Project Pilot Car:

This is how we build a Pilot Car for this build we will start with Black 2000 Dodge Durango SLT+  

To view any picture Just Click the picture for a larger image.

Items with an red asterisk  means we are dealers.

  A black 2000 Dodge Durango SLT+

3/24/05 The first thing to do is send it to the graphics shop for lettering of company signs while we wait for paint.

    Graphic Details will do all of our Graphics on this build.

4/18/05  Next off we go to the paint shop for custom paint work.

The color of choice will be DuPont base coat/clear coat 2005 corvette yellow.

Next 2 1/2 days of prep time making sure everything is just right for the paint.

Well we are now ready to to put on the 1 1/2 gallons of yellow base coat paint.

Now for the finishing touch the 1 gallon of clear coat. And then the finished product.

4/23/05 We have now picked up our yellow Durango.

A special thanks to Bob {Owner} and Master Painter Josh at Buddy Boys Auto Painting & Collision Repair. Great Job Guys.

 4/26/05   Ok 3 days later and the next step will be to install and wire our Whelen Duplex front and rear 48" light bar.

This bar was custom built for us upon request from the light bar company that we work with.

It is a 12 strobe scanlock bar with 16-50 watt flashing bulbs using the 9600 series relay board set with amber and clear lenses.

And a traffic advisor on the lower back.

We are using the Tact L1 control box to operate the bar. First we start by gutting the car of its trim and passenger front seat.

Next we will install the main feed wires on the battery using oxygen free 8ga + - wire and positive & negative wire distribution blocks.

Then we will install a 100 amp multiple fuse block in the driver side kick panel using only a single 50 amp fuse.

{the other locations will be used on future light installs}

Next we will run and route the three wire harness from the light bar into the vehicle.

To gain entry we will cut a 2" hole in the passenger side door post below the roof line and behind the trim.

{this will also be used to allow access for any future coax from the roof to the inside of our vehicle and will be sealed with black silicon}.

Our control box will be mounted and wired inside the center console.

After running all the wires inside we now start to wire up each switch and test.

We will also run our 3 coax cables and then seal the opening for now.

We then replace all the trim and seat and your done. About 8hrs.

5/2/05   After waiting 1 week for the paint to cure we are off to the graphics shop again.

A special thanks to Josh with Graphic Details Inc. Great Job Josh.

The vinyl that we have decided to use will be the 3M black police reflective.

Ok 6hrs later and the lettering is finished.

Day time look.

Night time look.

5/10/05 That is where we are and we are only 16 day's into the build.

If you would like please check back from time to time as we continue our Project Pilot Car. 

8/11/05  Latest Update And Man Are We Behind

Ok we have a lot to catch up on with this build. The build is on schedule but the web site is way behind.

5/14/05 Today we will install our C.B. Radio. For this we have chosen the Uniden Grant XL. 

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 We have also chosen to use the Wilson Magnet Mount C.B. Antenna.

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5/14/05 Also today we will install our phone communication system

This will be used for voice, fax and internet connection.

Along with the Wi-Fi high speed internet. All will be powered by    and    

For this build we will be using a pair of Motorola Timeport Phones hard wired for hands free operation.

             The Motorola Razor Cell Phones We Will Use.

 Hard wire kit and phone to internet cable

We will also be using a pair of magnet mount Wilson dual band/Tri-Mode cellular antennas.

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Dual-Band & Tri-Mode: 800MHz & 1900MHz Analog and Digital

Compatible with all Cellular, PCS and IDEN providers

Works great on Semi Trucks, RVs, Boats, Cars or almost any other application.

No ground plane required: built-in ground plane allows for use on any surface - Metal, Fiberglass, Ect.

Mounting options available for almost any application.

Fits standard 3/8" * 24 threaded mount.

Over 10 times more signal than a cell phone used inside vehicle without an external antenna.                       

5/21/05  The next step on our build is to add some of our front lights. For this we have chosen Gen 3 LEDs

These lights are much brighter than strobes and use much less power.

These lights are made with heavy aluminum cases.

Stainless steel brackets and poly carbonate lens. A choice of 6 or 12 state-of-the-art Generation III LEDs

With Diamond shaped LED formation and magnifying optics.

8 attention-getting flash patterns with Non-volatile memory.

It remembers last pattern at Power Up. Weather resistant protection against the elements.

Fully adjustable half moon bracket for easy installation Self Contained Light. No external flasher required.

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Ok now we will get them mounted and wired.

Ok we now have our front LEDs mounted and wired into the grill

we are also using a dual 12 LED mounted onto the windshield and a pair of  6 LEDs in the rear hatch glass.

6/11/05  Today we purchased our dash cam.

The camera we have chosen is the Sony DVD-92 as it has the best features and is user friendly.

And for this type of service of 8-10 hours of steady recording time each day.

Simple digital video and still image recording is here with the DCR-DVD92 DVD Handycam® camcorder.

It’s simple because Sony has created a camcorder with easy-to-use features, and you can record directly onto DVD.

Super SteadyShot® Image Stabilization compensates for camera “shake" and makes it easy to record smoother video.

It’s also easy to capture distant objects with 20X optical zoom and 800X digital zoom.

Professional Quality Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® Lens
Carl Zeiss® lenses have an advanced optical multi-layer coating that offers less glare and flare with increased contrast.

This results in vivid image brilliance, true-to-life color saturation and perfect renditions of subtle tones.

Though easy-to-use, the DCR-DVD92 is fully capable of capturing difficult shots. With Super NightShot® Plus infrared system

Now you can record even in low light situations. The 2.5" LCD screen provides image clarity and easily rotates for easy viewing .

The DCR-DVD92 also comes with additional LCD touch screen controls for extra convenience.
 

We have also purchased a Bower WIDE ANGLE LENS so as to get the widest clearest picture.

   Bower

Super 0.38x IR AF hi-resolution wide angle video lens.

Super wide panoramic high resolution lens.

High speed auto focus compatible.

0.38 time conversion factor plus a macro mode.

Conversion type mounts on front of existing lens.

Next we have taken a mini tri pod and retrofitted it for our needs so as to mount it on top of our dash.

We mounted it to the dash using clear epoxy and then ran the AC power wire for the DVD Cam.

      And now everything is ready for service.

6/13/05  We have ordered our computer mount and they are on back order so we wait.

For this build we are using a Ram as it was also the best in the industry.

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7/1/05  Time to order our computer. The computer that we have chosen is a Toshiba G-25 Qosmio            

We will be adding an up-grade of 1 GB of memory bring the total to 2 GB.   

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7/1/05 Today we will also order our USB printer. This one will be a Cannon BJC-55 as it is small and powerful.

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We will also order our work station and organizer {Cordless optical air mouse and compact keyboard}

     GO 2.4 Series Cordless Optical Air Mouse & Compact Keyboard Suite
On the Desk, In the Air . . . Anywhere!    With safety first these are the greatest for in car use.

• 2.4 Cordless Optical Air Mouse with 30’ range
  • Ergonomic mouse design for comfortable desktop and in-air use
  • Gyroscopic motion-sensing technology for accurate and effortless in-air use.

• 2.4 GHz RF Receiver with USB connector with up to 30’ range with no line-of-site limitations
• Compact cordless keyboard with 30” range and whisper quiet keys for maximum productivity and minimal clutter

This is really a great way to keep everything organized.  It easily loops over your front passenger seat for fast removal.

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7/1/05 We must also have a great power supply to power all these items.

For that we will turn to Vector 800/1600 Watt Power Inverter with dual outlets and Digital LED Display.

And they are made in Ft. Lauderdale, FL we have used them for some time with out any problems.

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Supplies 800 Watts of continuous power

Automatic shutdown

Low battery alarm

Latest Soft-Start technologies

Gradual voltage ramp-up during inverter startup.

Automatically re-starts when overload causes inverter to shut down.

Efficiently cools power transistors

7/29/05 Our Computer, printer and work station are now here and we are still waiting for the mount.

8/1/05 The new Delorme Products are now out. 

We are going to use the Earthmate Blue Logger GPS receiver with Bluetooth technology.

We will also be using the Delorme Street Atlas 2006 Program.

8/3/05 All Delorme products are in.

8/4/05 Our computer stand is also in. So now we will start putting it all together.

Ok we have everything we need for this part of the build so let's get started.

8/6/05  We will start with the stand. Very easy to install about 45 min total time.

Next we will install the computer and the Delorme products and test both systems.

Now we will install and test the Cannon printer.

Our faxing is done with the help of and E-fax.

Ok now we will install the power inverter. It will be wired directly to the battery using a

fused power distribution block, battery terminals and oxygen free 8ga +- wire .

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One reason we picked the   power supply was its power and compact size.

 We will install it into the glove box so that the inverter and all the wires will be out of sight.

8/7/05  No good Pilot/Escort vehicle would be with out a really good AC-DC Refrigerator/Warmer.

 Again we have turned to   as we feel this is by far the best product.

The Vector® 20 Liter Rechargeable Travel Cooler & Warmer. AC-DC with its own battery pack.

This unit will run 4 hours on a single charge.

Built-in wheels and retractable handle to take it inside your motel. With a built in 12V DC outlet.

Rechargeable battery included. Digital LED temperature gauge and more.

We run ours on 12v and it runs steady @ between 29 to 34 degrees when it is 90-100 degrees out side.

8/13/05 Today we will start installing our rear camera system.

The camera we will use came to us with great reviews. It is the CC-47 from Obserview.

We will use the a white one painted yellow to match our car.

This camera also comes with some great features that will work very well on this build.

We will use the camera, 25' of connecting cable and connecting power plug.

Cameras                Monitor    DVR Box

• CCD Compact Heavy Duty Color Camera
• Weather Resistant
• Built In Microphone
• Wide Angle (115.5) Lens
• Die Cast Aluminum Body
• Shock & Vibration Resistant
• Built in IR LED night vision function
• Also available in black color camera

       Camera System Store {click}

The camera software we picked was the ATI program and again we have heard great things about it. And it is very user friendly.

We also have been using another version of this program on our office computer to watch the news while working.

          The Highest Quality Digital TV With Digital Stereo For Your PC

For cleaner, clearer uncompressed digital TV on your PC in digital stereo, the TV WONDER USB 2.0 excels.

Watch TV on your PC monitor on full screen or in a corner window when you are waiting for other operations.

Surfing channels has never been easier. You can scan channels easily with the built-in 125-channel TV tuner.

 Featuring the user-friendly Gemstar GUIDE Plus+™

Interactive TV guide and channel preview software that lets you see what’s on at a glance.

The camera is mounted and all wires are routed as to not be seen.

Now we will install the software for both cameras and then test our system.

We will set this up so that we can record both the front and rear cameras at the same time using separate hard drives.

One will be our DVR and the other will be our PVR. Both will hold 200 hours or more each of recording time.

We will do this by using both Windows Media Center and ATI. {Two Tv Tuners on one PC}

Ok that's done and hey every thing works better than we could have expected.

Below are pictures of what we have done as of 8/13/05.

And remember the items with a red asterisk we are dealers for. If you have any questions please E-mail us.

Well that's all for now but if you would like to check back we are not done yet.

We still have 6 more GEN 3 LEDs, 2 strobes in the head and 2 in the back-up lights.

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