Big Blue's Transformation

[grumpin]

Dane - Thanks, but I have a mic holder, which has an adhesive backing but also has screws and that's what I'll use to secure it. I'm looking for something(s) to hold the cord when the mic is in the holder.

Ah, my bad, didn’t read thoroughly. I like what Scott suggested, I wouldn’t mind it hanging down except to hide it from the more dishonest crowd.

The hooks should be good.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

And, if you are wondering, like I was, the inverter will rotate 90 degree clockwise and fit in the compartment. However, it sits 1" higher that way and I'll bet that the seat won't lean fully back due to the height and the shape of it.

I'll check it out tomorrow and let y'all know. But if you have any suggestions, lay them on me.

Do read what the inverter instructions say about unobstructed ventilation.

When those fans come on they need to cool those IGBT's

You might just hook it up on the garage floor to a battery and whatever load you contemplate (compressor, microwave, something else??)

[Gary Lewis]

Do read what the inverter instructions say about unobstructed ventilation.

When those fans come on they need to cool those IGBT's

You might just hook it up on the garage floor to a battery and whatever load you contemplate (compressor, microwave, something else??)

Jim - I'll reread what it says. But the only real load I'm anticipating is the inverter. The other stuff, like chargers for the various electronics, is trivial.

I went back to my test of the inverter/compressor combo, which is here, and the telling phrase is that "the fan on the inverter doesn't come on, even after I ran the compressor from 150 to 200 psi three times." My guess is that will be enough air to bring the tires up to 35 psi from 15 psi, but I don't really know.

Anyway, I'll make sure there's plenty of room for the fan to work.

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - I'll reread what it says. But the only real load I'm anticipating is the inverter. The other stuff, like chargers for the various electronics, is trivial.

I went back to my test of the inverter/compressor combo, which is here, and the telling phrase is that "the fan on the inverter doesn't come on, even after I ran the compressor from 150 to 200 psi three times." My guess is that will be enough air to bring the tires up to 35 psi from 15 psi, but I don't really know.

Anyway, I'll make sure there's plenty of room for the fan to work.

Here's a shot of the storage unit sitting in. I'll secure it at the top with tabs that come down from the screw holes right above it. And I will probably run screws into the riser below to hold it down and back. In fact, I may cut the carpet in front of the riser so the storage unit sits down against the riser, which will lower it and reduce the interference between the seat back and the inverter.

Note in the pic above that the inverter is sitting in the spot for it. But the 1 1/2" lip kept it sitting higher than it needed to be, so I cut the lip off. That dropped it down to where the seat back latches with a little bit of force, but not much. Probably when the seat's hardboard back dents a bit it'll fit nicely.

And I'll probably cut some of the end out to clear the outlets as well as the fan's openings. That will let me slide the inverter to the left in the picture, meaning towards the passenger's side, and it'll give ~2" on the right side for air to come in for the fan.

[Gary Lewis]

Here's a shot of the storage unit sitting in. I'll secure it at the top with tabs that come down from the screw holes right above it. And I will probably run screws into the riser below to hold it down and back. In fact, I may cut the carpet in front of the riser so the storage unit sits down against the riser, which will lower it and reduce the interference between the seat back and the inverter.Note in the pic above that the inverter is sitting in the spot for it. But the 1 1/2" lip kept it sitting higher than it needed to be, so I cut the lip off. That dropped it down to where the seat back latches with a little bit of force, but not much. Probably when the seat's hardboard back dents a bit it'll fit nicely.And I'll probably cut some of the end out to clear the outlets as well as the fan's openings. That will let me slide the inverter to the left in the picture, meaning towards the passenger's side, and it'll give ~2" on the right side for air to come in for the fan.

Several things to report. First, I got the speaker wiring done and the Alpine speakers installed on the driver's side in the Highliner. Unfortunately the right Alpine speaker is dead, so tomorrow I have to troubleshoot that. And since it is a huge pain to pull those speakers I think I'll attach the right passenger's side speaker and see if it plays. If it does that will prove out the wiring and I'll have to pull the speaker.

 

And I did some more looking and thinking about the mounting of the storage unit. It didn't sit level on the step at the back so I pulled the carpet back and realized that it is sitting on top of the rear cab bolts. Hmmm....

 

I've had a couple of thoughts:

 

1. Bolt Through: Drill the storage unit to match the cab and bolt through it. The bottom of the storage unit is 3/8" solid plastic, and I'm sure it can withstand the 50 - 70 lb-ft torque rating on those bolts. But I should pull the foam that I added to the step, and I'll want to trim the carpet off around the step.

 

Set Over Bolts: In this approach I'd drill holes in the storage unit large enough to clear the bolts and washers. I'd still want to trim the carpet but could probably leave the foam.

 

Thoughts?

 

Oh yes, I layed one of the handheld radios in the storage unit. Just fits.

 

 

[grumpin]

Several things to report. First, I got the speaker wiring done and the Alpine speakers installed on the driver's side in the Highliner. Unfortunately the right Alpine speaker is dead, so tomorrow I have to troubleshoot that. And since it is a huge pain to pull those speakers I think I'll attach the right passenger's side speaker and see if it plays. If it does that will prove out the wiring and I'll have to pull the speaker.

 

And I did some more looking and thinking about the mounting of the storage unit. It didn't sit level on the step at the back so I pulled the carpet back and realized that it is sitting on top of the rear cab bolts. Hmmm....

 

I've had a couple of thoughts:

 

1. Bolt Through: Drill the storage unit to match the cab and bolt through it. The bottom of the storage unit is 3/8" solid plastic, and I'm sure it can withstand the 50 - 70 lb-ft torque rating on those bolts. But I should pull the foam that I added to the step, and I'll want to trim the carpet off around the step.

 

Set Over Bolts: In this approach I'd drill holes in the storage unit large enough to clear the bolts and washers. I'd still want to trim the carpet but could probably leave the foam.

 

Thoughts?

 

Oh yes, I layed one of the handheld radios in the storage unit. Just fits.

 

 

Tough choice. First thought was bolt through.Then thought, I wouldn’t want to pull the cab bolts if I had to or wanted to remove it.I think holes for the cab bolts.

[kramttocs]

Several things to report. First, I got the speaker wiring done and the Alpine speakers installed on the driver's side in the Highliner. Unfortunately the right Alpine speaker is dead, so tomorrow I have to troubleshoot that. And since it is a huge pain to pull those speakers I think I'll attach the right passenger's side speaker and see if it plays. If it does that will prove out the wiring and I'll have to pull the speaker.

 

And I did some more looking and thinking about the mounting of the storage unit. It didn't sit level on the step at the back so I pulled the carpet back and realized that it is sitting on top of the rear cab bolts. Hmmm....

 

I've had a couple of thoughts:

 

1. Bolt Through: Drill the storage unit to match the cab and bolt through it. The bottom of the storage unit is 3/8" solid plastic, and I'm sure it can withstand the 50 - 70 lb-ft torque rating on those bolts. But I should pull the foam that I added to the step, and I'll want to trim the carpet off around the step.

 

Set Over Bolts: In this approach I'd drill holes in the storage unit large enough to clear the bolts and washers. I'd still want to trim the carpet but could probably leave the foam.

 

Thoughts?

 

Oh yes, I layed one of the handheld radios in the storage unit. Just fits.

 

 

I wouldn't do option 1. So guess that leaves my vote with #2 :nabble_smiley_beam:Replacing the factory bolt with a double hex stud would be my preferred solution. It would have a couple advantages to #2 but a major advantage to the drawback of #1.

[kramttocs]

Tough choice. First thought was bolt through.

Then thought, I wouldn’t want to pull the cab bolts if I had to or wanted to remove it.

I think holes for the cab bolts.

Agreed Dane:nabble_smiley_good: That's the major disadvantage of #1.

The benefit of it would be how secure it would be. I don't know that you'd need any other fasteners if using those two mounting points. You could get a rectangular steel plate that fits the bottom trough acting like a giant washer.

[Gary Lewis]

Agreed Dane:nabble_smiley_good: That's the major disadvantage of #1.

The benefit of it would be how secure it would be. I don't know that you'd need any other fasteners if using those two mounting points. You could get a rectangular steel plate that fits the bottom trough acting like a giant washer.

I'm not seeing "major" in the disadvantage of pulling the cab bolts to pull the storage unit. I think it is easy, but maybe I should try to pull these and see if it is as easy as I'm making it. The spec's say to torque to 50 - 70 lb-ft in order to line up the body lines. Am I missing something?

And on the plate, that would be a really long piece of metal, and to make it effective it would have to be very thick. Won't the 3/8" slab of plastic easily take the compression force? The cab bolt has a large washer.

[kramttocs]

I'm not seeing "major" in the disadvantage of pulling the cab bolts to pull the storage unit. I think it is easy, but maybe I should try to pull these and see if it is as easy as I'm making it. The spec's say to torque to 50 - 70 lb-ft in order to line up the body lines. Am I missing something?

And on the plate, that would be a really long piece of metal, and to make it effective it would have to be very thick. Won't the 3/8" slab of plastic easily take the compression force? The cab bolt has a large washer.

Haven't been under a reg cab to look in awhile but isn't the driver side nut underneath somewhat obscured by the side tank? If the nut was fixed, I would go that route but requiring two people to remove and replace a caddy is what is giving me pause.

Granted if you never remove it, it's a non issue

Sorry, I don't mean a plate to go across the whole caddy, just something with some surface area (like the large washer on the cab bolt). With the bottom fixed like that and no taller than the caddy is, I wouldn't think there'd be much forward movement allowed at the top but that's an 'in-person' call.

Update: Don't get me wrong, I really like the idea of using existing mounting points for the caddy. That's why the double hex stud is appealing, to me at least, as it uses those points but allows removal of the caddy without having to have two people. Not sure those exist in that size/length outside of diy though.