Saturday, August 11, 2012

Not Legal to Drive

Ok, at this point, I'm completely weary.  2 weeks until Burning Man and it's not done.  The worst part is that I don't have an operating permit from the CA DMV to legally drive it.  The truck has full registration and plates since June, but for a personal use vehicle over 10,000 lb gross vehicle weight, you need a "CA" number and Operating Permit.   The fine is $2500 and they can impound your vehicle, if caught.  It's stupid and only $35, but to find out about this now is very stressful.  Well maybe the DMV will come through in time.  I plan to hit the road anyway and say "the check and application is in the mail".  Plus I put a fancy "NOT FOR HIRE" sticker on the side which basically indicates to the weigh stations that it is a personal vehicle.

Today I was lucky to have the help of Alex and James and we lowered the front frame and drilled a massive amount of holes.  Basically the front upper and side panels are fully drilled and done.  No additional work there, except I need to buy some shorter hardware.  On Friday night I managed to get the tail a bit more detailed.  Missing are the huge rudder and some propellers.  The propellers are optional at this point, since I never had them in any of the early designs I submitted to Burning Man.  I didn't take pictures, but today I also managed to frame in the door and weld in the lower support.  All the wire in the nice welder is used up, so I had to use the not so good one.  It makes a huge difference in the weld quality, but I don't have time to wait until a welding supply store opens on Monday.  And here are some pics from the last few days: