Trey's Magnetic Lariat FX4 "Rainier"

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Trey1940

Trey1940

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Lightheads are mounted! Still anxiously awaiting the control system. All Whelen products.

Two ION TRIO Red/Amber/White lightheads in the grille
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Two Mini-T ION DUO Red/Amber on the mirrors
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Two ION DUO Red/Amber on the rear door sills
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Two ION DUO Amber/White in grommet mounts under the tailgate
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The bright (day) portion of the DRL bars and the rear turn signals will also be flashed with the Core system when it arrives.

I plan on tinting the mirror lights, grille lights, and probably the ones under the tailgate, too, to make them slightly less conspicuous. The grille lights really disappear already when you're more than 40 feet from the truck, however.
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Jbroke

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how did you tint your taillights? Also do you have the blind side detection, if so does that affect it at all?
 
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Trey1940

Trey1940

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how did you tint your taillights? Also do you have the blind side detection, if so does that affect it at all?
I used VViViD Air-Tint Smoke Black Film, and it looks great on the internet and fine around town, but it's a very sub-par installation in general. I was drinking some beers one Saturday and decided "ahhh, lemme wrap these tail lights!" and 5 beers later they were done, for better or worse hahaha
 

RangerAl87

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Less mods, more road trips! I've been busy putting some miles under Rainier.

First off, a trip to Atlanta and Charlotte for my girlfriend's birthday weekend. I took her to her two favorite places, the Georgia Aquarium and ST Octane Academy! 2,467.9 miles. The trip fuel economy worked out pretty close to the hand-calculated 20.4 MPG.
6375CD40-280C-4712-B2E3-F44C01CDFA90.JPG

IMG_2616 2.JPG


Next up was a trip to Maine to help my parents finish a shack we built last fall on their property
7B4B172D-E7D1-4F0B-A39E-56E1746C97AB.JPG
EEEC048B-9274-4613-B892-21FCE7A4E114.JPG
IMG_2897.JPG
IMG_2919.JPG


The Truxedo tonneau cover was a huge factor in the success of this trip, as it was pouring rain the entire drive from southeast Massachusetts to eastern Maine. I took ALL of the equipment, since it all had to stay dry and my mom's F-150 doesn't have anything to cover the bed. Bonus, you couldn't tell at all that there was anything underneath it.

8,565 miles later, I still LOVE this truck.
Love that ladder, my personal go to
 
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Trey1940

Trey1940

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Wow, life got busy. Okay, update: 21,500 miles on the clock, largely unchanged, except for the addition of Fox 2.0 suspension at 18k; I just couldn't stand the FX4 suspension bouncing me around anymore.

I had the issue with the CV popping out when I did my spacer lift, and it happened almost immediately when I removed the stock suspension, but it went back together MUCH easier the second time around.
IMG_1861.JPG

The ride quality is night and day, it's just as plush and comfortable as the stock suspension, but it doesn't bounce and shudder over bumps like it used to; even on large dips it's just a quick down-up and it's settled.

Other than that, this truck hasn't skipped a beat. I still haven't finished the emergency lights but it's high on my list once things slow down at work.
DAC47853-D3D9-4F3D-9570-19685CD4ACE2.JPG
 


ScrappyLaptop

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Wow, life got busy.
[...]
Other than that, this truck hasn't skipped a beat. I still haven't finished the emergency lights but it's high on my list once things slow down at work.
DAC47853-D3D9-4F3D-9570-19685CD4ACE2.JPG
Has Ford marketing contacted you yet asking if they could buy the rights to use that pic?
 
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Trey1940

Trey1940

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Okay, so in a two-week span, three of my friends hit deer with their vehicles around town, I took it as a sign, broke down and bought the ARB Summit bumper I've had my eye on since they came out.

IMG_6723.JPG


Installation wasn't too bad, some grinding, some drilling, and a lot of bolts in weird places. The directions were vague and difficult to follow, ALL of the hardware came in one giant bag with no labels, and some things that would be helpful to know are skipped entirely in the instructions.

For example, these pieces are in pairs and are side-specific due to the way the bolt holes through the frame are. It took me a whole bunch of figuring out why they wouldn't line up before I realized that they're different.
IMG_6506.JPG


Here's the "truck side" of the bumper install completed; frame reinforcements and bumper mount bolted up. I removed the front crash bars after this photo was taken
IMG_6508.JPG


The "bumper side" of the install was mostly just swapping things from the old bumper to the new bumper, save for the adaptive cruise control bracket modification. The harness that runs everything on the front bumper all comes from one plug under the driver's side headlight, once everything is unplugged it can be removed from the stock bumper, and it's of sufficient length to reach everything once it's reinstalled on the ARB bumper.

The LED fog lights that were included with the bumper have 2-pin Deutsch connectors, included in the kit was a new plug to replace the OEM one on the truck. I had a pair of adapter harnesses laying around from a fog light install on a different truck, so I used those instead.

I smoked the turn signal/position lights before I installed them; they currently don't do anything, I plan on flashing the amber section with my CenCom Core, and I might tie the white position light into the bright portion of my DRLs.

I also moved my Baja Designs Squadron Sports from the OEM bumper to the ARB. I'm debating whether to keep them or upgrade to a pair of LP6 Pros.

The only two-person part of the install is physically putting the bumper on the truck, even if you get two bolts in each side, the bumper will want to lean back and hit the hood with the antenna mounts on the top tube until they're snugged up, so you'll need someone to hold the bumper away from the truck while you align it.

Getting it aligned is also a little tedious, but basically, it's supposed to be about 3/4" below the fender on each side, with the leading face of the bumper 90Âş to the ground. Once it's in place, drill out the two 10mm holes on each frame support and pin it with the included bolts; I found no matter how tight you make the three adjustable bolts, the bumper will shift if you rock the truck hard enough; if you hit a deer without the bumper pinned, it'll definitely push the antenna tabs into the hood.

Here's the final product:
IMG_6536.JPG


Everything works as it should, adaptive cruise, parking sensors, forward collision warning, etc. have no noticeable difference in function. The fog lights kinda suck; they're not as bright as the OEM LED ones and would be disappointing to anyone running something like the Diode Dynamics SS3 fog lights, but they look nice.

It definitely took some getting used to visually, but after a couple weeks, it's really grown on me. I'll miss the OEM+ look I had, but the protection is too valuable.

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IMG_7791.JPG
 

DrewKD88

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Okay, so in a two-week span, three of my friends hit deer with their vehicles around town, I took it as a sign, broke down and bought the ARB Summit bumper I've had my eye on since they came out.
How does the Approach angle and front clearance compare to stock? Does this bumper give any advantage over stock when offroading. I like this bumper for the protection. I am hoping that it provides a greater approach angle. What suspension are you running up front? I assume that this bumper is significantly heavier than the stock and will push the front end down some. Nice write up on install btw.
 
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bka0721

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{/QUOTE]
Here's the final product:
IMG_6536.JPG


Everything works as it should, adaptive cruise, parking sensors, forward collision warning, etc. have no noticeable difference in function. The fog lights kinda suck; they're not as bright as the OEM LED ones and would be disappointing to anyone running something like the Diode Dynamics SS3 fog lights, but they look nice.

It definitely took some getting used to visually, but after a couple weeks, it's really grown on me. I'll miss the OEM+ look I had, but the protection is too valuable.


[/QUOTE]

I installed my bumper for the same reason you did, on my F550 back in 2008 and now on this 2020 XLT Ranger. Love the way it fits and sturdy with the the Warn Winch installed, too. Safe travels with your Ranger!

b

IMG_5279.jpg
 

acormier7

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Nice. Love the colour. I just ordered a 2022 supercab in carbonized grey in XLT trim with FX4 pack . I can't live with a 5 foot box. Can't wait for it to arrive.
 
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Trey1940

Trey1940

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APG Standard Leaf Pack

One of the last "I can't stand this" things about the Ranger was the way the rear would hop and buck over big bumps. Cue the APG/Deaver progressive rate leaf pack.

IMG_3592.JPG


Install was pretty straightforward, much easier than wrestling with the stock front coilovers and CVs. Ride quality is exceptional, on road it soaks up all of the little bumps that used to jostle the truck, and off road, the faster you go, the smoother it rides. Articulation is miles better; giving it the ol' "dirt pile test", it'll stuff a 285/70/17 tire until it rubs the fender liners, and the opposite side will drop almost clear of the rocker panel.

Here's a couple before and afters with the light tire just barely off the ground.

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BE0D54C4-FF3F-4037-AD83-C737F6BC557B.JPG


11,000 miles later, I'm chasing a bushing noise that's probably my fault, but otherwise, a great improvement.
 

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Less mods, more road trips! I've been busy putting some miles under Rainier.

First off, a trip to Atlanta and Charlotte for my girlfriend's birthday weekend. I took her to her two favorite places, the Georgia Aquarium and ST Octane Academy! 2,467.9 miles. The trip fuel economy worked out pretty close to the hand-calculated 20.4 MPG.
6375CD40-280C-4712-B2E3-F44C01CDFA90.JPG

IMG_2616 2.JPG


Next up was a trip to Maine to help my parents finish a shack we built last fall on their property
7B4B172D-E7D1-4F0B-A39E-56E1746C97AB.JPG
EEEC048B-9274-4613-B892-21FCE7A4E114.JPG
IMG_2897.JPG
IMG_2919.JPG


The Truxedo tonneau cover was a huge factor in the success of this trip, as it was pouring rain the entire drive from southeast Massachusetts to eastern Maine. I took ALL of the equipment, since it all had to stay dry and my mom's F-150 doesn't have anything to cover the bed. Bonus, you couldn't tell at all that there was anything underneath it.

8,565 miles later, I still LOVE this truck.
That’s a dandy little travel trailer in the photo! What is the brand name?
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