My 2014 SSV, Overlanding/Ham Radio rig project.

[tamitall]

Did you buy the leather seat covers from seat shoppe as well when you updated them? They look amazing

Yes! Also replaced the foam with their high density foam on the seat bottom, and OEM foam on the seat back Did the upholstery ourselves. Thank you for the kind words!

 

[Amp653]

Yes! Also replaced the foam with their high density foam on the seat bottom, and OEM foam on the seat back Did the upholstery ourselves. Thank you for the kind words!

Was it hard navigating the airbag once you did seat back? I’ve watched seat shop videos but the whole airbag thing is so sensitive

 

[tamitall]

I just moved it over, and set it up the same way I found it. The Seat Shop's cover had the panel to wrap around the airbag. Plugged it in, and no airbag light. I didn't have any difficulty about airbags.

 

[stocksj]

Home

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nenno-products.com

That's the center console I used. I built a little wood bracket that I bolted to the front of the console to hold the ic-7300 at a good angle.

Here's a photo while I was working on the seat install. Shows a decent profile of the Nenno console, and the bracket I built for the IC-7300.

I put in a battery isolator, and installed a second battery. My truck came with only 1 battery. After installing the isolator, I moved the 3 50amp circuits provided in the SSV onto the second battery. I call it the "house" battery, and try to run as much of the accessories off it as I can. That leaves the starting battery untouched by the radios.

I have a voltage booster with a PTT port on it hidden under the console. Boosts the battery voltage up to 14v for transmit, and doesn't cause any RF interference while receiving.

Currently running on the stock 160amp alternator, but I have a Mechman 370amp alternator to go in at some point.

73 de w8tam

Nice setup. I guess what I need to do is remove the jump seat console and find a PPV type console for mounting radios.

 

[Amp653]

Nice setup. I guess what I need to do is remove the jump seat console and find a PPV type console for mounting radios.

I can help you there if you want to swap

 

[stocksj]

We picked it up fall 2020 from a dealership who had purchased it at auction. it came with no center console and heavily worn cloth seats in front, and leather(ette?) seats in the rear that looked unused.

Here it is the day (before) we got it.
View attachment 346272

It only had 62k on it when we picked it up. A little investigation showed:
View attachment 346273

Wow! We had no problems for about 4k, then had the dreaded low oil error. We swapped the oil pressure sender, and filter, with no change. Figured we were in for a new engine, but decided to try an oil change first. I picked Mobil1 High Mileage and the low oil pressure problems have gone away. I've had the oil analyzed by Blackstone Labs and I'm very happy with how the Tahoe is performing. Here's a snap of the most recent oil analysis.

View attachment 346274

After the oil pressure fiasco, we moved forward with building out the SSV for our ham radio hobby. We do Parks on the Air. We bought the Tahoe to take us to places our previous vehicle wouldn't safely go.

Installed a backup/dash cam.
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What camera and rear view monitor mirror did you use?

 

[tamitall]

What camera and rear view monitor mirror did you use?

WOLFBOX 12“ Mirror Dash Cam Backup Camera from Amazon. I'm not sure if they're still selling the model I got. I ordered a second one a few months after for my other vehicle and the camera is different.

 

[stocksj]

Nice setup. I guess what I need to do is remove the jump seat console and find a PPV type console for mounting radios.

What battery isolator kit did you buy? I’m ready to install my FT-857d.

 

[tamitall]

battery-isolator | PowerStream

www.powerstream.com

I went with this one. The current carrying is pretty good and I like that it's a mechanical contactor rather than mosfets. It does make a clunk when connecting or disconnecting.

 

[stocksj]

battery-isolator | PowerStream

www.powerstream.com

I went with this one. The current carrying is pretty good and I like that it's a mechanical contactor rather than mosfets. It does make a clunk when connecting or disconnecting.

Thanks, I'll take a look and see what I can do. Taking things one step at a time.