Hi, I'm Steve Smith with Camper Van Freedom. This is my LICHAMP hydraulic cable lug crimper. I used it constantly while building my electrical system, including the large battery cables and lugs. The work took considerable effort. For another van build with many large connections, I would buy a powered crimper from the beginning.

The matching product picture shows the hand-pumped hydraulic tool and interchangeable dies. The dies close around the barrel of a cable lug. The cable, lug and die are separate parts of that arrangement. Hydraulic assistance still requires manual pumping; this is not the powered tool I wish I had bought.

My roof-wiring photographs show grouped wires and the larger enclosure during the connection and routing work. They provide context for the wider electrical build. Those roof connections included a different heat-applied splice method. The workshop footage illustrates general measuring and holding work, rather than showing this exact lug-crimping operation.

The useful distinction is between the terminal and the tool acting on it. A lug has a barrel around the conductor and an attachment end. The crimper closes its selected dies around the barrel. Preparing and routing a cable are different stages from forming that terminal connection.

My owner review is about the repeated effort. I am six feet two inches tall, weigh about two hundred and ten pounds and am a bodybuilder. Even so, this tool wore my arms out. There were many wire connections in the electrical system, and crimping the large lugs was hard work.

At one point I thought I had torn my left biceps or triceps while using the tool. I do not know which muscle was affected. My arm hurt for months before it eventually healed. That experience is part of why I would invest in a powered or automatic crimper for another build with many large connections.

My page compares two other hand-pumped hydraulic kits. The TEMCo T H zero-zero-zero-five and the AMZCNC crimper each have their own die selection and head layout. Their matching pictures show those manual hydraulic formats. They are researched alternatives, not the powered upgrade I wish I had chosen.

Thanks for watching. I'm Steve Smith with Camper Van Freedom. I used the LICHAMP constantly, but the large-lug work wore my arms out. For another extensive electrical build, a powered crimper would be a priority for me. The full owner review, matching pictures and current buying options are linked below. Until next time.