Bruce988jl's first and last build thread

This is the most activity it has gotten in a while haha.

 

Well - the SOS Concepts High Clearance Swingout is installed and ready to go. I love the fitment and the swingouts feel solid with the spare mounted up there.

 

so much awesomeness!

 

October 7th, 2018 Update:

Been a while since I have posted here.... I have been on/off travel for the last 5-6 weeks so I technically only have been home for about 8 days in the last 6 weeks. However I'm home for the next month (hopefully) and will be getting into some camping/off roading on the weekends.

My apologies for the long winded and completely irrelevant post for you guys but I'm writing this all down for my own notes

News for the truck:

The biggest thing is that I decided against going to a new leaf pack to counter the additional weight in the rear with the tire on the swing out and the high clearance rear. I was planning on going with the one blackout sells however right now I want to give the Firestone ride rites a shot to see how well that works. In the end I will end up going with blackout's leaf packs but this will be sufficient for the winter. I am still currently waiting on the ride rite kits to come in however I did receive the daystar airbag disconnect pads in so I can still off road with the airbags. I am aware I might lose about an inch of compression with the ride rite and daystar pad kits but it's worth it for me in a daily driving sense.

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The second thing is over the last year or so I have been hating the way I setup the fuse panel system for the front half of the truck, currently I have a bussman relay/fuse panel running majority of the accessories under the hood and in the cabin. I want to run independent setups for each of the areas of the truck (except for the switches that control the exterior lighting and external accessories). Ideally I want the following setup which is what I'm aiming to do soon:

Under the hood Bussman Relay/Fuse Panel will power the following: (4awg wire from battery) (Mounted to custom underhood panel with dual breakers)
Relayed
1) Switched power to the solenoid for the Warn Winch that is awaiting install
3) PA Speaker for well shitz/giggles/scaring the f' out of pedestrians
5)
7)
9)

Fused
2) 18" Diode Dynamics LED Combo Bar
4) Cali-Raised Side Shooter Wide Mount
6) Cali-Raised Side Shooter Narrow Mount
8)
10)

Inside the Cab Blue Sea 12 Channel Fuse Panel (with neg bus and cover): (6awg wire from battery) (Mounted to Rear Bulkhead MOLLE Panel)
1) CB Radio
2) Blue Sea Dual 2.4a USB Charging Port (Front Seats)
3) Blue Sea Dual 2.4a USB Charging Port (Front Seats)
4) Ham Radio
5) Rear View Mirror Backup Camera
6) Blue Sea Dual 2.4a USB Charging Port (Rear Seats)
7) Heated Seat inserts for Driver Seat
8) Heated Seat inserts for Passenger Seat
9)
10)
11)
12)

Inside the Bed of the truck Blue Sea 6 Channel Fuse Panel (with neg bus and cover): (4awg wire from battery)
1) Bed Lighting
2) Blue Sea Dual 2.4a USB Charging Port
3) SnoMaster 42L Fridge
4) Roof Rack External Scene Lights (Left and Right)
5) Roof Rack External Scene Lights (Rear)
6) ARB Twin Compressor Switched Power (The ARB Twin will tap power directly off the power/ground cables coming to the fuse panel however the switched power will go through the fuse panel)

I already have the bed fuse panel setup the way I want it - everything is quick disconnect with Metri-Pack connectors so it's all modular if I wanted to move the fridge into the cab or something. It might take some redoing of the harnesses I made for the pass through of the firewall. I plan on sending the MOLLE Panel for the rear bulkhead in the cab off to powdercoat this week so it'll help cut down on the sharp edges it came with (again I sliced my hand open on it).

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Next on my list is the ARB Twin compressor with the Expedition Essentials [EE] Bed Side box mount. I purchased this item with the pre-order when it first came out with the intent of retrofitting my

$221 ViAir 400P - 40043 Portable Compressor Kit. Tire Pump, Truck/SUV Tire Inflator, For Up to 35" Tires

ViAir 400P pump into it and seeing how well that worked however I won an ARB Twin from a raffle contest so it worked out. After looking at all the wiring that came with the ARB and the setup I want to run a lot of the harnesses are way too long for the 16 inches that the pump is sitting from the fuse panel. I reached out to ARB to see if they will sell me the mating connectors/hardware for the two harnesses that it comes with. We will see if they are willing to sell those items as I really don't need 4 feet of line for something that is only 16 inches away.

Along with the wiring concerns I was skeptical about leaving the air intakes for the pump exposed to the dirt/debris that would accumulate in the bedside. The EE bedside box is NOT a sealed unit - which is good as the ARB Twin generates a good amount of heat from what I have read. I priced out stainless steel fittings to run the intake filters into the cabin and it came out to be just about the same price if not more than the ARB premade filter extension kits so I bought two of those.

For now this install is at a standstill waiting on a response from ARB and the filter extension kits to come in.

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The Tepui Autana 3 Tent that I have was purchased used and it is starting to show wear and damage. The bottom of the tent (technically the top portion when it's closed up) is taking a beating from the ladder banging around on it and I will need to address this issue with some impact rated foam or something this winter when I have the tent off. I am also finding that the rain fly isn't so waterproof anymore so I ordered a replacement rainfly. I will use the old rainfly as a quick awning of such for emergency use, it will be retreated with waterproofing treatment over the winter. I did re-waterproof the annex and so far I haven't had the chance to test it (which is a good thing) - NikWax is the brand I used and it seems to be holding up fine on the jacket I tested it on.

Some of the zippers are starting to come un-sewed from their respective locations so I am either going to have to find someone who can sew or learn how to do it myself. I'll have to look up what kind of thread to use as I'm sure this stuff is stronger than normal thread. I also ordered a new tent cover and straps since one of the velcro straps is barely grabbing anymore and actually came loose on the highway the other day. It is currently ziptied until I get the new straps in place.

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Anyways that's a solid update so far - sorry about the rambles - I needed to get all my thoughts and to-do's for the truck down asap before I start getting distracted with being back in the office again. Being on travel allows me a bit more time to think and gather myself for my projects. Also sorry for the lack of photos...

 

Started the long meticulous process of getting everything to install the winch and the arb twin compressor.

Warn Zeon 10s Winch:
Since I have the pelfrybilt hybrid I needed to relocated the controller into the engine bay - with the wire relocation cables I purchased for the winch it gave me a whopping 3 feet of cable limiting me to pretty much right behind the driverside headlight. I was unable to find a mounting point so I machined one up along with a bracket to hold the control plug. After some adjustments and test fitting the controller situation is solved. Onto the wiring...

I decided against using the supplied power/ground cable because it was either way too long or just too short so I ordered some 2awg welding cable and terminals to cut custom lengths. In addition I could make the controller cables as well if need be out of 4awg cable but it should be long enough.

Photo of the controller solenoid and plug hookup




Mounted without the plug plate just for test fitting...



Onto the ARB Twin Compressor...
I am mounting it in the driverside bed compartment using the Expedition Essentials [EE] bedside compressor mount. I purchased the ARB Manifold, EE manifold mount, coupler and air-up kit with everything as well. The ARB Twin compressor comes with about 4-5 feet of cable which is more than enough that I need so I bought matching connectors for both the 3-pin and 5-pin ARB harnesses. Both were metri-pack grade connectors listed below...

5 pin power harness uses the following:
Delphi 12084891 Metri-Pack 280 Series, 5-Way Gray Female Connector
Delphi 15324857 Metri-Pack 280 Series 5-Contact TPA Secondary Lock, Black (specifically this one as the harness uses larger gauge wire)
Delphi 12077413 Metri-Pack Female Tanged Terminal 12-10 GA, 280 Series
Delphi Metri Pack 12129493 280 Series Female Tanged 14-12GA Terminal
You will also need the corresponding cable seals for the cables as well however I'm still not sure what they used for the two power lines - I'll update when I figure that out.

3 pin switch harness uses the following:
Delphi 12110293 Metri-Pack 150 Series 3-Way, Female Connector, 14 Amp Max
Delphi 12052845 Metri-Pack 3-Contact TPA Secondary Lock, Off-White
Delphi 12084200 Metri-Pack 150 Series Female Terminal Loose Piece, 22-20GA
Delphi 15324973 Metri-Pack 150 Series Cable Seal, Dark Red (specific for 18-22awg wire)

Another thing I noticed was if I were to run the ARB manifold I wouldn't be able to quick connect an air line as the mounting point EE offers for the manifold puts it above the assembly out of reach from the bed. I would need to run a line and put a remote connection point which isn't that bad of an idea so I might go this route someday. For now I won't be mounting the manifold and will just connect straight off the compressor. I did order the remote airline fitting brackets and hardware - I just need to figure out what length line I would need and where I would mount the tap to.

One thing to note about the ARB compressor and the ARB Coupler - there isn't much room to get a wrench in behind it to tighten it down, luckily I had my old bicycle tools and a flat wrench (19mm) to tighted then fitting down as seen in the photos below:











For now the winch and compressor hopefully going to be installed this weekend - pending the arrival of a new lift table that I'm purchasing tomorrow night off craigslist. Hopefully that will help me remove the bumper without needing additional help.

Oh and I also got two spare tires in today to get mounted to my extra SCS rims - those will get cycled in with the rotation of the off road rim setup - 6 rims/tires with rotated pairs. I phase out the old one and don't have down time. Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx LT285/75/16.

 

Didn't get around to doing the ARB Twin Compressor install however I did get the winch in! I just need to tension/stretch it tomorrow.

I bought a lift table specifically to help remove the front bumper without needing to phone a friend. After running the wiring, test fitting my Solenoid bracket/switch setup and cutting a custom length power line (I'll relocate it better when I get a chance - I really need to figure out a way to tap off the battery more efficiently instead of having 4x lines feeding off one post) I finally mounted it all back up. Initially the bumper/headlight support brace was hitting the winch which has the bumper sitting a bit lower just for clearance sake. I'll have to address that at a later time though.

Here are the photo's from today's progress - I currently have about 50 zipties under my bumper holding the wiring up and tucked.


















I also spent some time organizing my electrical workshop area, originally all the wire was just sitting in a bin and it was super unorganized now I know what I have and need to replenish. Same goes for the socket cap screws which I just forked up for a pre-assembled assortment.

 

You can see here where I was having issues with the winch hitting the bumper/headlight support - these photos were after I adjusted it, unfortunately now the lower portion of the bumper sits low enough to create a lip that could potentially snag on things if I ever need to back off a obstacle.. I'll have to address this at a later time.

 

Use a power distribution block? I could benefit from one too

 

I might have to - as much as I don't want to redo it all a distro box is likely in my future. I just need to figure out where to put it - the top of the factory fuse box is a blank canvas however I don't want to limit access to the fuse panel either. I'll have to think of something - my aftermarket fuse panel is already looking a bit sluggish with all the weight on it.. haha

 

October 28th, 2018.
Did my first colder weather (30 Degrees F) camping in the Tepui RTT.

I bought a new Teton Sports Fahrenheit Regular 0F Sleeping Bag... which I figured would be sufficient along with new medium weight REI branded base layers.

Needless to say I need to re-assess my sleeping gear for winter time. I have ordered some items to help insulate the tent a bit:
1) Emergency Blankets - Double layered - to line the ceiling of the tent along with the sides. I'll try sewing some velcro clasps on them to attach them to the poles
2) UCO Triple Candle lamp - supposedly could heat the tent almost 10-20 degrees warmer depending on the tent size. I'll have to crack the door into the annex to allow for airflow to come in.
3) Mr. Heater Buddy - I actually bought this before my trip, when I was setting up the inside of the tent I had it running on low and it was super warm, almost too much but I started getting a bit light headed and had to step out - people have said they shouldn't kill ya in a tent since they're ventilating - I think otherwise. I'll leave it for heating the annex but the main tent with the flaps down is too risky.

Sorry not to many photos...
This was an ExploringNH Fall Crawl:

 

Nice build dude! I'm pretty sure you sold me on that rear bumper with the swing outs when I eventually add armor. Drew’s a great guy and knows his shit. We installed my ditch lights together at his house a while back. Sub’d for future updates.

 

I have a very similar rear now with a single swingout. They came on the same pallet lol

 

Thank you - Eddy at SOS makes amazing stuff and has a good eye for detail. The one thing I would change about the rear bumper would be to opt for his newer squared bedsite protection. It looks badass!

Drew's alright... kind of a weird kid... (@tacobell007)

 

Good to know, I'll check out his latest design.

 

Kid's from no man's land, what do you expect? Nothing normal comes from there

 

Man it's been a long time since I have updated this...

July 2019 update:
I have driven the truck 2-3 tanks of gas since March due to being gone so much for work travel...
Well that's about it for the update...

Thanks for following!

 

Hey Jason,

I was wondering how the LCAs are holding up with the ProForged Ball joints. I know you have been busy, but have you had a chance to put some hard miles on them?

 

Thanks for reminding me about this post. Sorry about the ramblings to come.

The LCA's are holding up wonderfully especially with the whiteline bushings. I do spray them with some tri-flow every month with/without driving the truck. Currently I'm at 167k on the truck and I installed the LCA's with the whiteline bushings and proforged ball joints at around 135k. I did have to replace one proforged boot at 140k which wasn't torn it had popped off the ball joint and wouldn't reseat properly. Proforged sent me an entirely new ball joint so I just carefully popped the boot off and swapped it. The ball joints were a B1tch to install - I had two different shops try to press them in but in the end I had a machine shop press them in. The paint hasn't held up the best, I wish I didn't use the LCA skid plates as it just caked mud/moisture causing it to eat through the paint faster. I don't expect them to rust out at all but they just look gross.

Overall update
The new leaf packs are doing great - they are blackout14's(spelling?) but he's no longer a vendor on here - I did shear off one of the nuts holding the retaining sleeve on the passengerside. I reached out to him on IG and he sent me a replacement with instructions (Haven't done the swap yet)!! The truck does have a clunk, I can't figure it out for the life of me and I'm getting a good amount of rub left/right on the cab mount chop which means my buddy didn't cut them back enough and I'll have to get that redone - I have new plates just haven't reached out to my fab guy. I replaced the passengerside wheel bearing at 165k which was previously replaced at 130k. I know between 130-145k there was a ton of hard off roading done for those periods so I'm not shocked it went after 35k. Which reminds me I need to order another backup wheel bearing assembly....

I'm starting to wonder if the kings need a rehaul, the front seems to be sitting an inch lower than it was previously. In the past I have had to adjust the kings to compensate for the "break-in sag" but I don't think I have ever had to re-adjust unless something is wrong with the suspension.

I installed Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro's in replacement of the Diode Stage Series 6" bars and holy crap are they bright. The cutoff isn't as good as the sports but they are amazing at night. I can basically drive around with the headlights off (not that I do). I took the truck out one night in a rain storm into the backroads and the fogs made a huge difference. I aimed them a bit lower than the headlights which was supposedly the ideal legal method.

Since picking up a daily and travelling 60% of last year I have only put 4k miles on the truck since dec 2018... I drive it once a week now to/from running errands however I might do some camping next month since travel is on hold indefinitely this year.

Things to do:
- Figure out the clunk...
- Start saving to get the King's front rehauled
- Finish rebuilding my backup LCA's
- Install the Expedition Essentials TPAM
- Install ARB Bedside compressor w/ Expedition Essentials Mount/debris cover/etc
- Diagnose the e-locker and or replace the actuator
- Replace Plano All Weather box on roof rack with new one and hope that it really is all weather
- Order backup wheel bearing assembly
- Rebuild spare driveshaft with joints/carrier bearing and swap in
- General maintenance...

And finally
Use the damned thing...