Project Shadowfax

[Himni]

Just got back from picking up Shadowfax from yet another stay in a shop - dropped him off on Wednesday. This finishes up the Xpel PPF install on the drivers side, where it was painted as part of the deer damage repairs. They also put the "7.3L Godzilla" badge on the drivers door.

It looks fantastic! That should be the last multi-day stay in a shop for a while, hopefully.

How much did all the ppf cost? I always want to get it done but then I see the cost and I can’t decide if I really want to spend that much.

 

[ccw]

How much did all the ppf cost? I always want to get it done but then I see the cost and I can’t decide if I really want to spend that much.

Not cheap. $8000 before tax, $8800 after tax. It's a full wrap, including the roof and tailgate.

If I was keeping the truck in open areas I only would have done the front end which would have brought the cost down considerably, but my goal is to minimize pinstriping from branches on forest roads.

(Fun fact: I just got my roof replaced before the holidays and that was $8000 all-in, so less than the PPF on the truck. )

 

[Modman]

(Fun fact: I just got my roof replaced before the holidays and that was $8000 all-in, so less than the PPF on the truck. )

Wow! We just had ours replaced too... They finished on 12/31 right before our biggest snowfall of the season this far!

 

[ccw]

Wow! We just had ours replaced too... They finished on 12/31 right before our biggest snowfall of the season this far!

Oh dang! Good timing! Was yours planned to happen then? Or unplanned?

I ask because I wasn't planning on replacing my roof at the time, but I had a long-term leak present itself (it was going into the walls, so didn't show until the drywall got all bubbly). The roofers found some other issues and it was either $2500 to repair everything on a 20 year old roof, or $8000 to replace it. Hence the unexpected replacement lol.

 

[BroncOh]

(Fun fact: I just got my roof replaced before the holidays and that was $8000 all-in, so less than the PPF on the truck. )

Kind of puts things into perspective on how grossly overpriced automotive stuff really is.

 

[ccw]

Kind of puts things into perspective on how grossly overpriced automotive stuff really is.

Right? Just feels wrong!

 

[MiTremor906]

Kind of puts things into perspective on how grossly overpriced automotive stuff really is.

Right? Just feels wrong!

Try buying Aerospace parts I cry seeing some of the prices on shipments at work. I've seen small aluminum nameplates for $100+ and single actuators close to $500k.

 

[Modman]

Oh dang! Good timing! Was yours planned to happen then? Or unplanned?

I ask because I wasn't planning on replacing my roof at the time, but I had a long-term leak present itself (it was going into the walls, so didn't show until the drywall got all bubbly). The roofers found some other issues and it was either $2500 to repair everything on a 20 year old roof, or $8000 to replace it. Hence the unexpected replacement lol.

Planned, but it was supposed to get done at the end of Sep. Material and worker shortages kept pushing it out. When they finally started it took them about 3x as long as expected due to weather and holidays... Looks nice though! We were pushing it - 26 years!!

 

[BroncOh]

Try buying Aerospace parts I cry seeing some of the prices on shipments at work. I've seen small aluminum nameplates for $100+ and single actuators close to $500k.

Yes, working at Boeing was alot of fun. Mil spec cookies

 

[ccw]

Try buying Aerospace parts I cry seeing some of the prices on shipments at work. I've seen small aluminum nameplates for $100+ and single actuators close to $500k.

That's crazy! Ya once you get into true professional stuff prices go up incredibly quickly.\

Planned, but it was supposed to get done at the end of Sep. Material and worker shortages kept pushing it out. When they finally started it took them about 3x as long as expected due to weather and holidays... Looks nice though! We were pushing it - 26 years!!

Glad it wasn't a surprise for you! But that sucks it was delayed so far.

 

[Modman]

Try buying Aerospace parts I cry seeing some of the prices on shipments at work. I've seen small aluminum nameplates for $100+ and single actuators close to $500k.

I'm used to that with prototype (small) quantities... Ridiculous but when you add up the labor and tooling required it starts making sense.

 

[ccw]

Made a couple more Forscan changes tonight, and they went pretty smoothly with just a small hiccup.

First up was the tire pressures. Default was set to 60F 75R. I have my tires inflated 60 PSI all around. To the system's credit, it didn't light up a warning until about 50-55 PSI, caused by extreme cold over the holidays. That wouldn't have been a problem if the warning went away once the rear tires came back up to 60 PSI, but it didn't. Every time I started the truck it would ding at me and make me hit "OK" to clear the warning.

With Forscan, used Plain English in the BCM to set the pressures to 50 PSI. While I'm not running them that low right now, it leaves me some wiggle room to experiment in the future while still warning me at a fairly high pressure should I encounter a leak. As I had read about here on the forum, the TPMS system had lost connection with all the sensors as a result of this. Went for a short drive around the neighborhood and they picked up very quickly. A minute or two after the rears had picked up, the warning cleared for them and it's good to go!

Second was changing the minimum number of turn signal flashes when the signal light lever is engaged. This is where I encountered a hiccup. The spreadsheet (linked below) states that it's in the SCCM; however, Forscan wasn't listing the SCCM as an available module. I was already updated to the latest version, so the fix was simple: ignore my saved profile and start fresh. SCCM showed up immediately.

As for what I changed the flashes to: 1. I hate having it automatically flash for me. If I want the turn signal on, I'll turn it on. If I want it on short term, I can hold the lever far enough that's it's flashing but not latched. The truck does not need to awkwardly attempt to automate this.

The result of multiple flashes, as it comes from the factory, is accidental signaling. Sometimes I start to signal, but see something that changes my mind. If the turn signal has started at all, I now have to wait for however many flashes to mislead other drivers before it stops. Other times I turn off my signal a bit too enthusiastically resulting in the lever over-shooting, causing it to flash however many number of times in the opposite direction. Once again, this is misleading to other drivers.

So happy it can be changed.

Link to the spreadsheet in the first post of this thread:

Forscan for 2022

Ok guys I took the risk and did some testing. I was able to have a test build of Forscan compiled and tested all of the items on this spreadsheet I'm linking. I pulled some the data for formatting from this forums' 2020 Forscan sheet that was compiled by another member. All the other codes...

www.fordtremor.com

 

[ccw]

Today the replacement Diamondback HD cover arrived! If you don't know why I needed a replacement, check out this previous post:

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

To be clear: Diamondback support was amazing. When I sent in the message and picture to inform them of the damage, they didn't ask any questions. They were ready to send out a brand new cover to me immediately. It took this long because I was out of town for the holidays and didn't want it shipped to my house with no one there to receive it.

Further to their credit, they had no issues holding off on shipping the replacement prolonging the time to resolve this issue, and shipped it immediately after the holidays. Literally the morning of the first business day after I emailed them letting them know I was back.

Now, not only did the cover arrive, it's installed!

Some notes from the install:

• Try to do it during the day, not at night.
• Try to do it when it isn't actively raining. My butt is now wet.
• If you do need to install it at night, the in-bed LED lights work really well, though Ford really should have put two more at the front of the bed facing backwards.
• Don't install the toolbox, if you have one, prematurely. I tried to think ahead of the instructions and dropped it in place before I put the front panel on. I then had to remove it in order to setup the locking rods. My ordering will work in the future, but for initial install you need to follow the order in the instructions.
• The number of safety features for the front panel is impressive since it's rear-opening. Here's the three that I noticed:
  • Cables loop over supports on the middle panel (which is clamped in place).
  • There's a latch that prevents the cover from opening more than about 6 inches without reaching in to lift it up. This acts like a hood latch.
  • The handle/locking rods are spring loaded so that they are closed by default, unlike the rear which have no spring. Presumably this is to guarantee the rods can't come unlatched while driving even if the handle is unlocked.
• If you can have a second person help with the install, get them to help specifically with aligning the locking rods. I did it solo, but no question I could have done a better job with someone else pressing the panel down and actuating the rods when I wanted them to.
• I'm incredibly happy I have the side steps for the toolbox. The toolbox would have been next to useless for anything heavy or bulky without them, and I'm 6' 2" tall.

Parts:

• Diamondback HD cover: https://diamondbackcovers.com/products/diamondbackhd
• Diamondback Cross-bin 13 toolbox: https://diamondbackcovers.com/collections/cover-accessories/products/cross-bin-13

Install post for the side steps I mentioned in the last bullet point:

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

 

[Modman]

Forscan wasn't listing the SCCM as an available module. I was already updated to the latest version, so the fix was simple: ignore my saved profile and start fresh. SCCM showed up immediately.

Great progress! Glad the new cover had no repeat issues...

I am starting to wonder what the use is for a loading a saved profile other than having the ability to return to it as a "point in time" if needed. When I needed Forscan to "read" the HSWM I ignored my saved profile as well. Reading all the modules did not have any adverse impacts to my other changes since they were already written to the modules. I have since ignored it on every subsequent Forscan session with no ill effects. Time to do some more research on the subject, maybe there is a benefit I am missing!

 

[ccw]

Great progress! Glad the new cover had no repeat issues...

I am starting to wonder what the use is for a loading a saved profile other than having the ability to return to it as a "point in time" if needed. When I needed Forscan to "read" the HSWM I ignored my saved profile as well. Reading all the modules did not have any adverse impacts to my other changes since they were already written to the modules. I have since ignored it on every subsequent Forscan session with no ill effects. Time to do some more research on the subject, maybe there is a benefit I am missing!

I had the exact same thought!

Only thing I can think of is time savings. Perhaps with cheaper/older readers, or different models/years of vehicle, it can take a really long time to enumerate all the modules so the profile saves that time on subsequent uses.

Now that I know reusing a profile can cause issues I’ll be ignoring them as well from here on out. Doesn’t take long at all with the current setup to enumerate everything fresh.

 

[BlueKilla]

+1 on DB customer service being top notch. They even sent the guy who bought my cover from me a set of replacement keys on the house after I contacted them because I lost the keys.

Truck is looking good!

 

[Alpoba]

Did DB ask you to ship back the damaged cover or just destroy it. You might have mentioned it already, but i dont recall. There was a video on youtube where a guy was asked to destroy the damaged cover and send a proof of destruction video to manufacturer, a different brand cover, but i thought it was interesting / non-standard way to handle a return

 

[ccw]

+1 on DB customer service being top notch. They even sent the guy who bought my cover from me a set of replacement keys on the house after I contacted them because I lost the keys.

Truck is looking good!

That’s so cool! And thanks!

Did DB ask you to ship back the damaged cover or just destroy it. You might have mentioned it already, but i dont recall. There was a video on youtube where a guy was asked to destroy the damaged cover and send a proof of destruction video to manufacturer, a different brand cover, but i thought it was interesting / non-standard way to handle a return

Woah, that’s crazy!

I don’t think I mentioned it either, but yes they’re having me send back the old cover. New one arrived with wood containing the box lid. That way the box lid can be loose rather than stapled and reused. The top of the crate can be reinstalled since it was installed with screws.

They are paying for return shipping and sent over clear instructions of how to do everything.

 

[BroncOh]

That’s so cool! And thanks!


Woah, that’s crazy!

I don’t think I mentioned it either, but yes they’re having me send back the old cover. New one arrived with wood containing the box lid. That way the box lid can be loose rather than stapled and reused. The top of the crate can be reinstalled since it was installed with screws.

They are paying for return shipping and sent over clear instructions of how to do everything.

Is a liftgate service coming to your place to pick it up? Wouldn't expect anything less.

 

[ccw]

Is a liftgate service coming to your place to pick it up? Wouldn't expect anything less.

I’m pretty sure! Can’t say definitively since I haven’t done it yet, but the return shipping papers are for the same shipping company and it was liftgate service for delivery.

Also: the whole thing, pallet included, weighs around 300 pounds. So if it isn’t liftgate service, they aren’t getting it back lol.