- February 8th, 2010, 8:10 am#206328
So Friday Scott, Nick, and I were sitting down to lunch and decide were going to build the pack rack and get it done for the event we have the next day in Orlando. Major rush build..lol.
I got off work at 3 and we immediately went to work. We had the “L” brackets at the stretcher already waiting for us at the storage unit so we figured we would start with that. We loaded the stretcher into the back of the ECTO and began measuring where the track should go.
That went along fairly quickly it we were able to get everything lined up and secured to the floor board with no problems. (more track would be needed in two areas but the store was sold out of it so we had to make do with what we had)
A perfect fit..
So the ECTO part was done and we loaded the stretcher into the back of our car and headed to Home Depot to pick up all the parts and pieces we needed for mounting the rack onto the stretcher.
Real construction on the stretcher started at about 6:30 that night...
We cut the “motherboard” to size so it fit inside the stretcher, painted it, and then began work on the posts. Had to get the angle just right so that we could fit all 4 packs on there. So with a lot of cutting, painting, nailing, stapling, bolting, and fastening.. we arrived here..
The rack was completed at about 1:30am and what a relief it was to finally have it done. Excited we loaded it back into the car and drove it back down to the storage unit so we could load up the proton packs and put it in the ECTO so that everything was ready in the morning for the event.
All 3 packs fit on the stretcher perfectly, and a 4th would be added on in a few hours.
So now it was time to put it in the car, and if you are observant enough you can see what is about to happen. We lowered the stretcher and lifted it up to place in the car (VERY HEAVY). We moved it towards the car and were then stuck. Our epic success then turned into an epic fail. The stretcher with the packs on it, did not fit in the ECTO. With all the rushing around, we completely forgot the most important measurement when we left the garage earlier. The clearance height… ?
Knowing there was no way we could fix it and it was already 2am.. we headed home.
The event later that day was awesome, but complete lack of sleep and major disappointment still lingered.
So Sunday we were all up early and decided to try again. This time we brought the ECTO up to the house so we could do checks and take any more needed measurements.
The problem is that our stretcher is MAJORLY different than the original. The original stretcher flattened down pretty good allowing more room for the packs above.
After taking a TON of measurements of the back of the car, the stretcher, and the packs, I laid everything out in CAD. The new angle of the packs was going to be way different, and we would now only be able to fit 3 packs on the stretcher. Which for us, really isn’t a bad thing, and because there will be a little room left at the front, we are going to make a trap stand that will hold 3 traps.
So after working everything out in CAD this time, we knew everything would work out.
We started in the back and built the first support, then loaded it into the ECTO to make sure it fit.
Finally, it fit, and had plenty of clearance. (also in the pic you can see the initial layout of the electronics in the car)
So we proceeded with the rest of the stands and BOOM! Done ?
So after the big disappointment on Friday/Saturday morning, everything was fixed and the stretcher was nearing completion. We still need to wood fill some spots, build the trap stand, then sand it, prime and paint it… and then put the rubber on the pack supports.
On a side note, we went with wood instead of the strapping because all of the strapping we found had WAY to much bend and wouldn’t be able to support the packs. The 2x4’s provide good support and will hold up nicely.
No overall lesson here.. GET ALL YOUR MEASUREMENTS.. Before you start working..lol. Also rushed midnight builds tend to make your brain not function correctly..lol.
More pics to come when the trap rack is built and the sanding and painting start happening
I got off work at 3 and we immediately went to work. We had the “L” brackets at the stretcher already waiting for us at the storage unit so we figured we would start with that. We loaded the stretcher into the back of the ECTO and began measuring where the track should go.
That went along fairly quickly it we were able to get everything lined up and secured to the floor board with no problems. (more track would be needed in two areas but the store was sold out of it so we had to make do with what we had)
A perfect fit..
So the ECTO part was done and we loaded the stretcher into the back of our car and headed to Home Depot to pick up all the parts and pieces we needed for mounting the rack onto the stretcher.
Real construction on the stretcher started at about 6:30 that night...
We cut the “motherboard” to size so it fit inside the stretcher, painted it, and then began work on the posts. Had to get the angle just right so that we could fit all 4 packs on there. So with a lot of cutting, painting, nailing, stapling, bolting, and fastening.. we arrived here..
The rack was completed at about 1:30am and what a relief it was to finally have it done. Excited we loaded it back into the car and drove it back down to the storage unit so we could load up the proton packs and put it in the ECTO so that everything was ready in the morning for the event.
All 3 packs fit on the stretcher perfectly, and a 4th would be added on in a few hours.
So now it was time to put it in the car, and if you are observant enough you can see what is about to happen. We lowered the stretcher and lifted it up to place in the car (VERY HEAVY). We moved it towards the car and were then stuck. Our epic success then turned into an epic fail. The stretcher with the packs on it, did not fit in the ECTO. With all the rushing around, we completely forgot the most important measurement when we left the garage earlier. The clearance height… ?
Knowing there was no way we could fix it and it was already 2am.. we headed home.
The event later that day was awesome, but complete lack of sleep and major disappointment still lingered.
So Sunday we were all up early and decided to try again. This time we brought the ECTO up to the house so we could do checks and take any more needed measurements.
The problem is that our stretcher is MAJORLY different than the original. The original stretcher flattened down pretty good allowing more room for the packs above.
After taking a TON of measurements of the back of the car, the stretcher, and the packs, I laid everything out in CAD. The new angle of the packs was going to be way different, and we would now only be able to fit 3 packs on the stretcher. Which for us, really isn’t a bad thing, and because there will be a little room left at the front, we are going to make a trap stand that will hold 3 traps.
So after working everything out in CAD this time, we knew everything would work out.
We started in the back and built the first support, then loaded it into the ECTO to make sure it fit.
Finally, it fit, and had plenty of clearance. (also in the pic you can see the initial layout of the electronics in the car)
So we proceeded with the rest of the stands and BOOM! Done ?
So after the big disappointment on Friday/Saturday morning, everything was fixed and the stretcher was nearing completion. We still need to wood fill some spots, build the trap stand, then sand it, prime and paint it… and then put the rubber on the pack supports.
On a side note, we went with wood instead of the strapping because all of the strapping we found had WAY to much bend and wouldn’t be able to support the packs. The 2x4’s provide good support and will hold up nicely.
No overall lesson here.. GET ALL YOUR MEASUREMENTS.. Before you start working..lol. Also rushed midnight builds tend to make your brain not function correctly..lol.
More pics to come when the trap rack is built and the sanding and painting start happening
Last edited by ThePinkGhostbuster on February 15th, 2010, 6:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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