Looks good Carl. one of the more unique survey vehicles I worked out of was a '78 CJ-7. 33" tires, 304 w/ a 4 speed. Anyways, that company was able to fit a 'box' in the back end of that thing, the traffic cones went on poles mounted on each end of the front bumper.
You should be able to cobble together a box / tubes to contain the bigger loose stuff, w/ upper compartments for all that small stuff. As far as a barrier, I'd be surprised if some company doesnt already have something - security barrier or animal control barrier- for the Escape platform.
Carl:
Thanks for posting and allowing yourself to be the subject of constructive critisism. As a volunteer firefighter we also do extrications, etc. A simple rollover that you would normally walk away from (because you had a seatbelt on, right?) could become your worst nightmare.
Speaking of seatbelts: Prior to being on the fire dept, my seatbelt use was sporadic. It only took a few bad calls to make me a believer. Buckle up 🙂
Edit: We all learn from each other, that's what I love about this place.
> Carl:
>
> Thanks for posting and allowing yourself to be the subject of constructive critisism. As a volunteer firefighter we also do extrications, etc. A simple rollover that you would normally walk away from (because you had a seatbelt on, right?) could become your worst nightmare.
Yeah... I'm taking little hits on the ol' pride tonight for not thinking about the other ramifications... but not too bad.
> Speaking of seatbelts: Prior to being on the fire dept, my seatbelt use was sporadic. It only took a few bad calls to make me a believer. Buckle up 🙂
I have a dinger in there that I can't turn off, I'm about a 94% of the time guy... should be 100% though, I know it.
> Edit: We all learn from each other, that's what I love about this place.
Very, very true.
>
> Yeah... I'm taking little hits on the ol' pride tonight for not thinking about the other ramifications... but not too bad.
Don't let it bruise your pride, we're all just looking out for you .
Nice rig, Carl..but I noticed..
a couple of boxes of nails with the lid open. Do the nails stay put when you're off-roading?
There's nothing like hitting a couple of big bumps out in the pasture..then you hear the hiss of a paint can...somewhere back in the back....:-(
The dinger on my Explorer nearly drove me nuts. It would ding incessantly even if I was just sitting on a site with the engine running. Someone mentioned to me that there were ways to disable them without doing damage to the wiring. I found the procedure online to disable the dinger.
Per a google search, this is the procedure for a 2011 Escape: Apply parking brake, turn on battery of car (not engine), wait for the seatbelt light to turn off. Buckle and unbuckle seatbelt 9 times finishing on the umbuckle position. Wait for seatbelt light to flash and stop, and buckle and unbuckle one more time. The seatbelt light will flash rapidly for a few seconds to confirm it's turned off.
I know it sounds like a prank, but it works. Similar methods exist to change other settings in the trucks computer.
This is a 2001, but I remember reading the same way back when. I know what you mean by the thing dinging all the time... what a headache.
Thanks for the reminder. I may try it.
My family always religiously wore seatbelts my entire life (since 1962).
My Dad told me when he worked for Fresno County DPW a Sheriff's Deputy ran off the road and was killed. They said he would've survived if he had his seatbelt on. My Dad was also a pilot so seatbelts are already part of the aviation culture.
Dad took the family car, a 1962 Olds Super 98 down to a mechanic and had him put at least 5 seatbelts in it (it might've already had one for the driver and front passenger). He said the mechanic kind of looked at him funny but he did it. Our family always wore seatbelts. All of our friends thought we were nuts; it was far from universal like it is today.
Nice rig, Carl..but I noticed..
> a couple of boxes of nails with the lid open. Do the nails stay put when you're off-roading?
I don't "off road" too much. And I'm careful when I do. I don't bounce things more than necessary.
> There's nothing like hitting a couple of big bumps out in the pasture..then you hear the hiss of a paint can...somewhere back in the back....:-(
I do know what you are talking about... but it's been a while. I'm selective as to where I put the ol' girl these days. The tranny ain't what she used to have... boy, does that sound awkward....
That's a good looking sign Carl. I say use what ever works.
I used a GEO tracker to survey out of when my truck broke down and had to use an employees vehicle for a while. What a treat.
I work out of a four door Ford Explorer.
I have everything thrown in the back. Pointy ends facing downrange.
When clients see the back of my truck they can't figure out how in the world I could find anything in there.
So when I get my equipment out without any trouble I look like a freakin genius!
Its a confidence builder for my clients. If I can find my equipment in my truck, I shouldn't have trouble finding their property corners.;-)
A robot and one set of legs is its own art form!
whoops
found the can of paint... Usually in the bag of clean/dry clothes...
Nice rig, Carl..but I noticed..
I've always liked your "serving and surveying" line... thought about stealing it actually! I also don't care to run with a big box... always seemed like the weight of all that chip board that most use was really a bad thing for a truck. I may make up some dividers for the new rig now that I've got that topper on it.
I've had concrete sonotubes holding my tripods for six years and they are still working just fine. I can pull them right out if I need the whole bed.
AJ
Worked out of a Chevy Chevette for a few months. You learn to only take that which you are certain you will need that day.
I have a cut piece of sheet steel behind the front seats blocking anything sliding straight forward. Mainly because of the 5-foot by 1-1/4" digging bar.
Nice rig, Carl..but I noticed..
Marking paint cans fit very nicely inside a Pringles potato chip can to protect you from accidentally getting something against the nozzle and coloring your vehicle.
Eat the chips, wash the can, cut it down to a few inches length, and you have a cap. If the cap won't stay in place due to your method of transport, you can slit the can and put a rubber band around it.
we work out of a 2003 ford 4x4 crew cab. four wheel drive is almost a must down here especially in u.s. forestry woods. all the big stuff is in the bed bungeed down, the small stuff is in the crew cab in rubbermaid totes. seems t keep everything nice and neat(cough cough). we do a lot of staking so we always have a bundle or four in the bed along with a bag of hubs.