wchamp7

Hi Will:

Okay, your Toyo MT tires are exactly 33 inches tall (without considering the squat effect after being loaded by the weight of the vehicle) and 12.6 inches wide on those 20x10 Moto wheels. BFG does not offer a standard size in the ATs, but a corresponding metric size would be a LT305/55R20 which is slightly tall at 33.4 inches tall and same width at 12.6 inches on the 20x10 wheels, so not as squat looking with slightly more height. They would look really good as well.

I would go with Randy Ellis for the light bar www.randyellisdesign.com as he has the best looking one out there. You can order it in black or anodized silver, and it has 4 mounting tabs for lights. It is well built, sleek looking, and bolts to the frame for a solid mount. As far as lights, I like PIAAs but they can run $200-$300 per set, so a nice option are some KC SlimLite Series Fog , Driving or Off Road Lights at half that price and they look good with similar mesh guards. They are also long lasting and have really good output.

Well, it's a different story on my vehicles as I have owned over 65 cars and trucks to date (and yes, I drive my wife crazy). I have owned almost everything from Opels and VWs to Range Rovers and Corvettes, but my real passion are 4x4s. I have had numerous Jeeps and 1/2 tons as well as a couple 3/4 tons, but they have all been four wheel drives. Since I live up in the high desert that has 11-12,000 ft mountains, river valley, and high desert all together, I really get to enjoy offroading and so I try to outfit my vehicles for actual 4x4 use, and have fun making them look good.

Here are a few pics of my offroading in a few of my vehicles:



As far as what I do with them, I usually sell them after I am done with them. For the most part, I sell them on ebay or through Autotrader and I usually break even if not make a few bucks. If done right, people will pay a bit more knowing you set it up right with professional installs and quality products. Sometimes I trade them in if the deal works in my favor as well. But I hardly keep anything as most folks want the vehicles with everything on them.

I think that is great you love to go offroading too. We have a blast doing it without beating them up too bad. You can get pretty silly and downright stupid about it, but we always go well prepared and nothing too extreme beyond what our vehicles were designed to do. About the worst we get is the occasional stuck where we have to pull someone out. Most of the wheeling I do is up mountain trails or dune running. But like you, as much fun as it is to get dirty, I can't wait to get home and clean my ride back up....lol.

The Dodge Ram is great....thanks for asking! I have taken a lot of grief from my Ford friends, but once they see it and ride in it they really are very impressed. I was really leaning towards buying the new F150, but after I drove the Dodge and saw all the quality improvements, not to mention the Hemi, I was sold. The Rambox is great as I can secure all my gear and still have a bed to use. There are also coolers in the rear floor, and storage everywhere. But the ride is fantastic, smoother than the new Ford. The F!50 still has a better tow rating, but I don't tow anything near that so it really didn't mean much to me. I actually am running about 400 HP with my exhaust and intake mods, and can get over 430 once I chip it. But even at the stock 390 HP and 400 lb-ft of torque, it's a blast to drive.

But I am sure I'll be back to another Ford F250 or even the Raptor with its 6.2L V8 that is coming out. Well, hope I answered most of your questions. Feel free to hit me up if you ever need more ideas or just want to bounce something off me.

Paul

You're one lucky guy to have such a nice truck while still in H.S. I think my kid is going to be as fortunate as you by the time he gets to high school as long as he maintains good grades and stays out of trouble. Which he will because he's a great kid, and if your Dad is willing to do all that for you then I am sure you're doing pretty darn well yourself. You sure have quite the plan for your truck already! And yeah, that's a pretty sweet white F150 you're using for inspiration.

For exhaust systems, I have used Gibson, Magnaflow, and Flowmaster. The Gibson is more mellow with a nice even throaty sound that smoothes out with speed. Best way to describe it is "classy" and went well with my King Ranch. The Magnaflows can be a lot more aggressive with a deeper, throatier sound that sounds fantastic and rich as you step on it. I had the Magnflows on my F250 and my current Hemi Ram. The Flowmasters can be too loud and drone too much at speed, but you can get quieter versions but they don't have that punch. I had the louder versions on my F150 XLT and you definitely heard me coming and could drown out conversation in the cab (depending on who you are with, that could be a good thing…lol). For me, the Magnaflows are the way to go with noticeable power and deep, sweeter sound.

If you like the height of your truck now, then maybe you might want to go with a leveling kit (2.5 inches) as I can't tell from the photos if you have one or not. Will be a lot cheaper and give you the stance like my F150. As far as tires, I prefer the BFG ATs for day to day driving and they look classier with stock or leveled trucks. With your white truck, I personally think the BFG white lettering would look killer on your truck and give it more of a sporty look. If you were going for more of a lift that shows off more of the tires, I would opt for the larger MTs (either the BFGs or Toyos would look really good). But a good tire with a leveling system would be the BFG AT LT305/55R20 that is 33.4 inches tall and 12 inches wide on a 20x8.5 up to 12.4 inches wide on a 20x9.5 wheel.

I always like a low profile cover although I did have a topper on my F150 King Ranch that looked especially good. If you use your bed a lot, go with a retractable (but they are expensive) or folding (less expensive). The Bakflip is a good option. I am not a fan of the soft tonneau covers and would rather have no top on at all if I couldn't have a hard cover.

I will be curious to see how things progress so hope you post some pics every now and then. Cheers!

Paul

Thanks Will....appreciate the comments! That is a really hard question to answer since I don't know your likes or needs, nor your budget. If your truck was mine, I would really pick up on the monotone paint scheme and black trim of the FX4 package, so would tone down the chrome. First, I would lift it with a 4-inch Rancho system.



Then I would change out the rims for some black ones with a machined lip to go with your grille (I know you have the chrome Motos already, but just giving you what I would do). Something like these 1) Moto Metal 957, 2) Moto Metal 909 Skull, or 3) Eagle 064 Black:



Not sure what size Toyos you are running, but with the lift and wheels I would get 35-inch Toyo MTs or BFG KM2s. I would replace the black side steps with AMP retractable ones so you can get that high off-road stance look (and actually have more clearance). I would then go with a RED light bar with PIAAs (per my F150 and F250).



Finally, I would go with a low profile black retractable bed cover (like Jack Rabbit). If you look at my F250, yours would look like a sleeker version of that.

But that's a lot of money and I do tend to spend too much, but that would give you a mean looking machine that is still very driveable and easy to use. But that is just me!

And if not, you still have a great looking truck the way it is! Good luck!

Paul

Yes, the ez-down tailgate shock is worth the money. Very usefull, as well as a little ahhh factor.

Hey thanks! I like them alright thus far. They dont make any noise like my mud grapplers did but they arent nearly as aggressive looking either. I'll probably post up a review in a month or so and let everyone know how things are going.

Thanks again!

Thanks Man. I have 5% all the way around and 35% on the windshield

I wouldn't recommend Flowmaster if you want max performance. The best true dual exhaust would consist of:
2.25 inch mandrel bent pipes
Hi-flow cats part# 94106
X-pipe
any muffler that is a straight though design (all magnaflows, bullets, borlas)

I wouldn't recommend a cat-back if your main goal is performance. True duals sound and perform so much better than any cat-back on the market for F150's.

Thanks!

Thanks man go in the section general discussion and the guys there are bored out there minds and want people to drop pics in there so they can make sigs for guys. they made me like 2 of them out of the pictures i gave them.. check it out they will hook you up too.. also just bought bilsteins for the front for $200 and they are brand new. A member on here was selling them bc he had an 04 but got a 2010 and didnt need them and brand new they are 180 a piece so i deff got a deal on em