New guy with Shocker XL (lots of pics...)

Main Your Horns & Installs
1

Well this came in the mail a 2 weeks ago so I thought I would join this forum and share :slight_smile:

2 Gallon tank (may get 5 later) Shocker XL train horns, wiring,fittings, pressure switch, everything i would need.

Viair 480 compressor.

all the other stuff.

Just to give you an idea how big the largest horn is…19" long. the shortest is 12" but you guys already know this.

First things first, i have to move this condenser line (i think thats what it is) back so i can mount the horns up front where they belong. i was throwing the idea around about installing them under the bed but proper horns go in the front of the vehicle.

bent the brackets back a little bit and put the bracket on the inside.

Now its close to the radiator as possible to give me more room.

Grabbed some overpriced steel from lowes (but very convenient).

Marked and about to drill the holes. alot of planning went into this phase, a couple of hours really just to think of every problem i might run into.

Drilled.

Basically how its going to mount. i do need some 90Âş fittings though for the inner horns.

Lesson learned, magnets **** up the welding arc sparks flew everywhere like flux core x100000. seemed like a good idea but i guess that is how you learn.

Test fits.

Popped in the grill shell and stuck on the bumper cover but left the steel bumper off. gas can is holding the bumper in position to check for clearance.
the gas tank is holding up the front bumper since the steel one isn’t there.

Fancy bracket i made. first time ever making one of these. (yeah i know i need to cut my nails down a bit)

OK welding i guess. i seen worse.

Now that is close.

Guess i have to really watch out for parking curbs, i already do but now even more so. Even steep driveways…i might drill some holes higher up, now that i think about it. The horns are High impact ABS plastic but i still dont want to **** this one up when i could have prevented it. oh and that socket wrench is holding up the bumper now.

Overall shot.

Nothing is bolted down, the horns are just sitting there but this is how they will mount.

And somehow this bracket took a couple of hours to make. lots of planning went into it before i welded or drilled a single hole. the other side was much easier and the bracket is almost identical. rattle can silver to keep the rust at bay.

2

Finishing up the front…

Horns mounted to the brackets i made. This is what took most of the time planning to make sure it all fits behind the grille.

Installed with PTC fittings.

Bumper on.

And how the truck currently sits. so now lets work on the back.

Here is my idea to mount the tank and compressor. There will be 2 pieces of 1x1 going across the frame that will be braced, probably bolted so i can remove it later easily. each side of the tank will bolt to one side of the 1x1 , then i can make a bracket off that 1x1 frame and mount the compressor. either sideways or preferably right side up. The tank is just sitting here for an idea, this is how it will be done but i haven’t cut the 1x1 yet since it started to rain. this just gives you an idea.

the way i want to do it now is if i were to upgrade to a 5 gallon tank minimal work would be involved. removing the old tank and drilling 4 holes type of thing.

So i got on to it and basically just built the frame for the compressor/tank. i will let the pics do the talking.

Test fit.

weld.

I need to cap the top of the 1x1 later on.

I painted the whole frame in that rubberized undercoating. its a bit*h to get off so i know its tough. i would do chassis saver but i dont have 72+ hours to let it cure. The steel rod going though was just to hold it up while spraying.

Finishing up…

Mounted the Compressor intake here.

Talked to lance at VIAIR and he just said to check up on the filter at times. it passed the “me washing the truck” test. I’d say that has more advantage than rain since i sprayed it sideways a little bit.

other than that i routed the air hose though the outside frame on the passenger side away from the exhaust, and up to where the valve would be going, which is by the frame horns in the steel front bumper. that is about it guys. let me know what you think. also have a few videos as well :smiley:

Finished product with the bed on. i still have a few wires to trim down and make it look a bit neater. The air gauge is only there until i get it installed in the cab and a quick connect fitting will go where the gauge is.

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Kinda ran out of air in the first one so my stupid a** honked too early in the 2nd one as well, almost ran out of air, well it sounded like i did inside the truck but the video says otherwise.
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Pleasing the neighbors lol
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Not sure if i want to scare people with these, well maybe people i know(if nobody else is around) but not random people.
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3

Nice install and you wont be able to resist scaring people when opportunity comes :smiley:

4

Love the pictures. Very nice job on the install. I wish I had access to a welder. I have a friend that helped me with my install who had a welder and it turned out great. Very nice job.

5

^ I really only honk when someone is with me. Its more fun that way lol.

6

Nice install but you might want to think about blurring your plate numbers on your truck :wink:

7

Thanks for replies everyone.

as far as the license plate…i dont see the reason i should since everyone can see it on the road. though i know somebody can look up the plate info at the DMV somehow…well just to be safe :wink:

8

Well… a bit of a bump but i have a little bit of an update and some videos.

First of all i would like to thank hornblasters for making such a great set of horns, I’d recommend them all the time to people looking for a set, and if anything i can let them hear it if they want.

so a few months after i installed them i decided to see how they would echo in a nice empty parking lot. too bad the camera didnt pic up all the echos.

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and here is one you guys would appreciate, going back from the pick n pull salvage yard i met up with a train…of course i couldnt help myself to honk at him in hopes he would honk back…he did :slight_smile: i had a huge smile on my face when he did lol. It did make me wish that i should have bought a K5LA but not disappointed with these at all.
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And finally yesterday i got off my a** and wired them up to my alarm and programmed it to go off with the arm/disarm chirp. sounds bland in the video but it sounds sweet in person by the way they echo off the mountains behind me. in town its even better since it echos off the nearby buildings, but the chirp is quick enough where its not full volume since you can adjust it from 20,30,40,50ms honks on the alarm. either way i can silent unlock it with a push of a button if needed.
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Well, anyways that is about it, just thought i would share.

9

Great job on the install. I really like the way you’ve done the tank and compressor frame with the box section tubing.

I envy all you folks with the pickup trucks. Soo much spare under those rear trays. You’ll be eyeing of a bigger tank & horns in no time.

10

A bigger tank for sure, i am already planning for a 5 gallon tank but to do that i have to trash my bracket that i built…not really a bad thing since it was super simple to make. reason being since the compressor is longways and so is the tank, i have only a few inches on each side to spare. i wont be able to fit a 5 gallon under there but i can try before i rebuild it.

as far as horns, probably not. these are more than enough, though those airchimes are very nice i really dont see myself using one yet. mostly because i dont think you can install those up front so that means it would have to go under the bed.

Also i changed things up in the back and added a fitting so i can run whatever i want on it…i know i cant be running an impact wrench off of it, but i can in an emergency and fill up some tires if i wanted. also sealed up the gauge so water cant get in. i cleaned up a lot of the wiring and cut to length most of it, didn’t for the compressor power because i was thinking a bigger tank would be in the near future.

11

Nice install!

I have my k3la installed up front :wink:




very tight fit!

12

Nice setup on the s10… i think i started that setup years ago on my old xtreme… haha… looks good

13

I too have a clearance issue with my bumper.

14

do you think you could fit the K3LA in the front of your truck or maybe between the fenders and frame rail under your truck?

15

Awesome! That really is a super clean install.

16

So after almost a year i got tired of the 2 gallon tank…not enough air to feed these horns, well the tank does a good job and as loud as they are they really get your attention but it just didnt seem up to it or to do a cool long honk drive by…being limited to 7 seconds until the horns dont sound anymore sucked…so UPGRADE!!! woo!

oh and sorry, i basically copied and pasted this from my project thread in another forum, so sorry if it seems a bit out of time.

Picked up a 5 gallon tank.

yeah i know the backhalf is a bit dusty…

Picked up fittings for the tank. 1/2 to 3/8 and 1/4

Old setup, 2 gallon tank.

old vs. new. basically 2.5 times the air!

quick test fit, old frame brace.

Ground clearance, i dont want to let it hang too low and hit stuff like backing up over a curb or something.

Reason why old bracket wont work…

action shots of new support frame.

marked for tank and compressor arrangement.

temp spacers to see how to mount this…

Cut the tank legs off with the plasma…i found this is the best way to mount it, i cant go too far above the frame brace, if i do it will hit the bed. This was more of an Ah HA! moment.

Mounted/coated with 3M rubberized undercoating. semi-sticky because i wanted it done that night lol.

Lifting the bed back up…

Got done around 4 AM… so 11-12 hours to install? crazy, thought it would go much quicker but designing took longer than i thought. also wasnt in a rush and wanted to do a better job than the previous frame brace, such as making 45º angles instead of 90º cuts.
and yeah shocks need to be repainted, they are still good but just seen better days.

The compressor cage is meh…i like it, but really i messed up and cut the legs too short, i was suppose to weld it to the outside, then that way i just weld another 4" piece of 1x1 to mount the legs, but instead i just did it that way… Not a fan of the open ends, i may try to find some square tubing plugs to cap them off for a cleaner look, other than that, im happy with the outcome. now i have 17 seconds or so of constant laying on the horn action! as well as the ability to run an impact for a quick job, or whatever air tools a lot better than on the 2 gallon. no big air tool jobs, but the kind where you need it for a few minutes.

17

So after almost a year i got tired of the 2 gallon tank…not enough air to feed these horns, well the tank does a good job and as loud as they are they really get your attention but it just didnt seem up to it or to do a cool long honk drive by…being limited to 7 seconds until the horns dont sound anymore sucked…so UPGRADE!!! woo!

oh and sorry, i basically copied and pasted this from my project thread in another forum, so sorry if it seems a bit out of time.

Picked up a 5 gallon tank.

yeah i know the backhalf is a bit dusty…

Picked up fittings for the tank. 1/2 to 3/8 and 1/4

Old setup, 2 gallon tank.

old vs. new. basically 2.5 times the air!

quick test fit, old frame brace.

Ground clearance, i dont want to let it hang too low and hit stuff like backing up over a curb or something.

Reason why old bracket wont work…

action shots of new support frame.

marked for tank and compressor arrangement.

temp spacers to see how to mount this…

Cut the tank legs off with the plasma…i found this is the best way to mount it, i cant go too far above the frame brace, if i do it will hit the bed. This was more of an Ah HA! moment.

Mounted/coated with 3M rubberized undercoating. semi-sticky because i wanted it done that night lol.

Lifting the bed back up…

Got done around 4 AM… so 11-12 hours to install? crazy, thought it would go much quicker but designing took longer than i thought. also wasnt in a rush and wanted to do a better job than the previous frame brace, such as making 45º angles instead of 90º cuts.
and yeah shocks need to be repainted, they are still good but just seen better days.

The compressor cage is meh…i like it, but really i messed up and cut the legs too short, i was suppose to weld it to the outside, then that way i just weld another 4" piece of 1x1 to mount the legs, but instead i just did it that way… Not a fan of the open ends, i may try to find some square tubing plugs to cap them off for a cleaner look, other than that, im happy with the outcome. now i have 17 seconds or so of constant laying on the horn action! as well as the ability to run an impact for a quick job, or whatever air tools a lot better than on the 2 gallon. no big air tool jobs, but the kind where you need it for a few minutes.

18

oh and bought these on ebay for $12 for 20.

capped off the compressor cage nicely. now i can finish my welding cart i was suppose to finish a year ago .


oh and added a 90Âş elbow for the air chuck.

I really like these caps lol and pics of said welding cart.

so yeah just a little update on my setup. this is the only video i have of the new tank, i really need to do a full to empty tank video sometime but for now this will do.

[quote="
video description"]
Went to visit my parents…The dog across the street always waits to try and attack (tries to bite) my truck or my moms Mercedes, people who walk their dogs have to carry a BB gun for protection. Basically the dog is a nuisance…So time to piss off the neighbors. Local police wont do anything either…yet
[/quote]

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:smiley:

19

very nice :slight_smile:

20

Dude, that is some really bad donkey work there … totally sweet!!!

Time for me to find a welder and plasma cutter.