Chef Dennis's New CargoMax

chefdennis · Mar 27, 2011

Comet wrote:

Have you went and re-weight at the scales after you got everything put in(E-track;plywood;straps;food;clothes.......etc.

Nope, and it ain't even close to being done inside. No TV the walls have not been covered yet (just insulated) half of my toys aren't in it yet so weighting it now wouldn't be a true "finished weight yet anyhow...I weighed my old van before I did a thing to it and it came in at 5600 lbs...i didn't weight it again for a 2 yrs....and that only was because a shipper weighed me on the way in and then again after I was loaded (was a big bag 48x45x44 fill with a power used in the curing process for iron castings) if they hadn't required that, I probably never would have re-weighed it.

OVM said it best....

blizzard2014 · Mar 27, 2011

Thats all good Cheff but if you ever trigger an alarm when you roll across one of those "weigh in motion" scales in the right lane just right before the entrance of the scalehouses, and you are over 10k pounds, they might chase you down and cause you some real grief. Have you noticed they are starting to put more weigh in motion scales on in the left lane too so they can hit up everyones weight? Any accident or anything you get into "while overweight" can cause you some serious legal as well as financial pain.

I have a bare bones GMC Extended 3500 van and it weighs 6300 pounds empty. That is with me, a full tank of gas, plywood E-track, some clothes, a laptop, and a small mattress. That leaves me with a legal max payload of around 3300 pounds. The box trucks are substantially heavier than the regular vans which makes their payload capacity much less than that of a regular van.

I have a friend who has a similar set up as cheff and he sometimes hauls 4500 pounds "safely" because he has a marked down GVWR, but legally is whole other animal. I would be so scared that if I were to get into a rear end accident and "god forbid" hurt someone, i'd be held liable because my truck is over-loaded! All i'm saying is be careful when you roll over the weigh in motion scales, especially if you are unsure of your absolute total weight.

chefdennis · Mar 27, 2011

All good advise Blizzard...The mechanic that did the DOT inspection suggested a fitted barrier between the back freight area and the cab...I told him the 1st thing I did was take the one that was in there out the day I bought it.....

chefdennis · Mar 27, 2011

Here are a few pictures..one is the last picture of the van with no logos or stripe..the next 2 are after the logos and the stripe...but there will be more stripe later..

Wolfeman68 · Mar 27, 2011

chefdennis said:
Here are a few pictures..one is the last picture of the van with no logos or stripe..the next 2 are after the logos and the stripe...but there will be more stripe later..

Where's the "Stripe"? Would have thought the Load 1 logo would have been bigger.

chefdennis · Mar 27, 2011

The Load 1 blue "Stripe" will be installed later but with a few "changes" to it...the stripe guy is doing some computer work as to the design and sizing it to fit the van...so it will be a few weeks yet, but it will be on there..but more of a "1 of a Kind" thing.

As for the logos, I think they are too far forward and yea they could have been a bit larger, but I wasn't there..I dropped the old van and the new one off so he could get both of them done in one day....

Moot · Mar 27, 2011

Bummer! Little over a week old and you laid it on it's side. Good thing you were a chef. Looks like it is "over easy." Any damage should buff right out.
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chefdennis · Mar 27, 2011

I heard that when the CargoMax was at the Expo in 2009 the guy kept hitting the fiberglass box with a big rubber mallet without any damage "showing"..lol...so yea any damage should "buff" right out..and take a look, this little "mishap" also included the house and the driveway and trees in the yard on their side also!!

Wolfeman68 · Mar 27, 2011

chefdennis said:
The Load 1 blue "Stripe" will be installed later but with a few "changes" to it...the stripe guy is doing some computer work as to the design and sizing it to fit the van...so it will be a few weeks yet, but it will be on there..but more of a "1 of a Kind" thing.

As for the logos, I think they are too far forward and yea they could have been a bit larger, but I wasn't there..I dropped the old van and the new one off so he could get both of them done in one day....

Look forward to seeing the modifications. I can't tell from the pic how big the logo signs are, but they appear to be the same ones that are on the Sprinters.

chefdennis said:
I heard that when the CargoMax was at the Expo in 2009 the guy kept hitting the fiberglass box with a big rubber mallet without any damage "showing"..lol...so yea any damage should "buff" right out..and take a look, this little "mishap" also included the house and the driveway and trees in the yard on their side also!!

You're right!!! I told him that I hadn't been hit by too many rubber mallets, and would be more worried about gouges in the fiberglass. Their exhibit was right next to Midway's and the Midway guys were trying to sell him on putting one of their sleepers in it. I had asked the Midway guys if they were going to put one in, and it snowballed from there. Cargomax was trying to sell me one of theirs, but at the time I didn't like the fact that the engines weren't diesels. They were supposed to get back with me on what the price difference would be but they never did.

chefdennis · Mar 27, 2011

The reason they never got back to you was that sometime after the expo, Carter Chevrolet that owns the design and the rights to the van ended their relationship with the people that were at the expo. It took a few months and some legal action from what I have heard.

From the CargoMax website:

http://cargomax.net/

REGARDING CFF &
CFF SALES & LEASING, INC
CFF Sales & Leasing is no longer an authorized CargoMAX outlet effective 4/21/2010.
CFF does not, and never did, have any ownership or proprietary rights or interest in CargoMAX.

Wolfeman68 · Mar 27, 2011

chefdennis said:
The reason they never got back to you was that sometime after the expo, Carter Chevrolet that owns the design and the rights to the van ended their relationship with the people that were at the expo. It took a few months and some legal action from what I have heard.

From the CargoMax website:

http://cargomax.net/

That would explain it. There was no mention of Carter and the guys at the Expo acted like they owned everything. I imagine that fact got back to Carter and they pulled the plug.

chefdennis · Mar 28, 2011

Ok, one of the changes from my old van to the new one will be there will be not "Fixed" permenant bunk as I had in the old van. Now I have said that I plan on a "wall" mail from sailboat material and that is being made, but the lady that is doing it had a personal deal come up and it is happening slower then we figured...so while there is no picture of my "sleeping arrangement"..I had taken the big "Pawley Island Hammock" from the deck and "rigged it up to hang in the van...I installed a few "eyebolts and S hooks" and I used a "Freight jack" at each end to make sure I didn't pull the ceiling down when I was laying on the thing....Several people at Load 1 seen the hammock up and thought it was a good idea...they didn't see the freight jack situp...

Let me make it really clear, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS, AND ESPECIALLY DO NOT USE FREIGHTS IN A MANNER THEY ARE NOT INTENDED....

One of the eyebolts pulled out saturday night when I went to bed. This was after I had already used this situp twice and was pretty confident in the situp...me and the hammock hit the flor in a big thud, in a split second later, I was hit in the head by one freight bare and then across the noss and face by the other...

Luckly I didn't get knocked out, but I probably should have gone to the hospital to close the cut on my head, but, I didn't.....I bleed all over a towel for a few hours and the cut is now ok...BUT....i now look like a raccoon...2 big black eyes and a nice cut on the bridge of my nose.....

I ain't posting a oicture...you will have to find me on the road to see what my new really big sunglasses are now covering...

It hurt more then my head and face when it happen, (my feelings were hurt that my idea went wrong) but its kinda funny now, other then I could have been knocked out and still be laying inside the van up in Avon Ohio...

blizzard2014 · Mar 28, 2011

You need to build a bunk that goes longways and can be folded right up against left side of your truck when freight is in there. You can keep the cott as a back-up sleeping arrangement for when your truck is loaded and you canno't fold down the side bunk. In a regular cargo van, there isn't enough room for this, and it is not practical. But in your situation, a nice foldable bunk with full sized mattress would be optimal. You will still be able to get some pretty large skids in between that type of set up; just make sure that it is not wider than your wheel wells when you fold the thing up. Then put you a nice area rug down under that so you can feel like you are inside a nice penthouse apartment. You can roll that up too if you get a bigger load.

All I got nw is a small mattress that I put on top of the skids when I have a full load. It is optimal for my situation, but the thing is so stained it looks worse than a homeless mans shopping cart. lol.

asjssl · Mar 28, 2011

chefdennis said:
Ok, one of the changes from my old van to the new one will be there will be not "Fixed" permenant bunk as I had in the old van. Now I have said that I plan on a "wall" mail from sailboat material and that is being made, but the lady that is doing it had a personal deal come up and it is happening slower then we figured...so while there is no picture of my "sleeping arrangement"..I had taken the big "Pawley Island Hammock" from the deck and "rigged it up to hang in the van...I installed a few "eyebolts and S hooks" and I used a "Freight jack" at each end to make sure I didn't pull the ceiling down when I was laying on the thing....Several people at Load 1 seen the hammock up and thought it was a good idea...they didn't see the freight jack situp...

Let me make it really clear, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS, AND ESPECIALLY DO NOT USE FREIGHTS IN A MANNER THEY ARE NOT INTENDED....

One of the eyebolts pulled out saturday night when I went to bed. This was after I had already used this situp twice and was pretty confident in the situp...me and the hammock hit the flor in a big thud, in a split second later, I was hit in the head by one freight bare and then across the noss and face by the other...

Luckly I didn't get knocked out, but I probably should have gone to the hospital to close the cut on my head, but, I didn't.....I bleed all over a towel for a few hours and the cut is now ok...BUT....i now look like a raccoon...2 big black eyes and a nice cut on the bridge of my nose.....

I ain't posting a oicture...you will have to find me on the road to see what my new really big sunglasses are now covering...

It hurt more then my head and face when it happen, (my feelings were hurt that my idea went wrong) but its kinda funny now, other then I could have been knocked out and still be laying inside the van up in Avon Ohio...

Just admit it......your wife slapped you around.....

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

chefdennis · Mar 28, 2011

Yeap the floor is already covered by a 6x8 ft edge bound piece of carpet and the hammoack is gone. I picked up an extra wide cot that is 38 inches wide and I can put my 37 in air matteress on it along with the heated mattress pad and sleeping bag...then they all lay against the sidewall when not being used.

Once I figure out all the curves in the ft coners of the box, I'll be covering the walls, ceiling and side doors with indoor/outdoor carpet and it should be pretty comfortable back there...

As for the wife slapping me around, that would have been preferred thats forsure...as long as she tied me up 1st...then maybe if she wore ...wait I ain't goin there!!

RedBird · Mar 29, 2011

Dennis, in keeping with the type of sleeping arrangement from the old van but not permanently mounted. Build a platform similar to what you had but when you need the extra space for that fourth pallet, etc, be able to fold the platform forward so the base is facing the rear of the drivers seat and partition wall of the passenger area where you have the fridge and microwave. Kinda creates a small bulkhead too!

I'm designing a something similar with a friend of mine who does carpentry work and getting his idea for use in my Ford van. In my Dodge, I use an old sofa/sleeper from a old conversion van.

Freightdawg · Mar 29, 2011

chefdennis said:
.and take a look, this little "mishap" also included the house and the driveway and trees in the yard on their side also!!

Man, I hate when that happens!

Jack_Berry · Mar 30, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by chefdennis

.and take a look, this little "mishap" also included the house and the driveway and trees in the yard on their side also!!

Man, I hate when that happens!

we got one of those also. darn low ranch house! darn city lot! now i use the neighbors rocky drainage for the left side tires.

The Enemy · Mar 30, 2011

Dennis, next time we meet up, take a look at my bunk setup. Full size bed that folds up on the driver side, folds up to only 4" thick.

purgoose10 · Mar 30, 2011

Hey Dennis just thought of something. Looking at the back end of your truck, going thru some city's where you have to drive slow (like Baltimore, NY etc) might get a mirror for the back. I can see kids standing on that big bumper holding on to the handles on the sides trying to open your back door to steel something. Keep a lock on it. You may laugh but I have seen them do it to a Schneider truck that was in front of me. Broad daylight, open the door and start throwing things out.
That looks like an inviting bumper. Do fork lifts have a hard time getting pallets in??