danbart

Got my first ever pickup and first ever American made vehicle so I could haul around the dirt bikes. Ford got the vote of confidence for the new FX4 No Bail-Out Edition.

Ordered on 4/28/11 since I wanted the 6.5 bed and just picked it up built to my specs 6/11/11.

2011 F150 FX4
Eco Boost
6.5 bed
Pearl White
Lux Package
18 Wheels + LT tires
Tailgate Step
Trailer Brake Controller
Bed Extender







Mods Done:
3M Clear Bra
Lamin-X Headlight Protectors
Eco Boost Intercooler Guard
DuraFlap Mud Flaps
Line-X
Bed Buddy
Versa-Tie Tie Downs
Hard Wire GPS
Hard Wire V-1
Weather Tech Floor Mats
Spray Painted Rear Fender Wells

Mods Pending:
Setina Grill Guard
Driving lights
N Fab wheel to wheel 3 step Nerf bar



Funny thing is a friend of mine bought the same truck at the same time and I didn't even know about it:
PFBZ's 2011 FX4-TT

danbart

The first thing I did was protect the Turbo Intercooler from the random rock.

I went w/ the $40 e-bay version vs the $100 Carriage works version. It is a well made aluminum grill that looks great on the truck. Several people have asked where to get the e-bay version of the intercooler grill. Here ya go!




In this picture you can also see the Lamin-X headlight protection on the front projectors and the fog lights.

I went w/ clear 12mil film on the headlights and yellow 17mil film on the fog lights.
With all the gravel and Mag Chloride they use in Colorado in the winter the plastic headlights become opaque very fast. This way you simply replace the film every couple of years and have fresh headlights.

Goober

I use a motojackrack for my drz 400.
Works great if you have only 1 bike, and/or a cap/cover.
The best carrier ever.

danbart

Second item on the agenda were a set of Duraflap mud guards. l like these because they are nice and flexible and provide good coverage. The best part is that they cover the rear wheel well/bumper gap and will help keep mud and snow from accumulating in that hard to clean out area.







Rear







Front:





I recently tested them out and hit a large watery mud hole. To my surprise none of the muddy water landed on the vehicle. it all got sprayed out sideways.


I also used some spray on underbody coating to color the rear wheel wells black. I did not care for the white of the bed showing through the wheel well.

Stock:


Painted:

danbart

On the inside I went w/ a set of Weather Tech Digi fit floor mats. I must say that the stock rubber mats are of very good quality, but I like how the Weather tech mats have more of a bowl shape and keep in the crud and slush.






I like how the mats have a sort of spillway built into them. Seems like if there is a lot of melted snow built up one could just lift a corner and have all the water pour out.



I also hardwired my V-1 and GPS using a piggyback fuse adapter tapped into fuse#41 in the passenger side fuse panel.






The V-1 is tucked in behind the rear view mirror, but protrudes just enough to allow the rear sensor to get some signal from the rear.

I have the remote display mounted on the steering column just in front of the Gear shift indicator in the dash and the on/off/volume control mounted on the side of the center console by my right knee.

danbart

For the Moto hauling portion I went with a Line-X bed liner and a Bed Buddy tie down system.







I installed the BedBuddy upside down so that if I ever get a Tonneau cover (Truxedo lo Pro or Extang Solid Tri Fold) the center tie-down loop will not interfere.




I would have liked to have mounted the BedBuddy 2" lower, but the design of the bed did not allow it. The area under the lip is not level enough and the space between the bed and the cab on these new trucks is so tight that it would have been impossible to reach that low to get the nuts and washers on the bolts.



I did a quick test w/ a tire and it seems to still work fine.

21" tire:


You can see there is still a gap between the tire and the bulk head. This s good since it means all the weight is on the Bedbuddy and not on the thin sheet metal of the bed.




Here is a 19" tire:






The 19" tire is getting close to the limit. I'm not sure it would work well on a 17" tire when mounted that high.

danbart

Since I have the 6.5' bed I have 6 anchor points on each side of the bed that are supposed to be used to install the Ford OEM CMS (Cargo Management System). I do not like the look or the cost of the CMS, but still wanted to have a few more tie down points in the bed of the truck.







Here I got a bit carried way w/ the Loctite



I tapped out the 12 existing mounting holes w/ an 8mm tap. (These do not come pre tapped from the factory), purchased some Versa-Tie tiedown tracks and cut and drilled it to fit.

The idea was to have about a 6" strip that would tire two holes together providing a bit more strength for a single tie down point.

Warning!

I do not think these anchor points can hold much weight. When pulling on the ring w/ a finger i can see the wall of the bed flex significantly. This is probably why the mounting points are not threaded from the factory. Ford only wants you to use them w/ the CMS system which uses all 6 bolt holes and the whole length of the bed rail ( the CMS mounts under the lip of the bed rail) to distribute a loads weight!

Ford CMS System:



Versa Tie Section:







If the side of the bed was flatter one might have been ale to install one long track down the side of the bed wall.


I will eventually get around to installing some full length tracks in the bed of the truck and might even put some on the inside lip of the bed rail.

If anyone has instaled a track type tiedown system in their truck please post up some pictures to give me some idea of the best way and places to install the tracks.

pfbz

Subscribed!

I think Dan and I should have an informal build-off!

We live nearby and ride together once in a while, and even discussed our next vehicles a while back, but neither of us realized until a few days ago that we both purchased very similar 2011 FX4 Lux EcoBoosts within a week or so of each other. Even from the same dealer...

I opted for the 145" wheelbase in the much faster Sterling Gray color. We chose a bunch of the same upgrades, but are going different ways on a few things. I'll post a link to my build thread here once I get it going, but here's a teaser picture...

danbart

Doh!

I thought I was posting in the 2009-Present thread, not the Intro thread.

I have asked the mods to move it so don't be surprised if it disappears from this section.

danbart

Next is a Grill Guard. I'm looking at either the Setina PB400 of the Go Rhino 3000.

Looks like this:



Then i will add some driving lights.