Race Trailer Updates

Plenty of progress has been made since
 purchasing, just a few short months ago

  Well folks, I apologize for keeping everyone in the dark. Things are kicking into high gear now that we are a little more than 40 days away. Yes, that's right- 40 days. "But the Cannonball isn't until September 7th," you may be saying. With the hoss of a rig that we're taking, the team and I are leaving for Newburgh, New York on 30 August in order to make it by 4 September. Needless to say, all of the loose ends need to be tied up! In my last post, "The Bad," I wasn't exactly in the best of moods. The constant dead ends for spare parts had gotten quite disheartening, and I just needed a day or two to get myself into a better mood. I have faith that everything will work out.



A bit messy, but you get the idea- things are coming together

  Shifting away from the search for spares, there is still plenty to do in preparation for the historic run, namely the team race trailer. In the past two weeks, we have really gotten a lot done. Last Monday, my dad and I went on a bit of a shopping spree for some needed bits. In a short few hours, we ordered a 15,000 BTU rooftop air conditioning unit, stabilizer bars for the front of the trailer, and a 20 foot exterior awning. We also purchased a 14 inch band saw, 50 foot air hose reel, and just about all of the material needed to wire the interior for 110 volt electrical.


  Since then, I have been hard at work getting the interior wired up for fluorescent lighting and power receptacles. Most everything has done by yours truly, and is almost finished up. (Ed. Note: I've got some photos of the progress but haven't put them on the computer yet, so will go back and edit this post later) My goal is to have everything wired by the beginning of next week (23 July), as the air con, awning, and stabilizer bars are being installed on the 25th. No pressure...

New lathe, with plenty of goodies to go along

  More good news: after spending 15 hours on the computer editing last week, I came up with some snappy graphics for the sides and rear of the trailer. It's not very often that I give myself a pat on the back, but I'm proud of this one. We released the graphics design to our local sign shop on Tuesday of this week, so once they're printed, we can get 'em on and look the part. What do you think?



Here's what 15 hours of editing will do on the computer.
Note the acknowledgement of our international guests and sponsors

I'm pretty proud of the rear loading door. Love the spade logo.

  Gratefully, the list of things to do and source is getting smaller and smaller. We have most of the major equipment now. After searching high and low for an appropriate lathe, we found "the one" and made a deal this week. Here's a list of all of the major equipment on board: (items with an asterisk indicate they are new)

• 200 psi air compressor**
• Drill press**
• 14 inch band saw**
• 6 inch dual wheel grinder**
• (2) Tabletop-mounted vice**
• Oxyacetylene Welding kit**
• Wire feed welder
• 9" Tabletop-mounted lathe**
• 50 foot retractable air hose reel**
• Hydraulic bench press**
• Scroll saw
• Metal chop saw
• Hydraulic cycle lift

Here's a similar kegerator unit to what we're planning
to install in the race trailer

  In terms of "comforts", there are only a few items left to source. A 12 cup, under-the-counter coffee maker is already mounted. We're down to a fairly small list of comforts. In addition to having a coffee maker mounted on the counter, a kegerator and wine chiller is also planned. A kegerator is essentially a miniature refrigerator (like you would see in a college dormitory, which is probably where the idea was developed....) that has been converted to a storage and tap system for keg beer. While many different kegerators are on the market, we are going with a simple one-tap setup which will come up through the counter. In order to keep a constant power supply to the unit, some sort of inverter system is likely to be used. The wine chiller is likely to be a 6-9 bottle unit, to be mounted on the counter top. The last item is a set of fold-down bunk beds to be attached to the interior wall over the wheel well.

Folding bunks, made by Moduline. These hold up to 400 pounds,
and only stick out 5 inchess from the wall when folded

  Overall, things are wrapping up nicely on the trailer, and I think our international guests will get a kick out of it! Ah well, more on the trailer progress later.

Prosit!

Buck Carson
Confirmed Cannonballer #3
Carson Classic Motors Race Team