Light bar installed

[Brett San Diego]

My jankiest of janky light bars is finished. It's constructed entirely of scrap metal that I had lying around. The main tube is a section of an upright post from a wheeled TV stand that I no longer needed. The rest is 1/8 in plate steel cut, bent, welded, drilled, and bolted together. Ground rules were: 1. that it needed to be easily removable. The lights aren’t cosmetic. I’ll only use them on off road trips. The V70 XC is parked outside and sits most of the time, and I didn’t want to leave the lights exposed to the elements for no reason. And, I didn’t want extra drag on road trips when they weren’t needed. 2. No holes could be drilled in the body. I don’t want to invite leaks into the interior. And 3. It had to fit under my ski box in case I needed the extra cargo space up top on an off road excursion.

So, I ended up mounting it to the forward roof bar brackets. The “ears” that the bar mounts to are semi-permanent, and I had to butcher the roof rail trim pieces. Not a completely clean installation, but it was the solution I came up with. The requirement for the main LED bar to sit under the nose of the ski box meant I couldn’t just mount it across the roof rails. It needed to be low under the ski box which meant it also needed to be forward of the sunroof to avoid clashing with the sunroof when the rear was tilted up. Maybe I could have come up with a clamp and longer-reaching bracket to be able to clamp to the roof rail to give a completely removable mount. I might think about that for V2.0… The wiring runs along the roof rail to the back and through the hatch opening where it plugs into a panel-mount connector in the upper corner of the interior trim panel. The hatch weather strip closes cleanly over the wires. I didn’t see a big deal with running the wires through the hatch seal for short term trips. Maybe there could be some water leakage if it rains. I’ll just zip tie the wires to the roof rail for the duration of any trips. And finally, the power switch is mounted cleanly in the climate control unit with power routed through an auxiliary fuse box and relay in the spare tire well.

The center LED bar is a 22 in Nilight spot/flood unit. The small side lights are Nilight 4 in flood lights.

Brett

[Brett San Diego]

More pics

[Astro14]

Those are 3 demanding requirements and I love the solution. A bit of urban assault vehicle vibe in the look, but it’s clean and should work very well.

How’s the wind noise at highway speed?

I notice that even Volvo factory crossbars make a bit of noise. I’ve got Volvo factory bars on all three P2 wagons to fit the Yakima Skybox.

[Brett San Diego]

Wind noise isn't horrible. I'd say comparable to the ski box. I've got the long, skinny Yakima Rocketbox11 with cheapo crossbars from Amazon. I was most worried about the light bar whistling, but no whistles, thankfully.
Brett

[Francesc]

My jankiest of janky light bars is finished. It's constructed entirely of scrap metal that I had lying around. The main tube is a section of an upright post from a wheeled TV stand that I no longer needed. The rest is 1/8 in plate steel cut, bent, welded, drilled, and bolted together. Ground rules were: 1. that it needed to be easily removable. The lights aren’t cosmetic. I’ll only use them on off road trips. The V70 XC is parked outside and sits most of the time, and I didn’t want to leave the lights exposed to the elements for no reason. And, I didn’t want extra drag on road trips when they weren’t needed. 2. No holes could be drilled in the body. I don’t want to invite leaks into the interior. And 3. It had to fit under my ski box in case I needed the extra cargo space up top on an off road excursion.

So, I ended up mounting it to the forward roof bar brackets. The “ears” that the bar mounts to are semi-permanent, and I had to butcher the roof rail trim pieces. Not a completely clean installation, but it was the solution I came up with. The requirement for the main LED bar to sit under the nose of the ski box meant I couldn’t just mount it across the roof rails. It needed to be low under the ski box which meant it also needed to be forward of the sunroof to avoid clashing with the sunroof when the rear was tilted up. Maybe I could have come up with a clamp and longer-reaching bracket to be able to clamp to the roof rail to give a completely removable mount. I might think about that for V2.0… The wiring runs along the roof rail to the back and through the hatch opening where it plugs into a panel-mount connector in the upper corner of the interior trim panel. The hatch weather strip closes cleanly over the wires. I didn’t see a big deal with running the wires through the hatch seal for short term trips. Maybe there could be some water leakage if it rains. I’ll just zip tie the wires to the roof rail for the duration of any trips. And finally, the power switch is mounted cleanly in the climate control unit with power routed through an auxiliary fuse box and relay in the spare tire well.

The center LED bar is a 22 in Nilight spot/flood unit. The small side lights are Nilight 4 in flood lights.

Brett

Another posibility is in put in the same front bumper, 12.000 lumens
https://es.wallapop.com/item/volvo-xc70-2-4-210cv-2319354319280

[vtl]

How I did that.

https://a.d-cd.net/mgAAAgFXaeA-960.jpg

For the flood pods on the bumper I've used Volvo aux light attachment kit 30772053. They are on when fog lights are on.

https://a.d-cd.net/2AAAAgIwQeA-960.jpg

Lightbar is mounted on Yakima LoadWarrior basket. Activates together with the high beams if the button from the attachment kit is lit. The wiring is hidden under the windshield sill:

https://a.d-cd.net/4wAAAgEJnOA-960.jpg

For the in-town driving I remove both basket and the bumper brace.

[Brett San Diego]

Another posibility is in put in the same front bumper, 12.000 lumens
https://es.wallapop.com/item/volvo-xc70-2-4-210cv-2319354319280
Not for my application. I don't expect the low mounting position in the bumper to illuminate off-road terrain usefully. And, The light might get crunched down there. On one trip, I filled the AC condenser with rocks scooped up through that bumper opening where you have the light mounted. That would have destroyed any light there. I smashed one of the fog lights in the bumper on another trip. Plus I like the idea of easily removing the lights when not needed, which is most of the time.
Brett

[Brett San Diego]

How I did that.

https://a.d-cd.net/mgAAAgFXaeA-960.jpg

That's a nice roof rack set up. I haven't had the need for that much storage on the roof, yet. And, I wasn't sure about where/how to store the roof rack when off the car. I almost got one as I thought about putting the full size spare on the roof, but I've decided to build a swing away tire carrier on the rear. So, no full roof rack, yet.

Is that Hi-Lift jack on the fender well? Have you reinforced that area? I can't imagine jacking the car on the fender. I just went though deciding on a jack. I didn't think a Hi-Lift would work anywhere on the car except maybe the trailer hitch in the rear. I ended up ordering an air bag jack since I just put an on board air system in the car. I'm also going to carry a single jack stand for safety getting underneath if needed. I think (hope) both will fit in the remaining space in the spare tire well.

Brett

[vtl]

Yes, Hi-Lift. The car is raised via wheel with help of Lift-Mate attachment: https://hi-lift.com/accessories/lift-mate/. Highly recommend.

https://2r572y21vf2s1oltxh158y45-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/LM-100-e1506007377876.jpg

I carry food, booze, tools, 15 gals of gas, tent, folding bed, inflatable boat and outboard engine for a week+ long trip to the end of http://jamesbayroad.com/ttr/index.html and back, yet have to sleep inside the car whenever possible, so a roof-long basket is must have.

https://a.d-cd.net/AwAAAgKeVuA-960.jpg

https://a.d-cd.net/GwAAAgKeVuA-960.jpg

https://a.d-cd.net/OwAAAgKeVuA-960.jpg

https://a.d-cd.net/HwAAAgKeVuA-960.jpg

https://a.d-cd.net/DQAAAgHpiOA-960.jpg

https://a.d-cd.net/7QAAAgBpiOA-960.jpg

Volvo XC70 is a superior vehicle for such overland trips, btw. I only have to weld the plastic bumper cover once in a while after bear-involved road accident ;-)

[Brett San Diego]

Ah, I can barely see the straps now in the pic. That works for recovery if you're bogged down, but what do you do to change a tire? Do you still carry the factory jack? And, nice trip!
Brett

[vtl]

I carry a 6 ton jack stand.

However, never had a chance for a tire change in field. BFG KO2 LT (load range D) helps, it is an extremely sturdy tire.

Had one rims cracked however, but the wheel didn't fail till return to the base.

[Brett San Diego]

Got it. I should have guessed. I'm planning on carrying a jack stand as well.
Brett

[vtl]

I may change my bulky jack stand for a foldable one that takes less cargo space. Or fabricate my own.

Would love to see your swing arm tire carrier, Brett.

[Brett San Diego]

I may change my bulky jack stand for a foldable one that takes less cargo space. Or fabricate my own.

Would love to see your swing arm tire carrier, Brett.
I searched a little for a foldable jack stand. There was something on Amazon that was out of stock. There are folding pipe stands, but they were too tall. I just read a couple of off-road forums where good points about safety were made. Do you want to use something designed to collapse?

I'd like to see my tire carrier, too. LOL I'm waiting for a more powerful welder (220 V) to arrive. They say it's backordered until May 15. I've tacked together most of it with my 110 V MIG machine. My methods will be questionable, though. I'm planning on welding it to the body. I believe the sheet metal at the lower corner of the rear with all the bends and folds is going to be strong enough. I will gusset the hell out of it all around the mounting point to distribute the forces. The hinge will have to be mounted away from the body but as close as possible in order to keep the arm that attaches the hinge to the body as short as possible to reduce the forces on the body where it's mounted (if that makes sense). That means the whole carrier will be close the body when closed, and it will clash big time with the bumper. So, there will probably be an ugly hack job done on the bumper, and I think I'm going to have to figure out a different way to hold the bumper on. Or maybe I'll end up fabricating some kind of metal skin. I don't know, yet. I don't really have a plan.

Brett

[vtl]

I'd like to see my tire carrier, too. LOL I'm waiting for a more powerful welder (220 V) to arrive. They say it's backordered until May 15. I've tacked together most of it with my 110 V MIG machine. My methods will be questionable, though. I'm planning on welding it to the body. I believe the sheet metal at the lower corner of the rear with all the bends and folds is going to be strong enough.
Nope. It is designed to collapse ;) being rear ended. Here the guy got spot-welded sheets separated after not very smooth mountain descent:

https://a.d-cd.net/a0AAAgJy0uA-960.jpg

You have to use tow bar holes, directly or indirectly.


I will gusset the hell out of it all around the mounting point to distribute the forces. The hinge will have to be mounted away from the body but as close as possible in order to keep the arm that attaches the hinge to the body as short as possible to reduce the forces on the body where it's mounted (if that makes sense). That means the whole carrier will be close the body when closed, and it will clash big time with the bumper. So, there will probably be an ugly hack job done on the bumper, and I think I'm going to have to figure out a different way to hold the bumper on. Or maybe I'll end up fabricating some kind of metal skin. I don't know, yet. I don't really have a plan.
Did you see the swing arm tire carrier of a Swedespeed fellow?

https://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?597963-eric_samuelson%92s-XC70-build

Lots of pictures, scroll it down.

[Brett San Diego]

That's the sheet metal of the spare tire well that is separating from the rear bulkhead. That spare tire well metal is super thin and crappy. I know because I just welded the mounts for my air compressor and tank to it. I was blowing holes in it right and left. The rear bulkhead metal is much thicker. And, I've seam welded the panels in the area of the planned swing arm mount. It's not just spot welds holding things together anymore.

Thanks for the link to the Swedespeed thread. I had not seen it. I have to admit, that guy's swing arm carrier is even jankier than mine. Small tubing, the swing arm is welded to the hinge by a single weld along a 1-dimensional steel plate rather than a boxed section of tubing, the hinge bolt looks pretty small, unclear if it's got bearings, and the latch pin doesn't look very convenient. On the other hand, I see these jeep guys build swing arms with 1/4 in wall tubing, which is way overkill in my opinion, even if you have 200 lb tires. I have purchased some nice pre-fabricated hinge and latch components from an off-road fabricator. They're way overkill in the area of strength, but they are nice components. My carrier will be supported at the hinge end and at the latch end when it is latched, so only half the dynamic forces when moving will be on the hinge welded to the body. I appreciate your concerns. I certainly have my own. But, I'm going to try sticking it to the body. I figure I'll be able to stand and jump on it to test it and see if the body buckles. If it does, I'll just cut it off and go to plan B (whatever that is).

Brett

[vtl]

Good for you - I'm only making my first baby steps with the arc welder =)