Commander To the Rescue
Part IV Essential Gear For The BackcountryOver the past three months, we’ve given our 2006 Jeep Commander an adjustment in altitude with a Superlift suspension kit, ProComp tires, and enhanced aspiration and exhaust via an Airaid intake kit and Magnaflow catback system. Wyotech then wrapped the Commander up with body armor, and added rock-sliders and skid platting. Reliance Powder Coating, in Oakland California, stepped up to the plate to add a durable black finish to the new hardware. Now that “Commander to the Rescue” was looking a little more fit for the trail, it was time to equip it up with the basic necessities of backcountry travel. For this laundry list of goodies, we talked to Lieutenant Richard Tornberg, head of the Placer County Search & Rescue division.
The list that came back covered an off-roader’s basic needs, and a few more. On the top of the list was storage space for gear, followed by a reliable winch and upgraded battery, a variety of auxiliary lighting needs, an air compressor, a Hi-Lift Jack and associated recovery gear. Jokingly, Tornberg mentioned, “After three days in the field, a hot shower would be handy too.” We got on the horn and started sourcing the gear, gear that we felt would hold up to the rigorous demands of life with a Search & Rescue team.
Off-Road Unlimited answered our needs for storing gear with a Defender Series roof rack. Defender racks are made from 16-gauge, fully welded 1” round steel tubing and finished in a black textured powder coating. For a reliable winch, Warn Industries provided a 9500ti. The 9500ti will have plenty of pulling power and the motor-mounted thermal sensor, which relays temperature information to the handheld remote, will provide instant feedback to the operator during extended recovery operations. Famous for their yellow smiley face covers, KC Lights has been a standard in auxiliary off-road lighting for over 35 years. With over 100 auxiliary light models available, including fog, off-road, HID and floodlights, there was no shortage of options. For airing up tires and running pneumatic tools, Viair came through with their new constant duty 450C air compressor, 2.5- gallon tank and accessory kit. And to keep all these electronic accessories energized on the frosty winter nights, Optima Battery provided a Yellow Top battery.
The Grunge Factor: Placer County’s Search & Rescue Division is responsible for almost a million acres of public and private land. When an emergency call comes in, the S&R crew may be out in the field for several days at a time. In response to Tornberg’s pipedream of “a shower,” and because we believe maintaining proper hygiene is a big plus, we contacted R&M Specialty Product’s for an engine mounted hot water shower. Working with any water-cooled vehicle, the R&M unit borrows fluid from the vehicle’s cooling system and runs it through a heat exchanger. Fresh water from an outside source, such as a bucket, creek or lake for example, is channeled through copper coils within the exchanger. When it comes out the hose on the other end, voila`, you have a hot shower.
To get all this gear mounted up, we headed back to the Sacramento 4 Wheel Parts store. With just a few days before our “Commander to the Rescue” was to make its debut at the 40th Annual Sierra Trek. Manager Jessie Garcia and crew took on the task of installing all the gear. Check out the next few pages, as “Commander to the Rescue” gets geared up for the high country. Next month, our final of a five-part series, our Commander hits the trail with some cool recovery gear from ARB, Hi-Lift, ProComp and Safety Seal, and starts a life of adventure with the Placer County Search & Rescue Team.
Because our Commander will routinely deal with
winter starting conditions, winching, and running multiple
auxiliary lights, the Yellow Top should provide
the right blend of reliable power in a variety of conditions.
Slightly different in size from the stock unit, we
needed to use an aftermarket hold-down and shift the
battery towards the center of the vehicle. The dualpost
design was also handy for hooking up our 9500ti
Warn Winch.
The Optima Yellow
Top is one of the only
true dual-purpose batteries
on the market,
providing a balance of
cranking power and
heavy cycling ability.
Optima’s patented
Spiral Cell Technology
immobilizes the internal
components of the
battery, enabling
Optima batteries to
withstand substantial
amounts of vibration
without damage.
Because we would be adding a slew of electrical accessories, a central switch location was essential to keep the forward view uncluttered. Painless
Wiring has been a key provider of user-friendly engine conversion wiring harnesses for 15 years. Previously known as Perfect Performance Products, we
called Painless for assistance in wiring our bank of KC lights, Viair compressor and R&M shower. Painless provided an illuminated eight toggle-switch
panel (#50317), fuses, wiring and everything we needed. The panel went together smoothly and the wire leads were long enough to reach all of our lights
and accessories. The Commander had a small cubbyhole just above the glove box. Pulling the plastic cover revealed the ideal location for our switching
panel. Jeff Keenan, our local 4WP wiring guru, fabricated a plastic insert to match the original opening, then routed our bundle of spaghetti into the dash
With the addition of the seven KC
auxiliary lights, the R&M Shower,
and Viair air compressor, Keenan,
who in a previous life was a custom
auto-stereo tech, was concerned
about the ignition wiring handling the
load. The solution was to add a
Bosch 30-amp relay to reduce the
possibility of overloading the system.
For an extra measure, four of the
same 30-amp relays were wired into
the accessory circuits behind the
switching panel.
Because stuff happens, a good winch should be standard for
any trail rig. Especially when that rig’s primary function will
be to get civilians out of a jam. The Warn 9.5ti Thermometric
provides 9500 pounds of pulling capacity. Its alloy housing is
sealed at key points for superior water/harsh environment
resistance and provides a shield for the motor wiring. The die
cast aluminum case is also powder coated to provide maximum
protection from the elements. Adding to the new winch
design is a new indexed connector for the hand-held remote
control and an easy-to-use clutch lever. Internally, the 9.5ti
Thermometric winch features Warn’s exclusive multi-segment
CAM actuated brake, a new Gen II Bosch motor and a rugged
3-stage planetary gear train reduction system. Also new with
the 9.5ti is a motor-mounted thermal sensor which relays temperature
information to the hand-held remote, providing the
operator instant feedback while the winch is in operation.
Because we had a Warn quick disconnect on
hand (we had originally considered using a
multi-mount system), and the fact that the
9500ti is completely self contained, we made
use of the disconnect to simplify wiring or any
future need for removal.
When you pile seven members of a Search &
Rescue team inside, you better have room for
their gear on the outside. Off Road Unlimited
(ORU) has a full line of Defender Racks available
for most vehicles. Because the
Commander is new to the market, ORU went to
task to get a new rack on-line for the project (it
should be available for retail by the time of this
printing). Defender racks are fully welded and
crafted from 16-gauge, 1-inch steel tubing, and
finished in a black textured powder coating. The
aerodynamic profile lends itself well to today’s
vehicle designs, and the integrated flooring
should not have a problem absorbing a load of
gear from our S&R crew. Four strategically
placed tabs on the tapered leading edge provided
the ideal location and clearance for four KC
Rally 800 driving lights. ORU also provided
mounting hardware for our Hi-Lift jack, shovel
and axe.
To enhance the Commander’s factory illumination during night treks in
the High Sierras, we choose KC’s Rally 803 Driving lights. The KC 803 features
a 130-Watt Halogen bulb, black powder coated Stainless Steel 8”
housings, and matching ABS stone guards. Tabs on the front of Off Road
Unlimited rack made the perfect mounting location.
One request from Search & Rescue was for “ditch lights.” Mounted facing
forward and at a 30-degree angle to the centerline of the vehicle, ditch
lights are used for getting a visual on missing items, vehicles or persons
that have strayed from the road. The 130-watt KC 801 halogen driving
lights were selected for their range, illumination pattern and intensity.
Linked to the high intensity KC801s, we added a single KC series-26
work light to each side of the rack. This combination should give the S&R
crew a daylight view of the peripheral areas on even the darkest nights.
When the phone rings for a missing person, it doesn’t matter if it is high
noon or midnight, the S&R team gets the call. To light up the working area
around the vehicle at night, a pair of KC series-26 work lights were mounted
on provided tabs on the ORU rack. The Series 26 draws only 4.2 amps yet provides
an excellent flood lighting pattern for night operations near the vehicle.
A hot shower is a luxury after several days in
the field, and the addition of R&M Specialty
Products Hot Water Shower should be a big plus
for our S&R crew. Quarters were a little tight
under the hood, but the unit tucked up neatly,
just above the radiator. Coolant is channeled to
the heat exchanger via a feed line, which is
tapped into the heater core feed line. Because
the 12-volt pump runs at a constant 1.6gpm,
temperature control is done at the vehicle’s
heater control. The pump draws water through a
standard garden hose from an outside source,
(such as a bucket or creek) then runs it through
this cool (it is actually hot) heat exchanger
which is full of radiator fluid. Voila` you have
hot water.
The feed and pressure lines mount to any flat
surface and accept a standard garden hose.
We mounted the pump just behind the passenger
side headlight, and wiring it was as
simple as two leads to the Painless switch
panel. The rest of the work was sorting out a
rather large assortment of plumbing fittings.
This baby should be able to handle a tired,
sweaty S&R team after a long day.
For re-inflating tires in the backcountry, we sourced a Viair 450C Constant
Duty Onboard Air System. The heart of the 450C is this 100% Duty Cycle
compressor, which is specially designed for vehicles with up to 37-inch
tires. The kit came complete with compressor and 2.5-gallon tank, a 35-foot
coiled hose, pressure switch, a gauge and a bag of fittings and hardware.
Reliance has been one of the premier
powder-coating shops in the Bay Area for
many years, coating everything from offroad
to aviation products. The process
starts with removing all contaminants
from the metal. Parts are then sand blasted
and sent through a multi-step process
that virtually bakes on the painted
finish.
Due to the uni-chassis design of the Commander, mounting space under
the vehicle for the compressor and tank was limited. Removing the plastic
panel behind the rear seat exposed the metal body pan and a suitable mounting
surface. A heating duct runs across the back and the spare tire crank is
dead center. We found that a Hi-Lift Jack 4XRAC flipped upside-down was an
ideal bracket for installing the air tank, leaving clearance for the air duct and
access to the spare tire crank. 4 Wheel Parts tech Alan Mackiewicz, who handled
the installation, ran a dual off/on switch set up to our dash mounted
Painless Wiring panel. Viair states that the 450C will take our ProComp
265/70/17 All Terrain radials from dead-flat to 35psi in less than five minutes.
We’ll take it through the paces at next month’s Sierra Trek.