There are many builds, but this one is mine.

[viperwolf]

I'm installing the rear chaff counter-measures next weekend. If all else fails it will confuse the hell out of whoever is tailgating me.

You er almost ready for a full zombie apocalypse.

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[OFC Ranger]

Someone is out on surgery so I've been racking (no pun intended) in overtime. I'll finally be off Wednesday after 84 hours in 7 days. Hey, this shit ain't gonna pay for itself.

Anyhow - I finally broke down and bought some much needed (albeit low-end) tools like a drill press, bench grinder, and some other items. Should all start arriving tomorrow. I'm still waiting on shipment from RCI for the panels and they said they should ship this week. They had a massive order of their racks to prep for shipment last week.

In my constant quest I have identified some areas of the the rack that need to be reconstructed, not because of failure points, but more to do with link-up points of components. Basically more QoL alterations. So I'll be taking the rack down again this week to make those changes. I'm pretty confident (knock on wood) these should be the last major design changes. I need to start getting ready for some warm weather trips anyhow and outfitting the truck with, you know, stuff to go on all of this. For the most part though I am in a holding pattern due to the RCI shipment.

 

[viperwolf]

Those top rails look like what we used for cable tray, back when I worked for Fibrebond

 

[OFC Ranger]

Unistrut is a pretty common construction material for framing and electrical work. Very cheap (but solid steel) It is just a PITA to paint because it is galvanized. Have to basically give it a bath in vinegar and heavy grit sanding.

 

[viperwolf]

Unistrut is a pretty common construction material for framing and electrical work. Very cheap (but solid steel) It is just a PITA to paint because it is galvanized. Have to basically give it a bath in vinegar and heavy grit sanding.

Yeah, the ones we used were a gold color, we had to spray gold paint on the ends after we cut them. I have actual small scars from them cutting me.

 

[OFC Ranger]

ARB Awning came today. Not bad, 2 day shipping. Guess I got lucky it was at a nearby Amazon distribution center. It will stay boxed up till next week....

....cause my panels shipped today from RCI. Good timing because next week is my short week (5 days off). I am hoping this project can come to a close next week so I can start on my bed storage and dog box projects. I'm hoping any further time spent on the rack is just delegated to some electrical wiring.

Also arriving this week is an electric paint sprayer. Been needing one for the house, but bonus is I can use it to lay down primer and paint on the completely rebuilt rack.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Spent all day sanding getting it ready for paint tomorrow (weather should be perfect). My sprayer came in, so other than toying with dilution to get proper flow the coatings go on tomorrow. Then the part I hate, watching paint dry until I can assemble it. Will give me some down time to work on the new wiring harness for the perimeter lighting I guess.

 

[Msfitoy]

Picture Dump. Past two days off have been fruitful. Ran into some snags with backfeeding on my junction board to power the perimeter lighting. Diodes should arrive saturday to solve that.

Also I've put the camlocks aside I had planned for the pods. I came with an idea to run electromagnetic lockers I can operate from the cabin; aka electronic button press unlocking.

Last up for the pods are I am going to install angled license plate lights. They will be installed on the lid so when they open via the gas struts the light will shine back into the pod properly illuminating all the areas inside. They will be operated by a water proof flush mount switch somewhere on the rack. I may just install it on the side of the first pod closest to the driver side.

Impressive...you should be doing my electrics lol...as long as I don't start a fire I'm doing ok... ?

 

[OFC Ranger]

Well the back feeding issue has been solved.

I need a single one way diode for every line type going to the aux lights. So for now I opted to leave the "all on" function disconnected because 20 diodes came in and it took exactly 20 diodes to make this work. I just need another 10 diodes to add the "all on" function. Ill post a junction board photo before bed to show progress.

I had no clue how wacky electrical wiring could be when you need a light to have multiple functions through various switches.

Disclaimer: I'm sure there must be a less over engineered way to do this, but at this point Im done researching methods. 20 diodes cost $5.99 on amazon and are rated for 15 amps each lol

 

[Dave1899]

Picture Dump. Past two days off have been fruitful. Ran into some snags with backfeeding on my junction board to power the perimeter lighting. Diodes should arrive saturday to solve that.

Love the ARB canopy. I had one on my camper with the awning room.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Thank you. The awning room will be ordered in the near future.

 

[OFC Ranger]

So I am not really happy with my bed wiring setup for rack lighting. It is basically one large line to the light with a 2 pin waterproof connector. Don't get me wrong, it works fine, however it makes wire management mapping a pain. Getting light's wiring at varying distances to flow together uniformly can be frustrating. You can sort of guestimate the wire length you need, but I always end up with some slack and I don't like having to try and hide it with additional looms, or looms not flowing right. No matter how hard you try and measure distance, it just gets out of whack when you have to go up or on the cross beams of a rack for a nice uniform professional look.

I ordered some additional waterproof junction boxes and on the back bed wall I am going to mount them so I can treat them as terminal blocks. I am going to have a box for left side and a box for right side. Also a third box with my grounding bus bar. Then I can run wire from the lights, along the proper path under the rack (secure it as I go with 3M ziptie mount), then simply cut it at the terminal block for a nearly perfect measurement.

I did get my rear panel mounted and the sequential turn and running lights up and running, but I am not happy with how it turned out so I am mulling over some other ideas.

The Feniex 4200 mini controller wiring has beendone the way I planned and it it looks proper and well hidden, so that turned out good. Ill grab a picture in the morning.

 

[D Fresh]

So I am not really happy with my bed wiring setup for rack lighting. It is basically one large line to the light with a 2 pin waterproof connector. Don't get me wrong, it works fine, however it makes wire management mapping a pain. Getting light's wiring at varying distances to flow together uniformly can be frustrating. You can sort of guestimate the wire length you need, but I always end up with some slack and I don't like having to try and hide it with additional looms, or looms not flowing right. No matter how hard you try and measure distance, it just gets out of whack when you have to go up or on the cross beams of a rack for a nice uniform professional look.

I ordered some additional waterproof junction boxes and on the back bed wall I am going to mount them so I can treat them as terminal blocks. I am going to have a box for left side and a box for right side. Also a third box with my grounding bus bar. Then I can run wire from the lights, along the proper path under the rack (secure it as I go with 3M ziptie mount), then simply cut it at the terminal block for a nearly perfect measurement.

I did get my rear panel mounted and the sequential turn and running lights up and running, but I am not happy with how it turned out so I am mulling over some other ideas.

The Feniex 4200 mini controller wiring has beendone the way I planned and it it looks proper and well hidden, so that turned out good. Ill grab a picture in the morning.

I've done wiring both in industrial applications and AV in the past. A few pointers that might help.

Start at the end, your lights, and work backwards. Start with the furthest away from the source and work it to the point of your first junction, bring all the "branches" to the "trunk" as you pass them and work towards your source, in this case your controller box. Also, utilizing drip/service loops can clean up the look some as well as protect against water intrusion.

Also, start with tons of extra wire on each light, don't cut anything until everything is secure and you're wiring into your controller box.

 

[OFC Ranger]

I've done wiring both in industrial applications and AV in the past. A few pointers that might help.

Start at the end, your lights, and work backwards. Start with the furthest away from the source and work it to the point of your first junction, bring all the "branches" to the "trunk" as you pass them and work towards your source, in this case your controller box. Also, utilizing drip/service loops can clean up the look some as well as protect against water intrusion.

Also, start with tons of extra wire on each light, don't cut anything until everything is secure and you're wiring into your controller box.

Yea I am learning just what you are saying this go around.

 

[studiowild]

Mind sharing which tune you got? I saw you posting about it in another thread.

2019 XLT 2x4 (Sport / Tow / Electronics Package)

Purchase Date: 03/31/2020

See vehicle showcase link below avatar for current modifications and future plans

Purpose: First and foremost this is not an off-road dedicated vehicle. The scope of this project is to be a self contained transport vehicle for various tasks or emergency related events. It's primary purpose is to haul vast amounts of items without the need of a trailer, and supply human beings with a means of short to medium time-frame sustainability. It is not intended to go mudding or rock crawling.

Specific Build Thread for Custom Built 120" Platform Rack

PROGRESSION NEWEST TO OLDEST:

(Current Photo as of 04/11/2021)

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Older Progression Photos:

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(Purchased from Dealership on 03/31/2020)
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