Little mods/upgrades/additions that make a big difference

[jhill15]

I have several suggestions!

$9.16 for 4 plus a few dabs of solder. http://www.ebay.com/itm/371251531398
I replaced the interior lights with 2 of these LED cards in each fixture.

$9.57 for 3 additional charging options. http://www.ebay.com/itm/131773260951

$6.59 for two 6" led panels plus $3.49 for a hood switch.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C1YI2XA
http://www.ebay.com/itm/131216295388

The hood lighting is awesome! Do you have a link for the hood switch, and how did you wire it up?
Thanks man!

Sent from my LG-H900 using Tapatalk

 

[Dmski]

I have several suggestions!

$9.16 for 4 plus a few dabs of solder. http://www.ebay.com/itm/371251531398
I replaced the interior lights with 2 of these LED cards in each fixture.

$9.57 for 3 additional charging options. http://www.ebay.com/itm/131773260951

$6.59 for two 6" led panels plus $3.49 for a hood switch.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C1YI2XA
http://www.ebay.com/itm/131216295388

Really like the cigarette plug and 2 USB plugs! Did you wire directly to the battery? And is the usb plug light always on?

 

[ILIAN]

I was worried any underhood cheap LED's were not going to last long due to high temps in there so I installed a quality 12v socket with a sprung cover up front away from the exhaust manifolds, so I can use my magnet mount camping light if needed. LED cards work great for interior lighting.

 

[Kevin108]

Really like the cigarette plug and 2 USB plugs! Did you wire directly to the battery? And is the usb plug light always on?

I have aftermarket trailer wiring. It has a control box that's powered from the battery. I jumped off of it to power the 12v and USB. The light is on all the time, but would be fairly simple to remove if desired.

 

[Kevin108]

The hood lighting is awesome! Do you have a link for the hood switch, and how did you wire it up?
Thanks man!

Sent from my LG-H900 using Tapatalk

The links are in my original post. The switch works by breaking the ground when the hood is shut. It requires the lights to be wired as always hot. This configuration is normal on modern vehicles. I pulled wire through the support structure of the hood. I can get pics of my routing if you need them.

 

[rayra]

$12

Panlong Bluetooth OBD2 OBDII Car Diagnostic Scanner Check Engine Light for Android - Compatible with Torque Pro

http://www.amazon.com/Panlong-Bluet...ue&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_1&smid=A1TXJ8YQ6MM9JH


Received it today, works fine, just started messing with it and Torque lite on my 7" tablet. It also serves as a code reader and clearing tool. Struggling a bit to get the Torque displays the way I want them, but I'll post when I've got it working the way I want. But there's tons of info about it all over the internet. Would be great just a super inexpensive code reader, live gauges too is a great bonus.

 

[GORM]

Can you provide an explanation of where/ how you're placing that 3x3 steel to get that effect? Doesn't the rover drop back to previous height after you remove?

 

[rossvtaylor]

Hi all,

For me, the best sub-$25 purchase has been the Kenu Airframe phone mount. It is easy to carry (super small), holds almost any phone quite securely, and is easy to move from vehicle to vehicle. On Amazon, it's about $19 http://www.amazon.com/Kenu-Airframe-Portable-Smartphone-Phablets/dp/B00D901B4W For a bit more, there's a larger version (which I also own, for my iPhone 6+). These are so sturdy and cool that I've bought them for most of my family members, too.



If you want to spend a few bucks more, and get to the full $25 limit, get some of these as well - invaluable for taming charging wires or lots of other uses. Home Depot has them. REI does as well, but they're more expensive there. The small 3" ones are super handy. For more money, the big ones can be bent into tablet stands, phone holders, and all kinds of things. They're Gear Ties, by Nite Ize.



Here's a small 3" Gear Tie, making a small useless hook into something helpful:



And, here's a larger one bent to make a phone holder on the steering wheel (I know... not safe):

 

[Buddha.]

EDIT:
I can't get the pictures to load in the correct orientation. I tried rotating them in a photo editor, no luck. Apologies.

Inspired by previous posts in this thread I decided to do the under-hood lights as well since I still had a couple feet of waterproof led strip.

I wanted it to come on automatically like the factory light that uses a mercury switch or something similar. Can't seem to isolate the switch part of the bulb holder, its one piece.

First attempt.


I broke the bulb and soldiered leads to the filaments in the bulb. This was a lot of work and lasted approximately three minutes until the delicate bulb filaments no longer transferred the voltage through them. I assume a filament broke in the potted base.

Second attempt. Grounded one side of the led strips. Stuffed the other end in the spring loaded base of the bulb socket. Quick and easy and so far it's working flawlessly.




Crappy cell phone pics. The light is spread out over a lot wider area, it's a nice improvement.

l

Another shot showing the light that comes off the back hatch. This is where the other six feet of led strip went.

 

[SilicaRich]

One of the best investments I made recently was on some super thick pool noodles at Walmart to use as padding on my Gobi for my kayak. I bought several spare noodles, but there's $6 worth of noodles used. I just cut them to size, made a slit to make them pop on the crossbars, and the weight of the kayak and tension of the straps keep them perfectly seated.

 

[rayra]

foam pipe insulation would work great for that as well, and comes in black and several inner diameters. It's already split like a 'C' to go around the pipe, and you peel a backing off the adhesive lining the strip and it sticks shut to itself. And it's very inexpensive.

 

[SilicaRich]

foam pipe insulation would work great for that as well, and comes in black and several inner diameters. It's already split like a 'C' to go around the pipe, and you peel a backing off the adhesive lining the strip and it sticks shut to itself. And it's very inexpensive.

We tried that first actually. The issue is that when you move the kayak on and off the rack, the insulation wants to twist but instead rips. The pool noodles being a lot thicker and denser twist and just hold up a lot better. Plus, I don't keep the noodles on the rack when the kayak isn't up there, they just pop off like they popped on and go into storage until the kayak is used again.

 

[kojackJKU]

One of the best investments I made recently was on some super thick pool noodles at Walmart to use as padding on my Gobi for my kayak. I bought several spare noodles, but there's $6 worth of noodles used. I just cut them to size, made a slit to make them pop on the crossbars, and the weight of the kayak and tension of the straps keep them perfectly seated.View attachment 347721View attachment 347720View attachment 347722

Pool noodles have all kinds of applications, I will be using them this year as gutters on my pop up camper. And, btw...the rubi wheels on your TJ looks awesome. good choice.

 

[marathonracer]

We tried that first actually. The issue is that when you move the kayak on and off the rack, the insulation wants to twist but instead rips. The pool noodles being a lot thicker and denser twist and just hold up a lot better. Plus, I don't keep the noodles on the rack when the kayak isn't up there, they just pop off like they popped on and go into storage until the kayak is used again.

I found the same thing with the pile insulation on my rack. I typically have to slide canoes up onto the rack and the insulation just ended up ripping. I ended up up using black PVC drain pipe with a slit cut into it. Its a lot gentler on canoe gunnels than the metal and holds up better than the foam to sliding and isn't damaged by alder branches when the road is choked in.

 

[anickode]

Pool noodles are great! I slide an orange one around the fiberglass whip on my ORV flag to keep it from smacking against the truck. I've fished guy lines for tent and awning poles through them as well for high visibility in low light.