soldatlamour
Active Member
Thank you to all who helped with great recommendations. Special thanks to Thermo - the wiring suggestions and recommending weld tabs on the rack were invaluable.
Things learned from this experiment:
I never knew how to solder - that was pretty easy once I got the hang of it. I can't believe the "miles" of wires it took to run those 12 lights, the switches and relays.
I didn't learn to weld, but Thermo recommended welding tabs onto the light rack to make a clean installation of the lights. I found a welder nearby who charged $60 to weld the 12 tabs on -- I thought that a fair price.
Most importantly --- and most of you probably know, but in case just one person doesn't.... Different wheels require different lugs. To raise the Expy I found someone selling a set of Eagle Alloy wheels with 33" Nitto Terra Grapplers. I went to his house and the young lad installed them. There was some rubbing up front, but not enough to cause concern. Slight trim of the valence and all would be well.
Until.... About 10 miles later going 70mph on the highway - my left front wheel emancipated itself from the Expy. No one was injured - no cars were injured when my tire went for a .75mile stroll down the highway. Riding on 3 wheels has a terrible affect on the 4th wheel's suspension. (see pic)
Stock lugs don't hold the kind of Alloy wheels I have. The stock lugs are flat. The proper lugs for my wheels require a tapered lug. The $38 that those tapered lugs cost would have saved me thousands.
Well - All's well that end's well. See the two "better" pics.
The cheapest things on this fix were the 12 lights. I plan on replacing them with better, brighter lights a pair at a time. I've got 7 switches for the twelve lights. The front has 4 lights, and the sides have 3. Each quadrant has one switch for the outer light and one for the inner light. The back has 2 lights.
I'll post a pic of the Switch Panel tomorrow.
I ran a 4ga wire from the battery, under the chassis to the back right light assembly. From under it there is an opening into inside of the Expy. That is how I fed the Power Distribution center. I still need to clean it up -- lots of wires in there, but I'm still proud of my work.
Anyway, Thanks, again, to all of you who helped with great ideas.
(Pics will have to wait - Looks like issues with the Expy Forum on dowloading)
Things learned from this experiment:
I never knew how to solder - that was pretty easy once I got the hang of it. I can't believe the "miles" of wires it took to run those 12 lights, the switches and relays.
I didn't learn to weld, but Thermo recommended welding tabs onto the light rack to make a clean installation of the lights. I found a welder nearby who charged $60 to weld the 12 tabs on -- I thought that a fair price.
Most importantly --- and most of you probably know, but in case just one person doesn't.... Different wheels require different lugs. To raise the Expy I found someone selling a set of Eagle Alloy wheels with 33" Nitto Terra Grapplers. I went to his house and the young lad installed them. There was some rubbing up front, but not enough to cause concern. Slight trim of the valence and all would be well.
Until.... About 10 miles later going 70mph on the highway - my left front wheel emancipated itself from the Expy. No one was injured - no cars were injured when my tire went for a .75mile stroll down the highway. Riding on 3 wheels has a terrible affect on the 4th wheel's suspension. (see pic)
Stock lugs don't hold the kind of Alloy wheels I have. The stock lugs are flat. The proper lugs for my wheels require a tapered lug. The $38 that those tapered lugs cost would have saved me thousands.
Well - All's well that end's well. See the two "better" pics.
The cheapest things on this fix were the 12 lights. I plan on replacing them with better, brighter lights a pair at a time. I've got 7 switches for the twelve lights. The front has 4 lights, and the sides have 3. Each quadrant has one switch for the outer light and one for the inner light. The back has 2 lights.
I'll post a pic of the Switch Panel tomorrow.
I ran a 4ga wire from the battery, under the chassis to the back right light assembly. From under it there is an opening into inside of the Expy. That is how I fed the Power Distribution center. I still need to clean it up -- lots of wires in there, but I'm still proud of my work.
Anyway, Thanks, again, to all of you who helped with great ideas.
(Pics will have to wait - Looks like issues with the Expy Forum on dowloading)
