M1010 Convoy Truck

[antennaclimber]

The heat and A/C for the back will be a roof mounted RV type unit. The back of the vehicle was gutted to make room for a new interior with beds, sink, shower etc. Things might be a bit tight, but we will make it work. I have a 12VDC to 120 VAC inverter to run it while we are traveling. At night we could use shore power or a generator is needed.

The cab will use the Vintage air heat and A/C. The bottom of the cab has been coated with the Lizard skin spray on ceramic insulation, the interior floor has 2 layers of insulation as well. So this should keep the cab warm or cool.

 

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I like it.

 

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I'm not familiar with the Vintage Air kits. I have heard of them but wonder how well they fit and how hard they are to put in. What specific kit are you using? Are you going to use the factory compressor from the ambulance system or replace it? I am thinking a roof top heat pump for the back and separate cab A/C also. Have you started on the A/C install yet? Pictures of the firewall stuff would be great to see if you have them. Below is picture as of yesterday afternoon. IT took awhile to get the first bench out.
I've never been to State College but have two nieces that went to school there!

 

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Antennaclimber, Did you have trouble getting the passenger box out of the back of your M1010? I think I have all the rivets drilled out including the 4 holding the heater exhaust flange under the box. The one in the rear corner behind the control panel/vent panel was tricky to find. Seems there is glue under the heater base which I have separated. The heater base is still hung on the duct heading up to the input vent. Do I need to disconnect the duct under the seat headed forward.....looks like there are a few screws under that. I will get it out but would like to not damage the bench as I want to channel it and re-use it but narrower. The heater is coming out for sure. I can't foresee a scenario where I need 30K btu/hour ever.

 

[antennaclimber]

Getting the passenger side out was very difficult. Much harder than the driver side. I decided that it was not going back in....Eventually with a sawzall, cutting wheels, battery recharging, BFH, hydraulic jack, pry bar and a few four letter words, I got it removed! Every time I thought I had all the rivets drilled out....more would show up. The heater was removed as well, not as bad as the passenger side bench.

I wish I had better advice for you, but it's difficult to get that side out intact.

Fab crew is making some progress with the inside. Test fitting items inside to see how this will work out. Still have a long way to go!

 

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I got it. Thanks for the reply. I did eventually find several more rivets that I had missed and then it came out fairly easily. I think if I had found all the rivets to start with it would have been easier then the left one. A few of the screws under the duct were very difficult to get out and I eventually had to cut them. Yours looks like you are making progress. What are you going to use the box over the cab for? That's a good spot for the Gen Set. I wish they had put that hole in the box up at the front corner though. I think I'd like a bit more floor space in the back of the box. I'm thinking smaller heater and batteries in that spot but not there yet.

 

[antennaclimber]

I thought about putting the generator where the original AC unit was. But getting to it for refueling and maintenance would be an issue. Decided to enlarge the original heater access door and install HD drawer slides so it can be slid out or removed to use it. The compartment will be vented and sealed off so the gasoline fumes will not be present inside. The box over the cab will be used for additional storage of misc items.

 

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Did you keep the 24V system? I did. Sometimes I wonder if that was a good idea but I had a M1009 for about 18 years as a DD and it worked well so I swapped out the factory M1010 alternators and put in new 12V and rewired as the M1009. I am wanting to put civilian battery holders, one on each side, like my Suburban vs the big military holders. Lots more room in the engine compartment. One day I will upgrade to a 6.5 or Cummins and will need the room. Hoping for a 5 or 6 speed manual transmission one day but my days are getting shorter so I am not holding my breath. I was planning on building my Suburban into a camper but I think the M1010 will make a much better one. The Suburban is a 91 with a 350 gas , 700R4 with NP241 and 10 bolt axles. My first thought was to swap the drive train out of the M1010 and put it in the Suburban but my wife said....NO! I's still love to have a set of M1010 axles for the Suburban. One day.

 

[antennaclimber]

I thought about 24 VDC but it's simpler to keep it all 12 VDC. The original M1010 alternators were replaced by the previous owner to the standard CUCV configuration.

Once I get the engine back from the machine shop, I will start the process of getting the alternator and AC compressor mounted to it.
If time permits and if I find it possible, I may install two alternators, one to power the vehicle and one to power the equipment in the rear of the vehicle. Of course then I would want a way to connect the two systems together should one of the alternators fail. But for now, it will remain a single alternator system.

Having a 120 VAC generator that can be used while in transit would be helpful as well. This way the 120 VAC to 12 VDC battery charger can supply power to the entire vehicle while in motion. I wish I could find a diesel powered generator like my portable Honda unit, then I wouldn't need a gas can for the gen set.

 

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I see what you thoughts are on that. I was thinking that I was going to be keeping the A/C and the heater (making 24V imperative) and was in a pinch to make it dependable to get it home so I opted to upgrade the charging system to a near "M1009" setup but I used (2) 160 A 12V alternators vs the factory 28V system. A lot of solar and RV stuff can be bought in 24V versions too. I'm thinking now that the 30K btu heater is way overkill and I have not done the research on the factory air in the back but it is probably overkill. Also and I've read that the back air is hard to get into the cab. When I make my final decision on the voltage I think I can easily swap to 12V with the change of a starter and some wires but I think I am a long way from that still.

I have a question, or two.......There is a wire that comes through the floor in the ambulance box near the heater input vent that looks like it went to power the heater....???? Any idea on that? Also I found a blue wire.....not factory.....coming out of the rear corner, passenger side going into the harness for the heater....there is a cut wire left in the same location sticking out of the box so I think it is a repair but trying to figure out what it would be for. I'll attach a picture. It is on the left top of the heater door from the outside.



For some reason the editor turned the image. The rivet with the chain is on the top so 90 degrees clockwise. You can see the cut wire there.....Any idea where this goes? I guess I will find out when I pull the interior skin. Time will tell.

 

[antennaclimber]

Looks like that wire was a repair job.

I will have 2 AC units, one for the cab and one for the box.