Amateur Overlander (1 Viewer)

[texdoc77]

Oh almost forgot, when I get the TLC back I plan on taking it directly to Discount Tire to slap some 35X12.5 R17 Falken Wildpeak R/T 1's on it. Then I will try to wire the front lights (after my son welds on some light tabs) and do a deep clean. If I have time I may try to install an attic in the back for lighter items like chairs and blankets. Stay Tuned. At this point though I am pleased with my progress and I think there should not be any problems getting it back from the shop in time to finish out a few other projects prior to our September trip.

 

[ZackR]

Are these wires fused?

Ideally you would have some kind of fuse block and separate fuses for individual circuits. Fuses are to protect shorted wires from burning up so definitely a must have.

Something like this would make it easy to add each circuit and fuse it correctly based on the wire size.

Blue Sea Systems 5025 ST Blade Fuse Block with 6 Circuits - https://shop.pkys.com/Blue-Sea-5025-ST-Blade-Fuse-Block-with-6-Circuits_p_1619.html

 

[texdoc77]

Are these wires fused?
View attachment 3697486

Ideally you would have some kind of fuse block and separate fuses for individual circuits. Fuses are to protect shorted wires from burning up so definitely a must have.

Something like this would make it easy to add each circuit and fuse it correctly based on the wire size.

Blue Sea Systems 5025 ST Blade Fuse Block with 6 Circuits - https://shop.pkys.com/Blue-Sea-5025-ST-Blade-Fuse-Block-with-6-Circuits_p_1619.html

The bar is fused with a 15a fuse just after the relay in the engine bay. Each positive wire off the bar is also individually fused with an inline fuse. It's really only for my four charging blocks I installed. I plan on putting a blade fuse block in the engine bay soon. For now I only have GMRS radio and winch which are direct wired to the aux battery and are also fused. But as I add more lighting and other accessories I will run a 120a acc switched relay to the fused circuit block with a 150a circuit breaker .

 

[texdoc77]

The new suspension has been installed!! I ordered the Dobinson MRA shocks with the dual rate coils front and back. I have been working with the local distributor and they have been fantastic. I ended up ordering a Dobinson adjustable front panhard and a 3" panhard lift in the rear from DVS. I also got front and rear swaybar drop brackets and ended up going with durostop bump stops. I also went with the 3" radius arms from DVS for front castor correction. We did need longer brake lines as well. I grabbed it so I could work on it a little this weekend and my tires came in as well so I went to Discount Tire this morning to get those installed. I will need to take it back next week some time for front brake installation (I did not want to mess with the hubs) and final inspection and alignment. The back is definitely higher than the front and although I do want a little rake, I don't want quite this much. They will need to see if an inch or two of spacer in the front will level things out a bit. We also need to see if I will need limiting straps of some kind with the flex it has now. I had originally ordered air bags but there was just too much lift so we ended up holding off and we can always add them later. I ended up going with the new Falken Wildpeak R/T's. I wanted something more durable the A/T for off-road but not as loud as a mud tire. Here are some pix of the new lift and new tires.

 

[texdoc77]

With the suspension getting wrapped up I also had some opportunities to wrap up a couple other little projects. I had relocated my ARB compressor and had to run new lines. The old lines were not long enough so I had to buy a new line and used the rear line from before on the front and the new longer line on the rear. Made sure to zip tie loosely and give plenty of slack for axle travel. Once that was dialed in we welded two new light tabs to the ARB bumper so I had room for all 4 KC lights. The outer two are wide beam, the inner two are spot light. I was also able to drop a fuse tap for my ACC bus bar that powers my inside usb-c chargers. I also went ahead and wired up a Blue Sea fused circuit block to ACC switched relay on a 150a manual fuse as I mentioned I might do in a previous post. I have some hydraulic large gauge wire crimpers which come in handy for those kinds of jobs. I also finished up the washer fluid relocation project by splicing in longer wire for the electrical harness and cutting off excess rubber tubing for the washer fluid.

Here is where we are with the list:

• prepare rear frame for new bumper (grind down weld points from removed cross member) DONE
• install battery brackets on both batteries DONE
• replace blinker flasher DONE
• install ignition switched bus bars DONE, but now like really done
• install front light tabs and paint DONE
• install front lights with switches - lights in place, no wiring
• install BCDC charger with midi fuses DONE
• install inverter - ended up realzing my Wagan Tech Ex18 IS and inverter, but that led to...
• install 12v DC charger in rear of vehicle DONE
• relocate ARB compressor and rerun air lines and electrical lines DONE
• fix transfer case boot wire Ordered
• install usb ports X 4 - DONE
• new tires/wheels DONE
• rear rotor, brake pad and caliper replacement DONE

• front rotor brake pad and caliper replacement - since the hubs have to be taken apart I am going to let the shop do this part
• install rear bumper with tire carrier and jerry can rack DONE
• install sliders DONE
• remove ABS system DONE
  

 

[texdoc77]

Since I have made pretty good headway time is now not the limiting factor and really funds are. There is some discussion here in committee about adding a roof rack and we have also talked about adding a weboost antenna as well. One thing I did find was that my idler pulley on the A/C side does not have a nut. Not sure if this is common, but they are cheap so I ordered a whole new one. I am also considering adding a gang switch and will be looking into nilight/auxbeam vs switchpro. Any thoughts here would be helpful. I thought I had more pix of the electrical work and I will try to take some tomorrow. I need to button that up a little more as well. Another 600-700 zip ties and another 30-40 rolls of electrical tape should do the trick.

 

[texdoc77]

I took some time to give the TLC a bit of a wash yesterday and was feeling pretty good about where we were. As I was running down the road I hit a little bump and the stereo shut off and came back on. It began to happen more persistently and then last night the whole dash flickered and when it did it almost sounded like the care was going to die. I turned right around and came back home. At this point I am going to go back over the wiring I have done, double check connections and grounds. That said, I had also considered going with a bigger alternator. I don't think it is an issue with the alternator, but possibly an issue with the connections to the alternator. However, as good a time as any for an upgrade.

So now the list is as follows:

1. replace alternator (double check all wiring)
2. replace emergency brake shoes
3. wire front lights
4. final inspection on suspension
5. front brakes replaced

Still possible for a new roof rack, looking pretty hard at the frontrunner with the sliding table underneath...