2004 F-150 Lariat

SurfCityCar2

Member
May 20, 2010
156
Jacksonville, NC
This is my newer vehicle, just acquired a couple weeks ago. Better mileage, and more room than my 98 Mountaineer.


Console (From top to bottom):


This was a 14" Consolidator by Havis, that I removed from my 98 Mountaineer, I had to cut it down to 10 inches to get a good fit here.


1. Motorola XTL-2500 - NC Viper-800 digital County Fire/EMS/LEO Use


2. Icom IC-2100H - VHF Ham


3. FedSig SS2000


4. Motorola A9 110w Spectra with A4 head - VHF Fire


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2011_12_04205559.jpg


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2011_12_04210017.jpg


Inside, over the rearview mirror:


1. Whelen 4 head TIR3 dominator, RRRR


2. Sirius Sat Radio unit


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2011_12_04205506.jpg


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Rear window:


1. SoundOff UltraLite 8 head, all amber, configured as warning and arrow


2. Two pairs Whelen TIR3, Red/Amber on each side


(I am going to be taking these brackets out within the next couple of weeks to paint them)


The brackets for the UltraLite are old equipment faceplates from my Havis console, mounted to the spot where the plastic pins went through the headliner.


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2011_12_04205627.jpg


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2011_12_04205945.jpg


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Tool Box Sides:


1. Red/Amber pair of TIR3s


These TIR3s and the ones in the rear window are operated by a ULF44 flasher mounted with the other equipment under the rear seats.


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2011_12_04205645.jpg


Rear Bumper:


1. Red SoundOff LED3s that I removed from the ultralite, mounted with small stud brackets from the local Lowe's store, also connected to the ULF44.


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2011_12_04205724.jpg


Front Grille:


1. Inside grille - Whelen TIR6, red of course


2. Lower front bumper - Whelen TIR6, red w/clear lense


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Front bumper corners/intersection lighting:


1. Whelen LIN4s


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2011_12_04205752.jpg


Inside the front bumper


1. Two full sized siren speakers. Had to use these, as I am on a tight budget this time of year and wanted to get this install done. No need to install everything else and not have my siren speakers. They are mounted here using a piece of angle slotted steel from Lowe's, painted with spray on bed-liner.


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I also have HAWs in the front and rear corners, in the reverse lights on the rear, and in the corner of the headlight housings on the front. The fronts give a pretty bright flash and reflection here, which surprised me.


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2011_12_04205807.jpg


On the roof:


VHF quarterwaves for ham and fire


Hi-gain for 800 Digital


Fishing the cables and mounts through the headliner was a little interesting on this truck. The grooves in the roof made it a pain at times.


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2011_12_04210045.jpg


I still have some cosmetic things to take care of on the install, but I needed to get this thing completed and on the road for work.


The main power from the battery goes through a 150 amp manual reset circuit breaker, then a 200 amp continuous duty Cole-Hersee solenoid and into the console on a 4ga battery cable. I use the solenoid to control power, since I don't like having to turn off my lights etc when I arrive at the station, or having to remember to turn off the radios when I park the truck. The VHF Motorola and XTL-2500 stay on all the time, and have one of those accessory timers, set to turn them off after 3 hours, in case I forget.


Getting all of the cables for the strobes and lights were much easier in this truck versus my 92 Explorer and 98 Mountaineer. Lots of room to work with, on most things, and the channels along the bottoms of the cab provided lots of space to run and hide cables.
 
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SurfCityCar2

Member
May 20, 2010
156
Jacksonville, NC
I recently removed the VHF Icom IC2100H and replaced it with a Kenwood TMV71A for dual band operation on the ham bands. Great little radio here, I like it better than any of the other mobiles I have had recently. The radio is mounted under the front passenger's side seat (no photo yet, but soon), and only the control head is in the console up front. I refused to pay the 70+ dollars for the Kenwood OEM extension cables, so I made my own, using CAT6 cable and re-using a handset cable from an old hard mounted Motorola mobile phone.


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2012_03_13170550.jpg


Also replaced the two VHF quater wave antennas with MFJ-1402s to facilitate true dual band operation on the Kenwood, and have one for the 100 watt VHF Motorola, just so they would match.


Nevermind the amber Highlighter, I use it for my part-time job working for a DOT contractor doing road/lane closures and sign installations. I used it this past weekend and again this upcoming weekend and just haven't felt like taking it off yet.


ai165.photobucket.com_albums_u68_nc_115_2004_20F150_2012_03_13181547.jpg
 
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SurfCityCar2

Member
May 20, 2010
156
Jacksonville, NC
C420sailor said:
I always thought NC was a courtesy light state. I must've gotten some bad gouge. Nice install!

NC is a courtesy light state, but as a Deputy Fire Chief, having a siren makes a difference. My Chief complains that no one pulls over for him, but you can barely see his lights. When I am running hot, for some reason or another, most everyone (better than 90-95 percent) move out of the way. I keep telling him that they have to see your lights to react.


Thanks for the compliments...
 

dovy6

Member
May 18, 2011
206
Brooklyn
This is how an install thread should be written! Thanks especially for the detailed photos of the way you mounted the siren speakers. Looks real nice!


Now, video???


Dovy
 

SurfCityCar2

Member
May 20, 2010
156
Jacksonville, NC
dovy6 said:
This is how an install thread should be written! Thanks especially for the detailed photos of the way you mounted the siren speakers. Looks real nice!

Now, video???


Dovy

I don't have a video yet. I used to take my vids on an old camcorder and then convert to digital. The cameras in phones today don't record strobes and leds all that well. I guess I have another project for this coming weekend....good idea....
 

SurfCityCar2

Member
May 20, 2010
156
Jacksonville, NC
hooknose56 said:
What did you use to mount the red TIR6's in your grill? I am looking to do the exact same thing in a 2005 F-150 and that looks perfect.

Thanks

I used a piece of flat aluminum stock from the local Lowe's Home Improvement store. I bent it at slight angles so the TIR6s would be in the right position. I centered the metal and mounted it with stainless nuts/bolts/lock washers, and bent it after I secured it. The trick here is not drilling into your a/c coil. There isn't much room to work with, but it's not too bad. The aluminum is painted with spray on Plasti-Dip.


I can't remember which size I bought, but it is about the exact size of the TIR6 with the flange on it. It is about 1/8 of an inch thick, very workable stuff.
 

hooknose56

Member
Jan 17, 2012
125
West Virginia
SurfCityCar2 said:
I used a piece of flat aluminum stock from the local Lowe's Home Improvement store. I bent it at slight angles so the TIR6s would be in the right position. I centered the metal and mounted it with stainless nuts/bolts/lock washers, and bent it after I secured it. The trick here is not drilling into your a/c coil. There isn't much room to work with, but it's not too bad. The aluminum is painted with spray on Plasti-Dip.

I can't remember which size I bought, but it is about the exact size of the TIR6 with the flange on it. It is about 1/8 of an inch thick, very workable stuff.


Thank you very much for the info!!
 

Storm4200

Member
Nov 2, 2011
2,912
NJ
i did something similar to that. i happened to have an extra license plate bracket and mounted it the same way, to that cross bar.


533005_414242631934235_100000455066466_1479366_580446787_n.jpg
 

SurfCityCar2

Member
May 20, 2010
156
Jacksonville, NC
At least the grille of these year models has a decent way to mount grille lights. SOme of the other makes/models have nothing behind the grille to attach to. That's one of the reasons I was looking for the 04-08 year models...
 

Storm4200

Member
Nov 2, 2011
2,912
NJ
SurfCityCar2 said:
At least the grille of these year models has a decent way to mount grille lights. SOme of the other makes/models have nothing behind the grille to attach to. That's one of the reasons I was looking for the 04-08 year models...

there's always a way. you just have to get creative
 

Jordan_TCFD

Member
May 22, 2010
407
Chattanooga,TN, Bryant,
That looks very nice. I want that model of F-150. I have a 2000 (next body style down) F-150 (bare bones,2x4, even has a stick) and it has 255,000 miles on it now. Any F-150's of that style that come in I put the corner strobes right where you did. Yes, they are wonderful for intersection and front coverage.


One TDOT truck I did escorts the street sweepers at night and I see it all the time and the front strobes are amazing.


The newest body style's are not bad for intersections, but the older styles are great(Mine and yours).


Jordan,TCFD
 

SurfCityCar2

Member
May 20, 2010
156
Jacksonville, NC
Not to revive an old thread, but I had to retire "Charlene" last week. She was getting up there in miles and was starting to have a few minor mechanical problems that were going to get worse before I had the time to get them fixed. She started with 110895 miles and I traded her in with 191000. Not bad for having her for almost 11 years. The lighting setup stayed pretty much the same the entire time, with the exception of getting rid of my red lights since I retired from the volunteer fire department a few years ago and moved to another area.

I took the TIR3s from the rear window and replaced them with TIR6s and moved a few things around from time to time.

Below are pics of the final equipment console configuration and the antennas on the roof. I hated to see her go, but it was time. I now have a 2020 F150 and the install process is beginning slowly as I work nights 6 days a week and what little bit of free time I have gets consumed quickly, so this will be a "bits & pieces" install. The new truck, "Florence" is making me get creative with ways to install things as the anatomy of these trucks have changed quite a bit over the years.

Now, if I can figure out where to put the hideaway strobe tubes, I can get going on this install.
 

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