Bandera

Well, I am now an official member of this forum. I am in the Houston, Texas area. Although I have been visiting here for years keeping up with Ford truck problems, customization, and overall Ford truck ownership "things". I guess because now I am a first time FORD truck owner (or will be in late Nov or early Dec when my truck comes in !). In Sept, I ordered a 2017 F-150 Lariat SuperCab 4 X 4, with 6 1/2' bed. All I really wanted was an XLT but had to move up in order to get the power folding/extending trailer mirrors - see, their marketing extortionist scheme works ! At my house, the only way a truck will fit in the garage is to back it in. And I sure don't want to have to get out to fold the mirror in or out every time I come and go. I could have cared less for the leather seats and 18" wheels. I ordered the basic 500A package, ingot silver with med earth gray interior, FX 4, 3.55 electronic axle, max. trailering package, 3.5 Ecoboost, LED mirror spotlights, reverse sensing system, spray in bedliner, 110 volt converter, tailgate step, & navigation. Nothing real fancy. But I figure this will be the last vehicle I ever buy, so wanted to get it just like I wanted. The dealership checked the 2016 inventory of over 3000 dealerships throughout the country to see if there was one exactly like I wanted. Nothing. I've already started buying some things to customize it the way I want. This will be the first new truck I've bought since 1988. I bought a 88 Dodge Ramcharger 4 X 4 back then and kept it 14 years. I presently own a 2000 Silverado that I bought when only 3 years old from my neighbor. I bought it at the time from them because I knew how well they kept up their vehicles - almost as good as me. So it was like new. So at 17 years old it has served it's time. At 280,000 miles it still looks good. My Dad, son, son-in-law, and brother-in-law are FORD guys and we have always teased each other about the Ford/Chevy thing. Guess I've always been the black sheep of the family ! There are a couple of reasons I'm going with Ford. As cliche as it may sound, they didn't take the bail-out money back then. I like the way the extended cab back door opens to the rear to 170* on the F-150. Chevy's Extended cabs are nothing more than a front hinged squeezed down regular crew cab door (as is the Dodge). And just basically like the overall looks of the new Fords. Another reason might be to honor my Dad who passed away a little over a year ago. He kept asking when I was going to get a real truck. LOL ! So I look forward to learning lots of new things from you guys. I've seen some fantastic customizations and will definitely be using some of your ideas. I know I'm going to have lots of questions about this new aluminum body and how to handle certain things pertaining to that. Like - With the aluminum body, when adding or modifying electrical stuff, should you ground only to the steel frame or is it ok to use the aluminum as a grounding method as well (without doing long term damage to the aluminum) ? Same for attaching things. Due to galvanic corrosion, should I not use other type metals for fasteners ? Notice I'm always thinking long term ! So, let the games begin . . . . . .

1Aauto

Welcome to the site, it's great to have you here

Tony