Maverick accessories, mods, how-to's on my Maverick

[thecman]

Nice Tonneau cover at a good price

TIPTOP Soft Roll-Up Tonneau Cover Truck Bed for 2022 2023 Ford Maverick 4.6ft Bed (54.4") | TP1 | https://a.co/d/aqaQXmp

It is the right fit, easy to install. The only thing are the clamps which come with the cover stick out a little bit. I may replace them with some C-clamps if they get in the way.

All in all I am pleased with the result.

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[Barracuda340]

Test fit the metal bracket. Then I got to welding and grinding tonight. I will grind the other side cap tomorrow. This little project I think is going to turn out great.

 

[Barracuda340]

Well its finally in primer, and a dust cover made of textured black lexan to fit it. Black wrinkle finish will get sprayed tomorrow. Then I have to wire it in.

 

[Barracuda340]

I temp mounted this and bolted it down tight for the first time. The rubber mount allows it a slight amount of "give". That's good because of vibration if it was really hard mounted. I cant wait to do the wrinkle black and mount it up for good. Anybody know what color the dome lamp wire is, and where I can locate it at the floor level? I dont want to chase it up into the ceiling just to do a wire hook up.

 

[Barracuda340]

Black wrinkle engine paint sprayed and cured. Looks store bought IMHO. I cant wait to wire it up with a mercury switch, and install it this weekend.

While this project requires some special tools and special skills to accomplish, it shows something small that can be done.

The big question to ask, is this an accessory? Or is this a mod? It bolts on like an accessory, but is not something that can be store bought. So does that make it a mod?

 

[G19Tony]

Black wrinkle engine paint sprayed and cured. Looks store bought IMHO. I cant wait to wire it up with a mercury switch, and install it this weekend.

While this project requires some special tools and special skills to accomplish, it shows something small that can be done.

The big question to ask, is this an accessory? Or is this a mod? It bolts on like an accessory, but is not something that can be store bought. So does that make it a mod?

That’s a mod, baby!

 

[Barracuda340]

The latest on the under seat light. I modified a mercury switch housing to fit inside the light housing. I removed the switch and wires and cut the housing short. Put it back together with super glue, potted the end where the wires come out with silicone, and installed it with a little super glue.

This works best with an ohmmeter to see which angle is open, and which is closed. The .001 on the meter means the switch is closed. Note the angle of the switch in relation to the meter, and the switch in the lamp housing in relation to the meter

I twisted wires together on the bench to mess with it. Apparently the internal switching inside the light makes stay off once it loses power and is reconnected. This means I have to manually press the on buttons to light it up every time I lift the seat. And that's fine because it doesnt need to light up in the daytime. Also when I lower the seat the mercury switch will automatically turn it off.

The seat frame it bolts onto is a good ground. I ohmed that out as well. As such I will attach my negative ground wire to the light housing, then clean the housing up to bare metal where it touches the seat frame, and just run 1 wire to go to dome lamp power.

Heres pix.

 

[Barracuda340]

I wired it up this morning inside the housing. The tilt switch is in series with the black ground wire. I added a case ground to the housing. My plan is to ground the light housing to the seat frame by contact, but also run a body ground. As stuff loosens up over time and wears sometimes grounds through hinges start to get a bit sketchy. This eliminates this problem.

I used 2 pin molex type connectors this way if ever have to remove the seat, or light I can simply unplug it. These connectors can handle 5 Amp draw. This light is about 1 Amp. I am using 2 conductor 22ga multistrand shielded cable, and braded nylon covering I plan to use where it comes out of the seat and runs along the floor behind it.

Light has been bench tested including the additional ground. No problem. Now I just have to run the wires in the cab and hook it all up.

 

[Barracuda340]

Ok I got it in the truck, wiring ran under back seat carpet. A straightened coat hangar with a hook works great for fishing wires. I eventually popped loose the plastic upholstery seam and had an easier time. I ran it underneath any metal framework not between that and the foam. This prevents the wires from being pinched between the metal and the foam. I still got to figure out how to remove the dang dome lamp. I watched a youtube tutorial on the side panel removal. If I can get the dome lamp out, I can fish the wires up to it.

 

[Barracuda340]

I figured out how to pop out the dome lamp. Used a butter knife to pop the clips and remove it. The green yellow wire is a nice constant dome light hot that times out after I think 15 minutes and turns off which is fine. It stays on long enough for me to rummage around and find whatever I need. I routed the wiring with the existing harness. Unpinned the wire from the connector and tied in my power wire. There was a convenient ground up there at the dome light opening with an 8mm bolt that holds the roof antenna. I used my trusty coat hanger wire snake to fish the wire above the headliner and route it back to the rear of the side curtain air bag. This works great. I drop the seat, it goes out by itself. I lift the seat, I manually select the color I want. White or red. The black wrinkle engine paint finish blends in well with the black carpet IMHO.
Heres pix.

 

[bayslarry69]

Well, well, well, look who's living in the future with their fancy-schmancy light-up cup coasters! I bet your cups feel like royalty now, resting on those illuminated thrones. And don't even get me started on the multitude of colors! You could have a different color for every mood or occasion. Feeling blue? Turn on the blue light. Celebrating St. Patrick's Day? Green it is! The possibilities are endless.
But let's not forget the most important feature of these coasters - the ability to turn off when not in use. I mean, who wants to be sitting in a dark room with their cup coasters shining like a beacon of light? That would be like having a disco ball in a library. Not a good idea.
All in all, it sounds like you made a great purchase. And for only $15 and free shipping, you really can't go wrong. Who knows, maybe one day these coasters will be worth a fortune and you'll be sipping your cup of tea on a gold-plated coaster. One can dream, right?

 

[Barracuda340]

Well, well, well, look who's living in the future with their fancy-schmancy light-up cup coasters! I bet your cups feel like royalty now, resting on those illuminated thrones. And don't even get me started on the multitude of colors! You could have a different color for every mood or occasion. Feeling blue? Turn on the blue light. Celebrating St. Patrick's Day? Green it is! The possibilities are endless.
But let's not forget the most important feature of these coasters - the ability to turn off when not in use. I mean, who wants to be sitting in a dark room with their cup coasters shining like a beacon of light? That would be like having a disco ball in a library. Not a good idea.
All in all, it sounds like you made a great purchase. And for only $15 and free shipping, you really can't go wrong. Who knows, maybe one day these coasters will be worth a fortune and you'll be sipping your cup of tea on a gold-plated coaster. One can dream, right?

Yes they are great. I want to get the generic ones for my bedside table. Tap it and you get about 1 minute of light before it winks out. Just enough light and time to plug in my phone, set my glasses down and climb in.

 

[mav_kev]

This is some next level stuff right here. Definitely not your average DIY! Well done!

 

[Barracuda340]

This is some next level stuff right here. Definitely not your average DIY! Well done!

I am an A&P mechanic that does a lot of aircraft sheetmetal fabrication, and heavy structural repair. I also do a lot of restoration sheetmetal on antique automobiles on the side, changing out floor pans, trunk floors, and rear quarter panel skins are pretty standard fare, so this is child's play for me.

Actually snaking and running the wiring and zip tying it to run with the OEM harness reminded me of some of the wiring mods we do on the aircraft I work on. The biggest 2 are retrofitting WiFi into commercial airliners, and adding power plug ins to the passenger seats for laptops and phones.

A lot of wiring, and power inverters have to be added for the seat power one, along with very specific locations for each inverter in the fuselage per the drawings. The wifi requires 5 antennas mounted in specific locations on the fuselage per the drawings, along with adding a location for boxes to the avionics racks.

We go in after its opened up, and mount all the brackets, mounts, antennas etc. When done, we roll our tool cabinets to the next aircraft. The avionics crew comes in and starts running wires and mounting all the equipment.

The more fun jobs are corroded seat tracks that have to be changed out, or bird strike damage requiring repair fabrication. I love those types of jobs.

 

[Barracuda340]

Ok so a few more accessories arrived a couple days ago. I finally got the time to open them up. Sill plates are peel n stick so really nothing to review as far as how easy they are to do beyond making sure they are where you want them before you stick them down.

I like the brushed aluminum colored knobs on everything from the factory, and wondered why they didnt do likewise with the gear selector to make it all the same. I got a brushed aluminum cover, and decided to paint the knurled part black to try to make it appear as if the shift knob came that way. That is also peel n stick thin double sided tape. How well it sticks on there we shall see lol.

The sill plates are pretty heavy being made of stainless steel. With highly polished areas along with brushed areas. They were $30 w tax and shipped from Chinna as well as the knob trim which was around $10 with sales tax. Both were from Ebay.

Once I install and take more pix I will review further.

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