looking for ideas mounting AWL warning bar in Ranger

[crucialcolin]

Throwing this out there as I have been racking my brain a bit on the best way to go about mounting a new Axis Plus 600 Warning Bar I picked up from Tom at Advanced Warning lights in the rear window of my Ford Ranger.  Hoping to gather some better ideas before going forward with the install. Sorry if its lacking in clear organization/thought process.

Anyways the bar itself is pretty standard for mounting purposes. It comes with 2 L-Brackets with a sliding bolt rear channel.



My plan as of now has been to install it towards the bottom of the window near the red line i drew in. One of the tricky things about my truck is the fact that it has a sliding window which I would like to keep functional if possible. Not ideal, I know.  It opens off to the passenger side manually.





In fact thanks to a post by How2075 and his got a couple of long 6.5" L-brackets from Ultra Bright Lightz to mount on the frame just below then window. Then tie the shorter end into the L-brackets that came with the lighthead.



* Side note I really like how they did the install in his back window as its very similar to mine, however I'm not sure how they managed to do it(or bend the brackets).  Plus I'm not exactly sure if want to mess with my headliner. Mainly I worry about sagging.  Could that be an issue if i drop it?

Other then that I found a few photos with the interior trim pannels removed(Thanks to a Hushmat Ranger tutorial by Korey89 at Explorer forums). It may help to identify possible body mounting points below or even above the window.

 

[crucialcolin]

Oh forgot to add photo's of the side trim pieces if it helps:

 

[Carlos SpicyWeiner]

looks like its just a knockoff of the feniex cobra. We typically use long brackets to go through the headliner to a secure mounting point. They come down to the rear of the bar to secure it in place.  I wouldn't mount it low on a truck personally. Granted it's not a high vehicle, but I would hope you would have some kind of secondary warning lower. Spread out your warning and "Frame" the vehicle in light. 

 

[crucialcolin]

Great point with "Framing the vehicle in light" I actually like the idea of mounting it higher myself.  I have a hideaway setup in my reverse lights lower on the vehicle also. 

For some reason the headliner is very tight fiting on the Ranger, particularly around its edges. Maybe its this way with most vehicles though? As of right now I'm not sure if could get a bracket through the limited space between the headliner and body without cutting it.

Feels like its worth further investigating however. Then of course I'd need to figure out a reliable method to bend brackets into shape. That or make my own out of sheet metal.

 

[How2075]

Throwing this out there as I have been racking my brain a bit on the best way to go about mounting a new Axis Plus 600 Warning Bar I picked up from Tom at Advanced Warning lights in the rear window of my Ford Ranger.  Hoping to gather some better ideas before going forward with the install. Sorry if its lacking in clear organization/thought process.

Anyways the bar itself is pretty standard for mounting purposes. It comes with 2 L-Brackets with a sliding bolt rear channel.

2.jpg

1.jpg

My plan as of now has been to install it towards the bottom of the window near the red line i drew in. One of the tricky things about my truck is the fact that it has a sliding window which I would like to keep functional if possible. Not ideal, I know.  It opens off to the passenger side manually.

bar1.jpg

bar.jpg

In fact thanks to a post by How2075 and his got a couple of long 6.5" L-brackets from Ultra Bright Lightz to mount on the frame just below then window. Then tie the shorter end into the L-brackets that came with the lighthead.

large_l_bracket__41048.1397236589.1280.1280.jpg

* Side note I really like how they did the install in his back window as its very similar to mine, however I'm not sure how they managed to do it(or bend the brackets).  Plus I'm not exactly sure if want to mess with my headliner. Mainly I worry about sagging.  Could that be an issue if i drop it?

Other then that I found a few photos with the interior trim pannels removed(Thanks to a Hushmat Ranger tutorial by Korey89 at Explorer forums). It may help to identify possible body mounting points below or even above the window.

16.jpg

18.jpg

19.jpg

Members helping members.  That's what it's all about.

 

[crucialcolin]

Members helping members.  That's what it's all about.

Indeedy Carefull I may ask you more questions though How2075

Actually your install gave me anouther idea. It looks like you have some sort of a metal bar above your cobra 600. Thus it got me thinking about using a steel square tube(painted black of course) that spans the width of my rear window to aid in mounting.

A trip to Home Depot may be in order later today. One thing I failed to mention is that I'm trying to do the install in a way that requires the least amount of noticeable modifications as possible since I may decide to sell the truck itself within the next year or so.

 

[wilmfire]

I also suggest mounting near the top of the window.  Remove the coat hooks, lower the headliner and then you will see where you can drill to mount the brackets to mount the light. 

I used this method on my last truck (2005 F250) and current truck (2015 F250). 

 

[crucialcolin]

I also suggest mounting near the top of the window.  Remove the coat hooks, lower the headliner and then you will see where you can drill to mount the brackets to mount the light. 

I used this method on my last truck (2005 F250) and current truck (2015 F250). 

Think thats what I'm going to end up doing later on today. Supposedly isnt too difficult on Ext Cab Rangers. The hardest part of course is removing the plastic trim peices.

Btw anyone got any tips for bending the brackets? Hoping vice grips will work tool wise. 

 

[How2075]

Think thats what I'm going to end up doing later on today. Supposedly isnt too difficult on Ext Cab Rangers. The hardest part of course is removing the plastic trim peices.

Btw anyone got any tips for bending the brackets? Hoping vice grips will work tool wise. 

I would suggest using a torch and heat up the metal to gently bend the bracket.

 

[wilmfire]

For bending, clamp the brackets in a vise (wrapped in some fabric to keep from scratching the paint) and just bend the brackets around a pipe or some other "form" to get both brackets bent the same. If you use a torch, you will ruin the paint. 

Removing the trip is pretty simple.  Just pull down.  Most of the trip is just popped into place.

 

[crucialcolin]

Thanks for the tips.  I actually dont have a torch anyways. 

Anways  speaking of heat, the project has been put on hold with temps 105 F+ in the afternoons.  After I picked up some stuff from home depot, including a couple of simpson straps as an alternative to the l-brackets, I began to look at my headliner yesterday, then had one of of those yup uhhhh... nope moments  :crazy: , went inside, and cranked up the ac.

 

[crucialcolin]

Just a little update...I got the brilliant idea of picking up this guy at harbor frieght for bending metal the other day.  It might be a bit overkill for my needs but its got to beter then using a standard vice





My plan is to bend the L-bracket using the bending brake upwards past about the red line. Then I'll be able to mout it near the top of the rear window, however I'm concerned about loosing a good portion of the view through my rearview mirror out the back. Have either one of you noticed this as well?

 

[wilmfire]

Yes you will lose some "view" but you quickly get used to it.  You'll just rely on your side view mirrors more. 

 

[crucialcolin]

Yeah hopefully i'll adjust. I could see it being more noticable on a compact truck such as the ranger too.

Anyways got the bar installed. Just didnt have time to get a picts as it was allready dark. The big thing now is I need to rethink my switch location plans a bit.  Previously my plan was to put them in my A-pillar however I discovered today after pulling the trim of that theres not quite enough depth to mount the ones I have.

I'll update later when I get it completed with a link to an install picture thread.