Nollie's Reggie Build

[Nollie]

Bought some tie-down points for the bed... thought they were going to be bigger , but the M8 JK bolts I bought worked perfect.

Tie-downs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P73WM8C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Bolts: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081GDSKK7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Since they were small, I set them so in theory I could loop a rope around them and then added one to the top on the existing tie-downs for more options.

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[Nollie]

CB Install

Wanted to get a CB radio installed for primarily off-road use. My intent is to have it mounted on the Built right dash tray mount. Major parts:

• President Andy II CB
• Firestik II FS3 Antenna
• NMO adapter
• NMO Rain covers
• Bullet Proof Diesel Dual Antenna Mount

Dropped the headliner a little bit, using the video on the brake controller install as a guide (pretty simple, just pull down along the edge of the headliner until the clip pops out.

'
Marked the left side coax so when I get the wires to the front I know which is which.

Pulled the 3rd brake light off

With the light disconnected, it was pretty easy to push the tape and get the coax into the cabin. It was a warm day so the adhesive didn't give me much resistance.

I pulled the coax out the door and into the bed so I could feed it through without any helpers.

That's when I noticed my first... hurdle. The chase rack and the antenna mount don't play nicely together . I took off the center beam to figure something out. Most likely it'll involve some cutting of the chase rack. Eventually I'm moving to a bed rack anyway so I might just take it off.

Installed pretty easy. I lined it up and decided to add the additional brackets they send.

Drill 4 holes, slide the brackets in and bolt them down

About to button up

This is the 2' firestik, 3' is on order

popped off the door sills

dropped the glovebox

Unbolted the seat, but couldn't get the wires disconnected. I didn't have enough wire to run the coax from the mount to the top of the dash along the edge so I went under the carpet from the back to the front console.

So close ??? . I have an extension on order and I just have running the power for the CB, adding a quick disconnect so I can take the CB off the dash, and tuning the antenna.

More to come once parts are here

 

[Nollie]

Fixed one of the challenges today with a bit of angle grinder action. Looks decent enough until I switch to a bed rack system

 

[Nollie]

Rest of the parts came in today so I could finish.

Bought some 16g quick disconnect plugs and a coax extension (1m). I figured with the quick disconnects I can remove the CB and if something else uses 12v I can use another plug end and be up and running quickly.

Also decided to try these heat shrink no-iron solder connectors. They're not too bad, not as nice looking of a finished product as just solder and heat shrink.

Using the grommet that's on the passenger side accessible behind the glovebox. This is the engine bay passenger back corner. You can see the wire going into the grommet and electrical taped down. I removed the electrical tape and used a coat hanger to push through the grommet to the other side.

Once on the other side I taped the wire to the coat hanger and had my wife pull the hanger back out while I pushed the wire. The first time the wire didn't stay on the hanger... I changed to a small hook on both the wire and the hanger with tape and that pulled through no problem.

Added wire loom and taped everything back up. I ran the wires up to the front and across instead of along the back. It was easier to place the wire, and I already had some from other projects so it looked reasonable.

Soldered on two battery connectors (hooked up later)

Cut and soldered on the quick disconnect. See what I mean... not as clean but it'll do the job and I didn't have to worry about soldering in the truck.

Moved the ram mount for the phone, added the bracket for the CB and buttoned it all up.

Overall happy for now. I'm a little worried about the weight on the tray in the case of an accident; might look at bolting the tray to the underlying plastic support. Should be good enough for my trip this weekend

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

Nice to see another infosec guy in the Ranger world, although I sit on the blue team side of the house. Excellent build!

 

[Nollie]

Nice to see another infosec guy in the Ranger world, although I sit on the blue team side of the house. Excellent build!

Thanks! I do about 75% red and 25% threat hunting / blue. It's a great mix, we do a lot of purple to keep our alerting up to date. Never a dull day

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

Thanks! I do about 75% red and 25% threat hunting / blue. It's a great mix, we do a lot of purple to keep our alerting up to date. Never a dull day

awesome, I live in the IR world so more in line with hunting and some purple to taste

 

[Nollie]

Trying to adjust my antenna for better SWR. I started with a 2’ Firestik and it took everything I could to get to 2.5 on channel’s 1 and 40. Before took g too much diagnostics, I switched to a 3’ and I got it to 1.5 on channel 1 and 40. I’m happy with the 3’ but it’d be nice to have something shorter for on-road.

Any knowledgeable CB guys have ideas? Maybe the antenna is bad? @WxNerd2015 did you have any SWR issues?

 

[WxNerd2015]

Trying to adjust my antenna for better SWR. I started with a 2’ Firestik and it took everything I could to get to 2.5 on channel’s 1 and 40. Before took g too much diagnostics, I switched to a 3’ and I got it to 1.5 on channel 1 and 40. I’m happy with the 3’ but it’d be nice to have something shorter for on-road.

Any knowledgeable CB guys have ideas? Maybe the antenna is bad? @WxNerd2015 did you have any SWR issues?

Well, for me, my stinger CB antenna definitely has a much better SWR than my short antenna, as the ideal CB length is 102", but I was able to get my JBC800 (8" antenna) down to about a 2.0 SWR reading at 1 OR 40, and then the rest settled about 1.4-1.8 on the SWR readings. I could not bring both ends of the spectrum down, but I could bring one end down, and the channels I use in the middle were all more than acceptable reading. The stinger is about 1.2-1.5 across the entire range. I use the JBC800 on a daily basis mostly for receiving, but when I know I will be transmitting more, I switch over to the stinger.

 

[Nollie]

Been a while I've mostly just been driving the truck and enjoying it, not a lot of changes. Made some updates today though. I switched to a GMRS radio and put on some new ~34" tires.

Tires:
BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO3
LT285/75R17
Overall Diameter: 33.8"
Section Width: 11.3"

Wheels:
Black Rhino Stadium 17x9 +20mm

Lift:
Radflo 3" lift adjustable 2.5 coilovers


I went with the KO3s instead of the wildtracks since the KO3s are 0.3" shorter overall than the wildtracks and I wasn't sure 34" would fit in the first place (even with others saying it has).

The truck is dirty, but the tires look good. I didn't notice much rubbing at first, but the clearance for the rear aftermarket intrusion bar was super tight.

So, I played around with the truck some to see if it ended up making contact (surprise... it did). My first attempt at keeping the intrusion bars I removed the inner bolt holding it in, loosened the outer bolt, pushed the bar back, and tightened the outer bolt back down.

That seems to have added enough space for at least driving around. I'll be offroad next weekend so I can see if it rubs. I figure worst case I'll remove the rear bars and probably the white waffle plastic (currently still in) and it shouldn't have any issues.

The fronts don't come close to rubbing thankfully.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

It has been a while Dan. Truck looks great and those new tires are really something! Your White Knuckle rock sliders sure are sharp - hide that pinch weld nicely too.

Go perform an aggressive, quick 3-point turn in an empty lot somewhere. You’ll soon know if those ReadyLIFTs need to come out. You’ll compress enough as you brake in reverse and get back on the gas.

 

[TxOTRRanger]

Been a while I've mostly just been driving the truck and enjoying it, not a lot of changes. Made some updates today though. I switched to a GMRS radio and put on some new ~34" tires.

Tires:
BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO3
LT285/75R17
Overall Diameter: 33.8"
Section Width: 11.3"

Wheels:
Black Rhino Stadium 17x9 +20mm

Lift:
Radflo 3" lift adjustable 2.5 coilovers


I went with the KO3s instead of the wildtracks since the KO3s are 0.3" shorter overall than the wildtracks and I wasn't sure 34" would fit in the first place (even with others saying it has).

The truck is dirty, but the tires look good. I didn't notice much rubbing at first, but the clearance for the rear aftermarket intrusion bar was super tight.

So, I played around with the truck some to see if it ended up making contact (surprise... it did). My first attempt at keeping the intrusion bars I removed the inner bolt holding it in, loosened the outer bolt, pushed the bar back, and tightened the outer bolt back down.

That seems to have added enough space for at least driving around. I'll be offroad next weekend so I can see if it rubs. I figure worst case I'll remove the rear bars and probably the white waffle plastic (currently still in) and it shouldn't have any issues.

The fronts don't come close to rubbing thankfully.

Nice truck, and good job on the build. BTW, even in its dirty state, your truck is still cleaner than mine is. Lol

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