Random Small Jobs

There were a few small electrical jobs to do that i was putting off for a while.

Fitting central locking actuators in the doors.
Fitting white LED lights under the doors so they light what you are stepping down onto.
Fitting LED side indicator repeaters.
Fitting electric deadlocks to the cab doors

all of these things are now fitted and wired and tested,   Now for the other side !!

Here are some pictures:

Inverter Testing

I wanted to test and program the inverter system on the bench so that i can work out all the bugs before it's installed.

The system runs at 24v to make it easier to interface with the truck.

The system consists of the following components:

Victron Quattro 8000kw (main)
Victron Quattro 3000w   (backup) because i already had one
Victron Blue Solar  150/85
Victron Colour Control
10x 220Ah AGM Batteries  (total 1100AH)
SDMO Silent Deisel Generator  6Kw
8 x Panasonic 265w Solar Panels

I looked at lots of different inverter systems and to be honest Victron equipment won hands down, it is totally scalable, can be programmed to do things exactly as you want. I now have this system on their VRM portal so  i can monitor and control it from anywhere in the world.

This may seem a little excessive, but bare in mind that all the cooking is also done with electric, there is an outside kitchen that is on gas as a backup.

Moving On

The roof rack is now reinstalled on the truck, the lights are fitted and wired. The back of the cab is painted.

I also refitted the mirrors and wired the heating for them, the side repeaters are now in place as well.

Sorry about the picture quality, the lighting in the workshop isn't the best.

Roof rack Assembly

The roof rack is now back from being galvanized,   i have painted it satin black and i am starting to populate it with the LED lighting.
Once wired i can fit it to the truck and the refit the cab spoiler.

Roof rack clamps

Just a  few pics of the clamps I made to hold the roof rack on.

All you welders out there won't be impressed, but they will work and won't break.  Once they are galvanized and painted they will look a lot better.

First post of 2018

I haven't posted in a while as I am sure you have noticed.  I have been really busy with work and the workshop has no heating so it's been sub-zero lately, making it really difficult to do anything constructive.
I have been doing a lot of planning and been collecting a few nice things, Like these cab seats that arrived this week.

Roof Rack

Ok, its time to get the roof rack and ladder sorted, I had previously part built the roof rack but was unable to move it on my own.  Eventually, i fitted an electric winch to the roof of the workshop, this made it easier to offer up to the truck.
I just lifted the rack to the roof, drove the truck under it and dropped it back on the cab roof.

Once all the lighting brackets are welded on, it's off for galvanizing and then satin black paint.

The ladder was a bit tricky, it had to be shaped to the side contour of the cab.

You can just see the test fitting of the roof lights and light bars if you look carefully !!

The lights on the side are for security and will light with the ones on the body,  the led bars up high are for off-road lights as is the big bar on the front. The ones on the corner are cornering lights.
The smaller thin bars on the front are for fog lights