# work pictures - truck upfitter



## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

since i work at a truck upfitter that is also a boss dealer and i share the plow install pics why not the upfits and other custom stuff we do? so here goes! i'll try explain alot of what we do an take more pics of the projects.

we do alot of van bodies for alot of different applications. most of them we build are for oil company's on the north slope of alaska. they use them for a vast array of different things so every one of them is built to spec.

alot of flat beds, service bodies, welding bodies, tow trucks..ect ect plus some weird stuff comes though. i'll just let the pics speak for themselves.

a 2012 RAM 5500 cummins/auto 4x4 basic flat bed for www.conocophillipsalaska.com. it was fully winterized with 2 100W pad heaters, trickle charger for the batteries, straps on all for doors for wind protection, 2 way radio, seat covers, roof mounted spot light, blue eye driving light, winter front, webasto air top diesel fired cab heater, in gear/door open alarm..plus more i'm forgetting


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

here is a winterize of a 2013 f-350 6.7 4x4 xlt for Halliburton . it got a 88 gallon transfer tank, front mud flaps, breaker box that the pad heaters, block heater,battery charger all run though that for protection. it also got seat covers, first aid/fire ext..other odds and ends.









we've been doing alot of basic winterize's on f-250s and f-550s for BP. all gas.


















ladder rack w/topper


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

installed HD bumpers on a 2012 f-250 6.2 xl for alaska airlines.

















another winterize with a transfer tank and work lights


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

heres a '99 f-350 7.3 auto with 60 somthing K miles on it! we did the tilt bed,side baords, all lights, bumper, boxes..ect ect


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

one of the BP f-550's V10 gas with a flat bed and full winterize, rear cam, custom hydraulic hitch, front hitch, light force lights..ect ect


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

2012 king ranch f-250 6.7 with a bigger transfer flow tank.









2011 f-250 with a service body..going for paint









a 2011 ford getting a Van body









railroad service body


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

more rail road trucks

















chevys we did for a electric company in the Valdez,AK area


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

another service body









railroad suburbans

















4x4 ford van getting winterized









ok all for now, hope you enjoy! sorry as the pics got older i kinda forgot what was done to them. i'll try to update as much as possible


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## FordFisherman (Dec 5, 2007)

Would love to do that kind of work, thanks for the pics.


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## Morrissey snow removal (Sep 30, 2006)

nice pics i like the bumper on the back of the reg cab ford


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## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

Do the railroad trucks take a special drive tire for being on the tracks?




.................


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## RJ lindblom (Sep 21, 2006)

White Gardens;1587897 said:


> Do the railroad trucks take a special drive tire for being on the tracks?
> 
> .................


It looks like the inside wheel of a set of duals to get the inside width to 56 1/2 inches. I think it is a standard light truck tire.


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## scott3430 (Dec 28, 2010)

Nice pics and great work! Do you guys treat the underbodies with Fluid Film or some other protectant for the Alaska winters?


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## unhcp (Jan 20, 2010)

pretty cool pics


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## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

RJ lindblom;1587900 said:


> It looks like the inside wheel of a set of duals to get the inside width to 56 1/2 inches. I think it is a standard light truck tire.


I think it's a different axle all together judging by the end cap of the axle. That and I swear it looks like the C and C frame on that truck looks narrower than normal to accommodate the rear axle.

Different rails have different gauges to them, so there has to be something special to them.

At least that's my opinion and we know how those are! LOL

..........


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## deere615 (Jun 1, 2007)

Man you guys do alot of work there!


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## Maine_Train (Dec 16, 2009)

White Gardens;1588415 said:


> Different rails have different gauges to them, so there has to be something special to them..


As far as I know, pretty much everything in North America is standard gauge (4'8½") except for some small tourist lines. Those would probably use vintage equipment instead of new Chevy trucks.
The White Pass & Yukon Route (Skagway, AK to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory) ended common carrier service in 1982, but part of it was reopened as a tourist route. If the WP&Y (3' gauge) uses "Hy-Rail" trucks, then that could explain that.


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## blazer_kid (Feb 4, 2012)

Sub'd for more pics


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

White Gardens;1588415 said:


> I think it's a different axle all together judging by the end cap of the axle.


On the white ford truck it looks like the normal truck axle with an adapter to go from 8x170mm bolt pattern to 8x275mm bolt pattern to fit the 19.5 wheels.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

on the subject of the rail road trucks, they come with adators to run the 19.5" wheels. axles..ect stay the same. i did not get any good finished pics of the Sub's.

yes we do alot of work, lots of big contracts..ect 100-150 trucks at a time kinda thing. its a nightmare if all the stuff is not in for them and they have to go in/out of the shop. trying to find that exact truck again and its always blocked in by 10 more trucks. pain!

no we dont do any kind of rust prevention, mostly because rust is not a huge issue. salt/ melting agents are not used very much up here. it gets too cold for them to be very effective.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

i'm finding some older pics so i'll throw them up also.

winterize of 2011 6.7 ford's also with RedDot heaters in the rear.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

2011 6.7 4x4 550 with boss plow mount/wiring, lift gate,strobe


















rail road f-150s, these are non rail driving trucks. maintaining crossings..ect


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

Whats involved in winterizing the trucks?


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

custom built welding bodies based off omaha wood deck beds.

























did some work on this thing also, i cant remember what we did exactly..


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

91AK250;1589149 said:


> no we dont do any kind of rust prevention, mostly because rust is not a huge issue. salt/ melting agents are not used very much up here. it gets too cold for them to be very effective.


You mean rock salt doesn't work to well at 300* below zero or whatever your winter average is up there?


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

THEGOLDPRO;1589159 said:


> Whats involved in winterizing the trucks?


depends on how much you want to spend.

a basic is a 4 way box, 2 100W pad heaters(one on the oil pan one on the tranny pan), door wind straps to keep the doors from hyper extending, winter front grill cover, 2A trickle charger.

from there we offer a breaker box that will run all the 110V stuff through it to protect from fire since that was a huge problem in years past on the north slope of alaska. battery heaters then from there the addition of a in cab coolant heater like a RedDot..or a air top gas or diesel fired heater, tank heaters..ect ect it goes from there. "winterize" is a pretty thrown around word up here. normally it involves atleast pad heaters but can go pretty elaborate


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

Mark13;1589165 said:


> You mean rock salt doesn't work to well at 300* below zero or whatever your winter average is up there?


from what i understand salt doesnt work well below 20F am i correct? i'm in a more mild part of the state and we can see weeks at a time below 0.


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## BC Handyman (Dec 15, 2010)

cool thread, thanks for sharing pics & taking time to say what was done, already learned things & seen options I didnt know existed. Please tell me about a battery heater, is it a pad? what they worth? please post a pic of a wind strap for door, I'm having a hard time imagining it, wouldn't it be in way while your getting out of vehicle?


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

BC Handyman;1589180 said:


> cool thread, thanks for sharing pics & taking time to say what was done, already learned things & seen options I didnt know existed. Please tell me about a battery heater, is it a pad? what they worth? please post a pic of a wind strap for door, I'm having a hard time imagining it, wouldn't it be in way while your getting out of vehicle?


yes the battery heaters are pads that wrap around the bettery or we also use the pad heaters under them. they seem to work very well in -50 and colder temps they see up north. for anywhere in the lower 48 i dont see much of a need honestly.

the wind straps are actually GM parts, one side bolts to the door the other bolts to the body of the truck, usually at the lower end of the door does not get in the way of anything.

door straps this is on a f-550









on a Expedition









the breaker boxes









pad heaters


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## RJ lindblom (Sep 21, 2006)

White Gardens;1588415 said:


> I think it's a different axle all together judging by the end cap of the axle. That and I swear it looks like the C and C frame on that truck looks narrower than normal to accommodate the rear axle.
> 
> Different rails have different gauges to them, so there has to be something special to them.
> 
> ...


The standard american gauge railroad is 56 1/2" or 4 feet 8 1/2 inches. Actually about 60% of the worlds railroad guage is 56 1/2"


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## BC Handyman (Dec 15, 2010)

I bought 1 of those style heaters for the bobcat, it started smoking within 20sec of pluging it in, I thought oh it's burning off the glue or something, after about 45sec it started to bubble & smoke heavily, I quickly unplugged it & returned it. So I dont trust those things, but now I see those wind straps, I like the idea of those, I'm going to look into price for my f250.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

BC Handyman;1589211 said:


> I bought 1 of those style heaters for the bobcat, it started smoking within 20sec of pluging it in, I thought oh it's burning off the glue or something, after about 45sec it started to bubble & smoke heavily, I quickly unplugged it & returned it. So I dont trust those things, but now I see those wind straps, I like the idea of those, I'm going to look into price for my f250.


i'm not sure who our supplier is but i've installed thousands of them and never found a bad one yet lol i plan on adding one to the oil pan of my excursion because it doesnt have a block heater.

finding more old ones as i go through, heres a f-250 with lift gate, cab guard with bottle holders.

















another van body on a f-550


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## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

Were those just travel wheels that are on it?

Looks like the truck was going to take some massive tires.

..............


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## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

Guess I just answered my own question.










...............


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## TremblaySNOW (Oct 7, 2009)

The tundra cat truck is awsome, not like those trucks on Monster Jam, (Shells)


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## RJ lindblom (Sep 21, 2006)

I like the door straps. 

To call it nice work is an understatement.


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## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

TremblaySNOW;1589653 said:


> The tundra cat truck is awsome, not like those trucks on Monster Jam, (Shells)


Personally, it just looks like an AG truck to me. Surprised they haven't modified any of those to work.

I can understand wanting the crew-cab though to fit as many people as possible.


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## JCI Trans (Oct 21, 2008)

Thats some pretty impressive stuff you guys are putting out. Would you happen to have the GM part # for those door straps? I've almost lost mine a few times and these look like a great solution.


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## DieselSlug (Nov 30, 2009)

Wow, so those are lickem-stickem pad heaters for the trans and oil pans? Interesting, never heard of a lot of this stuff. Worst temps we see are a few degrees below zero. Very cool pictures!


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## PabstBlueRibbon (May 11, 2010)

AK 

how do you bold the door straps on and do you have a part number? I would rest alot easier if I had a set


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## theholycow (Nov 29, 2002)

91AK250;1589149 said:


> no we dont do any kind of rust prevention, mostly because rust is not a huge issue. salt/ melting agents are not used very much up here. it gets too cold for them to be very effective.


What, if anything, is used for traction so that you're not driving on plain smooth ice left by plows?


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## hatefulmechanic (Dec 27, 2012)

normally chip gravel, at least the experience I had in the NWT.


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## BC Handyman (Dec 15, 2010)

lol, Ak looks like you could sell us all some of those door wind straps, or at least a few dozen sets, I think GM should send you a gift, since your selling us all on their parts.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

theholycow;1589856 said:


> What, if anything, is used for traction so that you're not driving on plain smooth ice left by plows?


thats what i love about alaska, winter roads are real winter roads! glare ice! and snow pack. not some wet half slushy crap some states call "bad" roads. most everyone here runs a snow tire either studded or studless.

typical winter driving here. alittle gravel at intersections.

























when it warms above freezing this is what happens.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

the straps are bolted to the door and the body of the truck with 1/4" grade 8 bolts. there are a few trucks getting them installed right now i'll try to get pics of them with the panels off.

i will try to get the part numbers tomorrow, right now my boss is on vacation so i'm running things and its pretty stressful i must say. i dont want to be foreman i know that!


the pad heaters are held on with "right stuff" gasket maker..awesome stuff and holds amazing.


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## thelettuceman (Nov 23, 2010)

Nice work !!!!


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## theholycow (Nov 29, 2002)

91AK250;1590253 said:


> most everyone here runs a snow tire either studded or studless.


I was wondering about that, it looked like the tires on most of the photos were all-seasons but I wasn't sure. What are some proven, popular tire models?



91AK250;1590262 said:


> the straps are bolted to the door and the body of the truck with 1/4" grade 8 bolts. there are a few trucks getting them installed right now i'll try to get pics of them with the panels off.


How many bolts? I would imagine that a couple 1/4" bolts would pull right through the sheet metal.



> the pad heaters are held on with "right stuff" gasket maker..awesome stuff and holds amazing.


Good to hear, I'll have to remember that for similar applications. Does "Right Stuff" make a variety of gasket maker products or just one?


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## RJ lindblom (Sep 21, 2006)

I am guessing there is a plate on the back side of door and jam to keep the bolts pulling through. Worst case a fender washer.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

theholycow;1590598 said:


> I was wondering about that, it looked like the tires on most of the photos were all-seasons but I wasn't sure. What are some proven, popular tire models?
> 
> How many bolts? I would imagine that a couple 1/4" bolts would pull right through the sheet metal.
> 
> Good to hear, I'll have to remember that for similar applications. Does "Right Stuff" make a variety of gasket maker products or just one?


for tires, blizzaks, hancook ipike's, cooper discoverer M+S, firestone winterforce...ect i run the last two on my daily drivers both studded.

the trucks in 99% of these pictures go to the tire shop after we are done and the company that owns them gets a better winter tire installed. we get them right off the lot or some times before they even hit the lot. so they have factory tires on them.

4 bolts with a washer on the back side. the part your bolting into is right on a curve of the door so its pretty strong. we have never had one rip through in the 20+ years we have done them. now the straps have broke!

i'm not sure on the "right stuff" we just use the black gasket maker i'm sure they have other products though.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

had another Haliburton winterize and transfer tank.









then had 17 ecoboost f-150s come in needing receiver hitches before being sent to Adak,Alaska for a long term project...these trucks will be beat to hell very shortly.


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## theholycow (Nov 29, 2002)

Any guesses why they weren't ordered with the OEM receivers that I thought are standard equipment?


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## hatefulmechanic (Dec 27, 2012)

Hitches on the Fords are usually dealer installed. These likely came through Ford Fleet which does as bare bones as they can.


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## xtreem3d (Nov 26, 2005)

AK,
When u get a chance could you post the mfgr of the oil pad and battery wraps. Google shows a bunch..some are made in China, which I am very sceptical of buying...would like something known to be good, Also, I may have issed it, but are you using a junction box for all the plug in accessories?
Thanks,
Steve


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

hatefulmechanic;1591773 said:


> Hitches on the Fords are usually dealer installed. These likely came through Ford Fleet which does as bare bones as they can.


that may have been the fact in the past but anymore i've never seen even a 1/2 ton without a factory installed hitch. i even tried building one on fords website and couldnt do it?

these trucks were ordered VERY odd! crew cab, xlt, 3:31, 3.5 ecoboost, 265/70 17's. these were not "base" work trucks i thought they would be.

i will do my best to find out the supplier and part numbers on those!


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## xtreem3d (Nov 26, 2005)

91AK250;1591997 said:


> that may have been the fact in the past but anymore i've never seen even a 1/2 ton without a factory installed hitch. i even tried building one on fords website and couldnt do it?
> 
> these trucks were ordered VERY odd! crew cab, xlt, 3:31, 3.5 ecoboost, 265/70 17's. these were not "base" work trucks i thought they would be.
> 
> i will do my best to find out the supplier and part numbers on those!


Those are some high gears !


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

they are but they claim with the twin turbos it doesnt matter much, i really need to drive one to decide though.

found a bunch of older pics.

f-350 gas 4x4 with van body

















winch truck for my grandpas company we just made some final changes and added a few things the upfit was done down south.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

flad bed with boxes and custom tailgate/step bumper for a oil company.









dodge flat bed set up for a gooseneck.









ford econoline van w/lift gate









2011 f-550 V10 gas 4x4 swapped the guys service bed on from a '99 super duty f-550


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

these pics are from today.

f-550s for BP V10 gas 4x4 these are getting 12ft service bodies with alot of other stuff including but not limited to a VMAC under hood air compressor, strobe, spot light, winterize, hose reel, back up cam, red dot coolant heater..ect ect

























picture of the door straps under the door panel.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

chevy cut away that had a van body on it that was damaged, they decided to put a flat bed on it. had the rear cab sealed up and painted at a body shop then i built a sub frame for the bed, its getting a lift gate and stake racks also.

















we will be swapping the tow truck body off this GMC and installing it on a ford f-550, they found the 1 ton chevy to be too light duty for what they are doing.









a auto car truck...its just cool


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## IC-Smoke (Feb 15, 2008)

very cool photos and projects! 
Thumbs Up


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## DieselSlug (Nov 30, 2009)

91AK250;1596595 said:


> they are but they claim with the twin turbos it doesnt matter much, i really need to drive one to decide though.
> 
> found a bunch of older pics.
> 
> ...


Your right about the gears, turbo vehicles like higher gears. Better performance. 
That is a beast of a bumper on that rig!


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

the cut away is almost finished, few finishing touches then paint and shes done.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

few of the f550 service bodies we are doing at work. V10 4x4 XL trucks with ALOT of money going into them. VMAC under hood air compressors, winterize, lights, back up cam, hose reel..ect ect doing 7 of these and have 24 of the same trucks getting 12' van bodies.










bracing for the huge vice on the bumper









finished bumper/vice









headache rack with back up cam(center) 2 LED work lights. you can kinda see the hose reel mounted to the left front of the box.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

VMAC under hood air compressor about $13,000+ install









the first one painted going back together. talk about long!!! i want one for a daily driver haha


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## MatthewG (Jun 16, 2009)

Cool Stuff, lots of extra lights on those trucks, I guess the lights of NYC wont help up there


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

yes when you have months of darkness lights help! the Vans we are also doing for BP will blow you away with the amount of lighting.

more pics today, this truck is finished except for running boards...been waiting 3 weeks so far on them from a company out of south dakota.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)




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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)




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## potskie (Feb 9, 2011)

Well now I know where all the straps off the barn doors of my old Burb kept vanishing too 



Awesome looking work. I love seeing and learning about this stuff.


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