Florida AF Build Thread

Also, about a month ago....

I made it to some pavement and was able to install my Secret Santa gift from one of our amazing forum members. Installed a set of road legal Rigid pods in the bumper. I will use the old lights on the OVS rack when I get bed power done.

 

Took the wife and little one out for a Vday weekend camping trip. Averaged 8.5 mpg and spent a couple more stops than usual at its watering hole.

Overall the truck handled great and the fam really enjoyed their time.

 

Man, I thought I got away from hurricanes when I moved away from Florida in 2009. Nope, Helene had her way, and there's still tree debris at various places around town not picked up yet.

Stay safe down there.

 

Getting ready to head out of town for work.. had to renew all the tags because of a bday that happens while I am out of town. I decided to nuke the Ranger and transfer its tag the truck...

Small, but I like it:

 

Test drove this for the weekend... held and brought some smiles...

 

Got super annoyed at the water intrusion on my bed during the last rain event, so randomly I emailed Retrax asking for a WTF update. I fully expected nothing to be said/done, but they just asked me for my shipping address and truck details. Fingers crossed!

Other than that, the truck has been putting work in moving stuff around the property and is getting ready for a camping trip in the mountains. The Alcohol reset worked like a dream and I have had no problems since. So now I just need to get it in for an oil change, tire rotation and inspection before loading up for the mountains.

Pictures to follow when something changes, but for now... nothing.

 

ok, so update... they are sending replacement parts out.... wow....

 

The sent out a replacement drum and I had to use the previous rails and tie downs... forgot how much of a PITA/easy the install is... lol.... anyway, got the drums swapped and noticed two changes right away. 1) they have a new label on the cover that I will find a way to get off. It doesnt match the rails older stickers either. 2) the clear drain tubes have been replaced with black slinky lines.. They are much cheaper feeling and do not fit in the hole as previously, but this will be a problem for another day. Tonight its closed back up and I will water test it tomorrow.

 

New bed cover is holding back water like I expected. So now I will work on sealing some gaps in the tailgate area. Couple major rain events and I had very little water inside the bed! So I am much happier on that front.

Went for an awesome camping trip and did some exploring around the North GA area. We had a great time and the truck did great. She drank fuel, but the changes so far have truly paid off. Next up, it looks like I will be upgrading/adding sway bars to try to get a more planted feeling both on the roads and while towing. Other than that, going to focus on some other financial goals and try to avoid spending any more money on it for now... so the build thread may die off for a while. I do need to finish installing some already purchased things, so hopefully that happens here before too long.