Surf Rig, 2017 F150 4x4 slow build

Well... let me first of all start off saying that I’ve been a long time lurker on this forum from when I first wanted to get a truck. I’ve been driving a 2002 GMC Yukon XL for the past 5 years (My moms old car) it has been a great car and has been taken on many good trips and has created lots of memories but there was always the want of something 4wd. However, last month I got rear ended in the Yukon and insurance totaled the car (bent axel). Good news was insurance valued it pretty high. While insurance was figuring everything out with the salvage, I was looking around for trucks, mostly the f150, my dad has had three of them and I really like the new style. I started looking at newer and newer ones and then I found a good deal that was close to home. A 2017 f150 2.7L EcoBoost stx 4wd. It had 29,000 on it which is a lot for one year. Anyway, last week I drove off the lot with it and I have not regretted it one bit...except for the truck payments :rolleyes:

I am from North county San Diego and do a lot of surfing and snowboarding.My intent is to slowly build this truck into a great surf/camping rig. I hope you enjoy and would love any ideas along the way.



My old car on the day of the accident. Was waiting for a parking spot at the beach when a car behind me was slowing down me got hit and pushed into me.
Loved this car and ran great, it had 217k miles on it.
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First time I looked at it at the dealership
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The afternoon of the day I purchased it, parked next to my dads 2010 f150 4x4 Lariat. He has Fox 2.0s all around with Falken wild peak atw3 in LT285/70/17
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Found a great deal on a camper shell with bed rug in the Orange County area, picked it up after having the truck for only one week. I got it on a Thursday and got it wired at the local Leer dealer the next day. My favorite part of it is that the shell locks electronically when I lock truck. I also installed a Deezee tailgate assist and a Hitch lock that has a code to put my keys in when I go surf.
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The following week, with the help of my dad, we built a sleeping/storage platform. I originally only wanted it level with the wheel wells but I have a plastic bin I use to put my my surf stuff in (wetsuit, rinse off water, changing mat, etc.) so we built it to fit those bins. I ended up buying 3 more bins at target to use for me and my girlfriends up coming camping trip. we used 3/4 plywood as the side supports and as the top platform. We enforced it so it didn't cave in with two 2x1s in front and back and a 2x4 in the front in the middle because thats where most weight is when climbing up on it.
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I keep my surfboard in a board sock just so I don't get wax on the bed rug, and helps protect it a little bit.

P.S. this is my first post on here so Im not really familiar with picture uploading and editing but am open to ideas.

Thanks!
 
Last week my girlfriend and I set out on a camping trip for 6 days. We had no plans or reservations for anywhere but wanted to drive up the coast and then to Lake Tahoe. I bought some 3 inch foam pads from Home Depot and some cheap sheets from target so we slept on the platform in the back. Slept very well actually besides getting a little stuffy at night with the everything closed. In the middle of the trip we bought a small fan to use that helped circulate the air, it was powered by a Goal Zero yeti 150.

All packed up, I fit three bins under the platform organized with Gear such as lanterns and hatchet and small propane bottles, dry food storage, and kitchen items like a stove and pots and pans. In the middle was an easy up and 2 camp chairs. On the right side was a inflatable SUP, corn hole, camera gear, small table, backup stove and clothes. I also decided to not fill in the wheel well holes on the sleeping platform so that was we could fit extra blankets, pillows, towels and even a 6 gallon water jug. In the backseat we put the coolers, small table, and a bag of food for car snacks.
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First night we stayed at a very nice state park campground in south Pismo beach.
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Left the next morning around 12 and stopped at Montana de oro in Slo to make some lunch.
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After that we proceeded on to big sur. It was a Friday night and no spots were available anywhere so we drove up the ridge to spend the night above the clouds. Was a nice way to break in the truck and get it dirty. It performed really well but also made me want to upgrade suspension sooner than later.
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The next day we drove to Vacaville and stayed at relatives house to tour San Fransisco the next day. After being in the city Sunday we left that night for Lake Tahoe. I found availability at a place called Meeks Bay Resort campground, it is a very nice campground with both tent and rv sites available and very close to the lake. we got into our site around 12 that night and woke up the next morning and went to D.L. Bliss state park.
Campsite
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nice little spot at the beach the next day.
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thats the beach we were at in the background, took our SUP to this spot on the rocks and swam around. water was fairly warm, probably around 68.
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We left two days later after spending the rest of our time at the beaches in south Lake Tahoe.
arrived at home after 6 days and spent the following day washing the truck very thoroughly.
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Truck did well the whole trip and was pretty satisfied with the mpg from all the Mountian driving, using 4x4 in Pismo and big sur, and getting stuck in traffic countless times on the road.
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I took the platform out today and sprayed some sealer on it and I also added some outdoor carpet to the top just to help protect it from salt and water if I put any wet surfboards up on it or wetsuits etc.IMG_2805.JPG
 
Nice rig. Besides the suspension upgrade, what else are you thinking?

Thanks!
For upgrades down the road I'm thinking of maybe Icon or Fox 2.5s, new wheels and tires at some point, probably 285/70/17s. Some Baja designs in the stock fog light spot and maybe two with the hood light mounts. For convince purposes I would like to install a back up camera because the tint on the camper shell makes it difficult to see some times at night. Also, if I hit the lottery then maybe a GoFastCamper, those look really cool and very nice for Baja surf trips and camping.
 
D

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Thanks!
For upgrades down the road I'm thinking of maybe Icon or Fox 2.5s, new wheels and tires at some point, probably 285/70/17s. Some Baja designs in the stock fog light spot and maybe two with the hood light mounts. For convince purposes I would like to install a back up camera because the tint on the camper shell makes it difficult to see some times at night. Also, if I hit the lottery then maybe a GoFastCamper, those look really cool and very nice for Baja surf trips and camping.


Once you add the larger tires, get it tuned. They can fix the speedometer and get quite a bit more power out of the 2.7 with out wrecking the fuel economy or reliability.

You can also use Forscan to activate and change options on the truck.
 

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