Trey's Magnetic Lariat FX4 "Rainier"

[FULLSCALE]

Ahh yes, that's the look. 285/70R17 Goodyear Duratrac Tires (load range D)

Aesthetically speaking, this completes the truck. Functional things like driving lights and a higher quality suspension are in the plan, but the mods will be less visible from here on in.

No rubbing on the high clearance crash bars, but they do rub on those little plastic air dams below the bumper with the 1.5" spacers. I'm eventually going to trim them, but it's only annoying when reversing. Driving 265mi from MA to NH, I averaged 17.5mpg with the stock tires and 17.7mpg with the Duratracs at 73mph and the speedometer corrected using Forscan. Same drive, similar weather, same route. Will update as I put more miles on it.

I also switched my trusty Larsen NMO 2/70B 1/2 wave antenna for a Browning 1/4 wave spring base antenna for every day use.

That looks REALLY good!

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[TJMarchand]

Nice truck! Like to see someone else in Mass. How are you liking the Duratrac's so far?

 

[Trey1940]

Nice truck! Like to see someone else in Mass. How are you liking the Duratrac's so far?

Thanks bud! Love them, I really appreciate how quiet they are for how aggressive they are.

 

[Trey1940]

People keep stepping on my damn sill plates. Solution? Bushwacker Trail Armor Rocker Panels.

Install was just peel and stick. I put mine on on a 38-degree day, so adhesion wasn't ideal, but they're on there well enough. Instructions have you put the front ones on first, but I found it easier to get them lined up correctly when I did the rear first. They don't interlock or anything so it really doesn't matter what order you do them.

The pinch weld part of mine only stuck at the parts of the pinch weld that stuck out, so there's plenty of room for drainage if you ever wanted to stick a power washer in there and blast out the junk.

They effectively disappear under the truck against the Magnetic paint, which I appreciate.

 

[Trey1940]

Partial install, I'll update this post when they're finished, but here are my Baja Designs Squadron Sports. I didn't order one of the Ranger-specific driving light kits, if you buy them in pairs they cost the same and you get the same stuff, but I ordered mine with separate "Wide Cornering" and "Spot" pairs, instead of all four lights having two diodes of each. This way, I can separate the wide and spot if weather or other conditions dictate.

I plan on wiring them to a two-button switch in my Lightforce fascia, when active, they'll come on with the high beams.

 

[Trey1940]

Finally got a nice day off to wire up the Baja Designs lights, and WOW, they're bright. I currently have them wired to the switch that comes with the Lightforce fascia, eventually I'll separate the wide and spot pairs with a two-button Lightforce switch. When the switch is active, the lights come on with the high beams.

If you've never used a grommet piercing tool, I highly recommend one if you're running any wires through a firewall. I went through the main harness grommet, pushed a fish wire out from the cab, and ran an 18/8 cable back through the hole I opened in under five minutes. I only used three (fourth when I separate wide/spot) of the 8 wires in the cable, so I have four wires passed through the firewall ready for future expansion.

 

[Dmax]

Looks great. How’d you mount the lights? Looking for something similar. Haven’t seen anywhere showing how or an install there. Thx

 

[Trey1940]

Looks great. How’d you mount the lights? Looking for something similar. Haven’t seen anywhere showing how or an install there. Thx

Under the bumper are five pop clips to remove the plastic above the tow hooks, I removed the 4 outer ones and bolted the lights through the holes. Would've been a lot easier with the grille out to access the nuts on the back side of the bumper OR with only two lights, but there's enough room to sneak a hand in there and tighten everything up.

 

[Trey1940]

Started figuring out a bracket to mount some Whelen ION Duo lights in the rear window. Having a sliding rear window and no clothes hooks in the headliner meant I had to get creative, a normal light stick or RST Inner Edge won't have anything to mount to without drilling through the headliner.

The bracket I proofed in cardboard will eventually be made of a sheet of aluminum. It will bolt to brackets that clip into the edge of the headliner, with one screw through the C-pillar plastic on each side. The bracket will sit flush against the headliner to keep flashback down, but it'll have to be 3/4" from the glass to not inhibit the slider function. I never use the slider, especially with it not being power, but I'd still like to retain the function.

I'm mounting a Whelen Cantrol under the rear seat in the large storage cubby, it will control all of my warning lights, electronic air horn, and siren tones.

I'll be mounting four lights in the window for now, eventually I'll expand to six by mounting one between each pair on both sides.

 

[Dmax]

Have you had any issues with your Adaptive cruise control with this
Lights installed. Wanted to double check. Looks good.

 

[Trey1940]

Have you had any issues with your Adaptive cruise control with this
Lights installed. Wanted to double check. Looks good.

Nope! Everything works as it should

 

[Christopher Smith]

Started figuring out a bracket to mount some Whelen ION Duo lights in the rear window. Having a sliding rear window and no clothes hooks in the headliner meant I had to get creative, a normal light stick or RST Inner Edge won't have anything to mount to without drilling through the headliner.

The bracket I proofed in cardboard will eventually be made of a sheet of aluminum. It will bolt to brackets that clip into the edge of the headliner, with one screw through the C-pillar plastic on each side. The bracket will sit flush against the headliner to keep flashback down, but it'll have to be 3/4" from the glass to not inhibit the slider function. I never use the slider, especially with it not being power, but I'd still like to retain the function.

I'm mounting a Whelen Cantrol under the rear seat in the large storage cubby, it will control all of my warning lights, electronic air horn, and siren tones.

I'll be mounting four lights in the window for now, eventually I'll expand to six by mounting one between each pair on both sides.

Truck looks great! With that said I saw you doing interior emergency lights in the rear window and said you'd have to get creative. Dont know how far along you're at but have you considered the UBL tailgate light bar for your rear facing emergency lights? Another member has them and it looks great for rear warning and also provides a directional capability.

 

[Trey1940]

Truck looks great! With that said I saw you doing interior emergency lights in the rear window and said you'd have to get creative. Dont know how far along you're at but have you considered the UBL tailgate light bar for your rear facing emergency lights? Another member has them and it looks great for rear warning and also provides a directional capability.

Thank you! I'm planning on two Whelen Strip-Lite Plus DUO Red/Amber (or White/Amber, not sure yet) lightheads under the tailgate. I have to be picky about the lights that I use because they're going to be controlled by a Cantrol, so they can't use an internal flasher.

Going from internally flashed lights like a UBL tailgate bar to a computerized system like a Cantrol gives me a TON of flexibility in my application of the lights in different scenarios. There are inputs for park status, headlight status, brake status, and horn status, so I can change the light pattern to be most effective when the truck is moving, standing still, when the air horn is active, and when it's dark. If you've ever rolled up on a cop on a dark road with ALL of their lights going crazy, you can appreciate how a dimmer and slower pattern both retains the scene (it's DEFINITELY a cop/ambulance/tow truck/etc) but also doesn't dazzle you. People tend to get target fixation when they can't see around emergency lights, and people also tend to drive straight toward where they're looking.

Here's a video highlighting the difference

The Cantrol unit also has an integrated siren/horn/PA speaker amplifier, so there's one control head for every function. The air horn can change the light pattern and the siren can be turned on and off with the lights. For example, putting the truck in Park will kill the siren, and activating the air horn will make the lights in the front more dramatic.

All of the lights are going to be DUO Red/Amber (the grille lights are going to be TRIO Red/Amber/White) so I can run amber 90% of the time, and red when I'm doing safety-related duties at stage rallies and rallysprints.

The current plan for light placement is
2x Whelen ION TRIO in the grille
DRL bar in headlights controlled by Cantrol when emergency lights active
1x Whelen Mini-T ION DUO Red/Amber in each fog light pocket facing outward
Whelen FST Inner Edge DUO Red/Amber in the windshield
Whelen ION DUO Red/Amber
- 1x in each side rear door window (up high on the B-pillar)
- 6x in rear window (three on either side of slider)
2x Whelen Strip-Lite Plus DUO Red/Amber (or Amber/White) under tailgate
Rear turn signals controlled by Cantrol when emergency lights active

 

[DeadSkiHead]

Truck looks great! Just curious, but do you know the current height of your truck?

 

[Trey1940]

Truck looks great! Just curious, but do you know the current height of your truck?

Thank you! Overall, I don’t know but I’d estimate it’s about 2.5-3 inches taller than stock at the roof without the 2m antenna. The tires probably bring it up 1.25” and the front lift another 1.5” in the middle. The antenna is 23” tall, but it’s spring loaded and will bend to the height of the AM/FM antenna.

It fits into a 6’6” parking garage

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