Joined: Feb 2018

Posts: 16

Likes: 1

From: Central Florida

I purchased my 2016 XLT SCSB 4x4 back in February. I had been researching trucks for a couple of years waiting for this moment to finally arrive! When I was searching for F150's the color choice of Caribou never even crossed my mind as an interest (My dad had a Brown 1989ish F150 that we called the Big Brown Turd) but when I saw it there was something that just really caught my eye. It is also one of the more rare color choices to find driving around town. I was also torn between the 3.5 Ecoboost and the 5.0 V8. Ultimately I ended up going with the 5.0 because the thought of a turbo repair in a moderately new engine design scares the crap outta me and you just cant beat the feeling and sound of a good old fashioned V8. Here'a a pick of the truck when I first picked her up!



Anyways here is the list of mods completed so far:

-Husky Weatherbeater Floor Mats
-4 Inch Stubby Antenna
-LED License Plate Lights
-LED 3rd Brake Light and Cargo Lights
-DeeZee Tailgate Assist Shock
-Window Tint (Llumar Ceramic 15% Front, 5% Back)
-Paracord Grab Handles
-ReadyLIFT 2.25 Inch Leveling Kit
-Fuel Krank 18x9 -12mm Offset
-295/70r18 Nitto Trail Grappplers

The first week I bought the truck I went ahead and got the Husky WeatherBeater floor mats. After doing plenty of research and watching videos between these and Weathertech I went with these for a couple of reasons. 1. These mats are more of a flexible rubberized mat vs. the Weathertechs which are more of a hard plastic. 2. The Husky Mats have the little spikes on the bottom the help it grip the carpet which, from the videos I saw, the weather techs did not. I have never used Weathertech so take what I am saying with a grain of salt but that is how I made my decision and I couldn't be happier!


My second mod was the 4 inch stubby antenna I found on Amazon. I reading many reviews about terrible signal on many short antennas as well as bad wind noise and this one seemed to have the best reviews.I did loose a few of the far away stations but overall the quality of radio stations remained the same. I live about 45 minutes outside of Orlando as a reference. Here is the link to the antenna.

I don't have any pictures of the LED Cargo, 3rd Brake light, or DeeZee Tailgate assist shock but these mods, I believe, are a necessity for any F150 as they give a crisp clean look and the tailgate assist offers some comfort in not slamming the tailgate. Trust me, when my brother dropped the tailgate from full height and I heard it slam it made me cringe and I know that will never happen again with the tailgate shock.

I found a pair of headrest paracord grab handles on Stage 3's website but thought they were a little on the pricey side. So I went to walmart and bought 6 dollars in paracord and made my own rear seat grab handles (Ignore the mess in the back seat, I have a 5 month old haha). This was my first time working with paracord but it only took me an hour and half and I couldn't be happier. I might try out some different colors in the future!




Lastly, I have the 2.25 inch ReadyLIFT Leveling Kit and my wheels and tires. I did this Install in my driveway with no assistance other than a pry bar and a little elbow grease. It took me about 4 hours since I have no experience installing anything on a truck before but was still a very manageable install. After everything was all said and done I had to go get an alignment since my tow was way off but shout out to the guys at ReadyLIFT for making very easy to read instructions and a quality built product.


I then had to patiently await the arrival of my 18x9 Fuel Kranks and 295/70r18 for a couple of weeks! Once they got in I got right to putting them on (Those things are a workout). I did have to trim up some of the plastic in the fender well and remove the front crash bars to have enough clearance to not rub but it was well worth it in the end!






Future Mod Plans:
-Anzo Headlights
-Exhaust
-Cold Air Intake
-Raptor Grill (Still debating)

Let me know what you think and I cant wait to keep the build going!

Joined: Nov 2017

Posts: 4,171

Likes: 3,083

From: Osceola, Indiana

Joined: Feb 2018

Posts: 16

Likes: 1

From: Central Florida

Joined: Jul 2016

Posts: 1,598

Likes: 498

From: Southern New Jersey

Joined: Feb 2018

Posts: 16

Likes: 1

From: Central Florida

Thanks! It was A LOT of research to figured out the right wheels for this thing.

UPDATE: My Fox 2.0 shocks came in early and I was able to get them installed this morning. In generall they feel a little better than stock but the real difference is noticed when going over very large potholes. I no longer get the "shockwave" that shakes the whole truck when going over large bumps and holes like I used too. They do look awesome too!

Install took about 30 minutes and didn't even have to jack it up or take the wheels off!