I just got my first F150 (first truck of any kind actually) and have some newbie questions. It's an '06 XLT Crew short bed, black with chrome bumpers. I have seen a few black F150's like mine with chrome handles and other chrome items. I'm not into anything too gaudy, but always like a minimal amount of chrome detail on a black truck. Right now I think it looks a little funny with only the chrome bumpers and no other chrome anywhere. I've looked around and all I can find is chrome stick-on type handles/kits. Can anyone comment on those type of chrome kits? I just can't imagine they hold up well. I'm not an offroader, but it will be getting a little rough useage from time to time.

 

a little more info:

here is the one I was looking at, but don't know anything about the mfr or the seller.

http://www.sfxperformance.com/parts/PUT405021.htm

I don't know if i would use every piece of the kit, but at least the door handles and the tailgate handle. I've noticed that the headlights and taillights look a little "naked" on my truck, so I don't know if the chrome trim would help out or if that would just be over the top.

I'm either gonna want to go chrome by adding trim pieces or go all black and get new bumbers. I just don't like the halfway in the middle spot where I'm stuck now. FYI, I don't have step rails at all now, so I can pick chrome or black depending on which way I decide. Also, I don't have chrome on rims or grill.

 

My guess is most will tell you to go black, and not having seen the truck, I rpobably would too. On the other hand, I bought my 06 Lariat with the chrome package on it. That was chrome bumpers, nerf bars, wheels, mirror covers and grille surround. I decided to go one step further and upgrade to the chrome edition adding the chrome grille and yes, I added the Putco stick on door handles and tailgate handle. They've been on the truck for about 15 months now. The first tailgate handle I installed did eventually loosen so I replaced it - but those things are so cheap it's not a big deal. I also (not shown in photo, went to Altezza chrome taillights and 3rd brake light. I stopped short of the chrome door pillars.

Of course, my truck is smokestone - a silvery gray. If it were me with a black truck, I'd probably go the other way - a black out look with smoke heads and tails, PTM bumpers, and black wheels. There are members here who have some awesome lookin' black trucks. Bottom line the stick ons work OK if you want to add em.

And if you decide to let go of the chrome bumpers, I'm in the market for a new rear bumper with no dents and the tow package.

 

get Lt Handles , dont get the chrome covers.

 

spend some time checking out photos of other black trucks here and see which way you want to go. I like the look of a little chrome on black trucks. I have dark green with chrome bumpers and will probably keep the 18" somewhat chrome rims that came on mine when I bought it. I already added chrome side steps without giving much thought to the "big picture" so I'm just going to pick up a chrome grill and may add chrome handles and a diamond plate tool box and be done with it. If I want to see a lot of chrome I just go look at my Harley...

 

if you do go with chrome covers go with JUST the handle dont go with the body of the handle chrome. Look at my truck in my sig thats how i have mine. In my opinion you can go overboard with chrome on black trucks and thats one of the ways you can do it. Some can pull it off but if you have a base model id just go with chrome on just the handle part like mine.

 

Grantoser,
do you happen to remember where you picked up those handle covers? I think I like that better than the entire handle replacements...

 

The handle cover and the background are usually two pieces sold together - at least mine were. You can use just the handle cover and throw away the background piece. You can find a lot of these on ebay of course.

 

I'm leaning towards chrome probably because a grew up with 55 and 57 chevy's as a kid and always loved the chrome detail. But the final decision will probably come down to price.

chrome: I could spen $300 on the chrome details, how much do chrome nerf bars cost for a crew cab short bed? Is there a decent chrome add-on for the grill? I have the basic black honeycomb grill. Is it that much more expensive for a complete replacement and how hard is it to do each way?

black: How much are new black bumpers and how much could I sell my current ones for? FYI...I only have 25k miles on my truck and no dings on the bumpers that I've noticed. IS there a black H-bar or whatever people call them add-on to the basic honeycomb grill, would it look dumb? What are the options for black light-covers?

Sorry for all the dumb questions, obviously I'm new to f150 accessories.

 

first , before we can really recommend anything, do you have any pics of your truck .

2nd : if your set on chrome, like i said take a look into the Mark Lt handles, they look 10x better the covers . for the grill you can get the roush grill like smokin lariat has, they re about $90 now.

(where are located ? i have a set of chrome side steps for sale for $75 in good condition , im in NJ btw, check out my thread in the classifieds )

Black : you can powder coat your bumpers for about $300 depending on your area. and get the roush grill and paint it black and you can also paint your headlights for about $10.

i prefer black as you can tell from my sig