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As told of here, Truckman's truck saga enters a new chapter...This photo essay covers design and construction of a center console for the New Beast...
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| In the beginning, I started with the factory 40/20/40 vinyl seats including the middle jump seat... |
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| The .50 caliber military ammo can was velcroed to the floor for storage of any items that needed to be a little more handy to the driver than the glove box... |
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| It didn't take long before it was decided that the jump seat would never be much more than an armrest, so out it came...And the space it opened will be much more productive if used as a center console for electronic devices and controls...For those curious, the black box poking through the rubber floor covering is the seatbelt control timer module... |
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| Removing the jump seat also allowed much easier access to the storage compartment behind the seats which sees regular use... |
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| The four brackets extending from the seat frames on both sides which formerly held the jumpseat in place will now be repurposed to secure the new console...If I remember, I'll spray the rusty exposed bare metal on the seat tracks with black Rustoleum before I get too deeply involved in construction... |
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| I also need to remember to remove the middle seatbelts before I go any further...I don't have a T-50 torx socket, and there's not enough room for it anyway unless I remove the seats again...I'll see if I can make an Allen wrench work...If not I may just save time and used the old hacksaw method... |
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| Now we move to our pile of parts and materials...In the foreground are two Saunders aluminum storage clipboards which will form the basis of the unit... |
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| At right in the background is a standard size Gun Vault...Next to it is a Uniden BC15 auxiliary speaker for the CB/SSB radio... |
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| In the background from left are Bosch five pin relays to control power to various functions...In the center is the Uniden 980 CB/SSB radio...At right is one of two four gang lighted rocker switches in a panel... |
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| I removed the middle seat belts (yes, I used the quick and dirty hacksaw method, but left the steel brackets for future use)...I also primed and sprayed the rusty seat tracks black...Next I secured the Gun Vault to the floor using a single #14 sheetmetal screw...It's slightly offset toward the driver to allow for a power inverter on the passenger side...Access controls are in the rear near the top of the vault to allow for either keyed or coded pushbutton electronic entry... |
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| More parts arrived as the project grew in scope...More relays and switches to control additional lights and accessories...And a 750 watt DC/AC power inverter just in case I need to recharge my electric toothbrush or make coffee while traveling, or if a neighboring town runs out of electricity... |
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| More DC and USB power outlets, two fuse blocks and the obligatory "Fire Missiles" cigar lighter... |
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| This photo and the next show the braces for the console bolted to the seat frames and securing the Gun Vault... |
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| The basket of snakes shown here is the coax cabling for the CB/SSB radio...It runs from the antenna brackets on the headache rack, then under the bed and cab, entering through the floorboard just forward of the Gun Vault... |
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| I used all Firestik products for the antennas, cables and connectors... |
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| I drilled new holes through the floorboard and flatbed, and used other existing holes through the cab and frame...All holes use rubber grommets to protect the wiring... |
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| This photo and the next show the angle mounts I fabricated for the cable ends, studs, connectors and antenna springs... |
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| Nothing fancy, just angle iron... |
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| The two Saunders clipboards went under the knife today, beginning with the removal of the clips... |
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| Then the removal of the center tray from both pieces and sanding down of the remaining sharp edges... |
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| Underneath I cut 1/2" aluminum angle and added them to the two components to join them into one unit, and to separate the two compartments slightly allowing either lid to be opened without binding...This also adds rigidity to the unit... |
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| The angle bracket in the front of the picture was added for further strengthening, and fastens to the steel bracket bolted to the seat frame just forward of the Gun Vault (seen in earlier pictures)... |
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| To the inside we go...This view is the forward compartment as seen from the driver's side...Since many new accessories have been added to the list since this project began, I'm using two fuse blocks to split the load, each powered through a master switch on separate battery circuits...The ground bus on each block faces the front compartment wall... |
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| At least two, maybe three of the Bosch relays will have to be relocated to make room for the switch panels... |
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| The relays are powered through additional switches with each circuit powering its own light or accessory... |
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| Other relays will be remotely located nearer their terminals... |
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| Now we begin the slice-and-dice portion of our program...This is the first of a number of holes to accommodate the switch panels... |
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| The old adage, "measure twice, cut once" was strictly adhered to here, with measurements actually checked and rechecked several times before picking up the Dremel... |
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| The donor material for the enclosures could not be found in a size deep enough to accommodate all the wiring, hence the additional holes in the bottom...It'll make good air circulation for the components as well... |
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| This mock-up shows the placement of one switch panel... |
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| As with many of my projects, this one has grown beyond my initial vision...The original switch panel compartment has become filled with not only switches, but fuse blocks and relays, with the wiring all yet to come... |
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| All the top holes have been cut and drilled for new components...This left just enough room for a small storage compartment... |
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| I cut the original lid as far back as possible, fabricated a center divider to keep stored items from sliding into the electronics, and cut a hinge to size...The smaller front compartment is for ball point pins... |
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| All the components have been test fitted for correct placement...Not shown are the clearance holes cut in the bottom to allow for wiring...I'm waiting now for lid latches to arrive...End panels are next to be fabricated... |
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| Of the many skills to which Truckman readily admits having little to no possession, those of body panel repairman and painter rank near the top on the list of most obvious...The original smooth, glossy finish of the original enclosures became rough, scratched and generally butchered under my hand...Yet after many hours of sanding, priming, painting and repeating, the only thing that can be truthfully said about this portion of the project is that it's black - top, bottom, sides and interior surface...But show quality it will never be...Even Meguiar's black wax didn't help much... |
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| This will be the view from behind the seats...Two switches at the top of the photo are both on fused battery power, and supply current to a fuse block each...The next rows take power from the two fuse blocks, and in turn control the relays which power additional lights and accessories...In that row, the left four are designated for driving lights, fog lights, cargo deck lights and backup lights...The other four are for radio, flashlight charger, power inverter and a future accessory, probably onboard air...Behind and to the right, adjacent to the storage compartment are extra marine power receptacles (think heavy duty cigar lighter receptacles), USB port, a digital voltmeter and the control switch for all... |
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| Bottom view shows the power receptacles installed prior to wiring... |
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| Another angle of the bottom shows two of the relays controlled from the switches to send power where needed...The protruding wires could not be contained inside the enclosures, but cannot be seen from the top... |
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| The same protruding wires from the switches as seen from the inside with the hinged panel open... |
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| With panel open the two fuse blocks and two additional relays are seen... |
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| Power inverter and control panel are mounted for fitment... |
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| In retrospect, I would have painted the control panel in a black wrinkle finish to match the gun vault...But no way am I taking this apart again for that... |
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| Seen above is the front panel bracket I made to secure the bottom of the CB radio/flashlight charger plate to the framework... |
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| The only good thing I can say about the poor lighting here is that it hides some of the evidence of my lack of painting skills... |
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| Another view of the bracket and the front plate... |
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| The above two photos show how the new pieces attach to the framework... |
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| Another view... |
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| And with the Uniden CB/SSB, microphone and Streamlight HL flashlight with charger mounted for fitment...There is still ample room to use the factory cupholders... |
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| Sharpeyed viewers may notice the absence of the bundle of snakes that made up the antenna cabling in previous pictures...Rest assured the serpentine mess has been wrangled, lassoed, sheathed in split loom and tucked neatly out of sight under the cab... |
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| A better view of the flashlight and charger...Black door edge guards were cut and added to the mounting plate edges...Grommets were installed in wiring holes to prevent chafing... |
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| The decision was made to wire the power inverter on a separate circuit using 10 gauge wire and 40 amp fuse protection since power demands in the future are unknown...The inverter already has its own control switch and internal fuse protection... |
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| Plenty of room left to house the control panel... |
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| Next is temporary wiring to test the radio and set SWR...Still to be installed is the external speaker and PA horn... |
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| The console and accessories are now installed and mounted in the truck...In these photos all switches are on, and all components are powered, although the angle of the sun makes the LED lights difficult to see... |
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| View from the passenger seat shows the reflection of the charging indicator for the Streamlight... |
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| There is plenty of room for the factory cupholder to remain functional... |
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| I added spring-loaded latches to the front and rear compartments, one of which can be seen in the left side of the above photo...I have no idea why they were manufactured from 304 stainless steel, but I wore out a Dewalt split point bit just drilling through them for mounting holes... |
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| This view shows the power inverter secured against the Gun Vault, and the array of charging accessories... |
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| I suppose I could have at least dusted off everything before taking the pictures, but it's late, and I'm tired...The voltmeter reads higher when the Cummins is running... |
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| Shown here are the co-phased Firestik antennas... |
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| Another view from the driver side... |
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| The storage compartment has just enough room for a few pens and notebooks... |
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| The external Uniden speaker helps aging ears hear the CB voices a little better...The .50 caliber ammo can has been repurposed to a first aid kit...The S&W cuffs are - well - just in case... |
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| Still plenty of room for the groceries... |
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| Further details may be found here... |
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| Switch labels added..."Flashlight" was not available, so "Search Light" was substituted..."Spare" will eventually become "Onboard Air"...The calculator is velcroed to the surface, and mostly used for fuel mileage figuring... |
