Month: March 2023

I used to take photos of my rides at the port of Stockton. It was a desolate area that was slowly turning into a bad scene. I noticed in the last couple of years that spot had several fires and the cool building backdrops were no longer there.

This photo was taken a couple of miles from our homestead. It’s an end of the road location where typically nobody pays any attention to you or what you’re doing.

I’m looking around my area for cool photo opportunities, not much to pick from for the urban street style shoot. There’s a hell of lot of nature shots though. Lol.

A rare sunshine photo taken outside of the Manetarium.

This winter has dumped more rain then we have experienced since we moved up the hills. When I brought the CaDually home it was dumping rain.

One thing for certain CaDually has a modern air ride system installed if we are currently living in the early 2000’s That would be a system typical for that time period.

It has 8 discreet valves controlled by a 10 switch box. No valve block or modern electronics, old school hit the valve you want on with +12 volts and away you go. It has noise reducers so it’s not so obvious an air ride system is being used.

The first challenge was a really bad air leak. I could raise to the highest stance at night and in the morning the it would be completely airless, dropped to the floor.

The yellow greased markings indicate where I found pinholes. Both tanks are going to be replaced ASAP. If there is a pinhole it must be rusted inside due to moisture getting in. These tanks are not road trust worthy.

Both leader hoses leaving the ViAir 485C compressors had leaks. One cable had leaks on both ends.

The entire air ride system will need to be updated to a more modern technology. I’m hoping to get by for at least the summer so we can utilize CaDually for the upcoming shows we plan on attending.

Summit Racing Ordering information:

24″ by 3/8″ S.S. Leader hose /black sleeve w/ check valve (3/8″ M to 3/8″ M, NPT, swivel)
Manufacturing part number: 92797
Price: $49.95 each (ordered 2)

The rear bumper was removed and a custom roll pan was installed with 4 lights. The setup reminds me of a Corvette rear end around the same era.

I thought I’d give it a test for functionality before installing it.

I haven’t had a chance to check it out at night yet to see how visible it is. I wouldn’t mind if it is super bright. I have a personalized license plate so more light is better.

A few front end suspension components needed to be replaced. There was a strong pull to the right that needed attention.

Both tie rods, bushings, upper A-arms and the pitman arm were toast and replaced. This is a temporary repair for the summer show season. I plan on replacing the upper A-arm again for a model that narrows the wheel width. This is needed due to the wide 22″ 255/35/22 wheels. Both fenders are rolled but that’s not going to be enough if the truck is actually rolling and turning.

The rear tonneau cover had a missing gas strut and the remaining strut was completely useless.

Wifey and I slapped a HydroDrop sticker on the CaDually. I was hoping the setup of gas struts would come in tonight so I could do the install. The freakin’ tonneau cover must weigh 100 pounds.

An interesting note about applying the label. The dually is so wide there was no way for me to apply the label from the side. We had to remove the tonneau cover about 1/3 off the bed so I could stand next to the back window.

Lifting the cover off the mounting swivel hinges is no joke. The weight and angle of the piece requires two people.

You’re probably wondering what the heck is a CaDually. The name is play on words using part of “Cadillac” and “Dually”. Very cool.

OR… it can also be said that CaDually is short for “California Dually”. I’ll let you try to figure it out.