Hi all. Im looking at installing the following 'Shaved Handle' set up on my F150.


I however have a question that none of the suppliers will answer for me.

"When you press Button #2 (Un-Lock) does it actually 'POP' open the doors, or does it just un-lock them so they can be opened with the white buttons? (I assume they mount under your rear-view morror?)"

This is the link for the kit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...6198744&rd=1,1

Thanks

BRENT

 

You shouldnt have to worry about the unlock feature.. since there is no handle outside. but if you do lock the doors the lock will win over the accuatiors. the white buttions are wired straight to your accuatiors... so when you press them it will pop your door open...

but worse case senario is your battery goes dead. what u gonna do then? i installed a manual way to get in my truck if nessasary

 

is this your daily ride?

 

Thanks for that info!

I did do a search on this topic and read your previous posts, I too will be installing an additional battery connector behind the grill to plug a "jump" battery into just in case of flat batt.

Good idea, thanks for sharing!

BRENT

 

heres my plan, install actuators & buttons and poppers on drivers side only (leaving handle in the door but not connected) and use this system of getting in the vehicle for about a month.

Consider this an experiment to see how practical it is for 30 days.

My wife thinks shaved handles is stupid so she will use the traditional way until i get all the bugs sorted out.

PS My truck has been converted to RHD, so when I say passangers side im refering to the keypad and lock barrel handle.

PPS Yes my truck is my daily drive.

 

cool bananas, problem solved! I purchased this kit indtead:

I'll still use the factory remote to lock/unlock the doors but to open the door i'll push the little white button instead!

kit cost $60 USD + P&H

 

I shaved the handles on my minivan, it was ok until I locked the remote in the van, luckly I had an extra window laying around. it was cool in a novel kinda way. I ended up using the trunk open feature on my alarm remote to pop open the drivers side door, just like air bags I recommend them only for show only vehicles, just think how many times you'll have to explain how to get into your truck to anyone trying to get in... friends, mechanics, valets, etc

 

ill agree with half of that.
a daily driver is a pain in the *** to have shaved.
i did it to the drivers side on my last DD and it was a pain getting in when you just needed to get somthing out.

it was cool to walk up to it and pop the door (i had keyless wired up to pop them) and it would open but when i was at home and need to grab something out of my truck.. i would have to walk inside the house to get the keyless remote to pop it..
Or if i was working on it, and i closed the door... same story.
It got old.

Ill dissagree on the airbags..
a properly bagged truck will ride softer then a caddy on a daily basis and have that WOW factor when you slam the frame on the ground.

 

youve also never had an airline burst at 40 miles an hour nor have you ben stranded 50 miles from home with a busted airline. its a realiability issue. airbags arnt reliable enuff for a daily driver

 

form or function. i am gonna have to go with form.

 

Ill agree to that, but like most things on our vehicles, they need maintanance to be reliable.
I know plenty of people that reliably drive a bagged ride day after day with no problems.
Also many makes come from the factory with airbags, caddies.. crown vics, marquies... and they are pretty reliable.
Hell most 18 wheelers are running airbags (original bag setups used 18 wheeler bags) , and they get a hell of a lot more use then the normal truck.

and i have been stranded and away from home with a bad slave cyl or faulty fuel pump... does that mean i shouldnt drive fuel injected manual tranny vehicles? Our 2002 expy took a tranny dump over four hours from home, but that doesnt make me not want to drive it.

I know what your getting at though, but one line busting is different then repeatedly having to get into your vehicle with no door handle.

 

how bout having to wait 10 minutes before you can drive anywhere. aftermarket bag setups are just not bulletproof reliable yet, and most of the problems lead to small compressors, fittings and valves. of course you can argu that all 18 weelers have bags along with some bigger luxury cars like mecedes and bmw hell even the tbird had air suspension at one point. but the difference is the arnt dumping and refilling the bags all the time... and a lot of factory airbagged car owners complain about the oddly frequent compressor repair bills, its just one more thing that could go wrong and on a daily drive the less things that could go wrong the better.

 

Hello all, excellent conversation with wonderful advice!!!!

My intended set-up sounds slightly different to how you both had yours.

I will still be using my factory remote to lock and un-lock the doors as per standard.

I will be installing the [actuators-poppers-buttons] as a replacement to the door handles. ie: if im working on the truck and the door swings shut i just press the button under the rear-view mirror and it will open again (no remote reqd).

I can't see how it is possible to lock the keys in the truck because i only lock and unlock with the remote anyway.

Im thinking of re-mounting the key-pad handle in the tray somewhere or under the bumper (just the electrical part) so if i ever did loose my remote i could still gain entry to the cabin.

I agree that reliability is the key - thats why im having a 30 day trial with one door only. If that passes and the truck gets shaved then I can't see both actuaturs crapping out at the same time and if that does happen i'll just get better actuators (Ferrari boot actuator perhaps )

Quick question for Fabian06SC and styxnpicks, where did you install the spring popper things that actually opens the door slightly? Was it up by the hinged front part of the door or was it down the catch end?

 

the spring popper usually goes at the latch side of the door since it will need less force to pop the door open, think about pushing a door open close to the hinge opposed to the edge. the longer the lever the less force neded to move it

 

Styx is correct. most setups are done with the poppers in the lower latch side corners. I mounted mine in the hinge side because i only wanted it to pop open a tiny bit and it worked well for me there. In the other location though is were it needs to be so that it gets the door fully open.

also just a suggestion, you may want to run a mechanical means of getting the door open.
Run a cable pull thru the hinge side and in the fender area to a hidden location under the truck somewhere. i know your planning pretty well but you always have to have a mech means of getting in just incase.
You may also want to find a mech alternative to your locks.

Scenerio 1.... your batt goes completely dead. you cant pop the actuators nor unlock the doors. a 9v wont have enough amps to pull the strong door lock actuators... you are stuck.
a mechanical means of unlocking will help you unlock it and then a mech means of opening it will be a window savior.

Most shaved doors dont have the locks hooked up.
no one can steal your truck if it has no handle, therefor a lock is not used
this is how mine was. no lock, the keyless popped the door. incase of emergancy there was a mech means of getting in the vehicle.

one last note for Styx (devils advocate)... 10 min to get air? what kind of setup were you running? EDC and minimum 3 gal storage tank = air in seconds
electric comps suck but are the most practical in luxury land yatchs which is why they need frequent repairs along with the exclusion of any holding tanks.

Ok ill quit whoreing the thread.
But i am interested in the setup you ran/ speak of styx. perhaps PM me and we can discuss it. Seems like it wasnt very efficient to me.