Builds Gerry's Build thread: "If it happens again I'm buying an Abrams" (5 Viewers)

[MongooseGA]

I will try my hand at fabbing up a little aluminum bracket for this switch alone. When we go to do the dual battery set up I'll a if you still have the bracket on hand. That's a while other thing I have to educate myself about before tackling.

 

[abuck99]

I had a bracket from something else repurposed that fit the available threaded inserts in the fender.

You can fab something up with that fancy new welder

 

[MongooseGA]

@Wermz came by today and helped me get the bumper put back on. I got to break out the welder to repair a broken captured nut. Was fun.

The new winch and prolink are in and my remote mount stuff is pretty cool. On/ off switch on the bumper to turn on my wireless receiver. Waterproof USB port if I want to plug in the controller to use it that way. I was thrilled that the whole 12k winch fit inside the bumper with the control box mounted on the original location. I also installed the @TRAIL TAILOR recovery points I've been sitting on for at least a year. In red below.

It's nice to have it back together. It's been without bumper looking hoodrat for weeks. The extra weight is noticeable in the suspension and I don't think my front shocks are really loving me anymore. This week I'll reinstall my skids to get ready for Windrock Park next weekend. The shocks will love me less.

Now that the light tabs on my bumper aren't holding a winch control box, I ordered some supposedly bad ass 9" lights for the front. Should be in this week, and nobody will block the left lane in front of me ever again.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

@Wermz came by today and helped me get the bumper put back on. I got to break out the welder to repair a broken captured nut. Was fun.

The new winch and prolink are in and my remote mount stuff is pretty cool. On/ off switch on the bumper to turn on my wireless receiver. Waterproof USB port if I want to plug in the controller to use it that way. I was thrilled that the whole 12k winch fit inside the bumper with the control box mounted on the original location. I also installed the @TRAIL TAILOR recovery points I've been sitting on for at least a year. In red below.

View attachment 3021667
View attachment 3021668
View attachment 3021669

View attachment 3021670


It's nice to have it back together. It's been without bumper looking hoodrat for weeks. The extra weight is noticeable in the suspension and I don't think my front shocks are really loving me anymore. This week I'll reinstall my skids to get ready for Windrock Park next weekend. The shocks will love me less.

Now that the light tabs on my bumper aren't holding a winch control box, I ordered some supposedly bad ass 9" lights for the front. Should be in this week, and nobody will block the left lane in front of me ever again.

Great update as usual! Looking forward to the 9" dinner plated and how well they fit on your ARB.

 

[MongooseGA]

You reminded me that I still need to install that BlueSea battery cut off. I'll work on that this week, too.


My finger has been hovering over the "buy" button at exit offroad for a full set of Dobinson's remote resi shocks for a few weeks. Sure would love to know if there's a sale coming up...

 

[MongooseGA]

Skids are back on, tidied some remaining wiring for the bumper, tightened up the bearings on my swing arms. My diff drop also had a broken captured nut so I got to play with the welder again. Idk how I've gone 30+ years without one of these.

 

[MongooseGA]

I bought a set of 9" round lights, but they look so big and comically goofy. There's also a little interference accessing my winch lever with these on. Not impossible, just not as nice as it is without them. I've ordered the same pair in 7" to compare. They're set to arrive tomorrow.

Thoughts?

 

[YezusLX]

Need a 12" dinner plate option as well. Bigger is better. Or so I "hear".

 

[saucebox]

I bought a set of 9" round lights, but they look so big and comically goofy. There's also a little interference accessing my winch lever with these on. Not impossible, just not as nice as it is without them. I've ordered the same pair in 7" to compare. They're set to arrive tomorrow.

Thoughts?

View attachment 3026834
View attachment 3026835
View attachment 3026837

If you can try them both out on a trail-like stretch...maybe do that.

I've got a set of 8" on an ARB like you have in the picture, and they're nothing short of amazing in open desert. But they're so bright that as quick as I'm on a trail with "sides" (brush, trees, whatever) I usually turn them off. It's weird to describe, but the abundance of reflected light just makes your eyes tired.

 

[MongooseGA]

Need a 12" dinner plate option as well. Bigger is better. Or so I "hear".

My whole life I figured 7" was adequate. Now I'm hearing I need 9"+??

If you can try them both out on a trail-like stretch...maybe do that.

I've got a set of 8" on an ARB like you have in the picture, and they're nothing short of amazing in open desert. But they're so bright that as quick as I'm on a trail with "sides" (brush, trees, whatever) I usually turn them off. It's weird to describe, but the abundance of reflected light just makes your eyes tired.

Yup, I know what you mean. Do you have any colored lens on them? I've read a few posts that an amber diffuser helps with that a lot.

 

[YezusLX]

My whole life I figured 7" was adequate. Now I'm hearing I need 9"+??



Yup, I know what you mean. Do you have any colored lens on them? I've read a few posts that an amber diffuser helps with that a lot.

I don't make the rules brother. This new generation and their 9"+ do.

 

[saucebox]

My whole life I figured 7" was adequate. Now I'm hearing I need 9"+??



Yup, I know what you mean. Do you have any colored lens on them? I've read a few posts that an amber diffuser helps with that a lot.

I have amber lenses for them, but have historically been too dumb to remember to put them on . I'll have to try that someday—mostly I just switch to the roof-mounted (amber) light bar. It's an el-cheapo brand, so the output is nowhere near impressive, but good enough.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

So when you posted earlier about buying 9", I wanted to say that I didn't like how they sat on my ARB front on the Golden. I think for all practical reasons 7" and 9" would put out equivalent amount of light, the 7" just fits better on our bumpers. Mine were Amazon special (Nilight or Auxbeam or somesuch) and came with clear lens covers. I applied a yellow tint sheet to the clear lens and that made a huge improvement in foggy/rainy/snowy conditions. Most cheap LED light emit a blueish white light that doesn't do a great job of illuminating road surfaces and tend to wash out a lot of contrast in the field of vision

This time around, for my "new" truck I chose to go with 8.5" "laser" lights. They are strictly for off road use (aren't they all, being non-DOT approved!). Since I am running an Ironman bumper which doesn't have the additional horizontal bar, the 8.5" fit great. The laser part is great at projecting lights farther than any LED lights I have seen, including some big name/big $$ ones. They also make removable amber covers!

COLIGHT 8.5 Inch Offroad Spot Round Driving Lights(Set/2pcs)

Still looking for a higher level for your lighting system? Colight offroad laser driving lights can create 10 times brighter and more intense than traditional Xenon or LED lamps. There's no doubt to mount it. In the OFFROAD laser driving collection, although the 8.5-inch laser driving light is a...

www.led-colight.com

If you are up to spending a little more, I think these CO-Light branded laser lights are a great bang for buck. A few of us here are running them and have been happy with them. Just be careful to not use them when there is traffic because they can seriously blind others!

 

[MongooseGA]

So when you posted earlier about buying 9", I wanted to say that I didn't like how they sat on my ARB front on the Golden. I think for all practical reasons 7" and 9" would put out equivalent amount of light, the 7" just fits better on our bumpers. Mine were Amazon special (Nilight or Auxbeam or somesuch) and came with clear lens covers. I applied a yellow tint sheet to the clear lens and that made a huge improvement in foggy/rainy/snowy conditions. Most cheap LED light emit a blueish white light that doesn't do a great job of illuminating road surfaces and tend to wash out a lot of contrast in the field of vision

This time around, for my "new" truck I chose to go with 8.5" "laser" lights. They are strictly for off road use (aren't they all, being non-DOT approved!). Since I am running an Ironman bumper which doesn't have the additional horizontal bar, the 8.5" fit great. The laser part is great at projecting lights farther than any LED lights I have seen, including some big name/big $$ ones. They also make removable amber covers!

COLIGHT 8.5 Inch Offroad Spot Round Driving Lights(Set/2pcs)

Still looking for a higher level for your lighting system? Colight offroad laser driving lights can create 10 times brighter and more intense than traditional Xenon or LED lamps. There's no doubt to mount it. In the OFFROAD laser driving collection, although the 8.5-inch laser driving light is a...

www.led-colight.com

If you are up to spending a little more, I think these CO-Light branded laser lights are a great bang for buck. A few of us here are running them and have been happy with them. Just be careful to not use them when there is traffic because they can seriously blind others!

Those look very impressive. A little pricier, but my first set were already $300ish. A couple bills isn't the end of the world. As little as I'd use them though, I'll probably stick with one of these current pairs, at least for the short term. Your comment is helpful in leaning toward the 7" units. I'll test fit tomorrow. Agreed, the difference in lighting between the 7"/9" units is likely negligible for my purposes. Not like we have big huge wide open flat areas around here for me to hit a mile+ down the road.

 

[MongooseGA]

New 7" lights are in and wired up. A 10mm, a 12mm, a 19mm, a crescent, and some zip ties were all that was needed. The provided harness is nice, with a built in relay and fuse. I couldn't find an easy place to screw in the relay with the wiring length given, but I'll get creative in the future. For now it's zip tied to another thick portion of harness behind the battery.

Originally I wanted to wire these directly to the high beams, but ultimately have decided not to. Eventually I will run the switch up to a BenCC button mount in the overhead console. For now I'll just use the provided switch and run it in to the cabin and tuck it somewhere.

 

[cruiserpatch]

New 7" lights are in and wired up. A 10mm, a 12mm, a 19mm, a crescent, and some zip ties were all that was needed. The provided harness is nice, with a built in relay and fuse. I couldn't find an easy place to screw in the relay with the wiring length given, but I'll get creative in the future. For now it's zip tied to another thick portion of harness behind the battery.

Originally I wanted to wire these directly to the high beams, but ultimately have decided not to. Eventually I will run the switch up to a BenCC button mount in the overhead console. For now I'll just use the provided switch and run it in to the cabin and tuck it somewhere.


View attachment 3029014
View attachment 3029015
View attachment 3029016

Those look great! Cheers to the weekend. So mad I got the 'rona. Was looking forward to it.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

New 7" lights are in and wired up. A 10mm, a 12mm, a 19mm, a crescent, and some zip ties were all that was needed. The provided harness is nice, with a built in relay and fuse. I couldn't find an easy place to screw in the relay with the wiring length given, but I'll get creative in the future. For now it's zip tied to another thick portion of harness behind the battery.

Originally I wanted to wire these directly to the high beams, but ultimately have decided not to. Eventually I will run the switch up to a BenCC button mount in the overhead console. For now I'll just use the provided switch and run it in to the cabin and tuck it somewhere.


View attachment 3029014
View attachment 3029015
View attachment 3029016

If you got any open spots left on the panel left to your steeringwheels, I can send you a switch that'll fit one of the factory spots

 

[YezusLX]

That El Camino is pretty sexy all cleaned up. Too bad it didn't get 9+" of glory in which to shine.

 

[MongooseGA]

If you got any open spots left on the panel left to your steeringwheels, I can send you a switch that'll fit one of the factory spots

I don't, sadly. I have the locker-rocker and my aux fan switch there. Thank you though.

That El Camino is pretty sexy all cleaned up. Too bad it didn't get 9+" of glory in which to shine.

Just wait 'til it actually gets detailed! Going to wet sand the whole thing and do all the things.

 

[YezusLX]

I don't, sadly. I have the locker-rocker and my aux fan switch there. Thank you though.

Just wait 'til it actually gets detailed! Going to wet sand the whole thing and do all the things.

I love when you talk dirty. About all the things you wanna do.