2015 F150 XLT evolution
 

I got my first truck in September 2015: A CPO F-150 XLT from one of the Dealer's managers with 10,000 miles on it. I was looking for something to carry my bikes around, for Home Depot trips and to carry around mowers, snow blowers and random crap. A truck just seemed like a good third vehicle to own and as much as I came up with rational reasons to get it, at the end of the day I really just wanted it :D

My first trip out using it for it's main purpose: carrying my bikes instead of towing a trailer:

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This was the best experience and from that day on I decided I'd never go without a truck ever again. This was my previous way of carrying the bike around in order to avoid towing a trailer:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...65c5511114.jpg

It worked but was limited to the small bikes. I could never put a 600lb bike on a hitch carrier. My new truck, however, worked like a charm even with the big bike:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...87ef48d3b6.jpg

You should see the look on peoples' faces at the dealer, when I drive in for service with the big bike in the back and just drop off the truck and head out on the bike :eek: Same thing when I show up on the bike to get the truck, load up and take off :cool:

So, back to the F-150 evolution. First thing was adding a RC 2.5" leveling strut spacers and swapping the stock tires for some 285/70R18 Mud Terrains, on the OEM wheels.

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Next was a TonnoSport soft cover. Practical to cover the bed and keep water/snow out but, at the same time, easy to get out of the way when carrying stuff

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...b4553334a0.jpg

After a couple of months I decided to swap out the wheels and got a set of black wheels to round off the blacked-out look:

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I really started appreciating the tow capacity of the Ecoboost when I started towing heavy stuff and enjoying the "truck life" I had been missing all my life:

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Then, after about a year of enjoying the truck in it's current state and a new transfer case replaced by Ford at no cost to me, I had an accident last week in the snow. I slid on a turn and hit a stone wall with the front right end.

Bumper was done and so was the headlight assembly, fog light assembly, impact absorbing plastic parts and front brake cooling vent part. The headlight valance and fender flare suffered minor damage (scratches) but were in one piece with no broken tabs.

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The aluminum body panel suffered some minor damage on the front most corner but nothing I'm not willing to live with. I did not want to go through the trouble of taking the panel off and getting a new one painted and installing it.

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So facing the need to replace the bumper, headlight assembly and fog light assembly I figured I'd make something good out of a bad situation and upgrade the front end of my truck:

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I got a Barricade HD front bumper, black trim headlights and pocket fender flares to round off the look:

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I'm waiting on a Raptor-Style grille with amber lights and replacement letters (F & R). Also on the way are a light bar for the center opening on the bumper and 2 pair of LED cubes to pace in the bumper fog light cutouts.

I'm 80% there and will post pics of the finished look once I'm done with the grille and lights.

Looks like you’re enjoying your F150!

I sure am! The only way I’m getting rid of it is to buy another one.

Nice! Thanks for posting pics. You look like you're enjoying your truck, and you have great taste in sco0ters. :laughing:

Looking forward to seeing a pic or two of your truck once the front end is put back together. :thumbsup:

I had a buddy that used to say "four wheels transport your body, two wheels transport your soul"... :)

Grille came in today and I had to pull the old grille from the mounting brace/structure and mount the new "honeycomb" grille on. First I replaced the "D" and the "O" from DOOD with an "F" and an "R" to spell FORD :D

Then, I spliced the grille RDL connector to the DRLs/PLs on the RH headlight. This was easy enough and makes them run together.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...e468ba5522.jpg

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I have to say I was expecting the Grille lights to be amber like the parking lights on the headlights. The yellow lights look off, since they don't match... I'll wait a while to see if I get used to it but my initial reaction was to swap them out for amber ones.

I'm glad I added the fender flares. They fit very well with the look of the grille and bumper.

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whoa... that's deep. :laughing: And mostly true. I'm sure you may agree there are four-wheeled vehickularz that stir the soul... :thumbsup:


Yeeeah. It's about time (not you, but the bumper manufacturer); that bumper works very well with the grille.

Truck looks great. :thumbsup:

This was the one that ddi it for me. There's not a day I don't regret selling it... :unsure:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...7076ee2b09.jpg

Thanks! I'll take some better pics tomorrow, hopefully with the light bar and fog cubes installed. The weather today was crappy all day.