Red Leader- whoisdp's 21 Lariat Tremor Build Thread

whoisdp

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I made an intro/hello/excited new truck post in the Tremor section but I figured I would make a proper build thread to document the mods and adventures on my new truck.

Back story- I have an 04 IS300 drift car and 05 Ranger XLT but wanted something newer. I'm a photographer and need something reliable and capable for some of the location shoots I do. And want to get much more into camping/overlanding. Decided to sell the 05 and get a 21 Ranger. I live in CA but am originally from CO. I started truck hunting in CO with the plan of buying one there while I was home for the holidays in December. Found a dealership that had an inbound Cactus Grey Tremor XLT and put a deposit down on it. Arrival date kept getting pushed back and my anxiety was rising. I only purchased one way tickets to CO for my girlfriend and I because we intended to road trip back. As it got closer to my arrival it became apparent that the CG truck was likely not going to arrive in time. I went to the dealer when I landed in Denver and wound up taking home this Rapid Red Lariat Tremor and the deal worked in my favor so the payment didn't really change. Score!

I was unsure about the red at first. Especially when it was sitting in the show room but I was sold as soon as I saw it in the sun.
IMG_3152.jpg


Not long after taking it home it saw a little light offroad action. Nothing crazy yet. I just needed to find a nice spot for a proper photo of it. Near Idaho Springs, CO.
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I had a small pile of parts accumulating so the day after Christmas I threw the damper, stubby antenna, and this bed mat in. Don't much care for the bed mat. It's a little oversized, but it'll do until I get a liner.
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IMG_3209.jpg

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A little range time with the Ranger.
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Took my girlfriend up to Rocky Mountain National Park for her birthday(and an awesome dinner at The Stanley). Fair bit of snow was coming down and already on the ground. Truck did fantastic.

_DSC2263.jpg


On New Year's Eve we started the drive back to Costa Mesa. The mountains were getting quite a bit of snow. The roads were a mess in Colorado and Utah. But we were cruising. I was very impressed with the truck(with the exception of the ACC getting hosed by the snow).

IMG_3270.jpg

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Made it to Costa Mesa in about 18 hours. Here's the truck next to my girlfriend's 2021 Explorer ST(drift car lives in the garage) and my 05 Ranger right before I sold it.

IMG_3285.jpg

IMG_3296.jpg


I had my buddy at Upper Glass Tint in Dana Point tint my windows. Originally planned on only doing the fronts to match but decided to go 15% all the way around(over the privacy glass) for the heat protection and better back seat concealment. Got some smoked corner markers as well. Love the way they look. Fit isn't quite as good as OEM but they'll do.

IMG_3310.jpg

_DSC2291_1.jpg


That's where it is up til now. I have a 20" Rough Country light bar, painted ovals, 1" FRL level, Truxedo tonneau, and Diode Dynamics fogs all either awaiting install or currently being shipped to me. Having the level professionally done on Friday. Hopefully I'll have time to do the badges and lights next weekend. Also have a set of 17x8.5 +18 Motegi Trailite wheels that'll get mounted to the stock tires after the level and crash bars are done on Friday.

Future plans: Billie Bars or bed rack + RTT, smoked signals on the mirrors, Builtright bedside Molle panels(whenever they're back in stock), and Diode Dynamics ditch lights.

And if anybody wants to follow along on IG my main account(which is all photography) is @danapenningtonphoto and my personal account where most of my car/truck stuff is @whoisdp
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Rob09

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You can tell you’re a photographer, I kept double tapping the pics to like!

Great start man and you know what? For what it’s worth, I saw that showroom shot and though “hmmm, that’s an interesting colour”, but out in the wild, it looks amazing mate, love the colour!
 

Colo_Ranger

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I recognize The Firing Line. I've slung many a lead down that range. Bummed you're not a Colorado person, seems like we'd have a good time shooting, wheeling, and taking pictures (I'm not good like you, but I have fun).

Love the truck!
 

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I made an intro/hello/excited new truck post in the Tremor section but I figured I would make a proper build thread to document the mods and adventures on my new truck.

Back story- I have an 04 IS300 drift car and 05 Ranger XLT but wanted something newer. I'm a photographer and need something reliable and capable for some of the location shoots I do. And want to get much more into camping/overlanding. Decided to sell the 05 and get a 21 Ranger. I live in CA but am originally from CO. I started truck hunting in CO with the plan of buying one there while I was home for the holidays in December. Found a dealership that had an inbound Cactus Grey Tremor XLT and put a deposit down on it. Arrival date kept getting pushed back and my anxiety was rising. I only purchased one way tickets to CO for my girlfriend and I because we intended to road trip back. As it got closer to my arrival it became apparent that the CG truck was likely not going to arrive in time. I went to the dealer when I landed in Denver and wound up taking home this Rapid Red Lariat Tremor and the deal worked in my favor so the payment didn't really change. Score!

I was unsure about the red at first. Especially when it was sitting in the show room but I was sold as soon as I saw it in the sun.
IMG_3152.jpg


Not long after taking it home it saw a little light offroad action. Nothing crazy yet. I just needed to find a nice spot for a proper photo of it. Near Idaho Springs, CO.
_DSC2203.jpg


I had a small pile of parts accumulating so the day after Christmas I threw the damper, stubby antenna, and this bed mat in. Don't much care for the bed mat. It's a little oversized, but it'll do until I get a liner.
IMG_3204.jpg

IMG_3209.jpg

IMG_3210.jpg


A little range time with the Ranger.
IMG_3207.jpg


Took my girlfriend up to Rocky Mountain National Park for her birthday(and an awesome dinner at The Stanley). Fair bit of snow was coming down and already on the ground. Truck did fantastic.

_DSC2263.jpg


On New Year's Eve we started the drive back to Costa Mesa. The mountains were getting quite a bit of snow. The roads were a mess in Colorado and Utah. But we were cruising. I was very impressed with the truck(with the exception of the ACC getting hosed by the snow).

IMG_3270.jpg

IMG_3275.jpg


Made it to Costa Mesa in about 18 hours. Here's the truck next to my girlfriend's 2021 Explorer ST(drift car lives in the garage) and my 05 Ranger right before I sold it.

IMG_3285.jpg

IMG_3296.jpg


I had my buddy at Upper Glass Tint in Dana Point tint my windows. Originally planned on only doing the fronts to match but decided to go 15% all the way around(over the privacy glass) for the heat protection and better back seat concealment. Got some smoked corner markers as well. Love the way they look. Fit isn't quite as good as OEM but they'll do.

IMG_3310.jpg

_DSC2291_1.jpg


That's where it is up til now. I have a 20" Rough Country light bar, painted ovals, 1" FRL level, Truxedo tonneau, and Diode Dynamics fogs all either awaiting install or currently being shipped to me. Having the level professionally done on Friday. Hopefully I'll have time to do the badges and lights next weekend. Also have a set of 17x8.5 +18 Motegi Trailite wheels that'll get mounted to the stock tires after the level and crash bars are done on Friday.

Future plans: Billie Bars or bed rack + RTT, smoked signals on the mirrors, Builtright bedside Molle panels(whenever they're back in stock), and Diode Dynamics ditch lights.

And if anybody wants to follow along on IG my main account(which is all photography) is @danapenningtonphoto and my personal account where most of my car/truck stuff is @whoisdp
Great looking truck, love the Rapid Red.
 


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whoisdp

whoisdp

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I recognize The Firing Line. I've slung many a lead down that range. Bummed you're not a Colorado person, seems like we'd have a good time shooting, wheeling, and taking pictures (I'm not good like you, but I have fun).

Love the truck!
I still consider myself a Colorado person. I'm there pretty regularly to see family and for work. Slowly trying to convince my partner to relocate there but her whole family is in CA so it might be a while. I miss it every time I leave.
 
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whoisdp

whoisdp

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Truxedo tonneau cover came in and got it on. Lining it up was kind of a pain by myself in the dark. For the price I wasn't expecting anything super fancy but I'm not 100% sold on this one. Main reason I got it was because it is compatible with the Billie Bars and I plan on getting them + a RTT. I thought about doing the RC cover but folding covers don't seem as ideal to me. I want to be able to access the entire bed easily. I'll think on this one for a while.


IMG_3349.jpg


At the same time I put the tailgate rug on and I can definitely say I don't dig it. I liked the idea o a softer tailgate cover but it just doesn't look great. I'll probably order the Ford tailgate cover with my remaining points.

Also received a few boxes of parts. Excited for the DD fogs. Painted emblems came from an Ebay user and I'm really happy with the quality. I've been waiting to install my Rough Country light bar until I got an ACC relocate bracket. That finally came in from Cali Raised LED and unfortunately they manufactured the bracket wrong and the mounting point is backwards. They told me it'll be around 2 weeks until they come in. I wanted to have everything installed for a trip at the end of the month. Contemplating just temporarily unhooking the ACC until the bracket comes in if it doesn't arrive in time. I don't use ACC anyway. Sad. The quality of the bracket is super nice. Hopefully they can get the manufacturing error squared away soon.

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whoisdp

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Got the Ford Ranger Lifts 1" level installed, crash bars removed, and my new wheels mounted to the stock Grabbers. Really happy with the setup. Still waiting on the replacement ACC bracket to come in so I can finally install the light bar, badges, fogs, and the Ford Performance red tow hooks that just showed up. Went out and did some exploring and snapped a few pictures.

Wheels are 17x8.5 +18 Motegi Trailites.

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Dr3wDrop

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Those wheels are hot ?.

Super disappointing to hear about the ACC bracket as that is the route I was gonna go in the spring for my light bar install.
 
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whoisdp

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Those wheels are hot ?.

Super disappointing to hear about the ACC bracket as that is the route I was gonna go in the spring for my light bar install.
Thanks. I'm pretty pumped on how they look.

They said they've already got the fixed brackets in production. Just waiting on them to come in. Hopefully soon but I'll definitely update.
 

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Thanks. I'm pretty pumped on how they look.

They said they've already got the fixed brackets in production. Just waiting on them to come in. Hopefully soon but I'll definitely update.
Whenever the bracket does come in you’ll be happy with it. I used that when I put my afn bumper on. It worked great, until I added a 30” light bar on top of the bumper, which partially blocks the sensor. My plan is to see if I can add something to work as a spacer to raise the bracket ups few inches.
 

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Wow just looked up these wheels. Only 21.5 lbs for the 16". I think that's the lightest I've seen.
 
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Finally got around to putting the Ford Performance tow hooks, Diode Dynamics fog lights, smoked turn signals, and painted badges on. I did the fogs on the ground. Aside from the top bolt on the metal bracket being a pain to reach, it was super straight forward. Crash bars and fender liner being removed helped a ton. Love the way they look. Need to dial in the aim. I think they're a little low but I'll take care of that another day.

Swapping out the front badge was a nightmare. I didn't want to fully remove the grill(afraid to break tabs) so I just pulled it forward. I don't know if my truck is different because it's a Tremor or if it's a Lariat thing, but the middle plastic piece(under the hood latch) is way different from any of the videos I saw. I basically had to go Hulk mode and rip it out. Absolutely zero chance of getting it back in without fully removing the grill so I just left it out temporarily. I'm still waiting on my damn ACC bracket so I'll have to take the grill all the way out when I install my light bar. I'll put it back when I reassemble the front then.

Front end is almost complete though. The light bar and some A pillar lights are the last things on the agenda. I'd also like to do something with the fender vents. Wish I could find some RTRs. Anybody got a pair for sale?
 
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whoisdp

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Finally threw the RC light bar on. Decided to go for a little trail drive. Tested everything and the bar was working great. Then when the sun started to set all of a sudden, no light bar. Annoying but hopefully it's just a connection jostled loose on the drive. Will have to look into it later. But I can say I am very stoked on how the front end looks now. I've been eyeing the DD A-pillar lights but might skip them in favor of a cleaner look. It was a really pretty evening. Wish I had more time to explore but I got a late start.

Then tragedy struck Sunday night. My girlfriend was driving us to dinner and we got T-boned in her 2021 Explorer ST. Prius ran a red light going 30-40 and plowed right into the passenger side door. Both side curtains deployed. He pushed us into the car that was next to us as well so there's damage on both sides. I'll be surprised if it's not totaled. We're both safe and relatively unharmed. Just banged up. My right shoulder is absolutely killing me though so it'll be a little bit before I feel up to figuring out the damn light bar. I'm mostly bummed for her Explorer. She loves that thing.

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Dr3wDrop

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Swapping out the front badge was a nightmare. I didn't want to fully remove the grill(afraid to break tabs) so I just pulled it forward. I don't know if my truck is different because it's a Tremor or if it's a Lariat thing, but the middle plastic piece(under the hood latch) is way different from any of the videos I saw. I basically had to go Hulk mode and rip it out. Absolutely zero chance of getting it back in without fully removing the grill so I just left it out temporarily. I'm still waiting on my damn ACC bracket so I'll have to take the grill all the way out when I install my light bar. I'll put it back when I reassemble the front then.
Did you take any pictures? I am curious what caused problems. I will be swapping my badges in the spring.
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