Project Shadowfax

ccw · Nov 23, 2022

Chris-DTA said:
I am probably not often enough underneath my truck yet - is that a factory skid plate you are talking about or after-market?

Aftermarket! You can check out my install post on it here:

Project Shadowfax

Would love for a bit bigger wattage one that goes in the OEM spot that has pure sine. The Milwaukee M18 Super charger requires more than 400 watts. Fair. I plan on hooking it up to the existing wiring (including to the OEM outlets) so I didn't want to go more than 400 watts to be safe. No idea...

www.fordtremor.com

Worth noting that if I were to buy a skid plate today, I would almost certainly go for the one from Talons Garage:

Ford F-250 | Engine & Transmission Skid Plate | 2020-2026 | 6.7L Diese

This plate is only designed to fit the 2020-2026 F-250 with the 6.7L Diesel Engine with a 4x4 drive train. Our plates are designed to function as off-road transmission skid and catalytic converter protection plates.

www.talonsgarage.com

They're here on the forum (@Talon2006) and here's their main thread if you want to see lots of pictures, or have any questions about their skid plate:

Talons Garage - Who are we, what do we do, and where do we want to go!

Good afternoon from Talons Garage! My name is Shaun and my wife’s name is Crystal. We are a husband-and-wife team that started this adventure about a year ago in our three-car garage. I am excited to be a vendor here on Tremor Forum! I want to take a quick minute to talk about us, and who we...

www.fordtremor.com

It seems like the skid plate from Talons Garage would run into similar issues, though, with regards to getting the oil filter off.

cntyguy · Nov 23, 2022

Chris-DTA said:
I am probably not often enough underneath my truck yet - is that a factory skid plate you are talking about or after-market?

That’s the aftermarket skid plate/cat protector from talons garage. Despite the servicing difficulties, I consider the talons garage skid plate to be one of my best investments.

ccw · Nov 25, 2022

Today was more time with Shadowfax, though it was more of a learning day.

First up was a brief scouting run up a forest road. About 25 minutes one way, so not long but long enough to be worth airing down. It's a pretty rough road.

The last time I aired down I went to roughly 35psi, and that was not nearly low enough. Threads on the forum make that not particularly surprising, but I wanted to play it conservative since it was my first time airing down. Today I went down to 25psi and it made a huge difference. Definitely the sweet spot for Shadowfax.

After that I was next to a Travel America that has CAT Scales, so I figured I would weigh Shadowfax for the first time. This was with a full tank of gas, my current modifications, and all of the stuff I normally keep in the truck for SAR and general life. I was out of the truck so no humans were weighed. Weights are:

Steer axle: 4360 pounds
Drive axle: 3860 pounds
Gross weight: 8220 pounds

Given my GVWR of 11,300 pounds, that puts my available payload capacity, above and beyond my daily carry, at 3080 pounds. This makes me very pleased.

Last stop was a spot up a different forest road with a berm you can drive over. It's a pretty good stress of break over angle, and I wanted to compare with my old truck as well as get a better feel of my clearances with Shadowfax.

For context, my old truck was a 2009 F-150 Supercab, 6.5' bed, with factory non-powered running boards. When my old truck went over this berm the running boards skimmed the dirt, and the frame was pretty close to touching.

With Shadowfax, I had tons of clearance! With the power running boards tucked up away, the only risk of touching was the frame/skid plates, but they had a comfortable amount of space. Probably 4-6 inches. This also makes me very pleased.

Side story on trying to weigh Shadowfax. Specifically how it took me a good 20+ minutes or so to fill up with gas, and it wasn't because I was waiting in line.

I wanted to top off my tank before I weighed it, so I swung into a gas station across the street from the scales. Put in my card, put the nozzle in the truck, selected my fuel and...the pump wouldn't pump gas. Pull the handle and nothing comes out. I tried another two times and still nothing, so I moved on to a Shell station next to the scales.

At the Shell I put in my card, it then asked me to join the rewards program to which I pushed the button for "No" and...nothing. It stayed on that screen. I waited a minute or two, hit no again. Wait another minute, mash no and yes. Wait a bit longer, then hit the cancel button. Still nothing. I can't leave because it already took my card, so if it does start working then someone could fill up on my card.

I head inside, get the attendant to come out and of course when she gets to the pump it's now waiting for me to pick up the nozzle and select my fuel type.

Here I make the mistake of trying to fill up, rather than cancelling and switching pumps. I put the nozzle in, chose my fuel type. The screen goes to "One moment please"...and sits there. Pulling the handle does nothing. I try to cancel it, but nothing happens. I'm stuck again.

Head inside once more, attendant comes out and takes the nozzle out of my truck and puts it back in the pump. Pump resets as if nothing happened. She put cones up to block off that pump.

Frustrated with Shell I head to the third and final gas station all clumped together in this spot and finally get gas. No issues at all with that one.

Absolutely absurd.

Modman · Nov 25, 2022

ccw said:
Today was more time with Shadowfax, though it was more of a learning day.

First up was a brief scouting run up a forest road. About 25 minutes one way, so not long but long enough to be worth airing down. It's a pretty rough road.

The last time I aired down I went to roughly 35psi, and that was not nearly low enough. Threads on the forum make that not particularly surprising, but I wanted to play it conservative since it was my first time airing down. Today I went down to 25psi and it made a huge difference. Definitely the sweet spot for Shadowfax.

After that I was next to a Travel America that has CAT Scales, so I figured I would weigh Shadowfax for the first time. This was with a full tank of gas, my current modifications, and all of the stuff I normally keep in the truck for SAR and general life. I was out of the truck so no humans were weighed. Weights are:

Steer axle: 4360 pounds

Drive axle: 3860 pounds

Gross weight: 8220 pounds

Given my GVWR of 11,300 pounds, that puts my available payload capacity, above and beyond my daily carry, at 3080 pounds. This makes me very pleased.

Last stop was a spot up a different forest road with a berm you can drive over. It's a pretty good stress of break over angle, and I wanted to compare with my old truck as well as get a better feel of my clearances with Shadowfax.

For context, my old truck was a 2009 F-150 Supercab, 6.5' bed, with factory non-powered running boards. When my old truck went over this berm the running boards skimmed the dirt, and the frame was pretty close to touching.

With Shadowfax, I had tons of clearance! With the power running boards tucked up away, the only risk of touching was the frame/skid plates, but they had a comfortable amount of space. Probably 4-6 inches. This also makes me very pleased.

Side story on trying to weigh Shadowfax. Specifically how it took me a good 20+ minutes or so to fill up with gas, and it wasn't because I was waiting in line.

I wanted to top off my tank before I weighed it, so I swung into a gas station across the street from the scales. Put in my card, put the nozzle in the truck, selected my fuel and...the pump wouldn't pump gas. Pull the handle and nothing comes out. I tried another two times and still nothing, so I moved on to a Shell station next to the scales.

At the Shell I put in my card, it then asked me to join the rewards program to which I pushed the button for "No" and...nothing. It stayed on that screen. I waited a minute or two, hit no again. Wait another minute, mash no and yes. Wait a bit longer, then hit the cancel button. Still nothing. I can't leave because it already took my card, so if it does start working then someone could fill up on my card.

I head inside, get the attendant to come out and of course when she gets to the pump it's now waiting for me to pick up the nozzle and select my fuel type. Here I make the mistake of trying to fill up, rather than cancelling and switching pumps. I put the nozzle in, chose my fuel type. The screen goes to "One moment please"...and sits there. Pulling the handle does nothing. I try to cancel it, but nothing happens. I'm stuck again.

Head inside once more, attendant comes out and takes the nozzle out of my truck and puts it back in the pump. Pump resets as if nothing happened. She put cones up to block off that pump.

Frustrated with Shell I head to the third and final gas station all clumped together in this spot and finally get gas. No issues at all with that one.

Absolutely absurd.

How close was the 8220 to what you had expected? I'm sure its in this thread someplace but I'll just ask - what does your door sticker list for payload?

Modman · Nov 25, 2022

Modman said:
How close was the 8220 to what you had expected? I'm sure its in this thread someplace but I'll just ask - what does your door sticker list for payload?

Nevermind... Found it already - 3592lb.

So your weight adders vs. my truck from the factory are the 5th wheel prep, pwr running boards, and the winch.

Your factory curb is 11300-3592=7708lbs
Mine is 10000-2720=7280lbs

Doesn't that seem like a big difference? I really should weigh my truck too...

ccw · Nov 25, 2022

Modman said:
How close was the 8220 to what you had expected? I'm sure its in this thread someplace but I'll just ask - what does your door sticker list for payload?

Modman said:
Nevermind... Found it already - 3592lb.

So your weight adders vs. my truck from the factory are the 5th wheel prep, pwr running boards, and the winch.

Your factory curb is 11300-3592=7708lbs
Mine is 10000-2720=7280lbs

Doesn't that seem like a big difference? I really should weigh my truck too...

The number was about what I was expecting. I had been over scales before (e.g. transfer station) and the truck weighed in at around 8000 pounds once I subtracted the people from it, though didn’t have all of the same stuff in it.

As you worked out, I have about 500 pounds of “stuff” added to the truck according to the scales and door sticker. Doing the rough math of how much I’ve added to the truck:

Tire chains: 100 pounds
DiamondBack cover: 200 pounds
Diamondback crossbin 13: 20 pounds
Recovery gear: 50 pounds
Weigh safe hitch: 50 pounds

That leaves 80 pounds of “miscellaneous” which seems pretty reasonable to me.

As for the comparison with your truck, roughly 400 pounds makes sense to me for those items you listed. The one variable I don’t think the forum has fully settled on (and I’m not in a place to finalize it myself) is whether the winch, when ordered from the factory, is actually accounted for in the door sticker since it’s installed by the dealer.

There’s enough fudge factor in my rough math above to absorb the weight of the winch.

Modman · Nov 26, 2022

ccw said:
The number was about what I was expecting. I had been over scales before (e.g. transfer station) and the truck weighed in at around 8000 pounds once I subtracted the people from it, though didn’t have all of the same stuff in it.

As you worked out, I have about 500 pounds of “stuff” added to the truck according to the scales and door sticker. Doing the rough math of how much I’ve added to the truck:

Tire chains: 100 pounds

DiamondBack cover: 200 pounds

Diamondback crossbin 13: 20 pounds

Recovery gear: 50 pounds

Weigh safe hitch: 50 pounds

That leaves 80 pounds of “miscellaneous” which seems pretty reasonable to me.

As for the comparison with your truck, roughly 400 pounds makes sense to me for those items you listed. The one variable I don’t think the forum has fully settled on (and I’m not in a place to finalize it myself) is whether the winch, when ordered from the factory, is actually accounted for in the door sticker since it’s installed by the dealer.

There’s enough fudge factor in my rough math above to absorb the weight of the winch.

Thanks. I was thinking of the Diamondback as a big piece of your CAT weight. I guess the 5er prep may add more weight than I thought.

I am in the winch is on the payload door sticker camp since it is included on the window sticker... It also makes since with respect to the 400lbs. I recall the lengthy debate though!

ccw · Nov 28, 2022

Between yesterday and today made some more Forscan tweaks! All of the changes are documented in my modifications post near the start of this thread.

Project Shadowfax

With my truck now built and on its way to me, it's time to make a build thread in preparation for its arrival. Let's walk through the name, my goals for the truck, and why I went with the Tremor. A follow-up post will track the state of modifications - planned, purchased, and installed. Name...

www.fordtremor.com

First up was changing when the truck alerts you to the parking brake being on. Shout out to @Motoxxx43 in the Forscan for 2022 thread for making me aware this was even possible to change!

Default behavior is to alert you that the parking brake is on (message in the gauge cluster display and a chime) immediately upon shifting out of park. Honestly, this is a perfectly reasonable default. For some reason, though, I've gotten into the habit of putting my truck into gear before releasing the parking brake, resulting in the truck chiming at me even as my hand was already headed for the brake release.

Forscan lets you change the behavior so the truck notifies you of the parking brake being on once the vehicle is moving.

Next was tire pressure. I had previously adjusted the rear to be 60 psi, and was running 60 psi all around; however, with my newly acquired scale weights I took a fresh look at my pressures.

End result are these pressures:

Daily driving: 50psi front and rear
- Up to 5000 pounds towing OR
- Up to 1000 pounds additional weight in bed
Light hauling: 50psi front, 60psi rear
- Up to 7500 pounds towing OR
- Up to 1500 pounds additional weight in bed
Heavy Hauling: 60psi front, 75psi rear (factory specifications)
- Maximum capacity.

I got there by using the Toyo Load and Inflation guide along with my front and rear GAWR. I worked out that at 50psi with my tires (factory size Toyo's) each tire is able to carry 3000 pounds. This means each axle will be capable of carrying the front GAWR (4800 pounds) with a 25% buffer.

50psi is a nice drop from factory spec, improving ride, but still leaves lots of room for daily life. I have lots of overhead to carry passengers and tow lighter trailers. The buffer accounts for variances; variances in pressures, potentially caused by temperature changes or slow leaks, and variances in loading (e.g. I accidentally overload the front axle a bit).

Without touching the front pressures, I can go up to light hauling. Again, that 50 psi is good for the full front GAWR so there shouldn't be any risk up front, and 60psi in the rear gives me more capacity back there.

Going up to heavy hauling I want to be at factory spec all around. Realistically it should be massive overkill based on the load table, but when hauling those kinds of weights might as well be safe than sorry.

ccw · Dec 10, 2022

Had the hood up on Shadowfax refilling the washer fluid and figured I would check in on my batteries while I was there. Conveniently the truck hadn't run today so there was no surface charge to deal with. Last oil change I noted:

ccw said:
One thing that jumped out at me is the CCA's of the batteries. Passenger side (primary) battery tested at 827 CCA, drivers side (secondary) at 789 CCA. Both are well above their rating of 750, but it's the disparity that's raising an eyebrow.

Today they measured at:

Primary (passenger): 744 CCA
Secondary (driver): 720 CCA

So it would appear the disparity has shrunk from 38 to 24 CCA's. Much less concerning! Obviously will keep an eye on it as my oil changes continue, but seems to have stabilized. Will have another oil change this week as I approach 20,000 miles on the odometer.

ccw · Dec 17, 2022

Yesterday was another servicing for Shadowfax! There were three notable parts, all expanded on below:

Ziploc bag + PIG mat = easy and clean filter change with a skid plate!
Screw knob for the UPR catch can needs some blue Loctite to prevent it from backing off on rough roads.
Catch can contents were somewhat milky again.
Winch died.

First notable part was that I finally figured out a good solution for removing the oil filter with a skid plate! It involves a large Ziploc bag and a small "pig mat" - one of those highly absorbent pads used to collect spilled fluids. In the time since my last oil change I received a package (I forget what) that included one of those mats in the box in case the contents leaked.

(Note on the Ziploc bag: I am not the first on the forum to have this idea. I don't remember who first suggested it, but it's been rolling around in the back of my head for a while now and I finally put it to use. Thank you, whoever first suggested it on the forum!)

Here's the steps I took for the filter change:

Put the mat on the top of the skid plate, under the oil filter, to collect any drips and prevent them from running down the skid plate. With the PDM skid plate it had to hang off the side of the skid plate a bit (I missed that at first, so a few drops did sneak by).
Loosen the filter a bit by hand to get it started.
Place the bag over the filter, as high up as possible, and unscrew the filter entirely. This is tedious with the bag, especially when oil starts leaking out, coating the inside of the bag and the filter with oil.
Once the filter drops into the bag, remove the bag, seal it, and then wipe it down.

The filter was already in a bag for recycling, and cleanup was extremely minimal. Highly recommend this method. So little dripped onto the mat I will be able to reuse it for at least the next oil change, likely more.

Second notable part relates to the UPR catch can. Ever since installation I've been paranoid about the screw knob that holds the canister to the bracket backing off, letting the canister fall. As a result I've been checking on it, particularly after driving on forest roads.

Sure enough after a recent run up a forest road I checked it while airing up and it had come loose. It threads on enough that it wasn't at risk of falling off just yet, but with more drive time - particularly on rough roads - I'm sure it would have. Additionally, the fact the bracket was loose surely wouldn't have been good for the bracket or the threads as it bounced around.

After emptying the catch can, I applied a bit of blue Loctite to hold it in place. We'll see if I regret doing that come the next oil change if it holds so strongly I can't unscrew the knob, though worst case there's always pliers.

Third notable part was the contents of the catch can. They were back to being milky again. If I had to guess, it's a result of the colder temperatures. That means more engine run time while not warmed up, and thus more chance for blow-by. I know the engine is designed to have those contents go into the intake, but seeing it I'm still happy I have it.

It's not super concerning, but I'll continue to monitor with future oil changes. At a minimum it's interesting.

Last notable part of servicing was my winch dying. That got its own thread, which you can view here:

Factory winch just died

Pretty sure my factory winch just died, unless someone has a suggestion to get it going again. Was servicing my truck. As a part of it I like to pull some winch rope out and wind it back in to exercise the winch, since I don’t use it regularly. When I went to wind it back in there was a bunch...

www.fordtremor.com

ccw · Dec 23, 2022

Heres one way to block out the license plate before posting a picture online.

Modman · Dec 24, 2022

ccw said:
Heres one way to block out the license plate before posting a picture online.

View attachment 107399

Very efficient! Let nature do the work...

ccw · Dec 26, 2022

Something I've been noticing over the past while is that my truck is very good at keeping stuff thrown from the tires away from the sides of the truck.

I first noticed this when driving a forest road with a Jeep and we were hitting some pretty large puddles. The Jeep was regularly getting their windshield covered in water when they hit a puddle. Shadowfax, on the other hand, sent water sideways. Never got anything on the windshield or on the side windows.

Next is driving around snowy roads after they've been ~~graveled~~ sanded. On the side roads the snow can be a few inches deep, mixed thoroughly with sand. You can hear the massive amount of stuff hitting the underside of the truck and in the wheel wells. Getting out of the truck, the wheel wells and mud flaps are caked with dirty snow, but nothing on the sides of the truck.

No pictures, unfortunately, as I didn't get a chance to get one before driving on wet roads that got rid of all the caked snow.

Worth noting that this is with the Gatorback mud flaps. I have no idea how much of this is a result of those mud flaps and how much is a result of the design of the truck. Factory mud flaps could be just as good and I never happened to notice when I had them on.

Gus · Dec 27, 2022

ccw said:
Something I've been noticing over the past while is that my truck is very good at keeping stuff thrown from the tires away from the sides of the truck.

I first noticed this when driving a forest road with a Jeep and we were hitting some pretty large puddles. The Jeep was regularly getting their windshield covered in water when they hit a puddle. Shadowfax, on the other hand, sent water sideways. Never got anything on the windshield or on the side windows.

Next is driving around snowy roads after they've been ~~graveled~~ sanded. On the side roads the snow can be a few inches deep, mixed thoroughly with sand. You can hear the massive amount of stuff hitting the underside of the truck and in the wheel wells. Getting out of the truck, the wheel wells and mud flaps are caked with dirty snow, but nothing on the sides of the truck.

No pictures, unfortunately, as I didn't get a chance to get one before driving on wet roads that got rid of all the caked snow.

Worth noting that this is with the Gatorback mud flaps. I have no idea how much of this is a result of those mud flaps and how much is a result of the design of the truck. Factory mud flaps could be just as good and I never happened to notice when I had them on.

It’s got to be a combination of everything for you, I’ve got snow/sand crap all over the sides and even on the rear view mirrors and that’s just from the road, nothing else

ccw · Dec 27, 2022

Gus said:
It’s got to be a combination of everything for you, I’ve got snow/sand crap all over the sides and even on the rear view mirrors and that’s just from the road, nothing else

Interesting! Might be the Gatorbacks playing a pretty significant part, then!

Gus · Dec 27, 2022

ccw said:
Interesting! Might be the Gatorbacks playing a pretty significant part, then!

I’m running +18 offset wheels so they stick a smidgen further out with 305/70r18’ Mickey Thompson All Terrain’s and they are on the aggressive side and throw more slush

I’m wondering how bad mud flaps will rub and how fragile they are as I used all my pass points on the extended warranty

ccw · Dec 27, 2022

Gus said:
I’m running +18 offset wheels so they stick a smidgen further out with 305/70r18’ Mickey Thompson All Terrain’s and they are on the aggressive side and throw more slush

I’m wondering how bad mud flaps will rub and how fragile they are as I used all my pass points on the extended warranty

Ahh gotcha. Ya the additional offset, although minimal, probably makes a notable difference. Same with the wider tires.

So I'm able to put chains on my tires without rubbing, though it is close. That makes for a pretty significant tire diameter increase. As long as you aren't needing to run chains I think you would be fine.

Gunslinging_Patriot · Jan 3, 2023

ccw said:
Interesting! Might be the Gatorbacks playing a pretty significant part, then!

I have the Husky mud flaps and the sides of my truck are always dirty from road crud.

What size Gatorbacks do you have?

ccw · Jan 3, 2023

Gunslinging_Patriot said:
I have the Husky mud flaps and the sides of my truck are always dirty from road crud.

What size Gatorbacks do you have?

As far as I know, Gatorbacks don't really come in sizes. They come custom fit to the application. My install post for them has the exact part numbers I installed and links to them on Ford's website (bottom of the post):

Project Shadowfax

Its not about the rotation, it was about appr. 1/2 inch of the back of noco still pushing against inner plastic trim. Once you remove the trim, noco can go back all the way. Alternatively, you can offset the noco from the center to the left and it wont bump into anything, but i wanted the...

www.fordtremor.com

Worth noting there's other options for the decorative metal plate on the backside of the flaps (no plate, stainless steel, etc).

ccw · Jan 10, 2023

ccw said:
Well, some unfortunate bad news with the Diamondback cover - or more specifically their Crossbin 13 toolbox, the cover itself has been fantastic.

Twice now I've had one end of the Crossbin 13 fall into the bed of the truck. To understand why, let's take a look at how the bin is designed:

View attachment 50703

In this picture you can see how the box itself is strong with its boxed shape. The drop-down section adds to that strength. The weak part is the "arms", for lack of a better word, that extend up to hook over the bed rails.

Those "arms" are entirely unsupported. This means any lateral forces just need to bend sheet aluminum, which isn't terribly difficult. If the aluminum bends far enough, the right-angle lips will no longer hold onto the bed rail and that side will drop down. This is exacerbated by weight in the toolbox.

I reached out to Diamondback support and learned the Crossbin 13 has a weight rating of 150 pounds. As far as I could find, and support didn't correct me, this is unpublished. It is not on the instructions nor the web page for the Crossbin 13. While I don't have an exact weight, I suspect I was loading it with 200-300 pounds of weight initially. After the first drop I took my tire chains out which reduced that weight by 100 pounds; however, the aluminum was also weakened from the first fall.

In their instructions, Diamondback does call out adding sheet metal screws to secure the bin to the bed rails if driving over rough roads. I opted not to do this as I wanted the toolbox more easily removable and, for now, I've been driving almost exclusively on pavement.

I suggested two things to support, which he will be forwarding on:

Publish the weight rating. Hopefully this should happen quickly.

Add gusseting to the vertical "arms" to prevent them from folding inwards. Since this is a design change I don't expect it to happen quickly, but hopefully it's adopted with the next design revision.

As for myself, I'm considering a few options:

Reducing the weight in the bin. This is unfortunate as the whole reason I got the bin was to hold things, but this will require me to have some heavier things loose in the bed.

Putting screws or bolts through the "arms" into the bed rails.

Finding a fabricator who can add gussets to the "arms" and strengthen them.

ccw said:
Ah I see what you mean! Unfortunately that wouldn't help. My description of the problem probably could have been better.

It isn't that the right angle, hooking over top of the bed rails, is straightening out. The issue is that the vertical sheet metal is bending back, towards the inside of the bed.

View attachment 50760

I continue to be impressed with Diamondback customer service. Time for an update on the Crossbin 13!

Back in June, around the same time I posted about my problems with it here on the forum, I also posted a review of the Crossbin 13 on Diamondback's site. Here's the review I posted:

Unlike the HD cover, the cross-bin 13 is decidedly light-duty. Amplifying this is the lack of a published weight capacity, which I learned from support is a mere 150 pounds.

My bin has fallen into the bed multiple times while driving as a result of the outer, vertical "arms" bending inwards and a weld has started to fail. The metal is noticeably bent now. I had to unload a significant amount of gear from it into the bed of the truck to ensure it doesn't fall again.

Thicker aluminum and/or gussets for the vertical "arms" would do wonders for this product and help it live up to the reputation DiamondBack has built with their covers.

A customer support specialist reached out to me via email and offered to send me not only a replacement Crossbin, but a revised one, where they've made some changes in response to feedback. At the time these changes were still in the final phases of development, so I would essentially be a beta tester (presumably along with others who had a bad experience).

I received the replacement entirely for free on my part. The changes made are:

Increased side panel height. This will help reduce inward flex of the "arms", with a side benefit of increased storage space.
Weather stripping under the end flanges. This will help reduce movement of the Crossbin along the rails if not screwed in.

I've been using the replacement for multiple months now, and cleared posting about the replacement with Diamondback. It sounds like these changes are now in full production, so if you purchase a Crossbin 13 today my understanding is you will get these updates.

My thoughts:

First and foremost, they posted the weight limit on the product page!! This is huge. I believe a massive part of the problem is people were overloading their Crossbin, with no way to know they were doing that. The published capacity is 100 pounds.
The increased side height is significant (I'll post comparison pictures and measurements in a second post shortly), though there are still "arms" that can bend inwards.
The new Crossbin has been holding well thus far. It hasn't yet shown signs of failure or bending, though there are clear signs of movement. It's worth noting that I haven't loaded this one nearly as heavy as I did the first one, since I know about the weight limit now.
I would still like to see gussets added, and I've provided feedback as such to Diamondback. It would be over-building the Crossbin, which I believe aligns to their brand and their covers.
You should still consider the Crossbin 13 a light duty toolbox. Good for light but bulky things, not heavy things. If you intend to travel extensively off-road with it, you need to bolt/screw it down to the bed rails (I need to do that).
I may still find a shop to add gussets to my Crossbin to make it last longer.

As for the old Crossbin, it's taking up space in my garage. Diamondback said I can dispose of it, so I will post in the classifieds soon to see if anyone wants it, though it's likely most valuable as scrap metal as opposed to a toolbox.