Super04duty
Adventurist
Some of you may have seen me posts over on ExPo as well as Powerstroke.org, but I wanted to post up my build here too. So, for those of you whom have seen it already, I apologize. For everyone else, enjoy. Comments always welcome, good or bad. Thanks
Well, I figured I would write up my introduction post. I used to live in Central CA, but the Fiancé got a new job in LA, so we are new transplants and currently living in Pasadena. Work on the truck is very slow anymore, because I left my garage and driveway behind and now live in an apartment, and the only tools and supplies I have, are what I keep in the truck. Its been a very difficult transition, Im not used to having to drive 5hrs north just to change my oil. (I can't bring myself to pay for a shop to work on my rigs, I have always done my own work, and I like it that way.)
Anyway, enough about me, onto my junk.
Its a 2004 F350 CCLB. I bought it in late 2005 with just under 100k on it. It is a 6.0l, and I had all of the POs service records, which showed no repairs done to common 6.0l problems. Lucky me. Ive now run into all of those issues. So Ive spent a LOT of money on the engine in this truck. Its got a new turbo, new CAC pipe couplers, bulletproof oil and EGR cooler, ARP head studs with black onyx head gaskets, new front hubs, DBA slotted rotors, EBC ceramic brake pads, ported and polished heads, with full radius valve job, new HPOP, new EGR valve, re-routed CCV (no more oil in my intercooler/turbo), fuel spring BB mod. opened header panel with stock intake/filter. 4" MBRP exhaust, turbo back system with cat delete and their "muffler". Its also got a 4" lift on it, which I bought the truck with. No idea on what brand it is, but its all springs, no blocks, other than the factory F350 rear blocks. basic Pro-comp shocks, and a small stereo. Its got a front Dana 60, and a rear Sterling, with 3.73 gears and a limited slip in the rear. Ive also got Air-lift rear air bags, and a firestone air compressor with in-cab, individual bag control switches (they aren't connected to each other, but I can adjust pressure in them individually via in cab switches. I recently got a craigslist Rebel, by SungTop camper shell for it, for $300, which has gotten the fiancé and I bitten bad by the off-road/camping bug. We just took our first trip a few weeks ago, to the Hungry Valley SVRA, which had no trails I could find that were friendly to a truck of my size, and being limited on money, and living in an apartment, we won't be having any dirt bikes or quads any time soon. But it was a good first camping trip for us, as we had never been camping together before... Now, onto some pictures.
First, this is basically how my truck looked when I bough it. Though this is after the addition of a tool box, and smoked lights, black billet grill paint, etc. It also had some 16x12 MT wheels and some Dunlop MT tires (which I also bought the truck with. I know the tires are too narrow for the wheels, but thats what was on them when I got it, and all that would fit without major trimming of the fender liners/fenders.
The truck is mostly the same as before, except I now have a set of OEM wheels, with 285/75/16 BFG Rugged Terrain T/A tires, and a camper shell that I picked up off Craigslist for $300. (already painted white, and while it was a lil dirty, its in basically brand new condition.)
New, in bed tool box, since my bed rail mounted one simply wouldn't work anymore with the shell.
Some electrical upgrades, two switches don't do anything, (but I wanted to use all 4 color indicator lights, and hack holes in my interior only once). One operates my Firestone air compressor, and one operates a relayed, high current 12v socket I mounted behind the rear seat. This plug powers my little amber light bar on top of the truck, or 12v "extension cord" that will run into the camper through the sliding windows in both the truck rear window and the camper shells front window. The black, round button is a momentary button, and operates a set of air horns mounted under the truck. The red air lines are for the rear air bag controls and pressure gauge, next to that is my trailer brake controller. And just barely visible, is a little silver switch attached to a screw by the ALDL connector, that turns on my high idle.
Heres the truck parked at our apartment, next to my DD neon, for size comparison.
And, here are a few shots from our last camping trip.
Here is our camping set up. A "full" size air mattress fits perfectly between the tool box at the front of the bed, and the tail gate. I can however see a DAC truck tent in our future, so we can leave the tailgate and rear hatch open at camp, to use to the tail gate for boot/shoe storage without tracking as much dirt into our sleeping bag area. As well as a bed rug, and insulated blackout curtains for the windows.
I think that pretty much sums up my truck to date. My next addition will be an Edge Insight CTS, as I don't currently have any gauges, and I want to have some way to monitor things. I also suspect my FICM is starting to go bad, so I need to have a way to monitor that as well. After that, I would like to do bumpers/winch/lighting, both off-road and new LED amber "emergency" lights, as well as communication, and a real stereo instead of my single DIN and 10" sub sitting on the floor between the rows of seats. But, between moving from the "cheap" central valley of CA, and paying for my wedding in Sept. as well as trying to go back to college this fall, truck funds are VERY slow to accrue.
Thanks for looking....
- - - Updated - - -
Not much of an update, but this is all I have really done with my truck.
First up is a Ram-Mount laptop stand. Its brand new, never been installed before. I picked it up locally for $80 (the up side to living in SoCal, stuff like this never came up for sale in the Central Valley). Its really nice and sturdy, doesnt rattle around. It'll hold a computer good for me in the drivers seat. It will also position it just right for a passenger to use. The downside however, is that even in the lowest setting, the dash mounted cup holder will no longer pull out far enough to be useable. Id also be concerned with it being used while driving with a passenger, for fear of the air-bag interference. This is temporary however, as I don't plan to really use a laptop with it. I plan on getting an iPad mount for it, so I can use that for GPS, as well as music (iPad with cellular). I feel this is much better than a fancy double DIN stereo with GPS, as the iPad will provide a larger screen, and is useful outside the truck for tasks other than GPS. I just plan on also getting an apple bluetooth keyboard to keep in the truck along with it. to make typing on the go more ergonomic.
I also plasit-dipped my billet grill insert. It isn't much, but I thought I would try out this plasti-dip stuff on something small and easy to do, before I pull off my wheels and paint my OEM wheels with it.
And lastly, the smallest update. I got these plastic, folding produce crates from some people when we moved out of Downtown LA. I forgot I had them until recently. Its a perfect fit for my 5gal. diesel fuel can, a set of reflective safety triangles, about 10 15min road flares, some tie downs, jumper cables, and air hose and fittings (for my on-board air compressor). It isn't much, but its a lot nicer than the milk crates I was using. Since I got the camper shell, I like to have these items living by the tailgate, so they are always quick/easy to get to, and I don't have to crawl around in the back to get to them.
Edit, a couple more as of this morning. Got my new stickers installed. Reppin my new buddy and boss man, Raul B.
And Mitch, this one is for you. I know you told me this was the old, classic sticker when you gave it to me. So I decided to put it on the inside camper window. This way I can show it off, but it'll be protected from UV, and should last forever. Thanks again, and I do look forward to meeting up with you again.
Well, I figured I would write up my introduction post. I used to live in Central CA, but the Fiancé got a new job in LA, so we are new transplants and currently living in Pasadena. Work on the truck is very slow anymore, because I left my garage and driveway behind and now live in an apartment, and the only tools and supplies I have, are what I keep in the truck. Its been a very difficult transition, Im not used to having to drive 5hrs north just to change my oil. (I can't bring myself to pay for a shop to work on my rigs, I have always done my own work, and I like it that way.)
Anyway, enough about me, onto my junk.
Its a 2004 F350 CCLB. I bought it in late 2005 with just under 100k on it. It is a 6.0l, and I had all of the POs service records, which showed no repairs done to common 6.0l problems. Lucky me. Ive now run into all of those issues. So Ive spent a LOT of money on the engine in this truck. Its got a new turbo, new CAC pipe couplers, bulletproof oil and EGR cooler, ARP head studs with black onyx head gaskets, new front hubs, DBA slotted rotors, EBC ceramic brake pads, ported and polished heads, with full radius valve job, new HPOP, new EGR valve, re-routed CCV (no more oil in my intercooler/turbo), fuel spring BB mod. opened header panel with stock intake/filter. 4" MBRP exhaust, turbo back system with cat delete and their "muffler". Its also got a 4" lift on it, which I bought the truck with. No idea on what brand it is, but its all springs, no blocks, other than the factory F350 rear blocks. basic Pro-comp shocks, and a small stereo. Its got a front Dana 60, and a rear Sterling, with 3.73 gears and a limited slip in the rear. Ive also got Air-lift rear air bags, and a firestone air compressor with in-cab, individual bag control switches (they aren't connected to each other, but I can adjust pressure in them individually via in cab switches. I recently got a craigslist Rebel, by SungTop camper shell for it, for $300, which has gotten the fiancé and I bitten bad by the off-road/camping bug. We just took our first trip a few weeks ago, to the Hungry Valley SVRA, which had no trails I could find that were friendly to a truck of my size, and being limited on money, and living in an apartment, we won't be having any dirt bikes or quads any time soon. But it was a good first camping trip for us, as we had never been camping together before... Now, onto some pictures.
First, this is basically how my truck looked when I bough it. Though this is after the addition of a tool box, and smoked lights, black billet grill paint, etc. It also had some 16x12 MT wheels and some Dunlop MT tires (which I also bought the truck with. I know the tires are too narrow for the wheels, but thats what was on them when I got it, and all that would fit without major trimming of the fender liners/fenders.
The truck is mostly the same as before, except I now have a set of OEM wheels, with 285/75/16 BFG Rugged Terrain T/A tires, and a camper shell that I picked up off Craigslist for $300. (already painted white, and while it was a lil dirty, its in basically brand new condition.)
New, in bed tool box, since my bed rail mounted one simply wouldn't work anymore with the shell.
Some electrical upgrades, two switches don't do anything, (but I wanted to use all 4 color indicator lights, and hack holes in my interior only once). One operates my Firestone air compressor, and one operates a relayed, high current 12v socket I mounted behind the rear seat. This plug powers my little amber light bar on top of the truck, or 12v "extension cord" that will run into the camper through the sliding windows in both the truck rear window and the camper shells front window. The black, round button is a momentary button, and operates a set of air horns mounted under the truck. The red air lines are for the rear air bag controls and pressure gauge, next to that is my trailer brake controller. And just barely visible, is a little silver switch attached to a screw by the ALDL connector, that turns on my high idle.
Heres the truck parked at our apartment, next to my DD neon, for size comparison.
And, here are a few shots from our last camping trip.
Here is our camping set up. A "full" size air mattress fits perfectly between the tool box at the front of the bed, and the tail gate. I can however see a DAC truck tent in our future, so we can leave the tailgate and rear hatch open at camp, to use to the tail gate for boot/shoe storage without tracking as much dirt into our sleeping bag area. As well as a bed rug, and insulated blackout curtains for the windows.
I think that pretty much sums up my truck to date. My next addition will be an Edge Insight CTS, as I don't currently have any gauges, and I want to have some way to monitor things. I also suspect my FICM is starting to go bad, so I need to have a way to monitor that as well. After that, I would like to do bumpers/winch/lighting, both off-road and new LED amber "emergency" lights, as well as communication, and a real stereo instead of my single DIN and 10" sub sitting on the floor between the rows of seats. But, between moving from the "cheap" central valley of CA, and paying for my wedding in Sept. as well as trying to go back to college this fall, truck funds are VERY slow to accrue.
Thanks for looking....
- - - Updated - - -
Not much of an update, but this is all I have really done with my truck.
First up is a Ram-Mount laptop stand. Its brand new, never been installed before. I picked it up locally for $80 (the up side to living in SoCal, stuff like this never came up for sale in the Central Valley). Its really nice and sturdy, doesnt rattle around. It'll hold a computer good for me in the drivers seat. It will also position it just right for a passenger to use. The downside however, is that even in the lowest setting, the dash mounted cup holder will no longer pull out far enough to be useable. Id also be concerned with it being used while driving with a passenger, for fear of the air-bag interference. This is temporary however, as I don't plan to really use a laptop with it. I plan on getting an iPad mount for it, so I can use that for GPS, as well as music (iPad with cellular). I feel this is much better than a fancy double DIN stereo with GPS, as the iPad will provide a larger screen, and is useful outside the truck for tasks other than GPS. I just plan on also getting an apple bluetooth keyboard to keep in the truck along with it. to make typing on the go more ergonomic.
I also plasit-dipped my billet grill insert. It isn't much, but I thought I would try out this plasti-dip stuff on something small and easy to do, before I pull off my wheels and paint my OEM wheels with it.
And lastly, the smallest update. I got these plastic, folding produce crates from some people when we moved out of Downtown LA. I forgot I had them until recently. Its a perfect fit for my 5gal. diesel fuel can, a set of reflective safety triangles, about 10 15min road flares, some tie downs, jumper cables, and air hose and fittings (for my on-board air compressor). It isn't much, but its a lot nicer than the milk crates I was using. Since I got the camper shell, I like to have these items living by the tailgate, so they are always quick/easy to get to, and I don't have to crawl around in the back to get to them.
Edit, a couple more as of this morning. Got my new stickers installed. Reppin my new buddy and boss man, Raul B.
And Mitch, this one is for you. I know you told me this was the old, classic sticker when you gave it to me. So I decided to put it on the inside camper window. This way I can show it off, but it'll be protected from UV, and should last forever. Thanks again, and I do look forward to meeting up with you again.
Last edited:
