Westmicher's New XLT 10 Project Begins!

Monty · Dec 4, 2012

Nice! Keep it coming ...... btw, that chassis is gonna be 2 years old before it hits the road!

ebsprintin · Dec 4, 2012

I picture you now getting delayed at the shipper as you have to push your way through the crowd of gawkers.

eb

guido4475 · Dec 4, 2012

It looks awesome! You should be proud of yourself!

westmicher · Dec 6, 2012

Today we installed the roof with aircraft tape, and will trim it off Monday with trim rails running the long edges of the top. We also formed cool "kick outs" for the front of the wheel openings to help guide the airflow past the rear wheels. We will be forming "kick ins" at the rear edges of the rear wheels as well.

Yes, it is taking longer than we originally planned but we are very pleased with the results anyway.

guido4475 · Jan 21, 2013

Any new recent pictures of the complete finished product? Just wondering....And curious...and envious..

Oatmeal · Feb 18, 2013

Hi, very nice work.

I'm curious about the tires. You wrote that they were MTX2's and 10% larger.

I couldn't find that tire listed on Michelin's website, did you perhaps mean LTX M/S-2 ? Also what size exactly are you using? Any tire clearance issues on the front?

Also, there were a few questions earlier on about economy "chips". Are you familiar with Mike @ 5 Star Tuning? He is the only one able to provide a tuner with up to 3 separate tunes for the 2 valve 5.4L. He offers an "87 octane- economy" tune among others.

Thanks,
Oatmeal.

westmicher · Mar 2, 2013

Oatmeal said:
I'm curious about the tires. You wrote that they were MTX2's and 10% larger.

I couldn't find that tire listed on Michelin's website, did you perhaps mean LTX M/S-2 ? Also what size exactly are you using? Any tire clearance issues on the front?

Also, there were a few questions earlier on about economy "chips". Are you familiar with Mike @ 5 Star Tuning? He is the only one able to provide a tuner with up to 3 separate tunes for the 2 valve 5.4L. He offers an "87 octane- economy" tune among others.

Thanks,
Oatmeal.

OK, I took pictures of the tires so you can read what they are. And although I've had no clearance problems at all, you have to take into account at least two important facts:

1. I only have 450 unloaded miles on the truck.

2. Because of the design of our truck, virtually all of the load weight will be carried on the rear tires, so your truck will probably carry more of your loads on the front tires.

As far as the chips, I haven't looked into anything else yet, but will be this spring.

Thanks!

westmicher · Mar 2, 2013

guido4475 said:
Any new recent pictures of the complete finished product? Just wondering....And curious...and envious..

I can show more details. Unfortunately progress in slow this winter. It's too cold in the barn and the Sprinter it's replacing is still running well so the urgency to get out in the cold isn't very high!

Here's the access door for the porti-potty (which my co-driver demands!)

westmicher · Mar 2, 2013

guido4475 said:
Any new recent pictures of the complete finished product? Just wondering....And curious...and envious..

And details of the on-board generator door and the passenger side wheel opening/moldings.

westmicher · Mar 2, 2013

BTW, the roof cap is not on yet so the roof sheet looks rough in these pictures.

Oatmeal · Mar 3, 2013

Thanks for that. I have 265/75's on mine and have no rubbing issues at all. That size turned the 3.73 into 3.48 or 3.58 depending if one started with 225's or 245's. I think it helped my MPGs but its hard to tell because I'm running all- terrains and those really don't promote fuel efficiency.

Lawrence · Mar 27, 2013

Has this project been over or under budget from what you expected?

(It's been great following your success!!)

zorry · Mar 27, 2013

Wondering about relationship with welder.
Relative ? You saved his life ? Got polaroids ?
My weld shop would handle a project like that. $70 per hour. It adds up fast.

westmicher · Mar 27, 2013

Lawrence said:
Has this project been over or under budget from what you expected?

I've gone a little over, both in time AND money spent. However, some of that was learning and more of it is that I am a freaking perfectionist. But I want the company I work for (soon, not today's) to be super proud of my truck and my service both. And I have to live with it for 3 or more years (unless I HAVE to have a Transit Cab/Chassis XLT 10, which is possible). I'd like to show it off a bit too, at least at shows.

westmicher · Mar 27, 2013

zorry said:
Wondering about relationship with welder.
Relative ? You saved his life ? Got polaroids ?
My weld shop would handle a project like that. $70 per hour. It adds up fast.

He is a good friend. I'm paying quite a bit less than his normal shop rate of $68 an hour. Keep in mind ALL he is doing is welding. I do the engineering, cutting, grinding, running/fetching, etc. That being said, there has been plenty of welding!