Can an XMT live fine on a mobile welding truck?

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Per my other posts on the topic HERE and HERE, I am planning to upgrade my truck equipment by either replacing the Bobcat with a Trailblazer 302, or keeping the Bobcat and using it to power an XMT 350 pulser.   My question to those of you who use XMT's outside a shop environment is, will the XMT live happily and hold up to use on the welding truck??  I will be loading and unloading it from the tool box every day and hooking and unhooking cables to it and it will ride around on the truck pretty much wherever the truck goes and stay outside with the truck in all kinds of weather.  It will see it's share of being banged around, though I do try to be careful with all my equipment, but stuff does get knocked around when used on the road.  The XMT is a sizeable $$$ investment for me.  I know the Trailblazer can hack it, that's what that machine is made for and the Bobcat has been great, I'm just kinda worried about the XMT ending up having a short lifespan on the truck with constant temperature change, condensation/humidity, dust and banging around, etc.   I know I would not want to treat my Millermatic 350P that way and it is basicaly an XMT and an XR feeder inside the same box with wheels under it and a cylinder rack behind it.  I view the 350P as having fragile circuit boards inside it that may not like that kind of hard use.  Is the XMT better suited to this kind of life? I plan to keep it most likely in my JoBox construction tool box mounted on the utility body, for theft and rain protection and pull it out of the box for use, either leaving it on the tailgate or carrying it closer to the job, if needed.  Someone in another topic suggested making an all-terrain cart to roll it around with since carrying it is kinda heavy.  I like that idea.Anyways, will the XMT hold up, or should I go with the Trailblazer instead?  The XMT has a few other advantages over the Trailblazer that I like, as discussed in the other topics mentioned above, but if it won't last on the truck, it may not be a good choice for me.  What say you??Thanks for any and all replies!Last edited by DesertRider33; 02-06-2009 at 11:57 PM.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I figure, it might be time for a custom console, minus the drink holder of course!  I was just thinking inside the box for a change....but seriously, if you keep it dry and relatively free from UV and heavy dirt accumulation, then the final main point is security and possibly (imo) vibration may be a factor...but to a lesser degree. A lock box would do nicely, yes?City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Yes, it will definitely go in a secure tool box, secured to the truck utility body.  Probly put it in this box, where the Passport has been living since I got it.Brown boxLast edited by DesertRider33; 02-07-2009 at 02:06 AM.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:The argon bottle in the last pick is it secured to the truck in another way or is that bungie the only thing holding it? When the truck is in motion make sure the regulator is off and the cap is on. Just trying to save you from a ticket, thats eye candy for the DOT.
Reply:Thanks,  Rhinorider, for your concern.   That 'bungee' is actually a rope, tied off to the bottle and 2 bars on the rack. There is also a webbing tie-down strap securing the bottom of it to the front cage of the utility body about 8" up from the bottom of the bottle.  Tied down like this, the rope and tie-down have never come loose and the bottle has never moved on it's own.   The tank valve is shut off anytime I'm not using the gas.  I don't remove and replace the regulator and tank cap unless I'm removing the bottle from the truck for re-filling.  I do keep  the cap in the truck, so I guess if I am stopped over it, I can remove the reg and put the cap on if that's what the officer wants to see.  The last thing I want to do is be unsafe on the truck.  I don't see keeping the reg on the tank with the tank valve shut off and the tank secured as being a safety concern though.  I don't load anything on the rack on that side of the truck and the rack is taller than than the reg, so there's nothing I can think of that would knock the valve off the tank.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Why not build a form fitting box of 2" styrofoam board inside the job box to keep the machine in place and dampen the road bumps?
Reply:That is a very good idea.   I will probly do that.   I use rolled up sheet foam to pad the mig welder in the box now, which has been working ok but I like the idea of having a custom fit foam to hold the XMT in place better.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:One of the shops I work for has several XMT's (various versions) and they get banged around a LOT. Toss in the back of the truck, haul up the side of a ship and down into the engine room. Whoops! Slipped it off the gridwalk to the decking. Back on deck. Raining? job won't wait. Lower into a container cell on a 3/8" line, banging the side of the hold all the way down. Drag it back out. And so on.Only thing I've seen that will put one out of service is actually dropping the thing into the harbor.
Reply:Well that's certainly a vote of confidence!  If it can survive the shipyard, surviving my truck should be a cake walk for it.  Thanks for posting!MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op