Thanks for the kind words. It's been a weird week getting used to the new normal around here, but getting a little work done on the truck has been a welcome distraction.
I've ordered the sliding tray for the backpack cabinet, once that shows up in late October I can start building the skeleton for that. In the meantime I am working on various odds and ends.
CHMSL Relocation
The backpack cabinet will completely block the rear window even when the camper isn't on the truck, so I want to move the CHMSL (and more importantly, it's cameras) from the back of the cab to the back of the backpack box. First step, build an extension cable:
This consists of two fakra Z male-female cables (one for the DRVM camera, one for the cargo camera) and then 4 wires for the brake light/cargo light connection. That brake/cargo light connection uses the following connectors available at Digi-Key and elsewhere:
Male: 174922-1
Male pins: 173631-1
Female: 174929-1
Female pins: 173645-1
Those pins are good for 16-20 gauge wire. I used 16, in hindsight I would have been fine with 18 or 20.
Here's the cable finished up and test fit to the back of the CHMSL:
After taking apart the interior trim and dropping the headliner down a little bit in the driver's rear corner (removing the driver's rear seat is also a must), the extension gets run behind the headliner and out the back of the cab. Everything plugged together nicely and the slack was tucked up above the headliner.
I also tested out the CHMSL and cameras at this point and they all still work normally.
We'll need something to go in place of the CHMSL, and Ram makes a plug that goes in for trucks that don't come with the CHMSL. Part number 68412030AC.
And installed.
Nice and clean. Next we need some way to get out of the back of the cab and into the future cabinet. I picked up these door jamb connector things off of Amazon. It should make a nice flexible connection to the future cabinet. Test fit after drilling a 3/4" hole:
The cable gets run down the inside of the C pillar and then out the back of the cab:
And that's about it for now, at least until the cabinet exists to run this all into:
All the trim and interior is back in place, and I just need to bundle up this cable and seal up the ends until the cabinet takes shape.
PS: What the Fakra?
Part of this project was learning about Fakra cables, and I thought I'd toss up a quick summary of what I learned. Turns out they have different colored connectors (each with a corresponding letter) that have specific keyways on the ends. No doubt to make it easy for workers on the assembly line to hook up these cables and not cross connect them. Each color/letter does have a specified use, but Ram seems to just be using them for whatever. On the back of the CHMSL the DRVM camera is a white connector (Fakra B) and the cargo camera is a black connector (Fakra A). Finding Fakra A or B extension cables is somewhat possible but not that easy. Luckily they also have a universal connector, the "water blue" or Fakra Z connector. This will connect to any of the other colors/letters. Since I had two identical Z extensions in my bundle I just labeled one with some red tape so I don't mix them up.
I also found this helpful chart on the web:
Hope that helps someone down the road.
slide-master.com
