Vecman's Build - Boyhood Dreams Realized!

[Apples]

Just discovered this thread. I guess I need to make my own "build" thread, laying out my reasons for the particular money I'm throwing at my truck...



My point, though, is this: I will echo Vecman's feelings in that while there are a few things we have to chase after especially when using aftermarket upgrades, these trucks really are astonishing machines. No longer are we bounced around (as much) or subject to virtually no sound insulation, the minimal weatherstrip, the lack of what is now in hindsight some supreme refinements to comfort let alone capabilites...

I have done little to the drivetrain of my rig but I have tossed a few improvements to other areas of my XLT and I gotta tell ya, I LOVE how this thing goes down the road, paved or dirt. Those of us who own these contemporary Super Duty Ford trucks are fortunate indeed.

 

[MVI]

So, I tried everything I had - winch (no trees ahead of me, and nothing to pulley off of to pull from behind), traction boards, airing down the tires, digging out the buried tire with my crappy small shovel, and the truck just wouldn’t budge. So, I setup my “camp”, ate dinner, slept, and then when I woke up the next morning, hit the SOS button on my Garmin. Within 2 hours I had a guy show up and gave me just a small tug from the back and boom, free. So frustrating to have all this stuff, and just got stuck in the worst spot on the trail possible.

View attachment 130803

The trail, unfortunately, wasn’t level, so the night was a bit off balanced. Haha

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I would have used those bin lids as traction boards...

 

[Vecman]

I would have used those bin lids as traction boards...

I had real traction boards that weren't working, but maybe stacking them under or doing something with them maybe could have helped. It was a rough spot for sure.

 

[Vecman]

I've been a bit unhappy with my bed organization as of late, and I have a Spring turkey hunt coming up, so figured now was a good time to reorganize. I abandoned the builtright bed panels (nothing wrong with them, but I just wasn't able to do what I wanted with them). Went with Integral Truck side rails (https://integraltruck.com). The way these mounted allowed me to use my Pull Pal mount up front, and mount my builtright track board mounts on the side. The boards stick out a bit, but for what I wanted, this works fine.
I have the Grove Fabworks badlands jack mount arriving sometime in the next few days. Theoretically, it should fit in the same spot where the jack currently is (just slid a bit forward, leaving space behind the jack mount for my tool kit).
I also loved that these rails worked with the hitch holder (https://www.thehitcholder.com/). I always have my hitch with me when out on the trails, but it's so bulky and I never really had a good solution for storing it. This thing works great. Very solid.
I placed riv nuts in the bulkhead for the ax and for two extra (optional) mounting points for the rail up front. That pull pal is very heavy, and I wanted the extra support. Even now, I may place something under it just for a bit more support. Driving around is fine, but on those bouncy trails, it may be a problem, and I don't want to find out. Once the badlands mount gets here, I will probably riv nut that into the bed, then reorganize all my winch and recovery gear in the bag/case I have. Then its should be all organized and secured.

 

[Modman]

I've been a bit unhappy with my bed organization as of late, and I have a Spring turkey hunt coming up, so figured now was a good time to reorganize. I abandoned the builtright bed panels (nothing wrong with them, but I just wasn't able to do what I wanted with them). Went with Integral Truck side rails (https://integraltruck.com). The way these mounted allowed me to use my Pull Pal mount up front, and mount my builtright track board mounts on the side. The boards stick out a bit, but for what I wanted, this works fine.
I have the Grove Fabworks badlands jack mount arriving sometime in the next few days. Theoretically, it should fit in the same spot where the jack currently is (just slid a bit forward, leaving space behind the jack mount for my tool kit).
I also loved that these rails worked with the hitch holder (https://www.thehitcholder.com/). I always have my hitch with me when out on the trails, but it's so bulky and I never really had a good solution for storing it. This thing works great. Very solid.
I placed riv nuts in the bulkhead for the ax and for two extra (optional) mounting points for the rail up front. That pull pal is very heavy, and I wanted the extra support. Even now, I may place something under it just for a bit more support. Driving around is fine, but on those bouncy trails, it may be a problem, and I don't want to find out. Once the badlands mount gets here, I will probably riv nut that into the bed, then reorganize all my winch and recovery gear in the bag/case I have. Then its should be all organized and secured.

View attachment 252812

Nice evolution! Those side rails look like a nice, versatile product.

 

[Vecman]

Nice evolution! Those side rails look like a nice, versatile product.

They are pretty nice. Lots of sliding attachments, which makes it easy to use. They do cater towards Milwaukee packouts, and when I bought one small side panel, I failed to realize that. So I may pickup a small packout and see if I can put some gear in there to free up more floor space for camping gear etc.

 

[Vecman]

Just got notified that the jack mount has shipped. Hoping it gets here Saturday at the latest. I want to finish this up while my back is still sore! Haha!

 

[Vermonster]

She's so clean and well sorted! Nice work!

 

[mrmag00]

Great set up.

 

[Vecman]

While organizing this setup, I was still pretty worried about how much "flex" was in the rail track up front from my Pull Pal. Randomly, I discovered a company called Z-Trak (www.z-trak.com). It's basically e-trak but the main track is customized to account for the contour of the front of the bed for a nice flush fit, but uses e-trak accessories.
I bought that, and installed it in the front. Remounted the pull pal and it doesn't move at all. Much better. Was able to reuse the other rail for shovel and have more space for the other gear. I (sadly) got rid of my pelican case with some of the recovery gear. I just needed a better fit, and the case really was the oddball. So all my extra ropes, shackles, etc. all fit in the large bag, I have my tire inflation setup, the ford superduty tool kit, the badlands jack and cover, and this is nice and tidy up front. I have 5 feet of bedspace available. Much better organization now. All solid and will stay put when I'm offroad - that was my main goal here. I'll test it out in a few weeks.

 

[Vecman]

I want to get a small bin that can go on the side rail, and I can throw some of the ratchet straps and miscellaneous stuff in there for easy access, but it won't bang around or move around

 

[Vecman]

Here's a picture of the z-trak above the rail setup, before I loaded it up.

 

[Vecman]

I suck at hunting apparently - not a sound or sight of a turkey anywhere. But, the bed organization was amazing and worked perfectly. So, I'll take that win

 

[Vecman]

Due to my move up to North Dakota soon, I decided to install a block heater. Man, what a tough spot to get to. Lying on my back, blindly feeling for the 14mm Allen plug, and that thing is seriously torqued down. I finally got it to break loose. Install was fairly easy after that. I have a dual NOCO plug for the front. I plan on installing a NOCO Genius 1x10 amp onboard charger and plug both that and the heater on a timer. Flushed the coolant and did a 60/40 mix for the northern winters.
Here she is all nice and snugged up.

I had some random parts left over - not sure where they went....