The Frankenstein Build! LT/Expo/Trail rig..and BS

Yea they would be pretty awesome.

 

Got Franks next mod in the mail today! Try and work on it this weekend. This one is a FrankenFab brainstorm with perfect execution by HurrDurr Fab

I'm going to bed. So photo will have to wait

Thanks again Jon! @45acp

 

Can I haz some of dat.

 

Okay. So here's the deal. I have been missing my old roof lighting setup ever since I took it off. But did not want a big basket again. I realized I didn't use the basket enough and it caused WAY too much drag to make it worth it just holding lights.

So I spent a while trying to figure out how to make the lowest profile roof rack ever. Jon stepped in and we started talking about it. He had an idea and went for it even though I wasn't super sold and didn't love it.

I had envisioned something that followed the roof line exactly. Jon came up with a way to cope with it using aluminum rails and was going to make custom mounts for them. Well instead, I'm sure after some courage juice. He just said fuck it and slapped the rails in the vice and started bend it. And it came out PERFECT.

Lo and behold. My new roof rails courtesy of the skilled hands on Jon



They aren't pefect just sitting on there. But once the bolts go in. It'll be perfectly flush.




My sole purpose of this is to hold a couple small led bars facing out to the sides and to hold down some maxxtracks. Will work perfect for this! I will bed line the roof and am going to try the tintable raptor liner to see if possibly doing the whole truck in silver is probable.



And when the maxx trac aren't on the roof. Then I have nothing causing obscene drag.

I'll be mounting a rear led bar from rear led lights to have tail lights, blinkers, and dust flashers and rear lights.

For the front...well...



Cheap ass ebay bar. Nothing special. And before everyone jumps down my throat, it isn't my main light and I don't expect great things. I still will depend on my light forces and the two hella hid lights for my main distance lights. This will just fill the void between them.

So yea. Pretty excited about the roof setup! Need brackets for the front bar. Need to order the side bars and going to move my HAM radio antennas to the roof. So two big holes in the roof and a lot Of small ones...

Stoked!

 

Those eBay bars are just as good as "name brand" ones. Almost EXACTLY the same product for 1/3 the price. No hating here.

 

Cheap eBay lights bars usually have a major issue with EMI/RFI. For a ham or even CB radio operator, they can kill the radio while they are on. It isn't limited to cheap eBay lights. There have been a few major brands that are getting dinged for failing FCC regulations. It has to do with the boards and components they use.

I am dealing with a set of pod lights from a major brand, that are creating a 6ft dead zone around them.

 

My HIDs do that.

Is an issue. Have you been able to help it with chokes on anything?

 

If you do two or three wraps, maybe. All depends on how bad it is. For me I am working with the manufacture to try and fix it. They claim it shouldn't be doing it. There are a few good articles in the last 3 or 4 pages of the ham thread regarding this.

 

Your working with your led bar manufacturer?

 

Yeah, the company that made the pods are at least has their name on the housing. The rep said they should be RFI free.
They are on my motorcycle, was trying to run an HT with APRS on it. However, if the lights are one (they are always on) I can't hear anything on 2m. Although others can hear me just fine.

 

Huh. That is odd.

Well I guess I'll find out.

 

Yea if my rigid duallys are on forget about the Cb being very usable... tons of noise.

 

Yea my old led bars where like that too. Oh well.

 

My ditch light pods make my radio fuzzy. Probably because they are right next to the antenna.

Looked around and found this to be helpful (sort of; didn't really try yet; 31/41 wraps is a bit excessive):

http://www.k0bg.com/rfi.html

http://www.k0bg.com/beads.html

 

Yea that's what I meant by using chokes earlier. Hopefully I can use though to help.

 

They recommend 31 wraps for <30Hz noise and 43 wraps for >30Hz noise. That's a lot of wrapping.

 

Reread the article. Haha no they don't.

Type 43 ferites

 

I must admit, I am a bit confused by this. Is it correct to assume there will be some sort of crossbar attached to these rails? Something to support items like the maxtracks.

I got a bunch of those ferrite things, 6 or 8 of them, in the kenwood kits. How can I tell if they are 43's or 31's or whatever. Are they marked. I haven't looked at them closely.

 

Nope, nothing. Just straight to the roof.

And should be labeled I think