AZ2013 Build, Hunting & BS

I got you it will utilize the rails

 

Yes sir! I was thinking of an idea to maybe cut one of the sides of the rack off and re attach it with a hinge of some sort. That way I can utilize the space inside the rack while the tent is on. I'll for sure need a step ladder and that's a perfect place to store one. I could also put rotopax cans up there as well.

 

I'm going to replace the dinky little light inside the new camper shell with an LED strip. I'd like to have it come on whenever I open up the door. Can anyone recommend a good switch for that?

 

Time for some updates!

Found a pretty good deal on a Leer camper shell with a custom built roof rack. It's white, but I can live with that for now. Future plans may include paint or a wrap. We'll see..



Some guys have asked so I figured I'd throw this out there. I run Dakar leafs and with nothing on my truck or in the bed my center hub to fender measurements are 25" even. With the shell on I lost a whopping 3/16". I suspect I'll lose around 1/4" on top of that.

 

FYI - I'll be up in your neck of the woods the weekend of the 24th for oktoberfest. just booked a hotel for the night...waaaaaay cheaper than a DUI

 

Yes it is! The festival is a pretty good time. You'll enjoy it.

 

sweet. feel free to join us if you are around and not workin!

 

I'll be deer hunting that weekend but if I kill early I'll let you know. Thanks for the invite.

 

lucky bastard

 

It's the only damn tag I ever draw!

 

Spent the last few days chasing bears and snapped some cool scenery shots. Only snuck in a couple of the truck.




I have no idea why I took this picture. Haha.

 

Got the led lights in the new shell wired up. Pretty easy but tedious work. I wanted the ability to turn them on any time without having to turn the truck on. Since there's no constant hot in the rear of the truck I had to run wire from the engine bay all the way back.

I started by stuffing (3) 20ft sections of wire into a loom. I ran 2 extra wires in case I needed them for additional accessories in the future. I have my blue sea fuse block next to my battery which made it a pretty easy to start. I dropped the loom down near the fire wall and into an opening in the cross member.


A little different angle:

From there it was a tight squeeze with the fingers to make the turn to go into the frame. Once in, it was simply feed slowly until the end showed up where the frame opened up.



From there it's super easy.





Following the diff breather hose along the frame and up into the bed behind the driver side tail light.




I guess I forgot to take pics of where I brought it up but it's super simple once you get to the rear. I capped the 2 extra wires and taped them up inside the loom. I ran one power and ground up and into the bed for the the led light and switch.

For the led I went with a little more sturdy option than the standard strips. https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...h-power-led-waterproof-light-bar-fixture/680/

I mounted it above the door, facing in. First had to remove the old light.



The lip on the door where the old light was is the exact same width as the led bar. I screwed 3 of these clips directly into the lip.



Once the clips are in, simply snap the led bar in place. Nice thing about this led bar is there is a groove in the channel that will allow the bar to sit over the remaining screws so it still mounts flush to the door frame. The led bar is solid!!



Ran the wire from the led over to the corner of the bed into a switch. Once it was all wired up I loomed it and stuffed the loom into the little channel in the door frame so it stays hidden. Once again I forgot to take pics of that. Haha. I'll add some later.

Final results!!

 

Looks clean, nicely done sir!

 

Thanks Mike! I really wanted to use a magnetic contact switch which would automatically turn the light on every time I opened the foor. However because of the way the door recesses into the door frame when closed there was no way to mount the switch properly.

 

How about a push style momentary switch?

 

Clean and bright!
Nice job

 

came out awesome man!! thats exactly where I ran the wires, next to those hardlines up front.

 

Thanks gents!! Now to tackle the RTT rails.

 

Thought about that too but I think I'll just leave it with the standard switch at this point. There's just no easy way to put a switch anywhere on the door frame.

 

Had some plans get cancelled last weekend so we squeezed in a quick overnighter in between workdays. Found a sweet spot at the end of a two track that basically ended on a bluff over looking Devil's Windpipe. It was a little tricky getting the truck leveled out but we managed.