About a month ago I was lucky enough to have my T4R selected to be the model in the bumper install video! I obviously have no advice on installing it, but I've had 2 weeks to play with it. Here are my initial opinions/tips;



-The first is mostly cosmetic, but If running a single carrier, the empty space left from the original plate mounting location is super ugly, and leaves the screw holes open to the elements. I purchased this blank from amazon to fill it in.

















-The wheel studs that come with the carrier are 1/2 threads, not 12mmx1.5 like ours. This totally makes sense due to the carrier being originally designed for Jeeps, but I didn't like having to have separate sets of lug nuts. I ordered 3 studs from Rock Auto (PN: PTC 97192) for .89 each and replaced the 1/2 ones.





-I noticed Daryl mentioned it in the video (and I wish I would have known this before) but having the camera moved so far to the passenger SUCKS. Backing up into a parking spot is weird, and backing up to a trailer is damned near impossible now. Additionally, once you mount a tire, It covers most of the "clean" area of the window where the wiper cleans (kinda hard to see in the photo, but it's really noticeable if it's raining or snowing). Because of both of these, I'd highly recommend going with the tire on the driver's side.













-I haven't wired my LED's in yet, but since they are only 24w total for both (2A), I'm just going to tap into the center pin of the 7-pin trailer harness so they come on with the vehicle reverse lights.



-With the removal of the mud-flaps, there is now a pretty substantial increase in road noise in the rain. This doesn't bother me in the slightest but figured I'd make everyone aware of it as it might annoy some.



-Finally (and I think they have already fixed some of these issues), the license plate bracket is an absolute BEAR to take off if you're pulling the wheel off. You have to remove the 2 bolts for the plate, then the 2 vertical bolts for the whole assembly (which I believe they're using wing nuts now), Then the two bolts for the plate bracket, then pull the LED off so the plate bracket comes through the hub. Way too many steps, and if I'm on a trail or in the middle of the night? That's really going to suck. I would have preferred to see a weatherproof connector that allows you to remove the plate/LED assembly completely before removing the wheel.



All those being said though, I LOVE the bumper. Classic Victory/JCR over-engineered quality, and it looks wayyyy better than any of the other options out there. Keep up the good work fellas!

Good call. I simply got 2 stainless bolts that had the same thread pattern, pumped a little clear silicone into the holes and then installed the screws. After cutting the rear plate light power wire it looks normal.

[/QUOTE]-The wheel studs that come with the carrier are 1/2 threads, not 12mmx1.5 like ours. This totally makes sense due to the carrier being originally designed for Jeeps, but I didn't like having to have separate sets of lug nuts. I ordered 3 studs from Rock Auto (PN: PTC 97192) for .89 each and replaced the 1/2 ones.[/QUOTE]

How did this work for you? I thought about the same but the 1/2x20 lugs all showed a larger diameter where the knurling is so I wasn't sure how the 12mm logs would stay in place.


[/QUOTE]-I haven't wired my LED's in yet, but since they are only 24w total for both (2A), I'm just going to tap into the center pin of the 7-pin trailer harness so they come on with the vehicle reverse lights.[/QUOTE]

Good call, 8 was wondering but this might solve my problems.

[/QUOTE]-Finally (and I think they have already fixed some of these issues), the license plate bracket is an absolute BEAR to take off if you're pulling the wheel off. You have to remove the 2 bolts for the plate, then the 2 vertical bolts for the whole assembly (which I believe they're using wing nuts now), Then the two bolts for the plate bracket, then pull the LED off so the plate bracket comes through the hub. Way too many steps, and if I'm on a trail or in the middle of the night? That's really going to suck. I would have preferred to see a weatherproof connector that allows you to remove the plate/LED assembly completely before removing the wheel.[/QUOTE]

Agreed with too many steps. They did change to 1 wing nut. I decided to use 1x 6 socket Weatherpak plug. Once the camera mount gets remedied I'll wire it up so I can unplug 1 plug in and everything is ready to pull apart.

Totally forgot to mention that about the lights. I pulled the bulbs, but yeah it looked pretty silly with them shining on a missing plate.



I honestly didn't even think to check the diameter, but I didn't have any issues. Knocked the old ones out, and ran the new ones in. I do have stud installer which seems to help keep the stud in place when driving it, but they seemed sug enough that I don't think it's needed.


Good to hear they updated it. And great idea on the plug. Let me know how it goes once they get your mounting situation figured out. I probably will be taking the loom apart and doing something similar.

I too installed a filler license plate to fill that space. I also only have one adventure carrier and I can agree that the extra space does look crazy. Obviously, when I can afford to get another carrier I will do so. The mud flap issue has been bothering me. I was going to play with the stock mud flaps to see if I can somehow trim them to work. I have no issue with the wiper on my end. All that being said, love the bumper. quality is so good

I got the front bumper installed a few weeks back now waiting on doing the rear. Super helpful thread! The mudflap issue might make me crazy since I am on the road 1k a week typically.

Keep me posted on the mud flap adaption. Would be cool to see some sort of quick disconnect or something.

And I should have clarified the wiper thing more. The wiper still works fine. It’s just that if you run the spare on the pass side, it covers up a substantial part of the the “usable” window area

Thanks for the update and run down. I too have wondered if the tire carrier would be better on the left for visibility. Most if not all after market bumpers have it on the right.

The weatherpack worked great. Attached are a few pictures. I left enough wiring on both vehicle side and mount side to run the connector below the mount and velcro it to the back of the license plate.

I used the heavy duty plastic like velcro.

I also used Techflex braided loom that I had left over and ran out before I got to the end so the exposed wiring isn't completely finished up.

Edit- The 4 green plugs are just space holders until I get the camera side wiring wired in. My camera wont fit into the mount supplied (Victory is working on it) so I didn't want to wire it in and have an exposed camera plug flopping around in the elements.

Attached Images

     

Do you have a link to where you bought the weatherpack plug? Thanks

Some of the bumpers are modular and you can pick whatever side you want to run the spare tire on. The 4x4 Labs which is what I have is modular and I can run the spare on any side but the stock and recommended config is to run it on the driver side. The LFD bumper also runs the spare carrier on the driver side. I believe the single swing arm option of the C4 can also run the spare on the driver side.

I think the initial thought is to run it on the passenger side since most heavy items tend to be on the driver side already. Battery, Gas tank, driver. You'll have a a bit of a lean if you put the spare carrier on the driver side and I'd suggest using a 10-15mm spacer on the driver side coil to compensate. The advantage of running the carrier on the driver side is visibility and you have clear view of your blind spot on the passenger side. I have a ladder attachment on my passenger side but can still see out the back clearly.

I bought the loose parts from Mouser Electronics and built my own. It's not hard, just have to understand how the plug works and figure out the parts needed.

I'll compile a list of part number/descriptions and post it up on here later tonight (at work right now).

Brandon

That would be fantastic, thank you.


In a random stint of irony (or Karma) I came out of the grocery store to find I had a flat. So I got to get some real-world experience pulling the spare off... in 30degree weather... while people were staring at me... and with a bottle jack Becuse my HiLift is in my other rig.

It sucked. Really bad actually. As I said before, I cannot speak to the current design with wing nuts, as mine still has the Allen bolts. But it was still a royal PIA. I think the addition of a weather-proof plug would make it way simpler. Additionally I was really glad I had swapped out my studs and lugs, as I only had the factory lug wrench with me (I really gotta stop moving my tools to my pickup) and I’m not sure if I woulda been able to get the 1/2” lugs off with it.

All in all it wasn’t a huge deal. Belle tire was just down the road and they fixed it for free in 20min (they were as shocked as I was that a wheel weight made it that far through the treads). But it was a good trial run. That woulda sucked bad if it was calf deep in mud in the middle of the woods at night.

***Disclaimer***: I am not an electrician. I simply knew about these plugs from prior use and decided it would be a great way to make a QD for everything at once. I'm sure there is an electrician on here that can chime in if I'm wrong.....or right.

Weather Pack plugs can have varying wire gauges per plug as the terminal connectors are the same size. They simply have a different crimping area based on the gauge wire you use.

First, any plug you make from weather pack will consist of 5 separate parts.
1. Weather Pack Shroud (usually houses the male terminals but can be interchanged with female according to what I have read)
2. Weather Pack Tower (usually houses the female terminals but can be interchanged with male terminals)
3. Male terminal based on gauge of wiring.
4. Female terminal based on the gauge of wiring.
5. 1 seal per male and 1 seal per female terminal based on the gauge of wiring.

6. You will need a special crimping tool to crimp the terminals as it won't work with your standard crimper that I'm aware of, however, there are nock offs on Amazon that are much cheaper and work perfect for those DIYers like myself.

For this project you will need a total of 6 male terminals, 6 female terminals, 1 shroud plug, 1 tower plug, and 12 seals based on wiring.

The best I can tell the wiring that comes with the Victory bumper is gauge 16(it stripped perfectly with my 16ga wire stripper). The toyota camera plug wiring appears to be 22 or 24 gauge, and the led light is 26 gauge (if you double over the stripped portion of wire it crimps perfectly to the 24 gauge terminal)

I used Mouser Electronics website as it had good pricing, no minimum quantity, and laid out in an easy to use fashion where I could search for specific item numbers. Aptiv Weather Pack Series Automotive Connectors | Mouser

Parts ordered.
2 points-I used male terminals on the liscense plate side and female terminals on the vehicle wiring side hence my qty of terminals below.

1. Qty. 1x WPT-6 Tower plug housing (part number 12015799)
2. Qty. 1x WPS-6 Shroud plug housing (part number 12010975
3. Qty. 6x WPF-15 Female terminal for 16-14 gauge wire (part number 12124580)
4. Qty. 2x WPM-23 Male terminal for 24-22 gauge wire-license light only (part number 12089307)
5. Qty. 4x WPM-15 Male terminal for 16-14 gauge wire-camera harness to weather pack plug only-I had to butt splice a wire extension from each of the camera harness wires to reach where I wanted to mount the plug when done. I used teh left over victory wires, hence the 16 gauge terminal. (part number 12124582)
6. Qty. 10x WPS-GRA seals for 16-14 gauge wire (part number 15324980)
7. Qty. 2x WPS-PPL seals for 24-20 gauge wire (part number 15324985)

Verify all numbers above at this page.
Weather Pack Terminals Seals Connectors Splices | Weatherpack | Sealed Electrical Connection | Weather Pack – Components and Tools | Weather Pack System

Terminal Crimper I used.
https://www.amazon.com/Delphi-Packar...5227443&sr=8-2


Hope this helps. Again...I'm not a professional, I just researched DIY info.

Brandon

Geeez. That does Suck....But at lease you are proficient at it now!

Thanks Brandon. I think this would work too. https://www.amazon.com/Fastronix-Pin...EWJ0TQZ4Z&th=1

What do you think?


David