My slow, F-350 build thread

super04duty

Observer
Well, not a real big update, but an update none the less.....

The F150 now has an LED traffic advisor light bar mounted in the rear window. I need a dual head amber/amber or amber/white dash light for the windshield tho (cough, Mitch, any laying around? cough). Combined with my road cones, Ive had LA parking enforcement tell me that Im "doing it right" more than once when Im parked in odd areas, or areas that would be considered improper and citable if not for my lights and cones for work)


I did just spend about $1300 on the F150, to fix a timing issue with it. And of course I installed the rear traffic advisor in it, but otherwise, nether truck has gotten much of anything else except miles. Fixing the 150 has been my top priority since its my work truck, and i need it reliable an strong for driving all over LA.


I did score a free piece of brand new household carpet, that I cut to fit in the back of the F350 though. Its not as nice as a real BedRug, but it was free. It makes it a lot nicer for hauling/loading things, and makes it all around cleaner and nicer. The wife is convinced that I do need a BedRug, but I have to wait until I wear out this carpet..


And speaking of wife, I got married at the end of Sept. (the 27th to be exact, so here is a picture of my single biggest modification in life.....
 

Seabass

Idiot
I've enjoyed your thread- I really like your truck and what your doing. It reminds me of my own rig. I even went back with a topper instead of the slide-in. And congratulations on the marriage. I married mine ten years ago this past June. Unlike the trucks- she's still here and I'm dang glad!
 

super04duty

Observer
Thanks for the kind words guys. Now that the wedding is over, I can start paying off the F150 and start modding the 350 more (tho, I do have about 6 things I want to do to the 150 also.) The wife wants to start camping more... so the more we camp, the more toys I get to buy.

And yes, she has washed my 350 herself before too... and she cooks amazing. I really scored, marrying my best friend and all.
 

super04duty

Observer
And, for my next update....

So, its been a while. Still recovering after the wedding, so things aren't happening at too fast of a pace lately. But I have done a few things recently. I took my F350 up north to visit family over the holidays. While I was there, made a few additions to the truck.

First, is I finally mounted my Hi-Lift jack. It no longer just lays in the bed of the truck, and needs to be removed to set up the bed for sleeping. Also in this picture is one of my black out curtains. My mother made them for me, along with a zippered one for the back window. They are made out of medium weight black denim material, and simply velcro into place on the headliner carpet of the shell. I don't plan on removing the side ones often. And the rear one, has straps sewn on to facilitate tying them up and out of the way. When the rear one is tied up, you can't even tell its there.




Besides the lack of privacy, the other issue the wife had with sleeping in the back of the truck, was warmth. Especially since we sleep on an air mattress right now, which is basically the worst thing to sleep on when the night temps drop pretty low. Add to this the fact that Ive gotten really tired of buying those expensive 1lbs bottles of propane, I picked this stuff up. The propane tree is a two piece unit, for easy storage. And it has two ports on it, in addition to the top one. So we can use the top one for our lantern, and the two side ports for my new heater and our propane BBQ (Stove is a dual fuel Coleman, running on white gas). The heater is an indoor safe one, with low O2 shut off and tip over protection. Tho even on the lowest setting, I don't plan on sleeping with it on. It puts out a LOT of heat. But I figure it will be nice to pre-warm the truck before bed, and in the mornings before we get out of the warm sleeping bags.




I also added some warm white LED rope lights in the shell. These are temporary, until I get my power system figured out and get some 12v lights, as these are 110v and require my power inverter to run. To mount them, I just used some screw eyes through the honeycomb portion of the roof and zip tied them on. They work nice for what they are.



Last, but not least... No sooner had we gotten back to SoCal from visiting up north, I randomly got on CL, and found this rack for sale for $300. Not only did I buy it, but the man I bought it from had his sons come over, and help remove my camper shell, install the rack, bolt it down, and reinstall my camper shell with plenty of weather stripping. Ive got to shorten the cab over portion a couple of inches, to clear my cab lights as they hit them a bit when the truck flexes, but thats an easy job. Just need to get it someplace where I have access to a welder. For the price, and the help in installing it, I couldn't say no. I plan on mounting solar panels over the cab, and using the rack to mount various lights, antennas, maybe an ABS pipe "hot water heater", and an awning to. (for now, a tarp and painters poles, but maybe an ARB or Ironman awning, once funds become available.



Thats it for now. There will be a few small updates Im sure in the not too distant future. Im starting a new job which should pay better and more regularly, but I told my wife that Ive wanted a Buckstop front bumper/winch/lights for the entire 10 years I have owned this truck now, and that is what my main goal is for 2015, as $5k is no small chance of change and will take a while to save up. Rear bumper I will be making myself, since no one makes one I like with the features I need. I just need my re-centered military Hummer wheels and 37s first, as I plan on building the rear bumper to house a permanent winch, as well as a swing out, for the spare tire, fuel cans, etc. I have a bad elbow, Im not in a hurry to use the rack to store my spare. They are heavy. lol

Hope you all enjoy, and as always, comments are always welcome.
 

Seabass

Idiot
I just wanna say that you have very good tastes! I like everything you've done so far, and would do it the same way. It sucks having to wait....but it's what we do. Great job so far- and if it takes another ten years to get where you want to be don't worry. I'll probably be that long too, so at least you won't be the only one!
 

super04duty

Observer
Oh, it could take another 10 years...but at this point, the bumper is the single most expensive thing I still really want to do. And The wife and I plan on having kids in the not too distant future, so I want to get it now, while we are still able to save up that kind of cash. After that, it'll be a couple hundred for mods here and there, which will be much easier to manage, even with kiddos.

I do NOT want a new truck, so to me, especially with all the engine work I have already done to this one, its cheaper and more responsible to just keep truckin' with its build up. The fact that it is officially retired from daily driver/general truck duties, is a help also. As it *is* an older truck, at 11 years old now. Will keep maintenance costs more reasonable as an occasional driver, Vs a constant commuter/work truck.
 

super04duty

Observer
Couple more pics of my rack...



I want to mount solar panels on the expanded steel portion of the rack over the cab. I have posted in the 12v section for some opinions and recommendations for that project.


Im also going to have to cut the rack back a few inches. May need to employ Raul B's welder and assistance with this one. I think the rack is too far forward. Its already close to the cab and i worry in general about it hitting, but I can definitely see these lights getting broken off when the truck flexes off-road.

 

RxR

New member
I have enjoyed my Buckstop bumper for about 6 years now. I'm not sure where you got your $5K price tag but for that you could make a trip to my neck of the woods (Oregon) and get both front and back bumpers as well as pay for your vacation.

I enjoy seeing other full size drivers make their rigs into "let's go somewhere" vehicles.

Rob

Trying to attach a pic.

20140712_144200.jpg
 

super04duty

Observer
I just added up the price of the bumper itself, and the winch, and lights, to do it all at once. With their fate rate like $199 shipping, its just under $5k. (outback bumper, 16.5k winch, 2 pairs of Rigid 4" bars for the lights). Ive thought about doing it in steps, but the price differences they offer, especially on the winch, when ordering it from them at the time of bumper purchase is too good to resist for me. lol

Also, your truck looks good. Do you have any build threads anywhere?
 

RxR

New member
Poor assumption on my part.

I had my winch already so that was not part of my cost when I got the new bumper.

It's heavy and I could hit the stops going over a rolling speed bump but my lift solved that problem.

Nice build.

Rob
 

super04duty

Observer
Poor assumption on my part.

I had my winch already so that was not part of my cost when I got the new bumper.

It's heavy and I could hit the stops going over a rolling speed bump but my lift solved that problem.

Nice build.

Rob

I hope my 4" will be fine. I do worry a little about weight, but Im not really sold on the aluminum version, for almost $1000 more, is worth it. Plus, I like the idea of steel bumpers, especially when i have to take it out in LA traffic. lol How much would you say the bumper + winch weighs? I know the site says its 190lbs over stock, plus the weight of the winch, but Im not really sure how much my stock bumper weighs either.

And its all good. I wish I had more parts to it, but I've resisted buying anything for the front of my truck really, since this is the bumper I've wanted for so long.
 

RxR

New member
I put it on first with the stock suspension and tires. It was a lot of weight that far forward. I'm sure you'll be fine. I carry a rattle can of black spray paint so if someone tries it out I can look at them and say "bummer" while I paint my bumper wait for a tow for their ride.:oops:

Be safe out there and keep posting pics.

Rob
 

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