Ryoken's 89 Crew Cab Tubebed build... aka Mutt....

[TerryD]

the set I posted I'm not worried about at all, they are often used on deck type surface hatches on boats.. notorious for sand, etc getting in them... they get chit in em, ya rinse it out with a hose... no big thang...

a nice feature about those Southco ones is they are a tapered, spring-tensioned catch, so they "click in" and will not rattle..

the other aspect is that I'm pretty certain I'll be running that same cut-down, thick, rubber truck bedmat that I run in the back of the K5 in that compartment floor.... so being flush, is vital..

tho it'll be a 2 piece, fitting over the large fixed, and that piece seperately... 1 piece would be nice, but obviously becomes a storage issue when towing.... that should also help mitigate any crud loading issue... when I rinse the truck off I can just pop em out, wash em, and the coffin out, etc..

Cool! I was wondering if them being for marine use if they would deal with it better but from the pictures they all look like they have little spaces for stuff to get caught in.

 

[ryoken]

yeah, they would definitely hold stuff if subjected to it.. but I think i'll be fine in my case...

 

[folkenheath]

Did you buy those braces or make them? They really tie the mount together, and lightened too!

 

[ryoken]

I bought em from TMR..... sheesh, they went up $2 a piece since I bought em in dec...

http://www.tmrcustoms.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=30&products_id=411

nice pieces, the edges are perfectly smooth.. I make so much stuff already, I buy components whenever I can..



and thanks , yeah they worked out perfect IMO... it's pretty overkill, but at least I can airlift the rig by it's spare tire!

I wanted the largest gussets I could find and these are 5".. everybody else's are 3 and 4... plus I liked the design to em, clean, no goofy plasma logo's, I liked how they where spaced off the corner, etc...

6" wouldn't have worked, these go right under the bottom weld... had no idea at the time I ordered, I thought they where gonna sit a bit more down.... obviously in retrospect, some 4"s or even 3"s would have been fine, but me likey...

 

[davidv851]

hmmm, interesting.. and conceivably doable.... yeah, those 2 side panels will have space behind them.. and they will be for the taillights... I'm gonna do that edge-lit plexi tech I use to make decently sized ones.. but the panel will still have a fairly large border of alum around the perimeter...

my only issue with that off the top of my head is that I'm not certain I like the idea of a receiver hitch being exposed there.. aesthetically... tho it would be a very small footprint in the corner, next to the lense.. I would do it so it points straight out the back in the corner..

interesting, good idea... albeit, more fab work...

I'll keep it in mind as an add-on when the taillight/vise time comes..

You could always make the lens swing / flip out of the way, one mount on each side, maybe an interchangeable work table and vice; not sure if you often need to remove parts from the boats to work / clean / test them; or if you'll have clearance behind the lens for that.

 

[ryoken]

hmmmm, I do like the idea of a worktable.. but I will have the alum deck for light duty (non hammer smashing kinda work) stuff.... maybe I could do something like that with whatever receiver hitch deal I go with.. high or low...

but I can tell you, no way in he!! the lenses will be able to swing out easily...

not sure who's seen the plexi dash project in the K5.. I know few in here like it, but it's that kinda tech..

it'll be 2, or 3 layers of plexi, into a framed section of the alum, with provisions for the perimeter lighting...


sure, it's conceivable to make that whole thing be hingable, but to be honest, I don't weld alum, and just building the framed area and getting the plexi lights working/fitted right will be challenging enough...

for those that don't remember, picture this lighting being in red, the whole plexi surface.. except maybe a thin perimeter band that is blacked out in the plexi or similar to break it up just a bit... with maybe a 2" to 3" strip of the alum around the perimeter...

the biggest question in my brain on that project is whether I want it to be an all red signal, or try to incorporate amber turns in with the red park/stop lights...

 

[ryoken]

 

[ryoken]

oh, and I forgot to mention.... tho that is all done in hi-tech Paint , in reality, during daylight hr's, the panels will appear to be "smoke", let's say.. black to the average Prius.. thus why it takes 3 layers to do it....


you can see at the top of this shot, on the dash how that black, unlit panel looks with no lights on... should standout pretty nice from the alum surround..

 

[ryoken]

here's a better pic showing the black panel look...

 

[ryoken]

so, technically during the day, with nothing lit, it will be more like this...

 

[Chevy305]

Are you using LEDs for the lights?

Also What about cargo lights to light up the bed?

 

[ryoken]

Are you using LEDs for the lights?

Also What about cargo lights to light up the bed?

yeah, the taillightas are flexible strip LED's like in that dash project.. you direct them into the side edges of the plexi.... they look like this...

as to cargo lights... definitely.. I'm definitely gonna run 2 up on the C-hoop angled down to light up the decks, etc..... and possibly 2 down low for trailer hookup type scenarios....... like in these orange spots..

in addition to any rear facing floodlight type gig I may get in a tow lightbar...

 

[Chevy305]

You should use those square LED pods for those cargo and trailer lights. That would be slick!

 

[ryoken]

my sh*t's gonna make any store bought stuff look amateur....


tho, that would certainly be eleventy x easier!

 

[Fubeca]

How nazi-like are the DOT/Troopers out in Joysey? I keep hearing of folks getting hassled for non-DOT lights. Are they going to give you any grief for your custom lights?

 

[ryoken]

that's one reason I would consider the trailer light deal... lot's of peope running around with lense covers, etc, but it is Joysey afterall..well, that and the simplicity...

I did look into it, as 3 big square ones per side would fit nice... like a red, amber and white of these on each side.... something like these large ones..


https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/truck-square-lamps/smrt-series-square-truckbus-lamp/565/


I just really wanna try the edge-lit deal to see how it comes out... tho time consuming as he!! I'm sure, I think it could come out cool..

if I find a repeatable process for bending the alum, I should have plenty of alum leftover to bend up a second set for those pieces if it doesn't work out right and I have to take another avenue...

 

[ryoken]

ya know what, that may be a viable plan initially.. I was gonna just do a quick temp bracket to use my old heep ones from the wood flatbed to drive around with till I made the panels..

but if I can get those panels bent up early on, maybe I'll just run a setup like that, while I take my time on the edgelit deal...

2 amber, 2 red and 2 white of those is $200.... and 1/50 the install labor...

 

[Fubeca]

Yeah - seems like a good idea to have a backup plan

I'm a fan of grommet-style flush-mount lights like these:

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lights/Optronics/STL34RB.html

They have them in amber too. Maybe you'll get lucky and they won't give you any crap about the custom ones.

 

[Fubeca]

Ha - you posted while I was typing. Also - if you do amber, do you have to do any fancy wiring? Do these trucks have separate wires for brake and turn?

I haven't looked at one for too many years

 

[ryoken]

yeah, those are the ones I was looking around for, but than I saw those bus ones.. went and looked at the panel size, and boy those larger ones would fit it nicely top to bottom, and have a ton of LED's.....

if I could find those larger ones in the grommet style, that would be ideal... tho the surface mounts aren't stoopid thick and would prolly look ok.. and definitely be easier to install than the grommet ones..

those grommet ones are bigger than the ones I saw.. i'll have to go take some measurements and see if rectangles would work better than the squares... I really want the 3 colors per side.. the panel being on a slope makes it a bit weird to the eye...


I think that's what i'll plan on.. if I can get an alum panel bent up before I start driving the rig again in the spring, i'll throw a set of those in.. than I can play with the edge-lit stuff at my leisure..