I do allot of Tech Write ups. Mostly on the Bombs I’ve done to my truck.

I do these Tech Write ups to for a few obvious reasons:

1). Encourage the person who may be thinking about the same modification to do it.
2). Share with people what I learned, or the process I used.
3). Contribute to the diesel community. It’s my chance to give back, and I choose to do just that.
4). I enjoy wrenching on my truck.
5). Provide opportunity for feedback. Just because I’m done with that modification, doesn’t necessarily mean I or others are done learning from or about it!

This article isn’t really about my Tech Write ups, though.
That was more or less an introduction to me, and my existence on this board.

My name is Bill, I go by wildcat on this board, and this is Me, attempting to justify the DIY argument.

The biggest, most persuasive reason I could come up with is the reason I DIY:

To try to save money!
Installation labor (Labor period, for that matter) when it comes to Modifying your truck, has always been ex$pen$ive.

What I generally do is pay myself to do the work.

For instance, let's say install labor for a particular modification is $250.00 (It's probably right around that to install a 5" Turbo Back Exhaust.) I'll do the work myself, SAVING myself that cost, and paying myself that money, which I in turn spend on another modification. Let's say that modification happens to cost $250.00. That means I just got the next modification for FREE by doing the labor on the previous project myself! The next modification may cost more, and if it does, then I just got it on one helluva SALE!

Now, the savings to me on just that one instance was $500.00! If I didn't do the install myself, I would have spent $250.00 to have someone else do the work. Then, I would have spent an additional $250.00 on the next modification I wanted.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

It stretches your hard earned money as far as you are capable of stretching it.

It really pays to PAY YOURSELF!

There is an additional benefit to doing it yourself. You learn about your truck. You get to know it inside and out. This information is priceless, especially when something happens to it in the middle of nowhere, and you know what it could be, because YOU do all the work on it yourself!

Here are some more examples of ways you can pay yourself.

Fabricating, or modifying stuff yourself.

Let's start with a modification first. In this example, it'll cost $400.00 for you to BUY the modification, and install it yourself.

Well, If I am capable of installing the modification, I might also be capable of the modification, itself. I might even have an idea or 2 about making the modification better, by using superior components, or twisting the original idea for my application.

There is certainly nothing wrong with me attempting it to save $400.00, is there? Now, IF I'm not too sure of the outcome, I might want to save the $400.00 BEFORE attempting the modification. That way, if I am unsuccessful, I can simply purchase the modification and install it.

In short, it only cost me my time to attempt it, and I probably will learn allot about my truck in the process of that attempt, regardless of the outcome.

If I was successful, I saved myself the cost of the modification, AND the installation + gained some valuable knowledge about my truck!

In the case of failure, I paid myself with knowledge or education, which is an INVESTMENT in me, and can pay me dividends later. Now, I go ahead and buy the modification and install it, saving the installation cost.

Fabrication is at the top of the food chain for saving yourself money, and doing it yourself. It also requires the most commitment on your part. Some of the tools required you may already own.

Fabrication can save you a MINIMUM of 2/3 the cost of any item! That's like paying $33.00 for something someone else wants to charge you $100.00 for! In most cases, the savings will be WAY greater than that!

In most cases, you can Build it better yourself, using better components and ideas, and STILL save the 2/3 or more!!

PAYING IT FORWARD

In every instance I gave, there is a way to help someone else out.
Once you have the knowledge or experience doing something, it will be forever useful to you.
It is also invaluable to the beginner, struggling like you once may have. There are opportunities here for you to learn even more. Every situation presents an opportunity for new problems, new solutions, new knowledge. Take advantage of this.

The easiest way to share your gift, is the “Wrenching Party”.
A wrenching party is nothing more than an excuse for a few people to get together over a common interest, and HELP someone. Help set them up in your Geographical area. Attend them when they happen. Even if you think your particular area of expertise isn’t useful.
Everyone who attends has SOMETHING to contribute, either to the current situation, or to future ones. You might learn something about your next modification. You might meet some people in your area. You might have allot of FUN!

SHARE your gift. Give it for FREE. Take only the Thanks, Appreciation, and knowledge you helped someone else. Instruct them to do the same.
My Dad would tell me this: “It’s on the Wheel, It’ll come back to you, and sometimes it grows on its way around”.

I hope this helps explain some things.

Any comments?

 

Bill we appreciate the write ups too

You do a very good job at them too

I have seen it time after time when folks join the site they have some kinna bomb they wanna do so they search here and end up in one of the tech articles and in one sort or the other end up with similar results, I really enjoy doing them myself but I havent done anything to my truck in years so its kinna been at a standstill.

Keep up the good work man

 

I too have been doing tech articles for a few years , i do them because there the first thing i look for before i do something ive never done to my truck , more often then not im reinventing the wheel , my first website was nothing but diesel tech articles , running out of material i soon documented normal maintenance practices ,out of all my tech articles the one that got the most comments was the detailed oil change , i got made fun of for documenting it but there are people out there that it helped so its worth it , im not planning anything for my truck is fine like it is , this spring i will video tape a coolent system flush and thermostat change . i switched from photos to video so i could promote db buy using various video sharing sites like you tube . im still under a legal binding contract not to compete with my old tech site it will be up soon then i look fowards to creating a tech database here on db , we are tracking tech info by awarding tech posts
https://www.dieselbombers.com/search...=findallawards

 

Thanks for the comments, Guys! Not to worry, I fully intend to continue doing the Tech articles and helping out here by answering questions when I can. Hopefully, when my truck is "Done", someone else will have already stepped up and started writing tech articles on their Bombs, and it will continue on, keeping this site at the cutting edge of informative Technical BOMB data! I've already seen an apparent increase in them recently, so hats off to you guys who are doing them! And Kudos to those of you who continue to do them!

Whitmore, I've read some of your "posts from the past" elsewhere... Although some half assed attempts appear to have been made to disguise who wrote them, I knew they were yours.

Chad, (DieselMinded) Did your oil change article happen to advise putting the filter in a large baggie after loosening it, but before unscrewing it to avoid spilling oil all over the truck and yourself? It's amazing to me how simple a solution can be, but unless we expose ourselves to the ideas and thoughts of others, sometimes we will plow on in the path we have always chosen, because "That's how we do it".

Thanks for the great site, you two. I'm proud to contribute in any way I can!

 

I like to help out where possible. I have a chapter from another site and about 50+ members. Quite a few of them have found their way over here too. We have Wrenchin days quite often. We've had as many as 20 trucks at one.
I have the CAVE and it is equipped with a few cool tools. We all chipped in and bought a trans jack. We have done quite a few Auto's, clutch's, IP's, fuel systems, injectors and much more.
Here is a couple pics of the CAVE.

 

Yes it did CumminsDatabase.com :: Oil Change - Detailed

 

I haven't been here long, I'm still learning lots! I've read a few of yall's tech articals, and apreciate you taking the time to help people like me out! Keep up the good work!

 

scottsjeeprolet, Happy to hear others are in to helping out, that's a nice shop that you share!

Chad, I think Your article is where I got that tidbit from!

tyrel, I'm glad you are enjoying the tech this site provides!

 

For me this is fun, I like writing tech manuals and for a while did for the Army for their large trucks made by Oshkosh. But it was more work trying to dumb the instructions down to the fifth grade level they wanted me to write to. Seriously.

That got old very quickly.

But at least the trucks and equipment were very interesting!

 

It's always easier to have someone install the mods. But it is way more satisfying to do it yourself. I always get asked where I got my truck built. They are usually surprised when I say I did it myself. A lot of people don't even try.