Removing cab n sleeper for painting ??

Why would you want to remove the cab? I have always left the cabs on. I would remove the sleeper and mask the cab.

 

OK I assumed just an external repaint of the body. Because those are the typical jobs we have done when painting big trucks, and then just blast color up in and around everything underneath as best as you can without worrying about it too much. I have never removed the cab of a big truck, but many of pickups and cars. It should be fairly easy. Of course you would have to remove body mounting points, bags and shocks. The air lines would be easy enough to remove from the fittings, or you could cut them and replace them when reinstalling the cab. The wiring will have disconnect plugs to un hook it all and put it back together easy enough. Wish I was more familiar with it so I could give more specific answers. Driving is a secondary career, I have been in body and paint work for 25 years.

 

• The biggest pain in the ### would be the air-conditioning unit. It would need to be emptied with a machine before disconnecting, and afterwards you will need to hook it all back up, replacing seals as you go, and refill using the machine. Same goes for the APU, if you have one.
• You would need to block off the heater hoses between the engine and the cab, or drain the coolant system.
• You need access to a forklift to lift the cab and no shortage of dunnage to block it up.
• The steering column is easy enough.
• You have several linkages to disconnect, nl. clutch, accelerator, shifter.
• Disconnecting and re-connecting the wiring harness should be easy enough.
• Cut the air hoses and replace when re-assembling. That way you can't really screw up on re-assembly, if you replace one at a time.
• As someone else previously mentioned, air bags, shocks, levelling valve, hoses and cab mounting blocks need to be disconnected.
• You will need to replace all the o-rings for the air hose fittings when assembling.
• I suppose there is not going to be a shortage of bushings, seals and worn components to replace. It's going to be replace as you go, I guess. And 5 pounds of zip-ties, all sizes.

This is a great time to replace them hard to get engine mountings too.

I intend to do such a project this coming winter.

 

@dunctrk379 So, I have been around trucks built in Europe, Japan and the U.S.A. Factory assembled trucks in the U.S.A have absolutely the worst paint jobs ever. It is not painted to last a decade. Many European truck chassis (like MAN and Scania) are powder coated or have a similar quality coating and will not go bad unless severely abused. It is coated several times to give a thick, multi layer coating. It helps to keep the salt from the metal. Impact surfaces are rubberized.

In the 1990's, Hino has had a 22 step process for coating their chassis. Nowadays in the U.S.A, chassis are coated with a simple 3 step process. As cheaply as possible.

Powder coated chassis assemblies, with rubberized impact surfaces, are the ultimate in chassis protection. Hideously expensive to do after assembly, due to labor costs, but certainly worth it. It is durable and extremely corrosion resistant. Minnesota winter driving can be a #####.....

Your job will be so much easier with the engine removed, I would most certainly remove the hood, cab, fuel tanks, air bags, and the brake drum, shoes, exhaust tubing, muffler and any or all aluminum or chrome before I have it painted. The more items you could remove and coat separately, the better quality paint job you are going to achieve.

But on the other hand, you must find a balance between a working truck and a show truck. 'Em crazies with the show trucks have no limits on time, detail or perfection.....or money.

Sandblasting your project should run anywhere between $1000.00 and $1 500.00.

Your project should run to about $6 500.00 for the labor, sandblasting and the new coat of paint (chassis, cab and sleeper). This exclude any new parts. Should you want to powder coat the chassis, add another $3000.00 for a meticulous job. Since you'd be doing much of it yourself, this figure will go down significantly.

Enjoy!!

 

Yeah painting big trucks is a lot more work and that scares a lot of people, also brings out the lazy in them lol. You are a little out of the way for me to spray it for you. I did go and check out your project thread, that's awesome going that far down and making it what you want. I can def see why you are going the extra mile to tear down and paint it all. I am used to doing work like that but on a much smaller scale, doing automotive restoration and customizing. My pic on here is a car I did a couple of years ago. Good luck on getting your project squared away, I'm looking forward to seeing it come together.

 

I guess I am not far away from you str8rida... If you don't mind may I ask what is an average price to repaint a big truck, 98' 379 Pete in particular.. Not for a show contest.. Do you do frame paint jobs?