Thanks, great pics. I'm going to start gathering parts and ordering parts I may need. I pick up my truck this Friday, I'll post some pictures when I'm done.

 

Very cool. Just wondering why you didn't just link the rear camera up to the navigation screen instead of to the rearview mirror? How much does one of those mirrors cost?

 

If I could have, I would have done that in an instant. I did a lot of research before I got the truck since I knew what I wanted to do but there is no manufacturer yet that makes a device that will add video to my stock Nav radio. This radio is not like any years past. Ford went with a new design (it is actually a Pioneer made to Ford's specs) and there is no longer an external Nav box. In the past, with the external boxes the after market companies could easily go between the two units and add video. Now since the entire radio contains the Nav, 6 disc changer and everything else, they have to find a way to get video into it. I can do a lot of electrical stuff but not something like this. I called three of the bigger companies (NAV-TV, NEO CAR AUDIO, and PIE) personally and all of them said they would look into it. That sounded like a long while before anything might come out to me.

The mirror monitors are not cheap. They run around $400 for a good one like I have that has a 16x9 widescreen. It replaces the factory mirror so it looks better than the type that just straps onto the factory mirror but those are a lot less. The strap on type you can get for about $150 less. I actually like the mirror now that I have it. When your backing up, you usually look into your rearview mirror anyway and now you can see what is back there without looking down at the Nav screen. Of course watching (or glancing briefly) at the mirror when a DVD is playing is easier too but of course here in CA there is not supposed to be any video playing that is in plain view of the driver. In my 2002 F150 I had an Alpine Nav system and the screen was mounted just below the dash and no one could see that there was a movie playing up front. Not sure what I am going to do about this yet. I have fairly dark windows so I know that no one can see the video from the screen during the day but at night that might be a different story. I specifically ordered the Nav radio from Ford because I wanted a stock look but it does cost a little more to get what you want this way. An aftermarket Nav radio would have had the video inputs and Bluetooth for the phone already built in so I would have had a lot less work and expense. However I still wanted the stock Nav radio.

 

What is the purpose of installing a relay? I've got the 50 watt bulbs also. Does this make them brighter?

 

It can make them up to 10% brighter beause the original wiring is a very small gauge of and by using the relay you are getting a direct power source from the battery with a larger gauge of wire. I added relays to all the front lights just for this reason. I mainly added the relay for the backup lights because unlike the front lights, the wattage on the original backup lights are about half as much and I have read where sometimes depending on how long your backup lights are on, it has blown fuses because it was not designed for this much of a load. Adding the realy would eliminate this problem.

 

Where might one find such relay, and how would he wire it (location)?

 

First off, if you have not had any problems with your 50 watt back up lights then I would not worry about a installing a relay. I on the other hand sometimes I have to back out of long driveways or even very narrow roads and they might be on for a couple of minutes so I did not want to take a chance of blowiing a fuse since the wiring and fuse was not rated for a 50 watt bulbs.

You can get the relay at ANY auto parts or electronics store. Here is a link to an Auto Relay at Radio Shack http://www.radioshack.com/sm-12vdc-3...i-2062477.html It is a very common relay. They are usually called an "Auto Relay" and they work on 12 volts and handle 30 amps. They are very easy to install but you do have to wire it up properly. You can mount the relay pretty much anywhere you want. I have four of them mounted under the hood on the inside of the fender (low beam, high beam, fog lamps and driving lamps). The one in the rear for the back up lamps is mounted behind the right side tail light.

Here is a link to an explaination of what a relay does and how it works http://www.offroaders.com/info/tech-...ive-wiring.htm

And here is another link that shows a good diagram of how to wire the relay http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...ry/relays.html In this diagram they show a switch to turn the lights on and off but you would substitute the switch for the power wire that is going to the back up lights (black with a pink tracer).

 

you da man!

 

Hey rsr1,

NICE TRUCK!!

I just was wondering if you could take some pics of your Bilstein 5100's series shocks... I am looking to purchase these and wanted to see what they look like on our trucks... Thanks.. and keep up the great work

 

I could take pictures of them but I have painted them black so they look pretty much like stock shocks. I don't like shocks to stand out. The 5100's are silver with blue writing on them. The back ones have a boot over the rod and are actually mounted upside down (compared to most rear shocks) where the boot is on the bottom. If you still want me to take pictures of them I can.

 

Just wanted to add one thing about the Bilstein shocks. Yesterday I noticed an oil leak on the garage floor right next to the rear tire. It was coming from the Bilstein shock and it is only two months old. I do have them mounted upside down and was told this was ok to do. Maybe this is not the way the should be mounted after all or maybe I just got a bad shock but am going to have to return it for a new one. This does not make me very confident about this brand of shocks.