AA1PR’s Yukon Long Term Build & Adventure Videos 56K

[AA1PR]

I dont have a roof rack & if I did I could never reach it with my disability
I want side illumination off the rig for camping etc with these 4 18W slim LED's

ok my desire is to add 4 LED's to the factory roof rack channels

this works for my 2004 gmc yukon, not sure if all years are the same or what other vehicles

I discovered through online research that Fastenal Part No. (SKU): 48590 seemed to be the part I needed ~ https://www.fastenal.com/web/products/details/48590?searchMode=productSearch&filterByVendingMachine=

so I got 8 of these 4 as spares, bag of 1" fender washers & 3/4" 1/4X20 bolts

these channel nuts are tapped for 1/4X20 thread, which easily handles the weight & load of any small light like this

Parts all gathered:


I decided to have the channel nut on the bottom of course, then a washer, the mounting bracket & then another washer to finish it all off

this keeps everything very tight

I had to put the channel nut down under the outside lip of the factory channel & give a firm downwards push to get it in & you may too

once its seated it looks like this

& a wider view


now if warmer weather ever gets here I'll get these installed & wired up & report back

I'm thinking with some Yankee ingenuity you could use this for other projects off the factory channel
It was 24* as I was going to get the youngest at school, the sun was shining so I decided to get the light brackets bolted on

got all the washers & brackets onto the channel nuts, those smaller allen head bolts that secure the bracket to the light body looks like it a PIA


had to struggle to hold myself up, couldnt get the rear bracket as far as I wanted, orange lines show where they're at, kind of hard to see ?

so I tighten it down 17" from the rear & will get Jr to move it back further when I see him again, the front ones are 3.5" from the front of the channel

stopped by the hardware store & got 20' of lamp wire, its 18ga double molded, it'll hold the amperage

cant wait to get these operational

my wiring idea is to have 4' across the crossbar, 1' forward for each front light & 3' for each rear light, so the overall wiring will be an H shape when I'm done

also thinking I might get one more light & wire an extra line to the rear fro that one to be rear facing,

I'll add least add it now while I'm soldering everything together & just seal it off with some shrink tubing until its needed later on

I cant move now so over the weekend or next week when I can I'll solder all the lights in line as needed, for now I need to rest

 

[Smithy]

Good thinking, I may steal that idea

 

[AA1PR]

Good thinking, I may steal that idea

go for it & I learned on another forum they make those channel nuts in stainless steel

 

[AA1PR]

In an attempt to better organize my rig

Sorry no pics

I'm moving things into zippered bags I found at wallyworld

Here I have my wire strippers, a fiber optic stripper that's also good for smaller gauge wires & a nylon brush & the SS brush is missing


I carry some spare wire & small zip ties in here as well

In this small bag are my ham radio parts & pieces. A PL259, antenna mount, SO239 & several 3/8X24 double nuts etc, everything to hopefully get me back on the air

Now for the soldering iron, solder tape & heat shrink tubing in various diameters, plus a spare fuse holder & 10a fuse just in case

No more searching through the tool box(es) to find what I need, now its all in the bag

 

[AA1PR]

Part 3 of the roof LED's basically

line as needed, for now I need to rest
Part 3

OK I cut all my pieces of wire to length & the ends stripped back

This is roughly how everything will be soldered together, with heat shrink tubing to cover all joints


If I do everything properly they will have 3 layers of shrink tubing over them


Then I went over that with a section of ½” shrink tubing for extra measure

& of course I checked all connections prior to soldering to make sure I have continuity & the wires correct

Where all the wires joined on the center H was a challenge they were larger than I expected

Won’t bore you with all the soldering, but here are all the joints soldered & sealed

My H configuration as I need for the roof

Learned by trial & error I needed to fold back over the line that’s running to the dash so it’ll mount properly on the roof, I used small zip ties to help reinforce my work

OK I went to solder on the first light to the 1’ forward facing section when I pulled on the wire to hard, so after I got it all soldered in the light failed to work

So I cut off my work, got out the VOM (volt ohm meter) again & had no voltage to either side of this wire lead, what the heck I thought

So I cut open all that shrink tubing to discover when I was pulling on the 2 rear wires to even them out I broke it off inside the junction where the yellow shrink tubing in the next photo is

So once again I re-solder the wires back on, taped things up some

So here is where I end for the day, I need more shrink tubing & have to run for my daughters bday party, so this will wait till then

Since this wiring is going to be exposed to all sort of elements on top of the roof I want it done right so its better to wait & get the right parts than to do it half fast

 

[AA1PR]

so today I got some more pieces together for the fix

& these larger .800" X 6" adhesive pieces as well for the final covering, I hate to be frugal but $15 USD

 

[chaos616]

very nice AA1PR,

I have to get going on the organization too. Also very very interested to see how those LED's work out for you. When you get them going you'll have to do some night shots to show the illumination!

Cheers,

 

[snowblind]

I discovered through online research that Fastenal Part No. (SKU): 48590 seemed to be the part I needed ~ https://www.fastenal.com/web/products/details/48590?searchMode=productSearch&filterByVendingMachine=

so I got 8 of these 4 as spares, bag of 1" fender washers & 3/4" 1/4X20 bolts

these channel nuts are tapped for 1/4X20 thread, which easily handles the weight & load of any small light like this

Parts all gathered:

You are the MAN!!! I have a set of lights I'm mounting at the rear of my burb and these channel nuts are PERFECT!

Thank you for sharing.


Matt

 

[AA1PR]

You are the MAN!!! I have a set of lights I'm mounting at the rear of my burb and these channel nuts are PERFECT!

Thank you for sharing.


Matt

no problem glad it helped

 

[AA1PR]

got all the wires soldered together, heat shrink tubing over them etc


now for protective wire loom over them & to get my son to get them bolted on for me, & I can finish off the interior wiring at a later date

 

[dodgeBenF]

Very cool thread. Love the truck, its turning out fantastic. More importantly, love your passion...it just comes through in this build somehow.

 

[AA1PR]

Very cool thread. Love the truck, its turning out fantastic. More importantly, love your passion...it just comes through in this build somehow.

Sir, thank you

we all need something to keep us inspired aside from family

made some progress today, almost done

 

[AA1PR]

 

[AA1PR]

I had to run my daughter all over for appointments today, she didnt want to go back to school for the last hour &1/2

so I told her if she helped me get the led's installed she could stay home, its an easy task for an able bodied person

well not all was well... hate to sound like an azz

I got my side on & done , when I look over as she's telling me the wires dont line up WTHELL I thought & then

she had the front in the rear & vice versa, I tell her those need to come off nicely

so in the process of taking them off she loses the lock nuts, cant find them in the mud & muck

now it starts to sleet, freezing rain mixture, the wind picks up & I cant move but have to get it done somehow

so I have to go back on my side & remove one from each light...

go back around to passengers side & install the only 2 good lock nuts & bolts left

they are all on by one bolt which is surprisingly strong until I get Jr (my son) to help me further

so trying to get off the back bumper as she was trying to help me down, my legs are shaking, cant feel either feet

I slipped & took out the HF antenna mount that attaches to the rear wiper arm bracket, so I had her remove that as well

now I'm home & need to go rest, later

 

[AA1PR]

Decided I had to get the remaining bolts & nuts onto these

went to ace hardware where the salesperson insisted they were 10X32 though nothing in that size fit..

left & went over a few doors to fastenal & learned they are M5-.08 so I got a bag (only needed 4 in SS) though the stainless steel ones werent available there

I got them all on by myself & I'm feeling it now... & onto the interior wiring soon