Start of our school welding truck project

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Hello folks, our welding program was blessed with a good deal on a suitable vehicle to outfit as a welding truck. We plan to get this truck outfitted in such a way that we can: Promote our program to any number of audiences, this would include pulling up to high schools, middle schools, or other educational facilities and setting up so that students could experience hands-on welding, being at the county fair for promotional purposes, participating in local parades, setting up for hands-on use and demonstration at any on-campus or off-campus trade-fair opportunities. Use it as a learning tool to most closely simulate real world work challenges, in other words, advanced students would receive "work orders" and they would be required to outfit and check their truck to see that they had all of the necessary tools to perform a specific task as well as properly servicing all of the equipment on the truck. Then they would "drive the truck" to the location and set-up and perform the work. They would be graded on their preparation, how well they anticipated equipment/tool/material needs, the accuracy and quality of their work along with the time that it took.This truck will be a work in progress and likely morph into various configurations as we gain more experience with it's use and acquire additional equipment and such. We already have a number of committments from various shops and merchants in our area. As we proceed and bring it to a useable state we plan to include company logos and other types of insignia to represent the contributors and supporters who have helped us along the way. We believe this will reinforce our position as a community college program and a viable resource for local industries. The pictures that I have at this point are only of the cab & chassis. We will be designing the bed, constructing it, and having it painted, and then likely having the truck painted and the various insignias, markings, and lettering applied. Thanks for looking and best regards, Allan Attached Imagesaevald
Reply:I think that's a great idea there Allen. I don't think enough kids get a real world view of how things get done before they get out of school..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:deck is going to be a little tall for the students under 6'4".  better include a place for a step ladder.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Wish one of these came to my high school when I was there.-Class of 0314' PowerMig 210 MP13'Burntables 5x10 CNC Table14' SAE300 HE on a 12' Ram 4500 60 CA 4x4. Custom bed/bottles/reels.87' SA250d, 78 SA200,11' Ranger 250 GXT AC/DCThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 8112' Lincoln Precision Tig 22508' LN25
Reply:Thanks Doug, this has been a vision of ours for many years. The economy and a few other roadblocks stood in the way for quite some time. But now we've got a chance to get it all to come together and we're looking forward to getting there. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Know what you mean Dualie, if need be we'll include a drop-down link when the table is all the way out to bring it down to a usable height. Hoping to be able to set it up so that it incorporates bearing rollers to help with the ease of withdrawal and stowage. Thanks and best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:That's gonna be really neat! Lucky kids!
Reply:Hello thebuck, interesingly enough, they're not "kids" for the most part. Many of our students range in age from their late 20's to early 40's. Unfortunately, vocational trades and working with your hands still carries that stigma that has been planted in many of our youth's minds: you know, "Gotta go to college and get an education". Anyways, thanks for the comments. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Originally Posted by aevaldHello thebuck, interesingly enough, they're not "kids" for the most part. Many of our students range in age from their late 20's to early 40's. Unfortunately, vocational trades and working with your hands still carries that stigma that has been planted in many of our youth's minds: you know, "Gotta go to college and get an education". Anyways, thanks for the comments. Best regards, Allan
Reply:Hello moparman68, where are you located? Regards, Allanaevald
Reply:The service truck idea is a great plan.  It looks like you have a low profile chaises so you should end up with a reasonable deck height.  Looking at the rear axle it looks pretty light duty.  No overloads and not a lot of main springs.  What kind of transmission and gear ratio do you have.  Might make a difference if you get off road in soft ground.  I can’t read the GVW on the door but it looks like 20,000.  It should still be better than a 3500 series truck.Keep us posted with progress and pictures.Dan D.
Reply:Hello DanD78, you are right on all points about the chassis height and the GVW. We do have one thing on our side. This will be a promotional and educational unit, thus we don't have plans to take it off-road or into situations where we would face what you are describing. I certainly do appreciate the heads-up though and I do hope to keep everyone posted as this moves along. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Nice idea.  I think that a lot of students think because they can pass a welding test in a booth they are welders.  Working on remote sites, elevated platforms, ladders, weather etc. is also experience and skills that need to be learned also.   I think you are on the right track and your students will be much better prepared going forth."The reason we are here is that we are not all there"SA 200Idealarc TM 300 300MM 200MM 25130a SpoolgunPrecision Tig 375Invertec V350 ProSC-32 CS 12 Wire FeederOxweld/Purox O/AArcAirHypertherm Powermax 85LN25
Reply:Thanks for the reply norite, we have been wanting to get this going for quite some time, finally some of the stars and moons have aligned and we're ready to get more serious in making it happen. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Originally Posted by aevaldHello moparman68, where are you located? Regards, Allan
Reply:Hello moparman68, you're a little out of driving range from our facility, however, if you are in the area for any other reason feel free to stop by and say hello and receive our grand tour. We always enjoy talking with folks from other schools and other parts of the country. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:I always thought about using a repurposed lift gate for a welding table on the back of service truck.    if you get the right size and type you could make it adjustable to the height of any welder. Also some shadow boxes with the schools name cut out and lit from the back would be a very neat eye catching touch.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Hello Dualie, the lift-gate idea sounds like a good one, we're shooting for something a bit longer though. Shadow-boxes........stay tuned, you never know what could be around the corner for inclusion on this project. Best regards, Allanaevald