martymoose
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- Apr 28, 2012
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OK yes, I am immature. Let's get that out of the way right now. If I had been going for mature, I wouldn't have bought a freakin' Raptor.
So with that discalaimer, here is my horn install. I took my time with it. I'm no mechanic. I wanted it to be solid, I wanted it to be discreet, and I didn't want to complicate use of the horn or maintenance of the truck.
I was also pretty particular about which kind of horn I had and that kind of complicated things. I didn't really want a train horn. I'm not driving a train, so even within the concept of super loud horns, a train horn seems a little silly. I also find their high pitch to be kind of shrill. I wanted a truck horn like you hear on 18-wheelers. That means a longer horn. I also wanted a fat sound, which meant two long horns in different lengths.
When it came to mounting everything, I wanted to be able to access the tank, but I also wanted all the components mounted near each other. I wanted to minimize the amount of hoses and wires and such running around the truck. I also wanted to mount everything in a location where it would be safe from road damage. And I didn't want to sacrifice storage, so it wasn't going in the bed.
I got the major hardware from Air Horns of Texas. They give you most of what you need, but you will probably have to figure out a few things on your own.
The air system is the standard Viair setup. I believe the tank is two gallons. The tank and compressor are mounted to the skid plate. You can get to the petcock from the side. It's a bit of a pain, but it's doable. The skid plate is an inclined surface, so to keep the compressor from interfering with the radiator, I slipped a pair of nuts between the mounting bracket and the skid plate. This tipped the whole business forward and clear of the radiator. The compressor is hooked up to upfitter switch #2.
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Mounting the horns was a little trickier. They are types 1042 and 1045, so 30" and 25" in length. They are mounted to a tie strap that I bent to shape with a vise. It is pretty thick metal. I'm not sure of the exact thickness, but something like 1/4". The top end is going into the frame of the radiator and the bottom attaches to the same bolt holding in my 20" Rigid light. That bottom horn (the long one) is jammed in there so tight, it has no room to jiggle. The top one is bolted so firmly, it doesn't move hardly at all. I was concerned that it might bump into the radiator, and I thought about installing another strap to hold it, but so far, it doesn't seem necessary.
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The really cool part is the button to sound the horn. As you can see, I have mounted it next to the shifter and the drink holders for easy access. It looks like this...
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...until you turn the key in the ignition. Then it lights up. Thus:
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Power for the momentary switch comes from an add-a-circuit that I plugged into the fuse for the heated seats. That way, I could be sure it wouldn't light up when the truck was off.
The wire to activate the horns I ran through the little rubber grommet in the passenger-side firewall.
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And here is what they sound like from inside the truck.
Air Horn - 1042 and 1045 - YouTube
So with that discalaimer, here is my horn install. I took my time with it. I'm no mechanic. I wanted it to be solid, I wanted it to be discreet, and I didn't want to complicate use of the horn or maintenance of the truck.
I was also pretty particular about which kind of horn I had and that kind of complicated things. I didn't really want a train horn. I'm not driving a train, so even within the concept of super loud horns, a train horn seems a little silly. I also find their high pitch to be kind of shrill. I wanted a truck horn like you hear on 18-wheelers. That means a longer horn. I also wanted a fat sound, which meant two long horns in different lengths.
When it came to mounting everything, I wanted to be able to access the tank, but I also wanted all the components mounted near each other. I wanted to minimize the amount of hoses and wires and such running around the truck. I also wanted to mount everything in a location where it would be safe from road damage. And I didn't want to sacrifice storage, so it wasn't going in the bed.
I got the major hardware from Air Horns of Texas. They give you most of what you need, but you will probably have to figure out a few things on your own.
The air system is the standard Viair setup. I believe the tank is two gallons. The tank and compressor are mounted to the skid plate. You can get to the petcock from the side. It's a bit of a pain, but it's doable. The skid plate is an inclined surface, so to keep the compressor from interfering with the radiator, I slipped a pair of nuts between the mounting bracket and the skid plate. This tipped the whole business forward and clear of the radiator. The compressor is hooked up to upfitter switch #2.
Mounting the horns was a little trickier. They are types 1042 and 1045, so 30" and 25" in length. They are mounted to a tie strap that I bent to shape with a vise. It is pretty thick metal. I'm not sure of the exact thickness, but something like 1/4". The top end is going into the frame of the radiator and the bottom attaches to the same bolt holding in my 20" Rigid light. That bottom horn (the long one) is jammed in there so tight, it has no room to jiggle. The top one is bolted so firmly, it doesn't move hardly at all. I was concerned that it might bump into the radiator, and I thought about installing another strap to hold it, but so far, it doesn't seem necessary.
The really cool part is the button to sound the horn. As you can see, I have mounted it next to the shifter and the drink holders for easy access. It looks like this...
...until you turn the key in the ignition. Then it lights up. Thus:
Power for the momentary switch comes from an add-a-circuit that I plugged into the fuse for the heated seats. That way, I could be sure it wouldn't light up when the truck was off.
The wire to activate the horns I ran through the little rubber grommet in the passenger-side firewall.
And here is what they sound like from inside the truck.
Air Horn - 1042 and 1045 - YouTube
