Arrowshots Build

Don't think it is snake oil any more. Last three fill-ups are after installing the aFe cold air system. Definitely seem to be seeing at least a small bump in gas mileage. Time will tell.

# Date Miles Gallons MPG
240 7/26/18 251.00 17.912 14.01

239 7/16/18 243.00 17.268 14.07

238 7/4/18 267.00 18.277 14.61

237 6/23/18 254.00 18.552 13.69

236 6/13/18 229.00 18.209 12.58

235 6/9/18 174.00 13.008 13.38

234 6/8/18 205.00 16.252 12.61

233 6/8/18 219.00 16.960 12.91

232 5/23/18 248.00 18.591 13.34

231 5/10/18 257.00 17.990 14.29

 

Interesting. I would like to know how the next 2 months go.

 

Colorado elk hunt - link.

 

Finally completed a major mod that I have contemplated for a few years, getting rid of spare tire holder (no use anyway with 33’s) and installing a dual battery/storage box. Thought about this ever since I saw this build. My primary reason for doing so is I have run out of room to put anything in the engine bay with the current dual battery system and plate for relays/fuse boxes. Secondary purpose is to reduce the weight on front drivers side and put it dead center in the back of the truck. I just installed ALCAN springs (3.5” lift and 1200lb capacity) for this purpose.

Took more than a year to decide how to do this and especially was concerned about any issues with cutting out the welded/bolted spare tire holder that maintains frame integrity. Also, a major concern was deciding how much clearance for the pumpkin and springs on the sides, particularly when they are maxed out off-roading. Asked a lot of people their opinions over the last year or so and Bud and I finally figured out what gave us enough room but also maximized space available in the box. Story follows.

Picture 1. My friend Bud welding the new frame supports. You can see the 2” bar right above all the arcing. Welded in all 4 support bars before we cut out the spare tire holder to make sure there was no movement in the frame. New support bars were also more or less within a few inches of where the spare tire holder was welded.



Picture 2. Bye-bye spare tire holder. That will be going on the “79 Chevy I am working on.



Picture 3. Used a grinder with a cut-off wheel to cut out a section of the bed floor. You can see two of the support bars at the far end.



Picture 4. Terry cutting out the lid for the box. Finished box is off to the right.



Picture 5. Another picture of finished box. To the left you can see the cut out for the cabling.



Picture 6. Finished box with lid.



Picture 7. Bud, welding in the battery retaining studs. To the left is one of the supports I will used for a plate with my relays and fuse boxes.



Picture 8. Painted and bolted up. We did such a good job with the measurements that I had to grind off the outside welds so it would slide up between the two sets of support bars.



Picture 9. A better picture of the interior of the box with the dual battery support studs and relay/fuse box plate supports.



Picture 10. We were shooting for flush with the deck and came out very close. Have a bit more trimming to do but I was happy with results. After a bunch of cleaning the heavy-duty mat will cover it.



Picture 11. Better view of entire box from back.



Picture 12. Profile view.



Picture 13. Pumpkin clearance (about 6”).



Box probably weights about 100lbs or slightly more. Dimensions are 30” wide by 21.75” long. Where the batteries go is 14” deep (back by the pumpkin) and by the bumper it is 10” deep. I slanted it so if rear of truck drops on anything it will slide off and did not want the back part lower than the bumper. I used 3/16” steel for the construction of the box. Support bars are 1.5” wide and .5 inches thick by the pumpkin and 2” wide and .25 thick in the back by the bumper. As for how much it cost it was more than a new heavy-duty spring set and less than a new set of coil springs. Bud has been doing a bunch of products for me over the years and probably cut me some corners on the cost. Project took 2.5 days but a lot of that was figuring things out, allowing Bud to take care of other shop business and letting paint dry. Dual battery system in front will move to back in another month or so.

 

I have thought about doing this for a few years now but an extra fuel tank there (not cutting the bed). Awesome work to you and your freind.

 

New Dual Battery Install

Took some planning but did the install on my dual battery box under the bed in the back of the truck.

1. Before. Too damn crowded in front for anything.


2. Getting started.

3. Finished project. Will go back later and shorten some of the bigger cables and other assorted things.

4. My cleaned up front without all the clutter. Kept the Blue Seas box in front with the relays for light bar, the master switch for the winch and other things to come. All my accessories on the Blue Seas boxes front and back worked except for ham radio and will eventually figure that one out.


5. The bed once the mat is back in over the box. Got finished on time Sunday to get wife's new Highlander in the garage before the storms hit.

 

Bed stiffeners been sitting around for a year or so and finally got installed.

 

Been waiting a few years for this and install is complete. 4.30 gearing and front/rear Harrop E-lockers from ECGS. Not possible without Jeff who knows how it all comes apart and goes back together. Thanks to Brian also for technical assistance the night before (we got it done the next day before he was needed to come over). 40 miles on break in period so far and 460 to go.

 

Awesome. Im gunna need a full review on the harrop front locker. Maybe a future thing for me as well.

 

There are pros and cons. Harrops can have a tendency to allow some slippage if you go into reverse. ARBs do not. They were my second choice but they can have other issues such as the dependence on the compressor. You gotta take your choice of one or the other issues and same applies to mechanical lockers.

 

Oil Catch Can Mod Completed

An easy mod. Was looking at doing this for a while after Scott B changed his oil at Brian’s and showed me how much had accumulated. Scott B passes along some info about what you need to purchase here. Better than recycling it back into the engine. Also, Scott B mentioned that you should take the PVC valve out and spray it out with brake cleaner. Mine had gunk in it.

 

ABS Kill Switch Mod

Been wanting to do this one forever but always put off cutting into harness wires and somewhat contradictory info on different techniques on TW. Turned out it was a pain in the butt to start with but ended up not taking too long. My original intention was to use a four pin switch that matched up with the others in my center console. Truck was down for a deep cleaning in the garage so first I pulled all the wiring and switches out of the center console (I had already installed a relay before I got going). The issue with this mod is you want to wire the relay using the always closed position. That way ABS is always on unless you disable it. After that I located the green wire in the harness, cut it and verified it was the one that disable ABS. I followed Scott B’s install here but ran into all kind of issues trying to get the wiring right between the switch and the relay as well as to integrate it with the other center console switches. After seeing it disable my alarm a few times and shut down the truck when I attempted to start it once I decided this was not going to work (fear about frying my ECU or harness weighed heavily in that decision). So, I decided to go with the more simplified approach I had noted on TW before (here) which is simply using a toggle switch. So, after two days trying the other approach, this way only took about two hours. After the install I verified ABS is engaged during normal conditions and with engine running, turned the switch off and the ABS light lit up. There is a lot to read regarding this mod and other functions it disable as well as the ABS when engaged but I anticipate trips encountering snow that make this mod worth the effort. Have already experienced ABS letting me slide through an intersection during the last heavy snowstorms we had here several years ago.

So, with many thanks to Scott B I have a couple more mods completed. Anticipate one more and that is installation of a more robust transmission cooler. During the trip to Choccolocco last weekend and my initial attempt to get up to boat ramp I got a high temp light on my AT fluid. Want to add the more robust cooler to help ensure I am less likely to run into that situation in the future. It should also help for towing my off-road trailer on long trips as well as moderate some of the wear and tear on my transmission. Plan to follow Scott B’s post here.







Note that the switch does have a ground which I grounded under the bolt for this bracket. I then rotated it to the back before I tightened it up.





O'Reilly's switch.

 

@Arrowshot do you still have your whynter fridge/freezer? If so, how is it holding up? Do you have any complaints with it?

 

Sorry for extremely late reply but fridge is still working fine. Used it extensively on Wyoming hunt in Sep 20.