I grew up working with tools, fixing, maintaining & modifying things. This was mostly out of necessity, there was barely money to buy parts, certainly not to pay someone for markup & repair. If it didn’t take an expensive tool or special knowledge, and sometime even then, we would do it ourselves or make the attempt.
Sometimes it’s just for fun, sometimes it’s to build a better mousetrap, but DIY projects are a great way to learn something and usually you get what you want. Here are a few of my DIY projects from the past few years.
My 2016 F150 4×4 with hi-rise canopy was a retirement gift to myself. The first thing I did was build some multi-use furniture. What looks like bench seats are that, and storage space below the hinged seat that also extends out to make a single bed on either side or double with both. There’s also a power wall for charging devices; a 15amp inverter for 110v ac, a 2nd battery & solar charging.
A couple of years back I came across an aftermarket kit to turn my dumb F150 into a smart F150 by ripping out the dash, a first for me, and installing a custom Android tablet. The Yulu e10
When the smart dash died a few months back the downside of DIY reared its head, now I had to fix what broke. Thankfully, I was once a bench tech for Tektronix; I had to dust off some skills needed to find that a diode in their aftermarket DC filter died. Back in the day this was a $0.05 item, retail from Radio Shack or any components supply house. Now those are all gone and it’s a dollar a piece in quantities of 5 or 6 on Amazon or eBay, or I could buy the same DC filter online for $12-$15. Either of these would require some cutting and soldering. The third option was to spend $55 for a new harness. Which solution would you choose?
Another F150 related DIY endeavor was a 4-tire inflation & deflation harness. When driving in Sand, mud & snow significantly reduced air pressure in a tire will also significantly increase the contact patch giving the tire better traction in an reduced traction environment. Because all 4 tires are attached at the same time they all increase and decrease at the same rate. To quickly inflate the tires when needed in the field a good portable compressor is required. These typically come with non US standard pneumatic fittings and no pressure cut-off. Another DIY project to go with the hose.
LED lights on a spool, so many possibilities. Like many things in my life I can OD quickly on some projects. I have AA battery powered RGB light wands, intended to hang from popup canopies. I’ve built garage, shop & bench lights from white LEDs. And a light box for sorting slides & negatives of as a studio light, so many possibilities.
Raspberry Pi computers. I understand these little toy computer are good for little side projects. Maybe if I find some time I’ll see if I can find a good use for one.