Lifted/linked F-350

[Jeckler]

Let there be light!

Laziness and Cheapass had a fight. Amazingly, Laziness won. So I picked up a custom set of lights from RC LightHouse. There are 17 LED's in the set on 3 circuits. The switches are in the rear window. Switch 1 controls the taillights, 2 is headlights and running lights and 3 is the lightbar. There's a few things that aren't quite right. First is switch 1 is supposed to be running and tail lights and 2 is supposed to only be headlights. I'll fix that myself some time down the road. Then I'll need to extend the lightbar harness so the bed can tilt all the way back. Finally, I might redo the lightbar to kind of tuck that wiring in a little bit. I also wanted switch 1 to supply power to 2 & 3, but that wasn't done either.
I ran it a bit last night in the backyard and it works surprisingly well. The brightness of the running and tail lights is about perfect, not too bright, like it looks I have my foot on the brakes all the time. The headlights do a good job of lighting a path. The lightbar might need a bit of aiming however. I think I super-glued it to the roll bar a few years ago. Hard to believe I've had this truck for about 9 years.
Down the road, some sort of winch, which means a new radio too, unless I lock the transmission in 1 gear. Or, does anyone know of some gadget that will switch channel outputs? I swear I've seen something like that. for instance, some pre-determined stick action (2 taps up, or 2 quick taps back and forth) will make it change to the other output? I think the Tamiya MFU does something like this for a few of its functions, but I don't need that level of sophistication.

 

[JHTreyIII]

You could get a wireless winch controller if you don't want to upgrade your radio.

 

[Got TF2]

I love the revive from the dead update. Those summit bumpers really work out for the truck. Plus nice to see you use yours! I did a full lift on my Tundra and it has been on the shelf for the last 23 months...

 

[Jeckler]

You could get a wireless winch controller if you don't want to upgrade your radio.

I looked at those. Actually I think what I'm going to do is get a HeyOK 3p servo winch and just add in a SPDT switch to swap the signal wire between the transmission and winch.
I'll probably mount the servo on the frame rail, kind of like the stock steering setup, if it will clear the Junfac link mounts, and run brake line to the front bumper.
I'm also looking at a contractor rack and rubber flares. I'll lose the roll bar (and lights) if I do the rack though. I'm pretty sure the truck is C2 legal, I just need some scale points. If the tires were smaller, I'd be in C1, but I like the look. Probably not the best platform for SORCCA, but it's what I have.

I love the revive from the dead update. Those summit bumpers really work out for the truck. Plus nice to see you use yours! I did a full lift on my Tundra and it has been on the shelf for the last 23 months...

The bumpers do change the look and they fit pretty good. They're not perfect, but very close. I got lucky with mounting, TBH.

 

[Jeckler]

With what I just paid at RPP and on eBay, I could've bought a new truck.

 

[JHTreyIII]

LOL, what did you order?

 

[Jeckler]

Winch, bullet connectors, 4 6-ton jack stands, HiLift jack, fairlead, winch rope, hook, shackles, tow strap, 2 servo horns, contractor rack, rubber flares, rubber mirrors, RC4WD drop hitch for the Hilux, W parts for the the Hilux to adapt to the F350 to install said receiver, drop hitch, and a shift gate if I decide to go back to my twin-stick radio.
Going to have to figure out a new bed mount, as the receiver and hitch will prevent me from being able to tilt the bed.

 

[JHTreyIII]

Nice!! Yeah RPP can be dangerous!!

 

[Jeckler]

So I got it all installed. To install the Hilux extension, I had to cut 8mm off the back of the frame rails. Why 8? That's the distance to the next hole. A test fit revealed that it JUST fits. Then I had to figure out a new mount, since I couldn't tilt the bed. So I bent up a piece of metal, painted it flat black and used velcro. a couple more holes and it's solid. The front is still held with the body pins.
On the front I added a HeyOK servo winch. I couldn't have it and the shift servo side-by-side, so removed it and left the trans in 2nd. Maybe I'll try and find somewhere for it later. Used 200lb line from LockedupRC along with a hook and shackles. The fairlead is from RC4WD via RPP.
For the body, I got a contractors rack, rubber flares and mirrors from logisticsshop on eBay. The fit was almost spot on. I had to just slightly bent the front lip of the rack so it wouldn't touch the roof.
I seem to have an abundance of hardware left over. I hope I got it all.
I also rewired the lights so the running lights and tail lights are on one switch, and the headlights by themselves on another. I'll re-use the 3rd switch if I decide to get a light bar (those MORE units are nice).

 

[JHTreyIII]

Looks badass! I like the contractor rack!!

 

[Jeckler]

Thanks. It's saved me a couple time since installing it.
A month or so ago I said to myself "Self, if you can figure out how to get the shift servo and servo winch to work together, you can buy a new radio". So, I set to it. As with everything else I've done to this truck, once the pieces starting fitting, it kind of fell together. I made 10mm spacers and mounted the servo winch upside down, next to the shift servo. I only had to flip the ball connector on the servo arm. I have a couple millimeters between the winch spool and shift servo arm, and a couple millimeters between the winch and the hood. I drilled a new hole through the bumper mount and ran the winch line straight through.
So I bought a Futaba 4PLS to make it all work. I just need to train myself to stop accidentally hitting the winch button and sucking the bumper into the grill.

Yesterday I took it and my Dingo out to a local get together. I let my daughter drive this first, then we traded after about an hour. She much prefers the SCX platform. So do I. It's a much more capable rig, but this is fun too, as long as I'm acutely aware that it'll tip over with the slightest breeze. Time for thicker swaybars. Brynn (said daughter) broke off both front fender flares and had it on its roof more times that I could count. That's where the protection of the rack helped.
The rubber mirrors stayed put though, mostly due to the fact that I bolted them on.