Another weekend gone by so that can only mean more work done on the horsebox.
First off saturday morning was spent wandering around the local auto jumble.
Picked up a couple of nice vises, got a woodworking one for my dad and a metalworking one for me.
A grand total of £30 for the pair how could i say no.
The woodworking vise just needs a clean up and fitting.
The metalworking one does need some attention however. The quick release doesnt work and i was given “some parts” but it is a very complicated system and i cant work out how its supposed to go together.
Anyone got some smart ideas on it let me know.
Now then its time for some electrickery.
The lights i fitted to the back a few weeks ago need some way to turn them on and off.
One of them is designated to be a ramp/loading light, that needs a switch on the outside so after a bit of research i found this one fit the bill nicely.
Drilled a hole in the rear pillar for it.
And fitted
Easy bit done i sat down and started drawing up some diagrams and notes for how best to run the wiring for everything.
While i did that my dad made a start looking at the ramp springs.
It was fine for me and him to lift but was a bit heavy for the girls. We have been throwing ideas around for a few months on the subject and had a pretty good idea we knew just what it needed.
The way the springs fasten to the ramp was a big part of the problem as when the ramp was fully open they went higher than the front mounting point of the spring. This was fine until we added more weight to the ramp a while ago as it used to pop back up too easily.
So the mounting point needs moving forwards.
About there should do it.
Tested it and that has made a huge difference. So to strengthen the front it got a lump of steel welded on the front edge
Cleaned back
You can hardly tell we got it wrong in the first place.
Its light enough to move now that even my grandma can open and close it so i think thats a win.
Back to me and the wiring i ran a bunch of wires through into the cab for switches and warning lights.
Its a bit of a temporary setup with the power distribution and relays ect at the moment as we will be fitting it out with a full fuse and relay board next to the batteries but i don't have that all ready to go yet.
For now the loading light comes on with the switch outside and there is a warning light on the dash to tell you that its on, just in case.
The second warning light will be the indicator that the side steps have been left open.
The second big light is for reversing, specifically not for on the road but around yards ect.
Thats wired up but the switches havent arrived yet.
Some of you keen eyed readers might have noticed the switch for the ramp light does have a little halo light thats currently not connected. This could be handy for finding it in the dark.
To turn a simple job into a vastly more complicated one we have some criteria to meet for this.
More on that later.
In the meantime there is a large hole in the box.
You might have noticed during painting a large door appeared in the passengers side wall. This one.
Well its destined to be a tack locker. Which means its going to need a box.
But first it needs to go down because thats apparently what they want. Despite me saying over a year ago if you want a box like that tell me so i can cut out and weld in the appropriate steelwork.
Ah well they will just have to work around the steelwork thats there now.
Now than my winge is over we can start putting the box in.
The bottom section is made from left over glassanite bits and some aluminium angle on the corners holding it all together.
Some walls going in along with a saddle rack that my dad made many years ago.
The ceiling was fitted, complete with a quickly fitted light but i lost the pic.
And on that disappointing note thats all for this week
First off saturday morning was spent wandering around the local auto jumble.
Picked up a couple of nice vises, got a woodworking one for my dad and a metalworking one for me.
A grand total of £30 for the pair how could i say no.
The woodworking vise just needs a clean up and fitting.
The metalworking one does need some attention however. The quick release doesnt work and i was given “some parts” but it is a very complicated system and i cant work out how its supposed to go together.
Anyone got some smart ideas on it let me know.
Now then its time for some electrickery.
The lights i fitted to the back a few weeks ago need some way to turn them on and off.
One of them is designated to be a ramp/loading light, that needs a switch on the outside so after a bit of research i found this one fit the bill nicely.
Drilled a hole in the rear pillar for it.
And fitted
Easy bit done i sat down and started drawing up some diagrams and notes for how best to run the wiring for everything.
While i did that my dad made a start looking at the ramp springs.
It was fine for me and him to lift but was a bit heavy for the girls. We have been throwing ideas around for a few months on the subject and had a pretty good idea we knew just what it needed.
The way the springs fasten to the ramp was a big part of the problem as when the ramp was fully open they went higher than the front mounting point of the spring. This was fine until we added more weight to the ramp a while ago as it used to pop back up too easily.
So the mounting point needs moving forwards.
About there should do it.
Tested it and that has made a huge difference. So to strengthen the front it got a lump of steel welded on the front edge
Cleaned back
You can hardly tell we got it wrong in the first place.
Its light enough to move now that even my grandma can open and close it so i think thats a win.
Back to me and the wiring i ran a bunch of wires through into the cab for switches and warning lights.
Its a bit of a temporary setup with the power distribution and relays ect at the moment as we will be fitting it out with a full fuse and relay board next to the batteries but i don't have that all ready to go yet.
For now the loading light comes on with the switch outside and there is a warning light on the dash to tell you that its on, just in case.
The second warning light will be the indicator that the side steps have been left open.
The second big light is for reversing, specifically not for on the road but around yards ect.
Thats wired up but the switches havent arrived yet.
Some of you keen eyed readers might have noticed the switch for the ramp light does have a little halo light thats currently not connected. This could be handy for finding it in the dark.
To turn a simple job into a vastly more complicated one we have some criteria to meet for this.
More on that later.
In the meantime there is a large hole in the box.
You might have noticed during painting a large door appeared in the passengers side wall. This one.
Well its destined to be a tack locker. Which means its going to need a box.
But first it needs to go down because thats apparently what they want. Despite me saying over a year ago if you want a box like that tell me so i can cut out and weld in the appropriate steelwork.
Ah well they will just have to work around the steelwork thats there now.
Now than my winge is over we can start putting the box in.
The bottom section is made from left over glassanite bits and some aluminium angle on the corners holding it all together.
Some walls going in along with a saddle rack that my dad made many years ago.
The ceiling was fitted, complete with a quickly fitted light but i lost the pic.
And on that disappointing note thats all for this week