TrashE

[Dan]

This is TrashE & the only vehicle I've ever named.
Started as the trash truck and then just TrashE for short. Seemed like no matter what there was always trash in the bed or it was loaded up for the dump, I even saw a guest at work throw an entire bag of their camp trash in the back & then just walk off like they knew the deal.

Kind of embarrassed to be building this thing in the dirt and wasn't going to do a thread but oh well. I plan to build it up and get it rolling and then do a series of upgrades every winter when I have time off. For now it will be a bare bones truck that will have a good deal of budget & used parts.

Overall goal is to have a multi purpose rig that will be used as a daily, trail truck, and work truck for my business which will require some cool stuff and be unique to my needs. If successful it will be equally shitty at all three.

Starting with a 2wd truck that I bought back in 2016. I have most of the parts I'm going to use on it for the initial build up.

-1996 Ram 2500 regular cab with 12 valve Cummins
-2 Corbeau baja rs seats & 1 PRP roadster in the middle
-NV4500 trans & ford np205
-13 bolts axles F/R (4.88, grizzly lockers, crane covers)
-Leaf springs
-Winches F/R (Warn vr12 front & Smittybilt xrc 9.5 rear)
-Short bed
-Stretched 4" back & 4-5" forward
-40 gallon fuel tank
-125"-128" wheelbase
-40" Maxxis razr tires on Raceline mall crawlers

Currently how the truck is as of 4-5-23

 

[Dan]

It had a service body on it when I bought it but I swapped it out for a regular bed and only picked up about 1/2 mpg which was crazy. Eventually I would like to add another service body with a 6' bed. I originally bought the truck as a donor but ended up liking it more than the truck it was going to be parted out for. I sold the other truck and kept this one.

 

[Dan]

Found a bed at the junkyard that was mint with no dents. Bad part was that the isles were to narrow to get the gantry behind the truck so I had to pull it from the front... over the cab. This was a solo mission and sucked big time. By the time I had it loaded on my trailer there were half a dozen small dings on it. Not to worried about it now though.

 

[Dan]

Started boxing the frame with 3/16". Cleaned and painted the inside of the frame and boxing plates before welding them in.
I also cut the rear frame off right behind the shackle hangers and cut 13" out of the center of the frame to fit the short bed. Forgot to take pictures of that or the inside fish plates.

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

cool, excited to see more

 

[Dan]

cool, excited to see more

Thanks, been working on it for a couple hours a night for the past couple weeks and feel like progress has been slow with limited time.

 

[Dan]

I was able to get the trans pulled the other night and on the table. Cleaned up the housing some before starting the teardown. Didn't clean the tail housing because I won't be using it. The new 4wd parts are sitting there for inspiration.

Then last night I started on the teardown. Everything looked really good and the 2wd mainshaft was fully splined with a lock nut so it's definitely aftermarket.
Got everything off the mainshaft and called it a night. New & old mainshaft saying hi.

 

[Dan]

Ended up ordering a new mainshaft and a few small transmission parts like shims, thrust washers, teflon spacers, etc. so I put the rebuild on hold for a couple days.

Right now I have 3 nv4500 mainshafts on the bench. I ended up buying a new one from torque king because the previous 4wd shaft (Allstate) had some issues and I was past their return window which is only 30 days. I overlooked that when I was collecting parts and it makes prep harder, I like having most of the stuff I need already bought before I start a build up so I'm not held up.

I went ahead and assembled part of it though.

 

[Dan]

So I went back to the frame and started on the rear chassis.

I previously cut the frame off behind the spring hangers and recently got a chance to box the rear portion of the frame. I still have one more section to box between the cab and these plates.

 

[Dan]

I welded a temporary brace across the frame to keep it in line, that's the top 2x2 piece.

Started the rear hitch and winch plate.

Kind of hard to see but it is a couple inches above the leaf spring shackle mounts and should give me a decent departure angle.

I still need to add some tubes to the hitch and box in the plate work I started on the winch plate.

 

[Dan]

Been slowly making progress a couple hours per night at a time.

I got most of the rear frame work done. I needed to remove the temporary brace to test fit some stuff so I welded up as much as I could before removing it. I jumped around a lot and took my time so it didn't pretzel on me.

Still have 7 or 8 pieces to make before it's done.

But... It's getting there and it didn't move when I took the brace off so that's nice.

 

[RHTrucks]

I'm liking this a lot.

 

[Dan]

I'm liking this a lot.

Thanks! More to come.

 

[Dan]

I used a piece of 1/4"x 1-1/2" flat bar for the front plate. This should help rigidity along the outside of the cross member and tie in the hitch/recovery points.

Stitch welded top and bottom.

I also added some overlay plates to the top side of the recovery points to help spread the load and add some strength. I used 3/16" material for those.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

The fab and welding in this thread are bad ass. That hitch setup is

 

[RHTrucks]

Yeah... If the rest of the fab is on par with the winch/hitch, I'm definitely watching this. Cheers.

 

[Dan]

Thanks for the compliments!

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

Thanks for the compliments!

Thanks for posting the build!

 

[Dan]

The winch sits between the bed cross members and the control box needed to be relocated so it didn't contact the floor. I was able to get away with clocking it down 90° using a bolt from the winch and adding a small tab to the plate. Rear winch is a 9500lb Smitty.

Little tab is 1/8"

Then added some hooks for back up chains and I think that wraps up the rear frame work. I still need to mount the fairlead and 7/4 trailer plug but that will most likely go on the bumper.

 

[rattle_snake]

Nice fab and welds. Looking good.

 

[Dumptruck.the.wookie]

Is the hitch pin blocked by your chain loops?

 

[Dan]

Is the hitch pin blocked by your chain loops?

The hitch pin goes through the loop and into the receiver... So long as it's clocked at about 10 o'clock going in.

​​​​

 

[Dumptruck.the.wookie]

Noted. Great work man. Looks solid as hell.

 

[Dan]

Moving on from the rear the next thing I want to tackle is the fuel tank. The one I'm using is an aft tank (40 gal.) from a 2017 F-550 c&c that was given to me because of a 3/16" pinhole someone accidentally drilled in the top.

It's pretty big but I can recess it into the frame a little bit and don't mind the loss in cargo space with the additional fuel capacity. Its shape matches the frame pretty well and should work nicely.

 

[Dan]

Factory cross member had to go.

I tacked a 2"x2"x1/4" piece of tube to the frame before any cutting took place and welded the frames together. I'll weld the top & bottom too.

It put up a fight but it died.

 

[Dan]

I was able to get the last frame plates cut out and painted on the inside. I also cleaned up and painted the inside of the frame before closing it off.

 

[Dan]

Finished burning these in last night. Now the frame is fully boxed and I can start on the fuel tank mount/x-member when I get a chance.

 

[rattle_snake]

Nice box job. The more of your welds I see the more mine look like shit.

At least your putting Ford parts on it now.

 

[Sterlingfire]

I like it so far

 

[Dan]

Thanks guys.

I took a break from the fab work to button up some mechanical items. I was able to get the transmission rebuilt with the new 4wd mainshaft. Got everything torqued and sealed up.