nice modification...what roof rack are you using? How much clearance from the wire to the roof? Any recommendation on roof rack for durability against being ripped off from branches? I plan to install ARb bumper, but not sure which roof rack has the best combination of durability against deformation when the branch hits the wire and puts stress on the tubing of the rack and also enough clearance from the roof line to prevent rubbing on the roof. ANy thoughts? Thanks
FJ Cruiser Windshield Branch Wire/Deflector
Hello,
Shortly after installing (a few hours :lol
my new ARB front bumper on my 2013 TT. I Decided to add a Branch deflector cable to.. well.. deflect branches while on the trail. I then posted the results on a threat an got one or two PMs asking for advice/guide on how to do it and if I had bought a kit. To my knowledge there is no kit and I think no one has done it on an FJ Cruiser (at least no one in PR that im aware). I got the idea from a friend who has a land cruiser and he added the branch wires and I saw it was a really good idea + cheap insurance against those pesky branches that seem to fall from nowhere haha. This is my first writeup and this I thought this up from my head without even sketching it, so any further comments to make the design better are more than welcomed. Note there isn't tons of pictures at the moment, but ill add more soon if people become confused or need help.
As you know, the FJ Cruiser has a really steep angle from bumper to roof rack compared to land cruisers, so adding these wires only seems possible if you have an ARB or some type of bumper with hoops that bases can be attached to. Also, it helped a lot that I had a light bar, but you can also add an eye-bolt to the stock roof rack and paint it so it doesn't stand out too much.
Parts (HomeDepot or any common store).
2 Eye-Bolts Stainless-Steel
2 1/8" Galvanized Steel Cable
2 Tensioners with one eye-bolt and a hook at the other end (easy to undo to open the hood)
2 KC HiLites Light Mount Tube Clamp Bar 1.75" to 2" Black Bracket (depends on hoops tube diameter, these work with ARB if you remove one of the two rubber traction pads).
6 Spring Links 1/4
4 Cable Ferrule 1/8 (or a bit bigger if you don't wish to strip the cable insulation).
2 Nuts the size of the bolts in the tensioners (step 9).
Procedure:
1) I bought 6ft of 1/8in insulated galvanized cable and I trimmed it later to the appropriate length. For my setup it was a rough distance of 62inches from ARB hoop to light bar. You must factor the length of the opened tensioner, eye bolts and spring links. So before cutting the cable at your house (better have a heavy duty wire/chain cutter) measure the length of each item together (the tensioner should be completely open as you can close the distance later) to achieve roughly the length you need. This is the length between the bumper hoops and the roof rack eye-bolt. Since the bumper KC mount can be moved, I suggest you measure in the middle, therefore you can calibrate it a bit more later. Remember measure twice and cut once.
NOTE: Remember to measure the length of cable considering the loop in the cable your making, if you measure the straight cable it will be too short for when you create the loop to mount your spring link. A couple of inches on each side is good as you can tighten your loop to achieve the length desired.
2) If you got a 1/8 Cable Ferrule, you must CAREFULLY Strip the insulation. Its kinda like stripping the insulation on a high gauge electrical cable. Best way is to use a good scissor and the top part of the insulation so you can peel it away. Much safer method.
3) Create the cable loop and insert your cable clamp of cable ferrule, once you have achieved the loop to the desire length, tighten the clamp. I used a good cable clamp to make my life easier, after 4 clamps you will thank me. :lol:. Repeat this with each cable.
4) Use electrical tape to create a wrap at the clamp all the way down until the end where the cable meets its folded end. This will ensure it doesn't come apart and adds protection and keeps the end from moving and becoming spliced. (You can also use shrink wrap. I did this and added electrical tape, found it a bit of an overkill but I wasn't too sure as to how much is too much).
5) Mount the KC light bases to the bumper hoops. This is easily done and don't tighten so you can move them.
6) This is where it changes, for me I had the light bar so I drilled two holes in the light bar to hold my eye-bolts. If you don't have/don't wish to mount to the light bar, just mount them vertically in the roof rack at the sides. Ill take some tweaking but its the same process as mine. Be sure that the cables will clear the top windshield plastic piece and tug on it.
7)Once the eye-bolts are in place its pretty much easy set up. Mount the spring links/shackles to the top eye bolts and connect to one of the cable loops. Then connect the other side of the cable to the cable tensioner using another spring link/shackle and mount the shackle to the KC bumper base. If you bought the tensioner with an eye bolt an a hook, its easier since you can remove and install in a second.
8) Move the KC bases to the correct position you want in regards to windshield and visibility. It all depends on where previous experience has you noticed where branches usually swipe and hit the windshield. I put mine close to the middle as I could; but ill be trial-error to get it right where you want.
9) Tighten the cable tensioner until cables don't move and are in place. I suggest you add a nut to the bottom of each tensioner bolt because normal vibrations will slack the cables and you will need to keep tensioning them. It could be a wing nut to keep it simple.
Pictures:
KC MOUNT BASE:
Cable With Tensioner eye/hook
Completed Cable with Insulation, Tensioner and spring links:
Results:
NOTES:
1)I am aware that the hood doesn't open as easily, yet its extremely easy to undo the tensioners and pop the hood. If you have an easier and quicker disconnect please share.
2)This is still work in progress, from design to doing it took me about 1 hour. I had an idea of what I needed but it came all together once I went to home depot. Maybe I overlooked something that would make for a better designed, so please share.
3)I am fully aware a brach could hit the lights in the light bar. But they are way stronger and at a higher level than the windshield, so they have less of a risk. Also this branch wire isn't a replacement for slow/careful driving and also taking care of any overgrowth that might impede your way. They are simply to just give you a peace of mind and help. But responsible driving is far superior than any kind of mod you can do.
Shortly after installing (a few hours :lol
my new ARB front bumper on my 2013 TT. I Decided to add a Branch deflector cable to.. well.. deflect branches while on the trail. I then posted the results on a threat an got one or two PMs asking for advice/guide on how to do it and if I had bought a kit. To my knowledge there is no kit and I think no one has done it on an FJ Cruiser (at least no one in PR that im aware). I got the idea from a friend who has a land cruiser and he added the branch wires and I saw it was a really good idea + cheap insurance against those pesky branches that seem to fall from nowhere haha. This is my first writeup and this I thought this up from my head without even sketching it, so any further comments to make the design better are more than welcomed. Note there isn't tons of pictures at the moment, but ill add more soon if people become confused or need help. As you know, the FJ Cruiser has a really steep angle from bumper to roof rack compared to land cruisers, so adding these wires only seems possible if you have an ARB or some type of bumper with hoops that bases can be attached to. Also, it helped a lot that I had a light bar, but you can also add an eye-bolt to the stock roof rack and paint it so it doesn't stand out too much.
Parts (HomeDepot or any common store).
2 Eye-Bolts Stainless-Steel
2 1/8" Galvanized Steel Cable
2 Tensioners with one eye-bolt and a hook at the other end (easy to undo to open the hood)
2 KC HiLites Light Mount Tube Clamp Bar 1.75" to 2" Black Bracket (depends on hoops tube diameter, these work with ARB if you remove one of the two rubber traction pads).
6 Spring Links 1/4
4 Cable Ferrule 1/8 (or a bit bigger if you don't wish to strip the cable insulation).
2 Nuts the size of the bolts in the tensioners (step 9).
Procedure:
1) I bought 6ft of 1/8in insulated galvanized cable and I trimmed it later to the appropriate length. For my setup it was a rough distance of 62inches from ARB hoop to light bar. You must factor the length of the opened tensioner, eye bolts and spring links. So before cutting the cable at your house (better have a heavy duty wire/chain cutter) measure the length of each item together (the tensioner should be completely open as you can close the distance later) to achieve roughly the length you need. This is the length between the bumper hoops and the roof rack eye-bolt. Since the bumper KC mount can be moved, I suggest you measure in the middle, therefore you can calibrate it a bit more later. Remember measure twice and cut once.
NOTE: Remember to measure the length of cable considering the loop in the cable your making, if you measure the straight cable it will be too short for when you create the loop to mount your spring link. A couple of inches on each side is good as you can tighten your loop to achieve the length desired.
2) If you got a 1/8 Cable Ferrule, you must CAREFULLY Strip the insulation. Its kinda like stripping the insulation on a high gauge electrical cable. Best way is to use a good scissor and the top part of the insulation so you can peel it away. Much safer method.
3) Create the cable loop and insert your cable clamp of cable ferrule, once you have achieved the loop to the desire length, tighten the clamp. I used a good cable clamp to make my life easier, after 4 clamps you will thank me. :lol:. Repeat this with each cable.
4) Use electrical tape to create a wrap at the clamp all the way down until the end where the cable meets its folded end. This will ensure it doesn't come apart and adds protection and keeps the end from moving and becoming spliced. (You can also use shrink wrap. I did this and added electrical tape, found it a bit of an overkill but I wasn't too sure as to how much is too much).
5) Mount the KC light bases to the bumper hoops. This is easily done and don't tighten so you can move them.
6) This is where it changes, for me I had the light bar so I drilled two holes in the light bar to hold my eye-bolts. If you don't have/don't wish to mount to the light bar, just mount them vertically in the roof rack at the sides. Ill take some tweaking but its the same process as mine. Be sure that the cables will clear the top windshield plastic piece and tug on it.
7)Once the eye-bolts are in place its pretty much easy set up. Mount the spring links/shackles to the top eye bolts and connect to one of the cable loops. Then connect the other side of the cable to the cable tensioner using another spring link/shackle and mount the shackle to the KC bumper base. If you bought the tensioner with an eye bolt an a hook, its easier since you can remove and install in a second.
8) Move the KC bases to the correct position you want in regards to windshield and visibility. It all depends on where previous experience has you noticed where branches usually swipe and hit the windshield. I put mine close to the middle as I could; but ill be trial-error to get it right where you want.
9) Tighten the cable tensioner until cables don't move and are in place. I suggest you add a nut to the bottom of each tensioner bolt because normal vibrations will slack the cables and you will need to keep tensioning them. It could be a wing nut to keep it simple.
Pictures:
KC MOUNT BASE:
Cable With Tensioner eye/hook
Completed Cable with Insulation, Tensioner and spring links:
Results:
NOTES:
1)I am aware that the hood doesn't open as easily, yet its extremely easy to undo the tensioners and pop the hood. If you have an easier and quicker disconnect please share.
2)This is still work in progress, from design to doing it took me about 1 hour. I had an idea of what I needed but it came all together once I went to home depot. Maybe I overlooked something that would make for a better designed, so please share.
3)I am fully aware a brach could hit the lights in the light bar. But they are way stronger and at a higher level than the windshield, so they have less of a risk. Also this branch wire isn't a replacement for slow/careful driving and also taking care of any overgrowth that might impede your way. They are simply to just give you a peace of mind and help. But responsible driving is far superior than any kind of mod you can do.
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