Bob's Big Adventure Truck






We stole this UHual truck because they thought it had a bad transmission.  Actually, it had a bad modulator valve at a cost of $15.  We got a $2,000 discount on the truck because of the tranny problem.  I am impressed with the UHaul maintenance otherwise.  The brakes are in perfect shape with brand new pads.  The front end is tight and it tacks down the road straight as an arrow.  It doesn't leak a drop of oil or any other fluid.  It had two 60 month Interstate batteries 9 months old and a brand new alternator.   I would not hesitate to recommend a UHaul truck to anyone wanting a larger truck! 

UHaul had it governed at 65 mph.  That was kind of nice since you could basically put a brick on the gas pedal and it would not go over 67mph down a hill on the Interstate.  Not leaving enough alone, I got a 3:55 rear end gear set on EBay to replace the existing 4:11.  So now the truck will easily do 75 mph.  I hoped my fuel millage would go up 15% as my old van did when I changed it's gearing.  Unfortunately, it is now very hard to drive 60-65 mph and the aerodynamics of this big old box are hard on the millage.  If I can hold my speed down, I can indeed get a little over 11 mpg.  However, at 65-70, my millage is about 10.5 mph.  Pulling the boat at those speeds increases the fuel consumption to about 9.8 mpg.   Not great, but pretty decent for a rig this size.  BTW, it's a diesel and we will add another 60 gallons of fuel capacity soon.


We found some church/airport van windows at a great price, so put some in.  The UHaul seats were not very good, so we took some 6-way seats out of a Mecedes 300TD I bought for the motor.  We had to modify the platforms and we didn't bother to make them rotate thinking that we aren't going to be hanging out in the truck when parked at a regatta.  :) 

We put down some foam board over the aluminum floor, then topped that with some 3/4" Advantech boars.  This helped insulate the truck tremendously for cold weather camping.
 





At the junk yard, I found a nice leather fold down seat out of a conversion van.













We might put a 3rd window in the port side.  And we'll put a wall behind the seat to block off the cargo area.  Then we'll put some fold down pipe births back there  and some hammock hooks.  We'll be able to sleep 7 in beds and another couple in hammocks. 







We'll put a bed in the "Granny's Attic".  My Grandkids have already staked that bed out! 








We cut out a walk through from the cab to the box.  There are two problems in that operation.  There is a 2.75" gap that needs to be filled and sealed and the the cab is mounted on rubber dough nuts, the box is bolted down solidly.  We choose to fasten the box to the cab solidly for now to see how it fairs.  I expect it will work loose and start leaking.  But for now it is working OK. 

My Son will carpet the wall and walk through.  In fact the scrap carpet is already in my garage. 





Other upgrades:
One of the best things I've found for trailering is to bag the halyards on the forward end of the mast.  It makes it quick and secure for trailering.



 




Bob Keim
SV The Pursuit
Nashville, TN