Dirtraveler partnered up with Hard Korr Lighting when the van was purchased. I knew that I wanted a lighting package that meant business. Hard Korr Lighting hails from the Australian Outback where high end lighting is needed on a daily basis. Their products have blown my expectations out of the water from the unboxing to the install to the light output.
This write up will cover the roof rack lighting consisting of (2) 10w Floods, (6) 20w Flood Pods, and (4) BZR 210 Driving Lights.
Starting with the mounting, I chose to keep all the lights attached to the roof rack in order to maintain the pop top's functionality. Even spacing is purely for aesthetics but I just followed the cross bars. The rear floods act as dust lights and reversing lights which come in very handy. Parking this van is a chore and having as much possible light at night eases a lot of nervousness when parallel parking.
I had some aluminum angle left over from a prior project, so I chopped and drilled up some simple brackets. I did invest in a threaded rivet kit, which is pricey but is just so useful for projects like this. Instead of drilling a through hole and running a bolt and nut. You just drill a blind hole, set the correct threaded rivet, crimp in the hole, and boom. You're all set.
The rear lights were even more simple due to the included mounts.
The elevated height allows for the lights to be visible in dust. However, in a lower position these 10w floods will not be bright enough as dust lights. I would suggest the 20w models.
For the light rack I went with a Smitty Built light cage made for 9" round lights. I had to modify the roof rack to use the included brackets. The BZR 210's sit nicely up on top, although the draw back is the weight of the cage and lights. I will probably change this to a light bar in the future, but it looks badass. All of the lights include a pre made waterproof connection, making proper wiring installs even easier.
For wiring I went with an SPOD with Touch Screen. I thought about building my own relay controller but with the time savings and compactness I went with SPOD. The customizable touch screen actually allowed for more options than I originally thought. With options like dimming, stroke, flash, momentary, labels, battery monitoring, and expansion up to 3 total controllers totaling 24 circuits. The SPOD is some serious hardware. To maintain the functionality of the pop top I needed to make a wiring harness that had enough service to allow the top to open with out binding. I chose to go with an aircraft style bulkhead connector and an outdoor junction box. This allows for easy removal of lights and ability to change out wiring with out disturbing the bulkhead connection.
When building your wiring harness be sure to reference basic electrical guides. Ensure your wiring size is proper to the voltage and current that he circuit will use and go one or two gauges larger. Make sure you know the difference between series and parallel, you will either increase your voltage or your amperage. Give plenty of service length, don't find yourself in a situation where you are pulling wires tight or have them contacting something that could result in damage. Watch some YouTube and get your basics down, have any questions feel free to reach out!
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Buying a project vehicle that has passed through a few hands is always a daunting journey. Having only owned the van for a few months and putting about 1200 miles on it really gives you a good baseline of possible problems. It all started with the day I picked up the van. I had a light on the dash showing something was low, thinking it was the windshield wiper fluid it wasn't a transaction killer. Now I know. The coolant reservoir was low, which is definitely a red flag. Long story short, the head gasket was leaking causing combustion gas to pressurize the coolant system pushing coolant out of the overflow. Potentially this can cause your engine to drastically overheat and bring all sorts of mayhem to your life. Luckily, the leak was very minor and went diagnosed for a good while. With the problem of a low reservoir tank slowly getting worse, I decided to look into the tell tale signs of a leaking head gasket. Google brought me to a 10 item list and i had 8 or the 10...... Also, this was the day before the Richmond Adventure Expo and two days before leaving for Overland Expo East on the other side of the country. I couldn't deny there was potentially catastrophic doom for the engine.
So the following Monday, phone calls were made and parts were ordered. I sourced most of the gaskets from RockAuto.com and the head stud kit from Heath Diesel in Washington State. Keith and Heath Diesel was a pleasure to talk to about the 6.5 Diesel, he races one at Bonneville and holds land speed records. So putting in the same parts as the race truck was a no brainer.
Above: Passenger side of the engine. Notice the cylinder cross hatches, looks brand new. It really was a crate engine.
Diving head first into the unknown I followed some basic rules for staying organized.
1. Label Everything
2. Don't mix tools with parts
3. Clean up after each day
4. Take your time - This was a total of 10 days. Due to waiting for parts but then taking a day or two off just to get a break when getting frustrated.
The culprit, the forward most passenger cylinder had the leak. Obvious due to the rust on the head. The gasket was missing material as well. I got lucky the first try due to the fact that the heads are about 60 pounds each and getting them in and out of the van was one of the hardest jobs I had to do. Some would have buttoned the engine back up from here, but after speaking with Keith from Heath Diesel I needed to dive into the other side.
Some back story: The original engine was replaced by the prior owner with a surplus updated 6.5 Optimizer from the HUMVEE Repower Program. The engine dealer opened the motor to install head studs, which is a great upgrade. However, the installer did not do a very good job which caused the gasket failure. Once both sides were apart I got everything as clean as possible and started assembly.
Above: Chasing all the threads to ensure proper torque can be applied
Above: Adding the supplied thread sealant for the head studs. On these engines the studs are through holes into the water jacket. If you do not use sealant, coolant can leak into the oil passages of the head causing a milk shake in your engine.
Above: Both heads back on and ready for the intake, turbo, and wiring harness.
Above: All back together and on the road
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The sweetest of deals can be found in person at an event, this is where you can get a hands on feel for our products and see why we stand behind them. The show schedule has been undated for 2018/2019. Dirtraveler is in a supportive partnership with SFO Adventure who produces these Adventure Expos in California. We are trying to bridge all forms of adventure under one roof where you can see new products, unload some used gear, and show off what you have been working on.
The events calendar can be found at the bottom of the Home Page, the conversion of the new Dirtraveler Van is almost complete and will be show ready in time for the Four Wheel Campers Open House in Woodland, CA.
New products are being added weekly until the end of the year, be sure to check out the new Hard Korr Lighting section. This rugged and proven brand from Australia will light up your next adventure.
-Loren
]]>Innovative items like the Slim Twin Stove
The thinnest stove on the market which also is capable of burning any gas canister with the supplied adapters.
The 2 Way BBQ
Pulling double duty as a stove and Korean Style BBQ featuring a non stick grease catch for easy clean up.
We also have tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, toilets, an auto escape tool, and more!
Chairs, tables, and vehicle lighting coming soon!]]>