2025 Outdoor Projects at KnarrowHaus

A quick update on the Summer projects.

New bed rack by Thumperfab

The rack arrived last Fall. I assembled all the pieces shortly after it arrived, then stored them in the garage until Summer when we had time and fair weather to install them on the bed. (Of course, there were a few specialized mounting bolts missing I didn't detect until a few weeks ago. Amazon to the rescue.) 

Thumperfab bedrack with the rear door swung open.

The only problem with the bed rack is that it has a tray on top with sidewalls. When we cover it with a tarp, the rain and the snow press down on the tarp turning it into a swimming pool and making it impossible to remove the tarp without ripping on the rack's sharp corners. I came up with a solution using a sheet of HDPE plastics and some supports. (See further below.)

Oil changes for the snow machines

The side-by-side ("Schneewagen") and the quad ("Schneezeug") both got Amsoil powered oil changes along with new oil filters. 

(Those Amsoil kits are pretty slick: Exactly the right amount of synthetic oil, the correct oil filter, a new washer for the oil drain plug, and even a disposable funnel.) 

The engineers who design these offroad utility vehicles design them to be anti-DIY! Both units' oil filters are buried in, underneath and between the most difficult-to-reach locations. Clearly designed to discourage the average DIYer and foment paying exorbitant shop fees from your friendly neighborhood dealer's service department. 

I am undettered by their Rub-Goldberg-esque shenanigans.

Mackenley's slender fingers and narrow bones managed to reach the oil filter on the side-by-side avoiding having to take out the back seats, the battery cover and engine bay wall. I was solo on the oil change for the quad. Three hours for a "simple" oil change.

New synthetic winch lines

Removing the existing steel cables from the winch spool was difficult, mostly because it's tight quarters reaching in from the front to the winch spool. Had to remove both vehicles' rollers fairlead and replace them with fairleads designed for synthetic winch lines.  Removing the cable necessitated the use of a dremel with a variety of attachments to cut off and smooth over the frayed steel linces. Tedious and frustrating.

Tensioning the synthetic winch line on Schneewagen

Mackenley and I got the new synthetic lines installed and tentioned last week. We tensioned the winch lines by pointing the side-by-side and the quad on the road facing each other about 75 feet apart. Then we successively put each vehicle in neutral and winched in to the other vehicle. One person drives the machine and runs the winch; the other guides the line so it tensions evenly across the spool. 

Rear rack lights

I had so much trouble placing the initial order for the Thumperfab bed rack, that the owner had pity on me and threw in a set of lights for the rack. These should help us see at night when we're trying to back in up the driveway. 

The installation instructions were sparse, to be kind. I spent an evening on Youtube looking for guidance from others who have installed similar lighting systems in Can Am Defenders. Mackenley mounted the lights in their designated positions on the back of the rack, four in all. 2 that point to each side, and 2 pointing back. 

Mackenley installing the rack lights

The wiring was plug-and-play, but I had to figure out where and how to route everything from the back of a tilting dump bed up through the floorboards in to the dash in order to mount the switch and tie in to keyed-power. Thanks, Youtube.

I count the day's effort as completely victorious, as evidence by these pictures.

The new rear lighting switch mounted between the stock lighting switch and the winch switch.

The rack lights are near the top of the rack pointing to the sides and to the back.

The lights are switched "on" in the picture above.

Bed Rack Tray Cover

The cover over the bed rack's top tray is my own design. I bought a piece of HDPE from a local Tap Plastics shop, along with some scraps of 1"x1" offcuts to use as supports. Last week, Katie sanded  the ednges of the HDPE sheet, rounding them prevent tearing the tarp. Then she drilled 10 evenly-spaced holes on the sheet for mounting the 5" inch pieces of 1"x1" supports to keep the sheet flat when it's under snow load. I secured the sheet at the corners and sides with zip ties. 

Now we should be able to pull the tarp off in the winter time when snow is piled on top without destroying it.

Stay tuned for two indoor projects... 

...that need to be done before Winter sets in:

• Finish the live edge slab for our kitchen table. Need to sand this outside.

• Replace noise/buzzing relay for the heat on the third floor with a quiet, solid-state relay.