onemoreday21

Purchased my first ever truck last month (after a long line of Mustangs). I do quite a bit of shooting down here and getting to some of the good spots requires a 4x4. Also like to hunt hogs, and seeing as my only friend that hunts got rid of his Ram for a Wrangler, I figured I'd go ahead and pick up a truck so we had a way to transport dead hogs.

Stock she came with 4x4 as the title says, 5.0 with 3.73 gears and a LS Diff in the rear.

These aren't exact pics but look exactly like she did when I left the dealership.

onemoreday21

First off, I knew I was going to want some bigger tires and aftermarket wheels so I had to get a little bit of lift goin on. After quite a bit of research I settled on Bilstein 5100s. They're set at the top setting and gave me more than enough clearance for the bigger tires I wanted.

After seeing one of the threads here about Bilstein 5100 failures, I think I'm gonna be swapping them out for something else with the amount of off roading I do.

I'm thinking about one of the Icon kits from Stage 3 Motorsports. While they're pricey, I want something that will stand up to the beating without failing like some of the Bilsteins I've seen.

Pictures after the install of the 5100s. Was out in one of my shooting spots for these.

onemoreday21

Next up were wheels and tires.

I wanted to go big on the tires so settled on 315/70/17 Goodyear Duratracs wrapped around 17" XD Addicts after seeing MikeyFitz's FX4 with the same combo.

I was surprised at the little amount of trimming that was required to make these fit. Trimmed a little bit of the front valance and that was it, voila, no more rubbing!

I also removed the STX decals, plastidipped the F150 emblems, and removed the dealer and flexfuel emblem.

(Girlfriends 2008 F150 in the background.)

onemoreday21

The last thing I've done up to this point is picked up a Husky Low Profile toolbox and added some decals to the rear window.

I was really unsure as to the Husky brand but after seeing what were mostly good reviews I went with it. Got it from Home Depot and found out they have a military discount to boot! I like it so far and it is a much better place to store my jumper cables and tie down straps as compared to under my rear seat.

onemoreday21

Up next, I want to get some HD/FX4 headlights and taillights to remove as much of the chrome as possible. I may eventually try a projector retrofit on the stock headlights as money permits.

Also want to do some NFAB or Go Rhino wheel to wheel nerf bars with the extra bed step. Anybody have any recommendations between the two companies? I see lots of people with the NFABs but not a whole lot with the Go Rhino.

Also gonna be doing some Rigid lighting. Not sure which way I'm gonna go but pretty set on a 30" SR in the grille as well as some D2's on hood mounts.

I may also eventually get an aftermarket bumper. I really like the look of the ADD bumpers but they're crazy expensive, so I've been looking at the NFAB with the LED Light Bar mount. Almost the same look at about half the price. Anybody have experience with the NFAB bumper?

Anyway, I'm sure my plans will change about a half dozen times over the next couple months but we'll see where she goes from here.

boostup

Truck looks great! Need to tint those windows

go501green

Where'd you buy the truck?

onemoreday21

Got it down here in Melbourne, FL.

go501green

Nice, I bought mine Sunday at Brandon Ford near Tampa

onemoreday21

Hah, I was actually on my way down to Tampa to look at a used 2006 XLT 4x4 when I randomly saw my 2011 on a lot right before gettin on the highway. Needless to say, I didnt make it to Tampa lol.