to turn her loose on turning this into reality?
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Old 04-02-2008, 01:26 PM   #379
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinCoughlin
Something like this?




I've got an art student from the local college who works as an intern here at the school (whom I'm trying to convert to kinetic lunacy). Want me to turn her loose on turning this into reality?
Yes, yes, yes!
I don't know what medium would be realistic. The original is a hefty chunk of metal, with red plastic. But a good quality vinyl sticker, like a bumper sticker, would be perfectly fine. In fact, temporarily, I'll print out your sample, enlarged, on some sort of adhesive label paper. The original measures 8" x 3 3/8". Woohoo!
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Old 04-02-2008, 01:47 PM   #380
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Re: The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

I was thinking plastic as an easy medium for the raised letters, and some type of enamel/epoxy for the coloring in the back. Imagine doing it in wax, with a mold made from that, and then either resin poured into it, or (my favorite) melting and "casting" the plastic into it. If it looks good, perhaps I can do something to pour some type of metal into the mold. I'm not up to working it in steel directly (no water jet equipment).

I'll see Camas once she gets back from spring break and see if she is interested. I can usually get her attention by promising her shop time.... I'm an evil man preying on they young like that. If she is not up for it, I'll do it myself.
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