I made a mistake…(discussing accessories with my wife)

After agreeing to go with a loaded out SR5 instead of the 1794 or Platinum my wife and I agreed that I would have the freedom to “accessorize” my truck due to the savings of the difference between the SR5 and higher trims… My truck is set to arrive at the end of this month and today my wife asks “what all are you wanting to do right when you get the truck?”, little did I know how quickly south this conversation would go… After mentioning that the overall costs right away would be close to $6,500 she appeared to be nauseous and also had a look in her eye like my life was about to end. After the conversation I sent her the list that I made in my notes just for transparency.

AMP running boards $2,099
Westcott level kit $425(+$800 installed)
Decked drawers in the bed $1,449
Window tint $500?
Wheels $1,130
Tires $1,724
Miscellaneous $1,000

Later

Old man camper shell $4,200
Roof rack(s) $900+
Light bar $2,150
TRD Suspension lift $3,999

We have a hobby farm for hunting, shooting and fishing, so the lift and tires are for ground clearance, no crazy articulation.

A buddy of mine suggested maybe riding stock for a while and then start adding stuff, I’m beginning to question whether he’s a true friend or not. Something tells me I’m going to end up with window tint only for a while…

What would be the first thing y’all would add given my scenario?

 

How much do you expect to get for the Stock tires and wheels or are you just giving those away?

 

Eh, wives come and go.

Might be why I’m not married

 

Definitely should have mentioned to her the offsetting cost of selling those! Probably going to try for $1k

 

She’s put up with me for this long, she ain’t going anywhere. She’s a real ainjewl outside of discussing truck accessories. Ha

 

Sell the take-offs, ditch the Amp and install the Westscott yourself. Hold a while on the tint...

 

Put some nice stuff on her vehicle first.

 

Thought about installing myself but worried I wouldn’t be able to get the collar to seat properly/perfectly with my hand tools. You think a dead blow hammer would work well enough?

 

She drives a 2018 land cruiser with weather tech mats… Haa

 

You don't have to compress the springs do you? If so - take that to a shop, the rest should bolt up once you have full droop and disconnect sway bar, etc.

 

Must be nice

It needs 285’s before you touch your 22’!

 

$500 for tint?

$2000+ for Amp steps?

Where you gettin these prices?

 

Amps website $2,099 for the XL steps, they drop down lower than the standard steps. Window tint is ceramic and for the full truck including the windshield.

 

Bro, Whats $2,500 on a 70k truck.

I am fully capable of buying a new truck, but I torture myself with these 1st gens ​

 

When did Amp steps start costing $2K?

Ditch them and get some decent tubes or sliders.
I have Amp steps and wish I'd never bought them.
I have more door dents now that my tubes steps are gone to block a-holes opening their door into my truck.

If you have to have lowering steps, go for these.
If these would have been available 6 years ago, I would have bought them.
Thank you to @texasrho83

https://youtu.be/xPWNSDaChhM

It is silly to think you need all of this shit immediately.
Simmer down a bit, you may realize you don't want all that in the end.
If you do, just get it as you go, there is no hurry.

Good luck...

 

Wow, AMP has really gone up. When I bought Mine in ‘18, it was under 1100.

 

Thanks for mentioning these! Never considered steps to protect from door dings but that’s a great point. I was under the impression they were only made for Jeeps as I’ve only seen and heard of them from jeep people. If it were only me I had to consider getting in and out of this truck I would go with some sliders all day, but fortunately I have 4 girls to consider and that’s the reason for the lower step. Loved my previous Amp steps on my GMC 2500 but I’ll probably go with whichever releases their product first. Thanks again for sharing these @1lowlife

 

I agree with the post above aboit adding things as you go. Lookimg at the list, I'd do tint, the amp steps, and the old man bed cover first.

Two things I question;

$2k for a light bar? How often do you plan to really use that, and are more affordable options available? Maybe frequent use justifies it, but that seems like a lot of dough just for light.

Leveling kit. Why bother if you're going to replace it with a full suspension lift later - and I assume from your post it would be a sooner than later priority on the full lift.

Otherwise, good luck, and I hope you BOTH enjoy the new truck!

 

Start tallying all the useless trash she buys. You’ll be single in no time and won’t have this problem! I love equality.

 

You absolutely will be able to seat the collar with a dead blow... Head over to Westcotts youtube... There is a 30 minute video of them installing the kit with basic tools that everyone has access to... I think the only specialized tool they use is a set of $50 spring compressors from Amazon...

I agree with the other guy who said to ditch the Amps for something cheaper that can also provide protection from inconsiderate parkers... $500 for full ceramic including windshield is not a bad deal at all... I paid $309 for full ceramic front, back and rear... Headed back next week for the windshield and sunroof for another $228...

Also I think down the road you will find a much more capable suspension lift than the OEM one for a similar or better price...

 

If you're set on the AMP running boards, then I say go for it. I, too, have the XL version but installed them myself. I did get a door ding but I soon remedied that by just parking further away from people. You also mentioned that you got a farm for hunting and shooting, so you may not be wanting to care about dings and scratches anyways. I get it though, you're probably wanting to save as much of the paint as possible for as long as possible but the inevitable will happen.

If you're eventually going to install a suspension setup, I'd say just skip the level kit and save the money to just install the full thing. Not worth the 425 or 800 to get this installed in my opinion and can be one thing you can shave off the buy now list that the wife can agree to. I have a level kit but it came with the truck. I'm just biding my time until the original suspension goes (and the supply issues get fixed).

I completely agree with the ceramic tint, wheels, and tires. BTW, everywhere I've contacted in the DFW area have quoted me $700+ for a full window install but that is also with their top brand ceramics, so you might want to make sure you're getting your money's worth. This heat has been no joke this year.

I don't know what your experience with the Decked drawer is, and I have none, but I question whether that is absolutely necessary, since you didn't give a reason why you need this. You could spring this one for the buy it later column and see if you really need it. My issue with it is it takes away a lot of useable space for me but may not matter to you since you'll eventually be grabbing a cap.

One thing might I suggest for the buy now list would be to install a front and rear dash cam setup. It's going to be one of those set it and forget it until you really need it kind of things and the earlier you do it, the better off you are. Just my thoughts.

Good luck to your build and here's hoping you can get your wife onboard. Otherwise, just like with everything, compromise is king.

EDIT: Just realized I bought the Xtreme version, not the XL. Apologies, OP!

 

A) I hope he didn't pay $70k for an SR5...
B) $2000 for steps is entirely too much
C) I did full ceramic tint w/brow for about $175 & lifetime warranty

 

I would agree. I purchased mine for around 1400 with override controller and part of the reason I decided on the XLs was also because they utilize a double motor system for each step as opposed to only 1 per.

Well, bend me over and slap my ass cuz sum buncha ppl r tryn to fk me. I did call only 3 people based on either word of mouth or google reviews and they all quoted me around the same price.

EDIT: I just realized I bought the Xtreme version, not the XL. Apologies for that mistake!

 

This is in reference to just the windshield, right? I assume so because I’ve never seen quality ceramic for a full car that cheap…

 

Life insurance

 

Yea when I checked into them, that was ballpark price so I don't think he's far off. Inflation is a bitch

 

Tires, tint, decked system.

Arguably the most utilitarian for your hobby and the tint and tires would give you some aesthetic pleasure.

Do the rest next year. Don’t piss your wife off!

 

You probably should have discussed with her what "accessorize" means to each of you. She probably thought a couple trips to Auto Zone, maybe some tires at most. You meant adding on so many accessories that the price has now exceeded that of the Platinum.

The first thing I'd add is talking to her about what she thought was acceptable, then start with whatever items on your list you feel would be most needed for what you want to do with the truck.

Call me whipped all you want, but this approach has allowed me to buy a new dirt bike every other year, night vision, high end scopes, etc.

 

I drive a DC so no full back door glass and no rolling window if that matters... I also didn't do the entire windshield

 

I would personally ditch the Westcott, if you're going to be putting a suspension on later anyway. Also I would go with something more reasonable on the suspension, maybe arb or dobinsons instead of trd. You're hunting and fishing would be perfectly acceptable for that and then some, and is much more pocketbook friendly. Roll those stock tires until they wear out so that you are "doing regular maintenance " instead of buying new shit. You can help that along with regular burn outs after tire rotations. You could always build some diy drawers for the bed for a couple hundred. Honestly the lightbar is a waste. Youre hunting and fishing not running the baja 1000, some quality light cubes put out a whole lot of light. Or if you have to have a lightbar run the cheapo ones. The rest you're pretty much stuck with. Basically I've found you have to go one o f two ways on this. And you did neither. A) don't tell her how much shit costs and just do it , which imo is just delaying the fireworks until later, they're still going to happen lol or b) you should have been much more specific about your plans and costs prior to purchasing the truck . Since you went in the middle you are now in compromise land.

I've been here before too. My wife agreed to let me buy a trail rig (think 1st gen taco) and then backed out when she realized it would be alot of add ons to build what I wanted and that this wouldn't be a truck my son could drive as a first car for high school when I wasn't using it. Lol also all my current mods on my tundra are a result of a compromise of that, I build up the tundra , and don't buy a trail rig and she doesn't ask questions about cost when I do. Lol