Ham's '48: Twinkle Twinkle Little Truck ...

[LarrBeard]

Well, it started out kind of low key; “Honey, they are going to have a Parade of Lights the Friday after Thanksgiving. Wouldn’t it be neat to light up the Old Truck”. I think you see where this is heading already.

I made some sort of half-hearted excuse about not knowing how to do something like that, but then – the Man Challenge Flag was thrown; “Well didn’t that guy down in Alabama (she didn’t remember GMWillys by his nickname) put lights on his cute little old Jeep in a parade last year? Maybe you should ask him how he did it?” Ask for help - NEVER!

Well, thanks to Amazon Prime, it didn’t take but a couple of days and we had the makings of a mobile light show. Now the ’48 doesn’t have the 110-volt power plugs the new Jeeps have, so we were limited to battery power – so we decided to use little twinkle lights to accentuate the classic lines of the Old Jeep with a splash of color from a set of net lights to add flair to the display. Oh, it also had stars on the doors, reindeer horns on the windows and a red nose too.

When it was done, using most of a roll of paint tape to stick the lights to the truck, my wife declared; ”It’s really tacky in a nice way.” Now, just what does that mean? So, I showed up at the parade – there was a conflict with another family function and no one else was able to come- they might not have wanted to be seen with the display.

I asked the guy organizing the parade where he wanted me. Now, this guy is one of the neighborhood kids who knew the truck in its mid-70’s second lifetime and he replied; “Right up front, just behind the police car leading the route”. So there I was, out in front again.

It was a typical small town event with fire engines, horses draped with lights, and other tacky vehicles with blow-up Santas, Elves and Grinches. Guys, I have to admit that it gives you an ego boost to hear; “Nice Jeep Truck” or to hear a Dad tell a little kid’ “Look, it’s an old Jeep Truck”. The new Jeeps with their gaudy LED lights were at the back … I guess they didn’t want them to detract from the classic look of the Old Jeep.

It was a fun event – but I’m not sure the ’48 will ever be able to hold its’ head up in public again. What the heck, it’s an Old Truck, have fun with it!

[TJones]

Right up front again, as always!!!!!
Looks pretty good Larry, the best part is you made the Bride happy a” Yes Dear Moment “!!!

[bmorgil]

The new Jeeps with their gaudy LED lights were at the back …

Anyone can have a new one as long as they have the cash or, willing to make large payments. Now to have your 48'..... priceless. It always belongs in the lead. The man who told you to put it there knew that before you showed up!

[LarrBeard]

I almost made a tactical error.

I found out that the living room tree (7-feet tall, all kinds of flashing light options) operates at 12-volts and needs two amps. I have plenty of spare capacity on the LED headlight inverter. Imagine a 7-foot tall flashing tree sandbagged in the bed of the '48.

I kept that information to myself...

[TJones]

That probably would’ve been a “Tactical Error”
Your a Wise Man Larry :cool:

[gmwillys]

Looking good Senior Chief.

I'm in the process of working on this year's float for the B and C team cheerleaders. Sorry guys, no Heep involved in this go-round. 30 girls wouldn't safely fit. The parade was to be tonight, but with some heavy storms coming through, it will be put off till Thursday night.

[bmorgil]

Cant you pull with the Jeep in the Parade? Your Jeep is a classic example of how these things keep going. I am constantly amazed by how totally original and still running your Jeep is. It would look great in its old age pulling a 40' sled full of Cheerleaders!

[gmwillys]

The trailer is a little much for the Heep, and not a trailer brake connection and too many hills through town, not a good idea. Too many young children walking the route in front of us, so it will be better to be safe then to make a show. An accident just happened in North Carolina where a little girl was run over and killed during a Christmas parade, so we will stick with what is proven. Someday, the wagon will be available for parade duty.

[bmorgil]

Good point gm, it could be a bit of a push down hills! I did see the runaway parade truck. What a shame. It looked like the pulling truck was lifted and modified. I wonder what went wrong?

[gmwillys]

We just got home a little bit ago. Everyone had a pretty good time.

[bmorgil]

Nice showing there! Lot's of folk's with lots of smiles.

[51 CJ3]

Surge brakes work well for stopping and downhill control with no mods required to the towing vehicle. They don’t work as well as electric brakes for holding pointed uphill nor do they give an operator direct control over the brakes.

I looked up the story on the accident. It is a modern truck so it does make a person wonder why the brakes seem to have failed. One of the mods may have been rushed and/or incomplete to make the parade. It was a youngster driving so probably not enough experience driving to think of the parking brake, killing the engine or putting it in neutral. Very sad event for all involved.

[51 CJ3]

I read a couple more articles on the accident and found this:

“ Glass’ arrest warrant following the incident cited him for improper brakes that “were inadequate to control the movement of and stop the vehicle.” ”

But that could just mean he was slightly overloaded and didn’t have trailer brakes to compensate. He did have a history of equipment violations and failures to get his vehicle inspected.

[bmorgil]

I agree Jeff, it looks like a young man got rattled when his brake pedal went to the floor. I saw some video and you can see the truck was modified a lot. Band aid tires on some oversize and offset rims. I bet the brakes are not original behind that tire setup. The front cradle under the engine looks replaced. what a tragedy. You really need to pay attention when you are working on brakes.

[LarrBeard]

"You really need to pay attention when you are working on brakes."{

I guess that should be Rule # 4 of Jeep: "Don't skimp on brakes. If the brakes don't stop it, something else will!"

[gmwillys]

True statement Senior Chief. Brakes are high on the list for things that are on the repair list. Unfortunately, the people with the lowest ability are trying to put together these monstrosities of crapsmanship. Big wheels, stock brakes, extended brake lines and lifted cradles is a recipe for disaster. Trucks running around looking like dogs rubbing their butts on the front yard grass, just isn't a good, practical application of an otherwise good truck... I call them D-bag starter kits, since they are youngsters typically driving.

[bmorgil]

Its hard to make some people understand there is more to it than just wrenching away with a fist full of dollars. I can only imagine what the engineers would think in a DFMEA meeting, about the modifications made to trucks by the crowd who wants cool and understands nothing. The load rating on that truck as modified would be very interesting indeed. I think we would find the "hauling capacity" of that truck has been greatly reduced. It is not a truck anymore and shouldn't have been used as one.

[gmwillys]

I remember back in the '90s at the dirt track. One of the hot dog super late model teams had a new Chevy dually that was lowered to the ground that they used to pull the enclosed trailer. About every weekend we would make $20 to tug them out of a rut in the parking lot or the pits. Cool isn't functional, and functional isn't cool.

[bmorgil]

I remember back in the '90s at the dirt track. One of the hot dog super late model teams had a new Chevy dually that was lowered to the ground that they used to pull the enclosed trailer. About every weekend we would make $20 to tug them out of a rut in the parking lot or the pits. Cool isn't functional, and functional isn't cool.

A good rule to live by gmwillys! You could add functional isn't cool unless it is engineered to be both. And when you engineer you must test and be certain. Case in point, jb's wagon! Cool and functional, with the right stuff.

There is a lot to making it functional and cool. When you modify a truck with "cool" stuff that is not intended for truck work, you end up with UN-cool when the work arrives.

[gmwillys]

JB's ride is an exceptional exception to the rule. He has put a lot of time and effort into making his wagon a perfect all-around rig.