How to work on your Bump when you just don't have space

[OldBlue67]

Well my truck needs to move from where it's been parked asap and while I'd love to bring it home and put it on the lift in my massive heated shop and get to tearing it apart with everything in my giant craftsman tool chest...I can't, because I don't own any of those things When I bring my truck home it will probably have to be across the street in a lot with no access to power/shelter/other handy things.

I know there are guys here who live in apartments or other places that it's inconvenient to work on project trucks. I want to hear about it and see pics of where you're working/making it work. Hopefully I can get a little inspiration from you all, 'cause right now I'm not feeling super encouraged

[sargentrs]

I live in a high end subdivision and while we don't really have an HOA, people are highly conscious of their property values. If I were to fill my garage up with parts (I don't have a garage door) and truck parts in the yard, the neighbor's would run me out on a rail. I built my house on a mountain. I have a block foundation that is under 3 ft high on one end and 12 ft high on the other end. I spent about 2 months, off and on, under the house and dug out a 20' x 20' area level with a 10' ceiling height, with a pick axe, shovel and a wheelbarrow. Then I built a deck down there, ran power and lights, and called it my workshop. Then I disassembled my truck and hand carried every part, except the cab and the frame, and stashed them down under the house. I put the bed behind the house under the deck. All I left in the garage was the cab and the frame on dollies. I'd wheel the frame out in the driveway, media blast, clean up, wheel it back. Bring it out again, work on it some more, wheel it back in the garage. On any given day all you could see in the garage was the cab shoved up against the back wall and the frame, on a dolly, in front of it. The rest of the garage was clean. It's been 3 years now and my chassis is 90% complete and the cab's mounted back on it. So far, the neighbor's haven't complained You can follow my escapades in the first few pages of my build thread in my signature.

[flyboy2610]

To paraphrase Red Green: "To be a successful inventor (mechanic) you need three things: imagination, determination, and neighbors that mind their own business."
Good job, Sarge!

[Maximus]

I guess the question is do you have ANY space to work on your truck?
I have a large yard, but no convenient place to work on my vehicles. Eventually I will pave a section of my yard and install a carport in which I can work in a covered concreted area, but in the mean time I work in a section of my yard on 20-year old asphalt under some trees. I make sure before any project I have plenty of cardboard to lay on, and usually a piece of plywood for some more support from all of the rocks i end up laying on JUST RIGHT! I spent my weekend two weeks ago removing the fuel tank from under my tahoe to replace the fuel pump, and as my build thread shows I spent last weekend ripping out my i-beams to update them with disc units from a '79.
Jack stands, a good floor jack and willpower will get just about any job done, however if you dont even have a parking space that your allowed to pull your wheels off on, then you might have to become good friends with someone who does!!!

[Madman]

If you really want to work on it a lot you may want to look into a rental...I've seen ads on them for Craigslist...there are some folks out there with more space than funds right now...you may be able to strike up a reasonable bargain or barter something...If you are like me, you want to spend every waking hour on it trying to get one more thing accomplished....but work, children, and honey do's get in the way!

[thejunkman]

A few friends and I rent an unheated 100x50 steel warehouse and split the rent. It's old, rundown, has holes everywhere and is freezing cold in the winter. But it's got electric, and keeps the wind and rain off us while we work. we each get a section that is ours to work in. Not saying that these opportunities come often, but it's something to consider if you have like-minded buddies. Or like the above poster said, look on craigslist for a garage bay to rent.

There's also options like this http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/s ... arage-gray if you have a place to put it.

[Ranchero50]

Ditto, old buildings are fun to rent for cheap if you can get a couple trustworthy guys to go in with you. I went that route for about ten years but ended up footing the whole bill at the end and it was motivation to buy a house with enough room to build a garage.

OSB on 4x4's makes a decent work platform. A pop up canopy makes working in the summer sun bearable too. A salamander makes winter working outside OK, just need a long enough extension cord.