Nelson Off-Road Tours Build Thread

[Csm Davis]

Then I doubt you need to meet bus standards, if the roads you are taking are not ruled by hwy patrol as regular roads but just blm rangers then their rules will be all you will need to follow. Talk to who is in charge of the roads you will be moving people on.

 

[acme66]

That I want to do it commercially is adding the wrinkle to it but I will investigate your idea. This is the first wave of our MDOT compliance and the state is sort of in turmoil, again my great timing. It is why all the people I talked to prior to starting down this road were so far off in their advice. I am sure in a few years after it settles out they will write in the exemptions for in state services like this type but I get the honor to be on the vanguard. As it stands now they tell me that I have to meet the same requirements as an entire charter bus company but then in the same breath acknowledge that because the truck is NOT a bus I will then fail inspection. The same rules however say that if I haul people in a truck it will also fail inspection. Then they sort of shrug and apologize. He is a nice and helpful man but they seem to be making up on the fly what bits and parts of the rules I follow, none of which will mean a tinker's **** to the DOT officer that shuts me down because it isn't what is on his paper. Like I said timing. I am thinking of just registering the truck as a private unit and giving away free rides and tours this summer to test our business model. Not for hire baby, screw your rules. For the moment I am treading water while they try to figure out what to do.

-Ken

 

[Csm Davis]

Or just haul ten at a time no compliance needed right? Understand wanting to stay legal, I am a LEO not advising you to go against the law just find you proper rules to follow. So BLM says you need to follow state hwy law? Or is it like the BLM rules down here that their dirt roads are not public and therefore off-road rules apply.

 

[acme66]

Exactly, no one can agree on what rules I need to follow and failure to follow them properly has real consequences. I have written to BLM to inquire about commercial use of their roads. The Forest Service has a permit process but nothing I could find on BLM's site mentions anything like that. Could be that a week from now I will be writing about how I should have just driven on the road. Well no one can tell me later I didn't try to do things the right way.

-Ken

 

[acme66]

3 steps back

Been one of those days. I diagnosed my starting issues as 2 bad batteries, on in each 24v string. One of them would drop to 10v with just the lights on. Pulled them out, combined the two good ones into a single 24v unit and she turns over like a greased weasel I see no reason to ever put 4 back in for what I am going to do and after pricing them I am not going with those bad boys when their time comes. Going to go get me some big standard 5 year Kirkland's from Costco. Honestly those have been the best batteries I have ever found, price is great power is phenomenal and the warrantee is awesome.


Then I turned my attention to the risers for my cargo cover. Turns out I cut each of them twelve inches too long. Never caught it, made ten of the uprights and never caught they were all too long. Stands 11' 9" with them in. Now I get to take them all back apart and remill them. Ten of them and never noticed...fml.


Got a package in the mail and it is my new eye for converting my 5th wheel to pintle so I can tow it that rare occasion behind the 923 and not the Dodge. I am sure no one on SS has done what I plan to do. Should be some interesting and spirited debates on it. That said in keeping with how my day is gone the eye is too small. I ordered the right tonnage but in the wrong size. Fail me again.


Then under the hood still trying (and failing) to diagnose my long whistling air dryer bleed off I noticed this fitting was missing it's tube. It is there in the background but broken off at the fitting. Feel free to 'TM Search" rage at me, and I will... eventually but if you could just tell me what it does at the end of the rant that would be helpful. Cut me slack, it has been a long day.


So that was my day. Montana DOT is doing a circle jerk with me in the middle, all the research I did on licensing 6 months or so is void and I start over from here (hey Montana a heads up that you were planning to change the rules would have been nice), I fixed my battery issue and I don't have a bad starter after all, the eye I ordered I have to send back, dryer still whistles, bows are too high and I have a broken mystery hose. Should have stayed in bed.

-Ken

 

[Suprman]

On the bottom of the air dryer is a 150 psi safety over pressure valve. Mine was leaking I got a replacement from napa the threads were smaller I had to go to Home Depot and get an adapter. The air governor is past the 65 psi pressure protective valve, so if it gets stuck closed you will build too much pressure and the only safety at that point is the air dryer safety valve.

 

[Suprman]

If you come up to pressure and shut the truck off and you can hear an air leak take windex or a spray bottle of soapy water and start spraying you will find the leak. Same as looking for a nail in your tire.

 

[juanprado]

that fitting takes 1/8 spaghetti air brake tubing for the ether direct injection system.View attachment TM9-2320-272-24-1 Ether Tubing.pdf

 

[TurboMustang370]

Either I lost your train of thought or you might be using the wrong terms. You are going to change your 5th wheel to a lunette ring?

Please explain.

 

[acme66]

I thought that would perk people's interest. Yes I am. My trailer has the king pin mounted on the end of a short 12"X12" snout lets call it. That is bolted to the trailer frame. I am going to built a new one, drop it farther and convert it to lunette. I can still swap back in say 30-45 min or so. Imagine a gooseneck but with a lunette at the bottom. After sketching and planning how I could get a removable hitch on the back of the truck it finally dawned on me, 4 bolts and swap the neck of the camper.

-Ken

 

[TurboMustang370]

I thought that would perk people's interest. Yes I am. My trailer has the king pin mounted on the end of a short 12"X12" snout lets call it. That is bolted to the trailer frame. I am going to built a new one, drop it farther and convert it to lunette. I can still swap back in say 30-45 min or so. Imagine a gooseneck but with a lunette at the bottom. After sketching and planning how I could get a removable hitch on the back of the truck it finally dawned on me, 4 bolts and swap the neck of the camper.

-Ken

Make sure it can handle the downward stress/tounge weight. If you can, scan and post the sketches. Seems intersting to say the least.

 

[TurboMustang370]

A dolley maybe better suited for your needs.

 

[tamangel]

That I want to do it commercially is adding the wrinkle to it but I will investigate...-Ken

I have a friend that retired from BLM..I possed your questions to him re: commercial use.. just a heads up..some may not be applicable to your situation..

"... He would definitely need to obtain a BLM commercial recreation permit. If he uses anything but a controlled access interstate or state highway, anytime he would cross over, through, or use BLM facilities and lands in any way would require such a permit. The permit may require certain stipulations. In this case I could see the BLM requiring a safety inspection of the vehicle and possibly installation of seat belts for passengers. There would also potentially be bonding and insurance requirements. BLM has a long history of permit requirements for commercial tours on BLM lands. This sort of use would probably not be an exception to the permit requirements. A good question for this guy would be "Have you (talked with) BLM about your idea (yet) ?"..."

info only, Mike W

*******

 

[acme66]

"Have you (talked with) BLM about your idea (yet) ?"

I have written BLM twice in the last three weeks to inquire about permits and they haven't gotten back to me yet. I am sure it is working it's way through the system. I have never dealt with them but I imagine it will be similar to the Forest Service special use permit process. We own a sapphire mining claim and so I have gone round and round with them about road use and access issues for other things. I am not in a super hurry because I want to go to them with MDOT's final DOT plan for the truck. Heaven help me if I have to negotiate special circumstance exceptions with both BLM and the FS. My son would be old enough to drive by the time we got that done. I want to walk through the door and tell them yes I have had my DOT inspection and passed it. Our timing is so bad on this. If we had gotten it done before January first then I could ask for special operating variances until they get the rules sorted out but we have to wait until they get the rules sorted out until we can operate. As it sits now, the insurance guys, FS, BLM and the DMV are all waiting until Montana figures out what they want me to do. Talking with the DOT guys it is clear every day another issue with the new rules crops up. For instance there is talk of all the private school bus contractors in the state refusing to haul students to sports games because under the new rules that makes them a charter company. I am not sure why being a charter company is bad for them but apparently it is. Imagine a state's worth of school buses parked... I can see why my little tourist operation isn't a priority for them right now.

-Ken

 

[Suprman]

If it is to be used strictly offroad and on private property I dont see why you would have to go through all those hoops. Whatever your insurance requires should be enough. Great Adventure park in NJ has an new ride they are using 923's with rows of seats in them as a offroad ride through their zoo park. I doubt they registered theirs. You dont see Disney registering a ride car.

 

[tamangel]

on/off road on private property is one category, on any portion of public road or public land is yet another.

Mike W

******

 

[acme66]

Got all the top bow extensions remilled but not all of them bolted on. It makes the overall hight still a very tall 10' 6" but that is better than 11' 6". Have about 5' 8" to walk around under, I feel that is a fair compromise.

-Ken

 

[acme66]

Licensed and titled the truck today. Then I pulled seats out of a bus to start mocking up the interior. I never would have thought the width of a 5ton would be smaller than that of a school bus but it is by half a foot or more. This is how we think the seats will be set.


Other configurations might let us get a few bodies in but with compromises on room. This lets us get wheelchairs in too.

My troop seats will have to come out but I still need the stake sides. Do all stake sides have the mounting points for the seats? If not I would be willing to trade for standard sides (must be fiberglass) and then maybe a decent top cover (must be tan) or 14.00x20 tires, say one a bench or a hard top or... I also have that wrecker winch I have listed in the classifieds for too much money that could be tossed in to this deal. This would have to be done soon unless I can just take my benches off from my sides. If I can just unbolt them for you then we can wait some. Then again I keep looking at those benches and thinking how they could be reworked to make ramps...

Ken

 

[Blendmaster2002]

Hello, here is a couple pics of test fitting seats in the bed of my m36a2 from a while ago, it has an 18ft bed I think yours is 14ft, so a couple less rows. I was going to start a tour company down here in SoCal but for several reasons plus the upcoming California Diesel law it didn’t happen. I settled on tour bus seats, some tour buses were close the same width as inside the 2 1/2 ton trucks I was going to use, I can’t remember if tour buses are the same as a standard bus or not, I think some buses are wider I think their "wide body" its been a while since I researched it.

Good luck with your endeavor.

 

[acme66]

Thanks for the pictures! My isle way was 14 inches, just too small. The bus I took them from was 18. It made a difference I think if I pull my troop seats out I would be able to buy another 1.5-2 inches on each side by sticking the seat base out over my sides some. Might still be able to do it how you have it. That would let me get one extra row or four paid spots. I would not be able to get wheelchairs in however and to put this lightly... large people... would have a hard time in the isle.

-Ken