GlenPxC

My build probably wont be as impressive as many on here, but hopefully others will find the information in this thread useful in making decisions for their own build.

This is my first truck ever. Never thought I would actually own a truck. I was in the import scene for a while, but once I got more into mountain biking and the wife and I started camping more the civic started having trouble getting us places off the paved road.



So I decided to buy a jeep. The jeep was a hell of a lot of fun, made a lot of modifications, did some offroading, and just generally awesome. Eventually the wife and I decided it was time for a camper. We got one the jeep could pull, even made a trip to Colorado with it. The problem was the jeep was pretty much maxed out and with the lift and large tires couldn't get above 60 on the highway. It was a manual and shifting every hill with the camper was a pain, plus we were stopping every 120 miles or so for gas.



This year we plan to make a 5000 mile trip out to Yosimite, Redwoods, Yellowstone, and a few other places. No way we could do this with the jeep pulling the camper. Thus is how I ended up with this.

2016 2.7TT XLT Supercrew, tow package and 3.55 locker.



At first I told myself I wouldn't do any modifications to it, but that lasted about a week. Installed the raptor grill from galaxymoto and tinted the front windows to match the rear.



Not a big fan of all the chrome, but it was the only way to get the blue jean color. So I plasti dipped the wheels black, painted the door handles body color, and debadged all the emblems that didn't have holes. Also pretty stoked to finally be able to carry the dirt bikes around without a trailer.



Lot easier to carry the mountain bike around now too




Wanted the tow mirrors when I bought the truck, but no f150s on the lot had them. Didn't want to pay the $1000+ for OEM ones, so I found some on ebay for $280. They look and feel factory and all the features work same as my OEM ones. Only downside is the spot lamp isn't very bright at all, but considering it shuts off over 5mph I never used it anyway.



Have a bunch of stuff now that I want to do to the trunk. Definitely want some KO2s, but gonna wait at least until after our long trip to replace the stocks.

DavidKR

looks good so far. I love the Blue Jeans color. I had a 2011 Civic Si sedan that I traded for my first F150.

pilotpip

Nice bike. Where do you ride? Mo has tons of good trails and gets overlooked by a lot of people.

GlenPxC

Definitely miss that car, those 8th gen civics were the best.

Thanks, pretty much all over. I'm from STL so mostly greensfelder and chubb trail. Two Rivers Bike Park in Springfield, MO is definitely the best in MO. Although Kansas City has a lot of good trails too. Take a lot of trips to northwest Arkansas though. They have the best trails around down there.

pilotpip

I live in St. Charles. If you like technical stuff like Chubb/Greensfelder you need to come out here and check out Matson Hill if you haven't.

I've been looking at upgrading my kona. I've had it since 2000 and a steel hardtail just doesn't feel as good as it used to.

Northwest Ar is on my list, once the kids get a little bigger. Looks like a great place for enjoying the outdoors.

I went through something of a similar vehicle evolution, but always wanted a truck. In 2001 I drove out to Moab in a jeep cherokee with a 4 banger. That was a long drive. I'd love to take a trip out there again now that I have a more comfortable ride with more space for my stuff. It is nice to just toss wheels in the back, and go. I currently have fork mounts bolted to my toolbox but when that gets replaced I'll switch to a hitch rack so I can take the explorer too. I like my chrome though

84Red

Have a bunch of stuff now that I want to do to the trunk. Definitely want some KO2s, but gonna wait at least until after our long trip to replace the stocks.[/quote]

You mean the box?

Good looking project. The raptor grille sure does look good but I would keep the chrome wheels until you get different ones. Plasti-dipping them looks kind of weird imo

GlenPxC

Surprisingly I've never been up to matson, lost valley, or any of those. I'm out in Imperial so it's a bit of a drive. Have some buddies that live up there though so may need to take a day and ride some of them.

It's funny we all ride enduro bikes, but this winter a lot of my buddies decided to build up steel hardtails. Guess they are making a comeback. Last time out I was the outcast on a 6"+ full suspension bike. NW AR is amazing, they are building lots of kid friendly trails as well. My wife drives a 4.0 cherokee, thing is bomb proof.

You mean the box?

Good looking project. The raptor grille sure does look good but I would keep the chrome wheels until you get different ones. Plasti-dipping them looks kind of weird imo[/QUOTE]

Thanks. I'm a fan of matte black wheels, probably why I like the plasti dip. Great thing about it though is if I change my mind I can just peel it off. The wheels look a lot better now that I blacked out the white letters on the tire as well.

GlenPxC

Pulled our camper for the first time. Was a little disappointed at first, but once I adjusted the hitch, my speed, and stopped using cruise control the truck pulled great. The little 2.7tt had more than enough power where I barely had to press the pedal. This was a nice change from having to push the pedal to the floor in the jeep.

Also, I recently got lucky and traded my chrome running boards for the painted metallic ones. Think they look much better with the grill and wheels. Only chrome left now is the bumpers, which I think I might keep.

jp83

Nice truck (and thanks for your reply about the raptor grill), I liked blue jeans blue, but not all the chrome and went with the sport. I couldn't find many pics with black swapped out and figured maybe Ford knew it wouldn't look good, but it does.

I like that dakine tailgate pad, but just put on the rok block seal (https://www.f150forum.com/f118/best-...2/#post5241301) so wouldn't be able to pass the straps around the tailgate. I assume that's mostly to keep it from flapping. You do you think there's another good way to secure it, maybe bungees to tie downs and bumper?

GlenPxC

The straps are there to keep it from flying away. If you had a bike over it I'm sure it would probably stay put even without the straps, especially if you had multiple bikes. Best bet would be to run two or three bungee cords from it to the bumper and then just take if off when you're not using it. I see you have a tonneau cover so storing it when not it use wouldn't be an issue.

I got this one for free from a buddy of mine. It's actually the midsize version. They make a larger one. Actually if I was going to buy a new one I would go with EVOC.