Daves new 68 chevy swb

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Woodnears

2 Reasons I say that. 1. Accuair is awesome but also went out of business in the middle of me rebuilding this. With that in mind I decided to set it up to be easier to change to another manufacturer ride controller. I made all new ride height cables from scratch in the length I needed them. I brought each of them right to the back of the truck right behind the rear c notch. i made a plate/panel to mount the ECU and VU4. If in the future I go another route with ride height controller. I can simply cut a new plate/panel and mount the new height controller. While I had the rear notch apart running these new cables I made up I installed a large piece of radiator hose to act as a conduit because taking that back notch apart is a pain in the butt!
2. I had things mounted in a way that they were not easy to get to. For instance the main fuse for the ride controller/compressors, I think its a 70 amp maxi fuse was mounted clear down on the frame rail and I am here to tell you it was not easy to get to. When I reworked the raised bed structure I built in rear mounted battery mounts so i could move all critical electrical connections right at the back of the truck where things are easy to get to. im 6'5" and not on a diet so squeezing myself clear up into the truck to replace/troubleshoot a fuse or electrical connection was not fun at all.


I will try to get some good photos gathered up of some of this stuff this evening. If there is anything specifically someone wants to see just ask and ill try my best.

Originally Posted by Woodnears

If im missing something or you have any advice id love to hear it. This is the first vehicle I have ever built from the ground up. For that matter I dont have many references as im the only guy I know on air like this. Im shooting for a clean build that is easy to maintain.

I was just curious of others considerations for making it easier to access things, what 'things' they focused on, & the approach.

I know I had an issue w/the rear of my dually not airing up late last year. Of course when this was discovered, the truck had the rails & the rear hitch safety chain anchor points firmly planted on the concrete.

Mine is a manual set-up so I don't have to worry about the height sensors or height ECU but I still made some changes after that issue because of similar accessibility reasons you mentioned. It was a PITA getting to all the possible sources of failure to diagnose/pinpoint the issue:

Did it blow a fuse?
Did a relay fail?
Did the compressor fail?
Did the pressure switch fail?

That led to "what can I do to facilitate correcting a failure or overcoming one" in an emergency/away from home situation. A lot of my wiring was so specifically routed it made testing a PITA. Once sorted, the wiring is no longer as neat but is now much easier to access fuses/relays for testing if necessary. Things to improve this logic were implemented.

[Woodnears]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I was just curious of others considerations for making it easier to access things, what 'things' they focused on, & the approach.

I know I had an issue w/the rear of my dually not airing up late last year. Of course when this was discovered, the truck had the rails & the rear hitch safety chain anchor points firmly planted on the concrete.

Mine is a manual set-up so I don't have to worry about the height sensors or height ECU but I still made some changes after that issue because of similar accessibility reasons you mentioned. It was a PITA getting to all the possible sources of failure to diagnose/pinpoint the issue:

Did it blow a fuse?
Did a relay fail?
Did the compressor fail?
Did the pressure switch fail?

That led to "what can I do to facilitate correcting a failure or overcoming one" in an emergency/away from home situation. A lot of my wiring was so specifically routed it made testing a PITA. Once sorted, the wiring is no longer as neat but is now much easier to access fuses/relays for testing if necessary. Things to improve this logic were implemented.

Exactly! I have had similar issues. Luckily I have never been far from home. I would like to drive this truck a few hours to shows and what not so I need it to be reliable. Furthermore I'm preparing to paint this thing in the next year or so and I want to make sure there are no major changes with anything before I do so. Right now I can remove the bed by myself to troubleshoot anything. Once its fully dressed and in paint I will no longer be able to do that. If I can get all fuses and main wiring up and in the back I think it will be beneficial. there is quite a bit of room under the raised floor behind the rear wheels. I plan on making the rear panel removable to gain quick access if the need was to arise. i was even tossing around the idea of hinging it...

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Woodnears

Exactly! I have had similar issues. Luckily I have never been far from home. I would like to drive this truck a few hours to shows and what not so I need it to be reliable. Furthermore I'm preparing to paint this thing in the next year or so and I want to make sure there are no major changes with anything before I do so. Right now I can remove the bed by myself to troubleshoot anything. Once its fully dressed and in paint I will no longer be able to do that. If I can get all fuses and main wiring up and in the back I think it will be beneficial. there is quite a bit of room under the raised floor behind the rear wheels. I plan on making the rear panel removable to gain quick access if the need was to arise. i was even tossing around the idea of hinging it...

Exactly. A 'trunk' lid of sorts to allow easy access to select items.