Gone are the days of cars, not driving in the snow and passing up on those secluded fishing spots because my car is 3 inches off the ground and cant get to it. I was sad leaving my car at the dealership but as soon as I got this truck home I said, "never again... only trucks now".

A little over a month ago I brought home a 2015 Ruby Red XLT 5.0 V8 and have been in love ever since. If anything positive can come from this virus, its that I get to spend more time tinkering with her and spending too much money on part (probably preaching to the choir with that part).

Here it is, a day after picking it up.


Now to get myself, and anyone that follows along, caught up to present day...

First thing I did was pull the OEM floor mats out, and put some Husky floor liners in the front and back. Being an outdoors kinda guy, and having two dogs, this was a necessity that needed to happen right off the bat.

Over the next couple days, I had to get the inspection done, and that needed to happen before I got the front windows tinted to match the rear. Here she is with 20% all around (excluding windshield).


As a comparison to the picture above, here she is again with the 2.5" Motofab leveling kit installed.


Now that I'm working from home M-F due to this virus outbreak, I've been doing little odd jobs. I got some caps to black out the door handles and tailgate handle, tinted the taillights and third brake light, installed LED low beams and fogs, and slapped a couple decals on...






I got bored over the weekend so I decided to pull the OEM side steps off just to see how it looked. I like the look without the side steps but I do plan to get some powder coated ones at some point. Not too high up on my list though.

Also forgot, I swapped out the chrome tow hooks for black one and removed the lower valance.


Plans for the future:

• Exhaust (still deciding what exhaust. leaning toward Flowmaster American Thunder, Rough Country, or MBRP black series)
• Grill
• Wheels/tires
• Fender flares depending on how much poke I end up with
• new bumpers - these I have in my ebay cart, just have to get the rest of the material. I'll be buying OEM primed bumpers and doing spray-on bedliner.
• LED highs and reverse lights
• Speaker upgrade (this will be much later - not a priority right now)
• Interior storage

In the coming weeks - months, my project theme is chrome removal. Yes, the truck looks great with the chrome, but I'm not a chrome kind of a guy. The front bumper has some scrapes through the chrome and I want to tackle that project before they start to rust.

Feel free to follow along here and on Instagram: @Ruby_Red_Chaos

Thanks for checking out my build page! Any comments, questions and suggestions ALWAYS welcome. As soon as I get a day thats warm enough, I'll dusting off all my detailing equipment and doing a full exterior detail - claybar, polish, sealant, etc.

Be safe everyone!

 

 

Welcome to the club! Truck looks good. Can't wait to see the future mods.

 

Nice truck. Welcome to the forum! Be safe!

 

congrats on the ride and great start on making it your own. Good color choice (I got a ruby too&#128578
I can vouch for the flowmaster AT as I have that too. It’s a great exhaust for people who like it loud. Drone isn’t all that bad either depending on who you ask. I set mine up with the side exits. Keep that list growing!

 

Thanks for input. I'm down to AT and MRBP Black Series. From what I've found, both are loud, both sound great, and both drone. But I've also seen at least one video of each where the owner had install the stock resonator and it really tamed the tone and drone. Having a tough time deciding which to pull the trigger on.

 

I have a baby on the way so I added a ultra quiet vibrant resonator about a week ago. It worked a little too well. Knowing what I know now,I would have opted for a stock resonator or one that didn’t work as well as the ultra quiet. Lol. Still sounds really good,but a lot tamer. Better than factory.
pic of my rig.

 

The vibrant ultra quiet Resonator is the same in size to the factory. I would assume they would both be the same in quietness. I'm sure when it burns in it will gain some back.

 

Fortunately, I've seen videos of the AT and the Black Series with the stock resonator and they both sound great still. So putting the stock resonator on will definitely be an option depending on how much the drone bothers me. From all the reviews I've read and videos I've watched, both the AT and the Black Series will be pretty loud without being TOO loud. Both sound great (just going by the videos and consumer feedback), so it comes down to whether I want rear exit or pre-tire exit and whether I want to spend $580 or $700.

 

I like the look of both side and rear exit. The deciding factor for me on side exits was the departure angle clearance when I go trailing through the woods.
I also like the look of the pre tire exit as well,but on both sides would be awesome. Unfortunately there’s no cat back I know of to offer that. Probably due to the fact that plumbing it that way just isn’t cost effective.
Let us know how you make out.
love that covid sticker by the way 👍