"Spod"; to build or to buy?

seanb33 · Jan 21, 2014

I am looking to build an "spod" like product for my jku and after looking at others build their own similar product, i am looking for your thoughts on this build i found on YouTube that will cost around $200 to replicate. I have been looking at just buying an Spod and the price is crazy, i have yet to look into the price/ options of the off road engineering system (what eddie runs) but will need to do that. The links to the videos are posted below and if i follow this design, i will be using the Daystar switch panel in front of the shifter with 5 daystar switches. Please share your opinions on this topic and help guide me thru a better solution (if there is one)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYMe2xTvyUQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUlLZo1kegU

Thanks,
Sean

pvanweelden · Jan 21, 2014

If you look in the writeup section, I did a writeup on using the cooper bussman relay fuse panel, and a perfect match for it, is the daystar 5 switch panel. If you have any questions, let me know.

ridg3runner · Jan 21, 2014

I bought mine and like you said, it was way expensive. Had I known then what I know now I would've built my own. There's a couple different links on here about how to build one, just have to search for them. This one here should give you a bit of insight as to what is involved.
http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=13119
We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..

wayoflife · Jan 21, 2014

Honestly, even if I didn't have a beef with SPod for signing up on my forum and pimping his goods pretending to be a regular member, I still would recommend building one over buy one.

pvanweelden · Jan 21, 2014

^ thanks for the link, ridg3runner :thumb:

Using the Cooper Bussman relay fuse panel is exactly the same as using 5 relays as shown in your video link to the Dbox, but much simpler.
All the wiring is linked in the CB panel (much less wiring than the Dbox), and it combines the fuse panel as well, plus the enclosure is water tight.

seanb33 · Jan 21, 2014

pvanweelden said:
If you look in the writeup section, I did a writeup on using the cooper bussman relay fuse panel, and a perfect match for it, is the daystar 5 switch panel. If you have any questions, let me know.

Will do, i have seen your build before when searching around here. I will have to take a closer look to help open my options up.

ridg3runner said:
I bought mine and like you said, it was way expensive. Had I known then what I know now I would've built my own. There's a couple different links on here about how to build one, just have to search for them. This one here should give you a bit of insight as to what is involved.
http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=13119
We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..

I have searched around here a lot and have seen some great builds and ideas. Do you think the Low voltage cut off or "surge protector" type thing is necessary on your Spod or will i be fine without it?

wayoflife said:
Honestly, even if I didn't have a beef with SPod for signing up on my forum and pimping his goods pretending to be a regular member, I still would recommend building one over buy one.

Would you rather have built one instead of the off road engineering system you are running now or no? I have yet to call them and look into their prices so I'm not sure whats included or how they compare to Spod.

wayoflife · Jan 21, 2014

seanb33 said:
Would you rather have built one instead of the off road engineering system you are running now or no? I have yet to call them and look into their prices so I'm not sure whats included or how they compare to Spod.

My Off Road Engineering system only cost about $350. Actually, it was a bit less as I ordered it at Expo and got a show discount. Of course, there weren't any real good homemade kits like this at the time. Had there been, I might have gone that route instead.

seanb33 · Jan 21, 2014

pvanweelden said:
^ thanks for the link, ridg3runner :thumb:

Using the Cooper Bussman relay fuse panel is exactly the same as using 5 relays as shown in your video link to the Dbox, but much simpler.
All the wiring is linked in the CB panel (much less wiring than the Dbox), and it combines the fuse panel as well, plus the enclosure is water tight.

Looking thru your thread in more detail, this may be the route i will be going. It seems much simpler and a cleaner, less noticeable solution. I will probably be PM'ing you with a few questions i may have...(if you don't mind) as of now, is there anything you would change/add if you were to make it again?

Thanks,
sean

seanb33 · Jan 21, 2014

wayoflife said:
My Off Road Engineering system only cost about $350. Actually, it was a bit less as I ordered it at Expo and got a show discount. Of course, there weren't any real good homemade kits like this at the time. Had there been, I might have gone that route instead.

Great, thanks for the info. Looks like i will most definitely be building my own since it seems to be the most cost effective route for wiring up the jeep.

13gecko · Jan 21, 2014

Not very cheap but looks great and I like the functionality. Anyone here have one? http://m.wiredhdh.com I'm still looking around before I buy anything. I'm liking what Eddy has but I like to be different too. Some of you could probably build something l I keep this at home.

Army_Vet · Jan 21, 2014

seanb33 said:
I am looking to build an "spod" like product for my jku and after looking at others build their own similar product, i am looking for your thoughts on this build i found on YouTube that will cost around $200 to replicate. I have been looking at just buying an Spod and the price is crazy, i have yet to look into the price/ options of the off road engineering system (what eddie runs) but will need to do that. The links to the videos are posted below and if i follow this design, i will be using the Daystar switch panel in front of the shifter with 5 daystar switches. Please share your opinions on this topic and help guide me thru a better solution (if there is one)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYMe2xTvyUQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUlLZo1kegU

Thanks,
Sean

If you do this please use heat shrink tubing instead of electrical tape. electrical tape should really only be used as a temporary fix or when it is impossible to use anything else.
for the connectors look for the perma seal type of heat shrink connector, not expensive and much better result.

Other than that, this find gives me inspiration to try this as well.

pvanweelden · Jan 21, 2014

seanb33 said:
Looking thru your thread in more detail, this may be the route i will be going. It seems much simpler and a cleaner, less noticeable solution. I will probably be PM'ing you with a few questions i may have...(if you don't mind) as of now, is there anything you would change/add if you were to make it again?

Thanks,
sean

Nothing I would change, it really is very simple. Just follow the layout drawing I posted. Like I said before, my writeup is a lot easier and simpler than the dbox video you posted, if you could follow that video, you can do my writeup easily. PM with any questions. :thumbup:

pastorwug · Jan 21, 2014

pvanweelden said:
Nothing I would change, it really is very simple. Just follow the layout drawing I posted. Like I said before, my writeup is a lot easier and simpler than the dbox video you posted, if you could follow that video, you can do my writeup easily. PM with any questions. :thumbup:

Couldn't be simpler unless pvanweelden came and did it for you.

The fun is building this yourself though.
I ran 5 relays to 5 switches along with 4 fused lines into the Jeep cabin - got 5 colors of wire from a Auto Stereo place (cheap) and it was a fun Saturday.

BTW - soldering and shrink tubing is the ONLY way to go IMO.

seanb33 · Jan 21, 2014

Army_Vet said:
If you do this please use heat shrink tubing instead of electrical tape. electrical tape should really only be used as a temporary fix or when it is impossible to use anything else.
for the connectors look for the perma seal type of heat shrink connector, not expensive and much better result.

Other than that, this find gives me inspiration to try this as well.

Yes, that was my plan. Not sure why they didn't use heat shrink in the first place. The electrical tape just looks sloppy and unprofessional.

pvanweelden said:
Nothing I would change, it really is very simple. Just follow the layout drawing I posted. Like I said before, my writeup is a lot easier and simpler than the dbox video you posted, if you could follow that video, you can do my writeup easily. PM with any questions. :thumbup:

Sounds good, I'm sure I'll have some questions for you but until then, thank you for your help and I will post my results when I am done!

pastorwug said:
Couldn't be simpler unless pvanweelden came and did it for you.
The fun is building this yourself though.
I ran 5 relays to 5 switches along with 4 fused lines into the Jeep cabin - got 5 colors of wire from a Auto Stereo place (cheap) and it was a fun Saturday.

BTW - soldering and shrink tubing is the ONLY way to go IMO.

I figured doing it myself would create a fun little project for me to do. Plus it saves a lot of cash I need to put towards my cb that's waiting to be mounted and wired or the ARB compressor that's waiting for a mount.

DirtyJeeP · Jan 22, 2014

I would definitely build your own if you feel comfortable. This way you will know how things run and can make repairs if needed cause you will know how everything is wired. I built my own and would do it again I just used a fuse block with 6 fuse slots. Some relays rated properly and ran wires from the fuse block under the hood into cab. It's pretty easy just can be time consuming to do right and make look nice.

Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

seanb33 · Jan 22, 2014

DirtyJeeP said:
I would definitely build your own if you feel comfortable. This way you will know how things run and can make repairs if needed cause you will know how everything is wired. I built my own and would do it again I just used a fuse block with 6 fuse slots. Some relays rated properly and ran wires from the fuse block under the hood into cab. It's pretty easy just can be time consuming to do right and make look nice.

Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

I will be making my own after getting the reassurance of many people and getting an idea from others how simple and cheap it can actually be. Spod had me scared with all the "great" features their product has but after researching a little more, I found a lot of it is unnecessary and WAY overpriced

72blubyu · Jan 22, 2014

I have been playing with the same idea and just got everything in to build my own using the Bussman relay box.

seanb33 · Jan 22, 2014

72blubyu said:
I have been playing with the same idea and just got everything in to build my own using the Bussman relay box.

Are you copying pvanweelden's build?

72blubyu · Jan 22, 2014

I am I printed out his drawings for the wiring. I have found there is a ton of ways to wire up the relays but I like the way he did it best.

seanb33 · Jan 22, 2014

72blubyu said:
I am I printed out his drawings for the wiring. I have found there is a ton of ways to wire up the relays but I like the way he did it best.

Yea, seems pretty straight forward. Post up your results when you are done!

"Spod"; to build or to buy?

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