Fear. Shock. Complete surprise. All of these emotions, and some choice few words, were all associated with victims of our Hornblasters Shocker 540 Conductor's Special. Hearing the constant train horn battles at truck shows left a bitter taste in our mouths and created an almost hatred for the loud devices. A few bad apples at a truck show shouldn't ruin our freeway fun, right? After fighting the urge to add train horns to one of our project trucks, we finally made the call to Hornblasters and ordered a Conductor Special (or train horn lingo for really friggin' loud horns).
This train horn kit is legit. Arriving in three large boxes, the kit was intense and there was no looking back. Detailed instructions helped us figure out how to mount the four horns, 5-gallon air tank, Viair 400C compressor, Viair 100/150 psi pressure switch, run the 5/16-inch air line, and wire everything up.
Editor's Note:
It should be mentioned that not everyone will take being scared or surprised with a grain of salt. After going through an intersection and hitting the horn, we experienced some collateral damage. Once we parked the truck, someone followed us and emptied a full milkshake on our custom candy blue paint. That didn't make us happy, but maybe we should have expected it.
Opening the boxes from Hornblasters.com,...
Opening the boxes from Hornblasters.com, we checked out the Conductor's Special 540 kit. Included in the kit were four train horns, 5-gallon air tank, Viair 400C compressor, Viair pressure switch, air solenoid, assorted fittings, wiring, and 20 feet of 5/16 air line.
Our first step was to mount...
Our first step was to mount the air tank and Viair compressor. Because of the large size of the air tank, we opted to mount it in the bed. After we marked and drilled our holes, we used the supplied 3/8-inch bolts to secure it. We then mounted the Viair 400C compressor and inserted the airline into the side of the tank. As you can see, we also filled the empty ports with the supplied fittings.
We then installed the Viair...
We then installed the Viair pressure switch on top of the tank. After the switch was wired, each wire was protected in split loom and taped together for a clean install.
We opted to mount our Hornblasters...
We opted to mount our Hornblasters train horns underneath the rear of the truck where the spare tire once resided. A 1/4-inch thick piece of angle-iron was cut down to 37 inches to fit the width of the frame and secured to the frame. Each horn was then bolted onto the bracket for a solid mounting point. Note the horns are pointing towards the front of the cab.
The backside of each horn...
The backside of each horn received the angled airline fitting and was mounted to the empty holes in the Ford's frame using extra-large flat washers and the supplied nuts. Each air line was installed using the supplied compression fittings and all threads were coated in plumber's tape.
Moving on to the air valve,...
Moving on to the air valve, we mounted it using self-tapping screws as close to the horns in order to provide loud, crisp blows. After the air line was run from the air tank down through the hole we drilled in the bed, the air line was then connected from the air tank to the inlet of the air valve.