Rossmonster Truck Build – 2024 F350 (long wheelbase)

[Chris-DTA]

On Friday I took delivery of my new F350 Lariat. It’s a long wheelbase truck. Unfortunately, those do not come as Tremors, but this build will make up for it. Drove it home to San Diego from Granger in Iowa and it rides quite different compared to my previous F250 Tremor. Now to this build …

The Truck

• 2024 Ford F350 Lariat
• Lariat Ultimate Package
• FX4 Offroad package
• Color: Oxford White
• 176” wheelbase
• 7.3 Liter gas "Godzilla"

The Destination

This truck will be the foundation for a Rossmonster Baja camper that I have on order. The Baja is a special truck camper that gets mounted to the truck frame and will also have a pass-through into the cab. This will be my new overland vehicle. All the learnings and upgrades from my previous Tremor/Supertramp camper build will be integrated and addressed from day #1 once the conversion is done.

The truck will be made off-road capable as much as possible as part of the Rossmonster conversion. Most of the work is going to be done by Rossmonster once I drop of the truck in Colorado later in August. Delivery will hopefully be late September. So, the truck will look “boring” for a while …lol

Here is a list of what I have planned:

• Carli Pintop 3.5” lift and suspension upgrade
• Carli XXHD Progressive leaf springs
• Buckstop Outback Aluminum front bumper (with sensors)
• PIAA 530 LED Fog Lights
• Method 305 HD 18” wheels – Matte Black
• Toyo Open Country RT Trail 37x12.50
• Airlift Loadlifter 5000 Airbags
• Airlift Cradle
• ARB Twin Compressor with 2 air chucks (front/rear)
• Baja Design LP4 A-Pillar lights
• IGLA Anti-Theft system
• Weathertech floor mats front and back
• BuiltRight Industries center console mount for phone and camera
• Ceramic window tint front (70%) and sides (35%) – not needed in the rear due to the conversion

Here is a list of items I am not sure about:

• Console Vault Safe. I had the full version in my F250 Tremor. I may be looking at a partial one, but I am also thinking about what is the best option to safely store a handgun.
• Baja Design LP9 (2x). Once I have the bumper on I am considering mounting these on the middle bar. The Rossmonster camper comes with a 50” BD light bar and I want to test this out first before dropping money into looks, if the functionality is not needed
• Talons Garage Skid plates. Need to check if anything actually works/fits.
• More to come ….

Below are some pictures I am borrowing from Rossmonster's website. PS: The team at Rossmonster has been top-notch so far. I am very impressed with their attention to detail and what they are able to do to meet my specific needs. I took everything I had to change and upgrade on my previous build and they have been fantastic to implement it into this (planned) build.

 

[Chris-DTA]

First modification is in the books. Turned off the annoying running board deployment upon approaching the vehicle. I walk by the truck a few times per day when taking the dog for a walk and it a) confuses the dog thinking we are going for a ride and b) it slowly uses up battery power as the lights come on when the powered running boards are deploying.

Forscan to the rescue. BdyCM - Approach detection vehicle. Changed it from "Enabled" to "Disabled" and it was done.

I am still investigating more Forscan changes for the 2024s.

 

[kylant]

First modification is in the books. Turned off the annoying running board deployment upon approaching the vehicle. I walk by the truck a few times per day when taking the dog for a walk and it a) confuses the dog thinking we are going for a ride and b) it slowly uses up battery power as the lights come on when the powered running boards are deploying.

Forscan to the rescue. BdyCM - Approach detection vehicle. Changed it from "Enabled" to "Disabled" and it was done.

I am still investigating more Forscan changes for the 2024s.

i though you could disable that in the settings, no?
did you by chance notice if you could make just the running board on the same side of a door opening come down instead of both?

 

[Supercup]

Looks like a great build! On the LP9's on the bumper - I think where you would find those advantageous is if you are in dusty conditions and you had amber lenses - the light down low will be much better than the light up top in giving you sight lines down the road.

You likely know this, but just in case I would opt for the 50" "dual control" so you have 1 switch for the amber outside lights and one switch for the three center clear lights! That way when dusty/snow/fog you can turn on the amber down low (LP9's) and the amber up top and leave the clear light off. When just out in wide open with clear conditions then the clear will provide great lighting down the road. Nice thing is you can get any lenses from BD - so you can have a the middle clear be a spot as well.

Can't wait to see this progress - awesome truck.

 

[Chris-DTA]

i though you could disable that in the settings, no?
did you by chance notice if you could make just the running board on the same side of a door opening come down instead of both?

I did not find anything in the settings, but the Forscan setting worked right away. I have to double-check if only the side deploys where I open the door. It's raining heavily here right now, so I try this later and let you know.

 

[Chris-DTA]

Looks like a great build! On the LP9's on the bumper - I think where you would find those advantageous is if you are in dusty conditions and you had amber lenses - the light down low will be much better than the light up top in giving you sight lines down the road.

You likely know this, but just in case I would opt for the 50" "dual control" so you have 1 switch for the amber outside lights and one switch for the three center clear lights! That way when dusty/snow/fog you can turn on the amber down low (LP9's) and the amber up top and leave the clear light off. When just out in wide open with clear conditions then the clear will provide great lighting down the road. Nice thing is you can get any lenses from BD - so you can have a the middle clear be a spot as well.

Can't wait to see this progress - awesome truck.

The 50" will have a dual-control setup.

I saw this truck coming out of "Basil's Garage" having the two LP9s on the same bumper. I agree with you regarding amber for those.

 

[TRAMPER]

SUB’d. So excited to follow along with this one!!!

 

[TRAMPER]

Chris, regarding the safe there are a lot of us with 23+ trucks that are waiting for @Nick@ApolloOptics and the half safe to be ready….

Maybe he will update us…. I heard there was a prototype in hand now…

 

[Nick@ApolloOff-Road]

Chris, regarding the safe there are a lot of us with 23+ trucks that are waiting for @Nick@ApolloOptics and the half safe to be ready….

Maybe he will update us…. I heard there was a prototype in hand now…

Prototype has been confirmed to fit. We're building up some inventory with the manufacturer and will be taking orders shortly! Hopefully by next week!

 

[Optimus🤖]

Chris, regarding the safe there are a lot of us with 23+ trucks that are waiting for @Nick@ApolloOptics and the half safe to be ready….

Maybe he will update us…. I heard there was a prototype in hand now…

It's safe to say they're working on it.

 

[Nick@ApolloOff-Road]

It's safe to say they're working on it.

Next week!

 

[Chris-DTA]

And here it is—the long-awaited video tour of my new 2024 Ford F350 Super Duty pickup truck. It is not a Tremor, which is a shame, but Ford just does not make any Tremors for long-wheelbase trucks, and I need the 176” wheelbase, aka 8 ft. bed. So, the planned upgrades will bring it into Tremor territory so that only minor differences remain. The tour was filmed with the vehicle being 100% stock - which will soon change

Anyway, check out the video tour on YouTube and if you like what you – please subscribe and like the video. I really appreciate it.

 

[Devenhallen]

I put one of these in all my vehicles. Theyre the best there is.

Console Safe 2023- 2024 Ford Super Duty with Full Floor Console Model LD 2085

Console Safe 2023- 2024 Ford Super Duty with Full Floor Console Model LD 2085EX

www.lockerdown.com

 

[Supercup]

Wow - 4,479 lb. payload - that is a monster payload number - wonder what a truck of the same spec would be with the 6.7l diesel - 800 lbs less +/-?

 

[Chris-DTA]

I heard number of ~500 lbs for the Diesel engine, but not sure.

 

[Nick@ApolloOff-Road]

Chris, regarding the safe there are a lot of us with 23+ trucks that are waiting for @Nick@ApolloOptics and the half safe to be ready….

Maybe he will update us…. I heard there was a prototype in hand now…

These are ready to go!

2023+ Console Vault (Half Door) Now Available at www.ApolloOffroad.com

We are incredibly excited to announce that they very popular E&G Console Vaults are now available for the 2023+ Ford Super Duty! LINK HERE >>>>> E&G Console Vault for 2023+ Ford Super Duty (F-250, F-350, F-450) Now Available at Apollo Off-Road! Ford changed up quite a bit on the inside with...

www.fordtremor.com

@Chris-DTA @Optimus @Dzlbudman

 

[Chris-DTA]

I've been "busy" spending money and the pile of parts and accessories is growing. The newest addition is a pair of Baja Designs LP4s Amber that arrived today. These will be my new ditch lights/A-pillar lights. I definitely recommend contacting @gmoon for good deals. He hooked me up with the LP4s. Still waiting for the reflector kit to come in (back ordered) as well as the SDHQ hood mounting brackets, but I am always happy to support a) a member of this forum and b) a small(er) business with my orders.

Now the bigger or more challenging question for me - do I use the OEM upfitter switches, do I install a relay and an "on|off|on" switch or do I install something like an Auxbeam 8-gang switch panel (cheap, but seems reliable and not as expensive as a Switch-Pros 9100)?! The LP4s have the high beam and the backlight option = 2 switch settings needed. When I drop off the truck at Rossmonster, they will need at least 4 upfitter switches (2 for the lightbar, 1 for the compressor, 1 for the rear bumper pod lights). I am considering adding 2 LP9s and an air horn down the road. I could try to use the switch for the rear slider window for the airhorn, but that is TBD as I do not know if that will be possible.

Will have to do a more thorough search to see who has installed an aftermarket switch panel to a 2023/2024 and what issues they encountered. Right now I am leaning towards aftermarket switch panel and on an "on|off|on" switch.

 

[Vecman]

Tough call. I installed a 30” Ongx 6+ bar in my bumper and it had a low/high beam setitng. I just opted to have it be full time high beam. You start getting a lot of those fancy lights and it’s tough to decide how many of the functions you want to keep. Good luck!

 

[TRAMPER]

I've been "busy" spending money and the pile of parts and accessories is growing. The newest addition is a pair of Baja Designs LP4s Amber that arrived today. These will be my new ditch lights/A-pillar lights. I definitely recommend contacting @gmoon for good deals. He hooked me up with the LP4s. Still waiting for the reflector kit to come in (back ordered) as well as the SDHQ hood mounting brackets, but I am always happy to support a) a member of this forum and b) a small(er) business with my orders.

Now the bigger or more challenging question for me - do I use the OEM upfitter switches, do I install a relay and an "on|off|on" switch or do I install something like an Auxbeam 8-gang switch panel (cheap, but seems reliable and not as expensive as a Switch-Pros 9100)?! The LP4s have the high beam and the backlight option = 2 switch settings needed. When I drop off the truck at Rossmonster, they will need at least 4 upfitter switches (2 for the lightbar, 1 for the compressor, 1 for the rear bumper pod lights). I am considering adding 2 LP9s and an air horn down the road. I could try to use the switch for the rear slider window for the airhorn, but that is TBD as I do not know if that will be possible.

Will have to do a more thorough search to see who has installed an aftermarket switch panel to a 2023/2024 and what issues they encountered. Right now I am leaning towards aftermarket switch panel and on an "on|off|on" switch.

View attachment 153264

Interesting and timely as always Chris!!!!

I just ordered the 7-link front light bar, two LP4’s, and two S2’s for the TRAMPER…. My suggestion if you didn’t would be to order the side panel blockers for those LP4’s…

LP4 IPT Reflector Cover Kit Baja Designs

Designed to cover the inner IPT LEDs on the LP4 lights when used on the a-pillar mounted configuation. This plastic piece will block glare inside the cab and hood, allowing you to use the LP4 glare-free! Kit comes with two IPT covers and double-stick adhesive for mounting. Disclaimer Buyer is...

bmclights.com

If you’re going to run them on your A-pillars….

I’m for now going to use the factory switches for mine but I can assume a switch pro for the new Fords will be out soon if you ever need to add more down the road…. My lights haven’t even arrived yet so I’ll be watching your install closely!

 

[Chris-DTA]

Tough call. I installed a 30” Ongx 6+ bar in my bumper and it had a low/high beam setitng. I just opted to have it be full time high beam. You start getting a lot of those fancy lights and it’s tough to decide how many of the functions you want to keep. Good luck!

Very good point. I did not have that functionality on my Morimoto 4Bangers on the old rig. Makes me think now, what is the purpose of the backlight functionality and does it apply to me with what I do?! More thinking to do.