Project Shadowfax

[Alpoba]

Funky. Good to know it’s not just me.


It’s part of the look being able to see the stud and have it stand out a bit. Makes it more utilitarian.

Also: finding black lug nuts is nigh impossible for the OEM wheels unless you go with an Amazon special, which I wasn’t going to do. So I’m kind of stuck with what I can get. These lug nuts are take-offs from chassis cab trucks, which means they are Ford OEM so I can fully trust them.

As for rust, time will tell but I’m quite sure these are galvanized to protect from corrosion.

Makes sense. Agree on so far not being able to find a single source of quality black lug nuts. I too was thinking that with these open ones painting the stud tips black might be a solution but would require occasional touch up.

 

[ccw]

Every tire rotation is fine. Twice a year or less for me.

Or, some black vinyl caps or 3D printed TPU to put over the stud ends @ccw

Gotcha, that makes sense. If you find a solution that isn’t paint I hope you don’t mind me jumping on board. I won’t bother with paint though. Don’t want to deal with touch-ups.

 

[BroncOh]

Gotcha, that makes sense. If you find a solution that isn’t paint I hope you don’t mind me jumping on board. I won’t bother with paint though. Don’t want to deal with touch-ups.

I can go to another extreme and have some DLC coated black studs made lol.

 

[ccw]

I can go to another extreme and have some DLC coated black studs made lol.

That would be awesome! But I am definitely not that invested in it lol.

 

[ccw]

Today gave Shadowfax the second bath of his life (I don't religiously wash my vehicles lol) and I'm very impressed with the Diamondback. The only water that got in was around the tailgate but that's because I hit the seal directly with the pressure washer. I'm very OK with that.

The other thing I did today is fully rid my life of Sirius/XM. Here's the previous episode in this saga of ridding them from my life:

Called Sirius XM to get them to stop sending me junk mail.

Wow that's a pushy company and sure makes it feel like a scam. I've received so much junk mail from them, along with at least one phone call. On the phone I made it very clear I was not interested in ever paying for satellite radio, yet I still received junk mail.

Call them up and very clearly state I want to stop receiving their junk mail, and after getting my radio ID the customer support agent starts going down the road of activating my subscription. Says he has "multiple offers available".

Even more insulting: they want $20 per month, but can send out a million different offers, including one for a full year at $6 per month. Pretty sure they are raking in the profits at $20 per month.

Hope Ford is making good money by including those trials with the vehicles, since they're also signing up their own customers for a PITA.

To be clear: I don't blame the support agents at all. I blame the company. I'm sure the support agents are under huge pressure to get conversions (I hate that word).

Today the truck somehow wound up on the Sirius/XM source again without me asking for it, which was the last straw. It's now removed as an audio source. Thanks to @High Country for posting about it in the Forscan for 2022 thread! Without that I wouldn't have even thought of being able to remove it.

Forscan for 2022

Has anyone tried the kicker mod without adding the kicker sub? Supposedly makes the stock B&O sound a lot better. I found codes to switch from and to, but the 'before' codes are different on the '22. So wondering if anyone has had any luck yet. Thread here talking about the forscan mod...

www.fordtremor.com

Something to note: High Country had some issues getting the source to actually show as removed after the change for some reason. Took a few key cycles and some driving time. In my case I just cycled the ignition off, opened the door to ensure the entertainment system shut down, and it was gone when I turned the key on again.

I'm glad there's folks out there who use and appreciate Sirius/XM. Unfortunately it sure does suck for those of us who have no interest in using it until we put in effort to rid ourselves of it.

 

[BroncOh]

Today gave Shadowfax the second bath of his life (I don't religiously wash my vehicles lol) and I'm very impressed with the Diamondback. The only water that got in was around the tailgate but that's because I hit the seal directly with the pressure washer. I'm very OK with that.

The other thing I did today is fully rid my life of Sirius/XM. Here's the previous episode in this saga of ridding them from my life:



Today the truck somehow wound up on the Sirius/XM source again without me asking for it, which was the last straw. It's now removed as an audio source. Thanks to @High Country for posting about it in the Forscan for 2022 thread! Without that I wouldn't have even thought of being able to remove it.

Forscan for 2022

Has anyone tried the kicker mod without adding the kicker sub? Supposedly makes the stock B&O sound a lot better. I found codes to switch from and to, but the 'before' codes are different on the '22. So wondering if anyone has had any luck yet. Thread here talking about the forscan mod...

www.fordtremor.com

Something to note: High Country had some issues getting the source to actually show as removed after the change for some reason. Took a few key cycles and some driving time. In my case I just cycled the ignition off, opened the door to ensure the entertainment system shut down, and it was gone when I turned the key on again.

I'm glad there's folks out there who use and appreciate Sirius/XM. Unfortunately it sure does suck for those of us who have no interest in using it until we put in effort to rid ourselves of it.

Any way to remove the AM radio as an audio source? I hate hitting the 'M' button on the steering wheel when I swap quickly between FM and XM lol but have to go through AM first, as there doesn't seem to be any way to change the audio source order.

 

[ccw]

Any way to remove the AM radio as an audio source? I hate hitting the 'M' button on the steering wheel when I swap quickly between FM and XM lol but have to go through AM first, as there doesn't seem to be any way to change the audio source order.

That's a great question for the Forscan for 2022 thread lol. While I have a decent technical understanding of what Forscan is doing, I know nothing about what the actual mappings are. I just reference that thread and the spreadsheet at the start of it.

 

[ccw]

Ground clearance is a wonderful thing.

Also, can confirm the auto-retraction of the power running boards works extremely well.

 

[TJ Carr]

How dirty/snob ice covered do the power running boards get??

Impressions of the tires on snow and ice

Since I’m in the hospital the wife is driving the tremor and says the back end gets squirrel y on her n now we are expecting a major snow storm and cold weather event

 

[ccw]

How dirty/snob ice covered do the power running boards get??

Impressions of the tires on snow and ice

Since I’m in the hospital the wife is driving the tremor and says the back end gets squirrel y on her n now we are expecting a major snow storm and cold weather event

Caveat: haven't been in any particularly nasty snow or ice with the new tires.

The running boards are totally fine in the snow and ice by my experience. Since they're tucked up pretty tight to the body, combined with the mud flaps, nothing really gets in there from driving. Some snow gets on them from stepping on them, but that's easy enough to kick off with your foot. And a bit of snow doesn't interfere with them at all.

Tires seem noticeably better than the Duratracs (for others reading, the Duratracs were the ones without the 3PMS). Still not a dedicated winter, but I've felt plenty confident with them. Again, though, haven't driven in anything particularly nasty so I wouldn't consider that a full review.

 

[SomethingRandom]

How dirty/snob ice covered do the power running boards get??

Impressions of the tires on snow and ice

Since I’m in the hospital the wife is driving the tremor and says the back end gets squirrel y on her n now we are expecting a major snow storm and cold weather event

Not sure what motor you have. But I’d talk her through how to put it in snow/slippery mode. It turns the go pedal sensitivity way down and she might find that easier. I’ve done pass runs in storms this winter with the Duratracs and Wranger ATs and both were fine if driving sensibly.

Edit: I guess I should also add that I made a H frame out of 2x4s and use that to keep around 600lbs of tube sand over the back axle. The weight helps. But being smooth in all inputs and 4hi here and there make that less of a requirement.

 

[ccw]

This weekend got to put some real miles onto Shadowfax. Took a drive out to Montana to sell my old tires:

SOLD - 5 OEM DuraTracs with 4600 miles and spare wheel

Selling the 5 original tires that came with my truck, including the spare wheel. My reasoning was purely to get the 3PMS as is documented in my build thread. Size is 285/75R18. So to emphasize: these do not have the 3PMS. Could be a good set of summer tires, or perhaps someone on here doesn’t...

www.fordtremor.com

Then backtracked a bit to Schweitzer Mountain Resort in northern Idaho for a couple of days of skiing. Stayed at the Clark Fork Lodge in the small town of Clark Fork. Great little town, and a great couple running the lodge. Can recommend it as a place to stay if you're up in that neck of the woods.

As for Shadowfax, it's really a pleasure to spend time in a Super Duty. Was comfortable the whole way, the elevated seating position is always appreciated, CarPlay works a treat, the 7.3L has tons of power on tap, and the 10 speed was butter smooth. Though fuel economy was....well....about what you would expect from a big block V8.

Here's the trip summary from the truck (computer's mileage is calibrated so it's accurate):

I also got to put some time on the new tires, Toyo Open Country ATIII's, including some more intense winter conditions today on the drive back home. First, context on the winter conditions I enountered:

• In Clark Fork (and seemingly only Clark Fork, as everything was bare and dry 10 minutes north of town) had 4-6" of fresh snow land overnight. Local roads and the highway out of town was unplowed and covered in fresh snow. That tapered out.
• In Spokane it was snowing heavily and accumulating on all roads, including I-90. Traffic wasn't at a crawl, but was naturally slowed down. At times there was bare pavement in the tracks, but for the most part the pavement was completely covered.
• Between Spokane and the west side of Snoqualmie Pass, it was periods of blowing snow, but nothing was sticking to the roads. The roads remained wet, though visibility was reduced noticeably at times.

Now, notes on the tires:

• Noticeable improvement over the non-3PMS stock Duratracs. Generally felt more confident doing everything - accelerating, turning, and braking. This was nice as I felt more comfortable leaving the truck in 2WD when things were a bit patchy rather than hopping in and out of 4WD constantly.
• Definitely not dedicated winter tires. To be clear this isn't a complaint, nor was I expecting actual winter tire performance, but I feel it's good to note. At one point I wanted to pull over to re-evaluate which pass I was going to take (Snoqualmie or Stevens) so I tried to slow down and take a side street. I hit the brakes and proceeded to skid quite some distance, ABS full active. This was also a good clue I was going too fast for my available grip, but I feel my grip would have been notably better with dedicated winters.
• Summary of my winter thoughts of these tires: I'm not blown away, but I'm plenty happy with them. While I don't regret getting them, I also feel like I'll try something else next time as I'm not completely sold. Likely the Falken Wildpeaks or Baja Boss A/T, unless there's new products or knowledge that comes out.
• The tires are still surprisingly noisy. Not unbearable by any stretch of the imagination, but I think I was expecting a quieter tire given the less aggressive tread pattern when compared to the Duratracs and Toyo's general reputation. The tire hum becomes particularly noticeable 65mph+.

Another random note from the trip: there's no fuel overflow catch. I used a gas pump that failed to shut off when it should, so some overflowed. I swear on my old F150 if this happened it had a way of redirecting the fuel to the inside of the bedside, which was slick! Not so on the Super Duty. Instead it poured down the side of the truck.

Not the end of the world, but another odd problem to go with the gas cap that's been solved for more than a decade on the F150, but hasn't made it to the Super Duty for some reason.

Lastly, here's some glamor shots of Shadowfax in beautiful northern Idaho!

 

[TJ Carr]

Caveat: haven't been in any particularly nasty snow or ice with the new tires.

The running boards are totally fine in the snow and ice by my experience. Since they're tucked up pretty tight to the body, combined with the mud flaps, nothing really gets in there from driving. Some snow gets on them from stepping on them, but that's easy enough to kick off with your foot. And a bit of snow doesn't interfere with them at all.

Tires seem noticeably better than the Duratracs (for others reading, the Duratracs were the ones without the 3PMS). Still not a dedicated winter, but I've felt plenty confident with them. Again, though, haven't driven in anything particularly nasty so I wouldn't consider that a full review.

Trying to get ford points Gatorback mud flaps while in here is like herding cats wife was told by dealership I had to order them due to points in my name or some such crap

I’m looking at 17” wheels and MT AT tires once I get out of rehab if the budget will support it

Wife was sat the trucks rear slips and skids with light snow on the roads and she misses 4A lol

Daughter in Billings MTis running BFG ko2 and has MT AT’s on order she was told months to get them in

 

[ccw]

Trying to get ford points Gatorback mud flaps while in here is like herding cats wife was told by dealership I had to order them due to points in my name or some such crap

I’m looking at 17” wheels and MT AT tires once I get out of rehab if the budget will support it

Wife was sat the trucks rear slips and skids with light snow on the roads and she misses 4A lol

Daughter in Billings MTis running BFG ko2 and has MT AT’s on order she was told months to get them in

Honestly thinking I might get the Gatorbacks just so I can spend my points on something lol. They do look sweet.

Nice! 17’s would look awesome. As would the Mickey Thompson’s. No question they’re getting good reviews.

Ya 4A would definitely be nice. I don’t know enough about how it works to understand why it hasn’t come to the Super Duty, but I presume something makes it difficult to beef up enough to handle the 6.7L torque.

That’s crazy on the wait. Holy smokes.

 

[TremorNate]

This weekend got to put some real miles onto Shadowfax. Took a drive out to Montana to sell my old tires:

SOLD - 5 OEM DuraTracs with 4600 miles and spare wheel

Selling the 5 original tires that came with my truck, including the spare wheel. My reasoning was purely to get the 3PMS as is documented in my build thread. Size is 285/75R18. So to emphasize: these do not have the 3PMS. Could be a good set of summer tires, or perhaps someone on here doesn’t...

www.fordtremor.com

Then backtracked a bit to Schweitzer Mountain Resort in northern Idaho for a couple of days of skiing. Stayed at the Clark Fork Lodge in the small town of Clark Fork. Great little town, and a great couple running the lodge. Can recommend it as a place to stay if you're up in that neck of the woods.

As for Shadowfax, it's really a pleasure to spend time in a Super Duty. Was comfortable the whole way, the elevated seating position is always appreciated, CarPlay works a treat, the 7.3L has tons of power on tap, and the 10 speed was butter smooth. Though fuel economy was....well....about what you would expect from a big block V8.

Here's the trip summary from the truck (computer's mileage is calibrated so it's accurate):

View attachment 47280

I also got to put some time on the new tires, Toyo Open Country ATIII's, including some more intense winter conditions today on the drive back home. First, context on the winter conditions I enountered:

• In Clark Fork (and seemingly only Clark Fork, as everything was bare and dry 10 minutes north of town) had 4-6" of fresh snow land overnight. Local roads and the highway out of town was unplowed and covered in fresh snow. That tapered out.
• In Spokane it was snowing heavily and accumulating on all roads, including I-90. Traffic wasn't at a crawl, but was naturally slowed down. At times there was bare pavement in the tracks, but for the most part the pavement was completely covered.
• Between Spokane and the west side of Snoqualmie Pass, it was periods of blowing snow, but nothing was sticking to the roads. The roads remained wet, though visibility was reduced noticeably at times.

Now, notes on the tires:

• Noticeable improvement over the non-3PMS stock Duratracs. Generally felt more confident doing everything - accelerating, turning, and braking. This was nice as I felt more comfortable leaving the truck in 2WD when things were a bit patchy rather than hopping in and out of 4WD constantly.
• Definitely not dedicated winter tires. To be clear this isn't a complaint, nor was I expecting actual winter tire performance, but I feel it's good to note. At one point I wanted to pull over to re-evaluate which pass I was going to take (Snoqualmie or Stevens) so I tried to slow down and take a side street. I hit the brakes and proceeded to skid quite some distance, ABS full active. This was also a good clue I was going too fast for my available grip, but I feel my grip would have been notably better with dedicated winters.
• Summary of my winter thoughts of these tires: I'm not blown away, but I'm plenty happy with them. While I don't regret getting them, I also feel like I'll try something else next time as I'm not completely sold. Likely the Falken Wildpeaks or Baja Boss A/T, unless there's new products or knowledge that comes out.
• The tires are still surprisingly noisy. Not unbearable by any stretch of the imagination, but I think I was expecting a quieter tire given the less aggressive tread pattern when compared to the Duratracs and Toyo's general reputation. The tire hum becomes particularly noticeable 65mph+.

Another random note from the trip: there's no fuel overflow catch. I used a gas pump that failed to shut off when it should, so some overflowed. I swear on my old F150 if this happened it had a way of redirecting the fuel to the inside of the bedside, which was slick! Not so on the Super Duty. Instead it poured down the side of the truck.

Not the end of the world, but another odd problem to go with the gas cap that's been solved for more than a decade on the F150, but hasn't made it to the Super Duty for some reason.

Lastly, here's some glamor shots of Shadowfax in beautiful northern Idaho!

View attachment 47279

View attachment 47278

View attachment 47276

View attachment 47277

View attachment 47275

Awesome post, great info! Appreciate you sharing. We go camping just down the hill from Schweitzer every summer at Beyond Hope. Such an awesome area!

 

[Alpoba]

This weekend got to put some real miles onto Shadowfax. Took a drive out to Montana to sell my old tires:

SOLD - 5 OEM DuraTracs with 4600 miles and spare wheel

Selling the 5 original tires that came with my truck, including the spare wheel. My reasoning was purely to get the 3PMS as is documented in my build thread. Size is 285/75R18. So to emphasize: these do not have the 3PMS. Could be a good set of summer tires, or perhaps someone on here doesn’t...

www.fordtremor.com

Then backtracked a bit to Schweitzer Mountain Resort in northern Idaho for a couple of days of skiing. Stayed at the Clark Fork Lodge in the small town of Clark Fork. Great little town, and a great couple running the lodge. Can recommend it as a place to stay if you're up in that neck of the woods.

As for Shadowfax, it's really a pleasure to spend time in a Super Duty. Was comfortable the whole way, the elevated seating position is always appreciated, CarPlay works a treat, the 7.3L has tons of power on tap, and the 10 speed was butter smooth. Though fuel economy was....well....about what you would expect from a big block V8.

Here's the trip summary from the truck (computer's mileage is calibrated so it's accurate):

View attachment 47280

I also got to put some time on the new tires, Toyo Open Country ATIII's, including some more intense winter conditions today on the drive back home. First, context on the winter conditions I enountered:

• In Clark Fork (and seemingly only Clark Fork, as everything was bare and dry 10 minutes north of town) had 4-6" of fresh snow land overnight. Local roads and the highway out of town was unplowed and covered in fresh snow. That tapered out.
• In Spokane it was snowing heavily and accumulating on all roads, including I-90. Traffic wasn't at a crawl, but was naturally slowed down. At times there was bare pavement in the tracks, but for the most part the pavement was completely covered.
• Between Spokane and the west side of Snoqualmie Pass, it was periods of blowing snow, but nothing was sticking to the roads. The roads remained wet, though visibility was reduced noticeably at times.

Now, notes on the tires:

• Noticeable improvement over the non-3PMS stock Duratracs. Generally felt more confident doing everything - accelerating, turning, and braking. This was nice as I felt more comfortable leaving the truck in 2WD when things were a bit patchy rather than hopping in and out of 4WD constantly.
• Definitely not dedicated winter tires. To be clear this isn't a complaint, nor was I expecting actual winter tire performance, but I feel it's good to note. At one point I wanted to pull over to re-evaluate which pass I was going to take (Snoqualmie or Stevens) so I tried to slow down and take a side street. I hit the brakes and proceeded to skid quite some distance, ABS full active. This was also a good clue I was going too fast for my available grip, but I feel my grip would have been notably better with dedicated winters.
• Summary of my winter thoughts of these tires: I'm not blown away, but I'm plenty happy with them. While I don't regret getting them, I also feel like I'll try something else next time as I'm not completely sold. Likely the Falken Wildpeaks or Baja Boss A/T, unless there's new products or knowledge that comes out.
• The tires are still surprisingly noisy. Not unbearable by any stretch of the imagination, but I think I was expecting a quieter tire given the less aggressive tread pattern when compared to the Duratracs and Toyo's general reputation. The tire hum becomes particularly noticeable 65mph+.

Another random note from the trip: there's no fuel overflow catch. I used a gas pump that failed to shut off when it should, so some overflowed. I swear on my old F150 if this happened it had a way of redirecting the fuel to the inside of the bedside, which was slick! Not so on the Super Duty. Instead it poured down the side of the truck.

Not the end of the world, but another odd problem to go with the gas cap that's been solved for more than a decade on the F150, but hasn't made it to the Super Duty for some reason.

Lastly, here's some glamor shots of Shadowfax in beautiful northern Idaho!

View attachment 47279

View attachment 47278

View attachment 47276

View attachment 47277

View attachment 47275

Interesting observations on toyos. Next time maybe try wildpeaks at3s. The more i research the more i realize it’s a tire to get that’s not a dedicated snow tire. I’m torn between ridge grapplers and wildpeaks. Will likely end up with grapplers because winters in nj are mild enough that RG can still manage.

 

[ccw]

Awesome post, great info! Appreciate you sharing. We go camping just down the hill from Schweitzer every summer at Beyond Hope. Such an awesome area!

Awesome! It really is. Need to get back out there in the summer as well.

Interesting observations on toyos. Next time maybe try wildpeaks at3s. The more i research the more i realize it’s a tire to get that’s not a dedicated snow tire. I’m torn between ridge grapplers and wildpeaks. Will likely end up with grapplers because winters in nj are mild enough that RG can still manage.

Yep, those are definitely on the short list for next time. I'll also be in far less of a rush next time (hopefully), which will be nice.

 

[ccw]

This weekend I participated in Search and Rescue training and got a good chance to put Shadowfax to work.

The two main uses it saw was:

1. Towing a small cargo trailer to the command post.
2. Shuttling people and their gear (48 hour backpacks, along with litters) where they were needed.

Towing​

With regards to towing, it was both a great and frustrating experience.

The cargo trailer was single axle and likely weighed around 2000-3000 pounds. The backup camera, along with the zoomed in view, made hooking up solo a breeze! Loved it. Once rolling down the road, the truck barely knew the trailer was back there - though I could still tell through a number of subtle ways:

• I could tell the truck had squatted. Not a huge amount, but I could tell the hood was sitting a bit higher than normal.
• I could feel the slight tugging from the trailer over bumps and such.
• The transmission sometimes would downshift when I knew it would have normally stayed in a higher gear.

The part that was frustrating related to the trailer lights. It turns out the wiring on this trailer had some bad butt connectors installed resulting in flaky connections, but those bad splices were buried behind wire loom and electrical tape. While diagnosing in the field, I couldn't rule out Shadowfax since this was my first time towing with Shadowfax.

Making it particularly frustrating is the "smarts" that these trucks have with regards to trailer circuits. As I've seen mentioned elsewhere on the forum, power isn't sent to the trailer connectors unless the truck believes there's a trailer connected. This adds a significant layer of complexity while diagnosing an issue. Disconnecting and re-connecting the trailer lights while the truck is running could cause the truck to believe no trailer is connected, requiring the truck to be fully shut down and restarted.

As a result, during diagnosis we brought over a Toyota Tacoma that has far simpler trailer circuitry and used that to help with diagnosis.

These trucks desperately need an option to force power to the trailer lights. Fuses exist for a reason if there's a short, and the driver should have the power to override the computers.

Shuttling​

When it came to shuttling folks around, the truck overall worked fantastic. Tons of compliments on the truck, as well as appreciation for the comfort (in no small part because of the heated seats). These were folks that had been out in the woods for hours in miserable weather, so a warm seat was a fantastic feeling for them.

I've started to question my plans for a slide-in camper, though, when it comes to storage capacity. For SAR, and my own personal desires, I carry a lot of gear. Then when I'm shutting people for SAR I may need to carry 4 additional people in the cab, each with a 48 hour packs, and a litter. This is barely possible under the Diamondback cover. And I find myself pretty strongly resisting putting packs on top of the cover because of how much of a pain it would be to secure them in the moment.

With a slide-in camper, I honestly don't know where I would put those packs, don't mind my own recovery gear. The packs could go on the floor of the camper, I suppose? But if it's a pop-up, that would be a pain to load and unload. And if there's a litter, am I comfortable with that being slid across the floor of the camper?

Instead, I'm strongly considering, at some point, selling my Diamondback setup and going for a Go Fast Camper or similar. This would increase my convenient and dry storage dramatically while giving me a much better camping setup than tenting. Also a camping setup contained within the truck's footprint.

I would need to rely exclusively on trailers for raw material hauling or particularly tall items, but that might be a trade-off worth making.

None of this is solidified, but it's some things going through my mind after this weekend.

 

[Rooster]

This weekend I participated in Search and Rescue training and got a good chance to put Shadowfax to work.

The two main uses it saw was:

1. Towing a small cargo trailer to the command post.
2. Shuttling people and their gear (48 hour backpacks, along with litters) where they were needed.

Towing​

With regards to towing, it was both a great and frustrating experience.

The cargo trailer was single axle and likely weighed around 2000-3000 pounds. The backup camera, along with the zoomed in view, made hooking up solo a breeze! Loved it. Once rolling down the road, the truck barely knew the trailer was back there - though I could still tell through a number of subtle ways:

• I could tell the truck had squatted. Not a huge amount, but I could tell the hood was sitting a bit higher than normal.
• I could feel the slight tugging from the trailer over bumps and such.
• The transmission sometimes would downshift when I knew it would have normally stayed in a higher gear.

The part that was frustrating related to the trailer lights. It turns out the wiring on this trailer had some bad butt connectors installed resulting in flaky connections, but those bad splices were buried behind wire loom and electrical tape. While diagnosing in the field, I couldn't rule out Shadowfax since this was my first time towing with Shadowfax.

Making it particularly frustrating is the "smarts" that these trucks have with regards to trailer circuits. As I've seen mentioned elsewhere on the forum, power isn't sent to the trailer connectors unless the truck believes there's a trailer connected. This adds a significant layer of complexity while diagnosing an issue. Disconnecting and re-connecting the trailer lights while the truck is running could cause the truck to believe no trailer is connected, requiring the truck to be fully shut down and restarted.

As a result, during diagnosis we brought over a Toyota Tacoma that has far simpler trailer circuitry and used that to help with diagnosis.

These trucks desperately need an option to force power to the trailer lights. Fuses exist for a reason if there's a short, and the driver should have the power to override the computers.

Shuttling​

When it came to shuttling folks around, the truck overall worked fantastic. Tons of compliments on the truck, as well as appreciation for the comfort (in no small part because of the heated seats). These were folks that had been out in the woods for hours in miserable weather, so a warm seat was a fantastic feeling for them.

I've started to question my plans for a slide-in camper, though, when it comes to storage capacity. For SAR, and my own personal desires, I carry a lot of gear. Then when I'm shutting people for SAR I may need to carry 4 additional people in the cab, each with a 48 hour packs, and a litter. This is barely possible under the Diamondback cover. And I find myself pretty strongly resisting putting packs on top of the cover because of how much of a pain it would be to secure them in the moment.

With a slide-in camper, I honestly don't know where I would put those packs, don't mind my own recovery gear. The packs could go on the floor of the camper, I suppose? But if it's a pop-up, that would be a pain to load and unload. And if there's a litter, am I comfortable with that being slid across the floor of the camper?

Instead, I'm strongly considering, at some point, selling my Diamondback setup and going for a Go Fast Camper or similar. This would increase my convenient and dry storage dramatically while giving me a much better camping setup than tenting. Also a camping setup contained within the truck's footprint.

I would need to rely exclusively on trailers for raw material hauling or particularly tall items, but that might be a trade-off worth making.

None of this is solidified, but it's some things going through my mind after this weekend.

Pretty interesting on the lights and frustrating. At least you were with cops so probably didn’t have to worry about the lights lol. My friend just got the project M pop up from FOuR wheeler. It has that big door that you can still drive a 4 wheeler in. I have a soft topper that I really like. I’ve slept out in it at 5 degrees. Can’t stand up but keeps the rain snow and wind out and folds up in 5 minutes, take the whole thing off in 10. Surprised 2-3k had it down shifting.

 

[ccw]

Pretty interesting on the lights and frustrating. At least you were with cops so probably didn’t have to worry about the lights lol.

Technically not with the cops lol. At least in WA, search and rescue is a fully volunteer thing. We do work closely with the sheriff's office, and are triggered by them, but in the case of training police weren't involved at all.

My friend just got the project M pop up from FOuR wheeler. It has that big door that you can still drive a 4 wheeler in. I have a soft topper that I really like. I’ve slept out in it at 5 degrees. Can’t stand up but keeps the rain snow and wind out and folds up in 5 minutes, take the whole thing off in 10.

I love the idea of the soft topper except for security. I'm keeping stuff in my bed nearly permanently (recovery gear, tools, etc), so I wouldn't want to trust the soft topper to protect that stuff.

Surprised 2-3k had it down shifting.

Oh to be clear, it was subtle down-shifting. It was generally holding gears fine, I'm just familiar enough with the shift patterns that I could tell in certain situations where it would have been barely able to hold a gear, it was forced to downshift. Not like it was needing to be in 9th on flat ground or anything.

I think I just get irked when people say "they couldn't tell the trailer was back there" lol. I'm in-tune enough with my vehicles that I can tell small differences in behavior.