I will probably be getting a 2013 F-150 for use as a pilot car, trading in my 2007 F-350 in order to get better fuel mileage. I will have to transfer my light bar, strobes, driving lights, CB and antennas, cell amplifier and antenna and scanner and antenna from my F-350 to my F-150.

I am wondering if anyone knows how easy (and how to) run wires/cables/coax from devices and switch boxes in the cab to the engine compartment, from where I can route wires and cables along the frame, etc., to the locations where the lights, antennas, etc. are located?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

That's a lot of wiring you're going to run. My first thought, is to look under the hood, and find a handy spot to drill/cut, a hole the size of the grommet used on those round marker lights at the rear outside corner of a trailer, and run the wires through that. I think I'd try to find a space on the right side somewhere. Then "maybe" seal it up with some RTV.
My next thought, where do you plan on finding room in an F150 to put all those things? I had a hard time just finding a place for a tiny little Midland compact.
What do you guys normally use to mount all this stuff, I've never looked in a pilot vehicle to see what all you guys do with it.

Maybe Tom, tjctransport, will comment. I think he does the same as yourself. If I see a pilot with an F150, I'll try to talk with him/her.

 

here's what our guys in the shop did for mine at work:

this is two 6awg wires for my inverter. the grommet is in the passenger's side firewall. the truck is a 2010.

for the top lights they went through the top-mount brake light and sealed the lens with black silicone. but we just have the amber flashing LED's up top. for the amount of wiring you have to do, i would just run them all back out the same grommet and down the frame rail to the back of the cab and up between the box/cab. just put them in some wire loom and zip-tie them to the frame.

that's what i'd do, anyway.

 

For my amp and light wiring I used the grommet on the drivers side that the emergency brake cable passes through. It worked great for me but with all your wiring I'm not sure if its a option.

 

Thanks for the replies. The passenger side grommet looks like it might be the best solution. I'll have to pop the hood on one at the dealer and see if it's still there on the current models.

I ran the wiring on my F-350 along the frame rails and up between the cab and bed, as suggested. My light bar and CB antennas are mounted on a headache rack, which will be the same setup for the F-150, so that seemed to work the best. The same for the front and rear strobes.

As to where I am going to mount everything in the cab, I believe that will require some logistical somersaults! Once I get the truck I'll just have to do a whole lot of measuring and fitting. I want the installation to look neat, as I've seen some pilot cars with radios seemingly duck taped to one another and stacked on the dash!

 

There is a grommet on the driver's side, below the master cylinder. And that's not much wiring... I have two 2/0ga. cables, 6 4-conductor cables for LED lightheads, 1 run of RG-58 coax, and about a half-dozen other control wires running through the firewall.

You should see the pass-through from the cab to the bed - it's 4.5" diameter!

 

For the grommet shown in this photo, where does it end up inside the cab, and is there access to it from inside? Thanks!

 

Please take it back to them and have them protect the wiring properly. You would be amazed how much damage minute vibrations of a wire against anything with the least edge (like that wire tie, other wire loom, etc.) can do over the life of a vehicle.

 

All a grommet does is keep the sheet metal from cutting the wire. It does not stop water from leaking into the interior. And that is especially true if you have multiple wires because water will track down the wire bundle. If you want to do a professional job, then use a bulkhead connector. A connector has another advantage that the harness can be disconnected at the firewall in case you want to remove something or make repairs. The WORST thing you can do is put wires through the back wall of cab and run up to the roof because water will track down the wires into the cab.

In the case of antenna cable, I would seal the antenna to the roof and run cable through a hole under the sealed base.

 

To be honest, i'm not sure. i'm assuming it comes in right behind the glove box (or cubby hole if you are from eastern south dakota my wife is, but i'm not, so it's a glove box)

Next time i get in the truck, i'll try to drop the glove box and see where it comes in.

good advice, the wire should be in wire loom.

in my case ... it's their truck, so they can do with it what the wish ... i just drive it (which is a monumental feat for me to accept) if it gives a problem, i'll take it back to them and ask them to fix it. FWIW, it is properly fused, so at least it won't start a fire.

 

Bulkhead connectors are nice but unnecessary. If you're going to run a bundle through a grommet, add a drip loop. Water will run off and not make its way into the cab. As far as roof mounts, lightbars are installed all the time with a hole in the roof, the cable run through, then the whole mess sealed with RTV. Works fine.

As far as antennas, the way the mounts are built they seal to the roof and the coax attaches to the underside.

 

any trucks we have that need auxiliary lights (side mount spot lights, ect) or antennas get a light bar installed. all external accessories are mounted to to the bar so that holes are not put in the vehicles.

we usually make our own light bars out of square tube. simple, effective, and better than punching holes in sheet metal, IMO.

lately they've been buying LED magnet mount light bars, so they are just putting a hole in the top brake/bed light lenses, then sealing that with RTV. so far, no leaks in any of the trucks.