Crusty's 75th Annv PW #1590 build/mods adventure

[Crusty old shellback]

 

[Crusty old shellback]

So after doing the alignment and rotating tires, I set my tire pressure at 45/40.

I finally marked it out and measured my tires. 107.375 inches or 2727.325mm

So I went into ALPHAOBD and corrected it.

 

[jetrinka]

How do you like the ride with those tire pressures?

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Havent driven it much since raising to those pressures but dont really see it changing.
I've been running them at 40/35. Just didnt really like the tire flatning out like it did so uped it 5 psi. It rode fine at 40/35. Much better than the 65 that was in it when I picked it up.

 

[narrow gauge 804]

Good Morning. I did most of the same things Crusty did, BF Goodrich 35 x 12.50. x 17 KO2s. Holy Cow! the ride is 100 times better. And I also am getting 17.5 miles per gallon highway, and that is in Northern Wisconsin, lots of hills. I also put the 4 inch Magna Flow cat back exhaust. If accelerating I can hear a slight rumble, but once at highway speed, there is no exhaust sound inside the cab. And Crusty has great photos on trimming the heat shield to allow for the 35 spare to fit. Thanks Crusty!!!!

Sorry for not replying sooner!
It's moose hunting season here. Was lucky in this year licence draw. Not lucky yet to fill my tags. Have to end of December when season closes.
You must be packers fan then , since your in northern Wisconsin. I am Canadian resident of the province of NL ( Newfoundland & Labrador ) A viking fan. At least we both harsh winters!
No doubt Crusty did a great job on his mods, especially cutting the heat shield for fitting the 35 spare. Not as hard as I thought!
Put off purchasing a power wagon this year. Major house repairs needed. Put a big dent in money set aside for the truck this year.
Their will be power wagon in 2022. My dealer won't know it's allocation for the 2022 model year until first quarter of next year.
For sure getting ram box option! Need extra storage.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

So I got tired of that ugly single silver bolt on the fender in the front wheel well. Why did Ram do that.
Quick stop by lowes and picked up a 2 pack of body bolts M6-1.00x25 and fixed the problem.

 

[Fishnerd]

So I got tired of that ugly single silver bolt on the fender in the front wheel well. Why did Ram do that.
Quick stop by lowes and picked up a 2 pack of body bolts M6-1.00x25 and fixed the problem.
. View attachment 24127

Haha Im glad im not the only one who was bothered by that bolt. I was going to rattle can it but now make a lowes run thanks!

 

[Great White North Eh]

Ya that dam bolt has bugged me since I got my 05. Makes you wonder if blind mice design these things .Kind of like how they can’t put the shark fin in the middle of the roof!

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Yea, been bugging me since I got the truck. Same with that ugly resonator in the wheel well and 33" tires.

Now all 3 issues are fixed like they should have been from the factory

 

[Brutal_HO]

Ya that dam bolt has bugged me since I got my 05. Makes you wonder if blind mice design these things .Kind of like how they can’t put the shark fin in the middle of the roof!

For one, there are an odd number of clearance lights with one being in the middle.

There's also the XM puck antenna in the opposite location.

When there are clearance lights, these are between the outer most light and inner pair.

If they weren't at the front edge, there would be lots of folks with truck campers complaining about the placement.

 

[Great White North Eh]

Well then maybe they could make them both fins because it looks stupid the way it is. If you have lower trim then then they look like a steer with one horn knocked off. The half tons are semetrical and yes I know most of those guys don’t haul campers. We can shoot Captain Kirk high into the air but we can’t make a symmetrical roof .

 

[Brutal_HO]

Kirk rode a giant penis into space. You want a giant penis on your roof?

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Kirk rode a giant penis into space. You want a giant penis on your roof?

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Why are you guys talking about penis's in MY thread?

Funny story about them. We have a 18" dildo that we keep in our pit trailer for racing in Baja. Had it out one day doing some shenanigans. Trailer was locked up, so I put it back in the drivers seat.
Week later, I'm at my car wash getting my truck done. Come back to my truck as I forgot something and my buddy who runs the car wash that I've been going to for 20+ years just looks at me and says "you're nasty " I look at him puzzled and said what? So he says it again. I asked him what are you talking about? He tells me to look in my seat.
So I'm wondering what hes talking about. Open the door and there's the big chubby sitting on the floor. Guess my buddy in Baja had stuck it under my seat, and the car wash found it when they were vacuuming.

I owe him big time now.

 

[Brewbud]

@Crusty old shellback you have some scheming to do!

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Oh, you should hear the complete story, you'd be rolling on the floor crying.
But that's one of the stories told over beers in Baja.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Ok, back on topic, my build thread.
So as you've seen, I have mounted a Kenwood 110W VHF radio in the truck. But I need an antenna for it.
I didnt want to drill a big hole in the cab roof of my new truck like I did on my F250. Nor did I want a make shift mount hanging off the top rail of the bed like I did on my K5 Blazer.
So scouring the internet, I found a mount from Bullet Proof Diesel that goes behind the 3rd brake light and mounts an antenna. And the wire goes into the cab at the same point of the 3rd brake light. No drilling, no mess, and its sealed. But the price was a bit steep.
So I got with my buddy who has a 3d printer and he tried making one. But the mount wound up being bigger than his printer could print.
So I bit the bullet and purchased one from SDHQ as that was the cheapest place I could find.
Now the mount looks sleek and sexy, but still not sure it was worth the price of admission. It appears to be cast. It has a heavy gloss black powder coat on it to protect it.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Ok, time to install.
I removed the 3rd brake light. DUH. Removed the plastic trim on the door edge up to the front corner of the rear passenger door. And pulled off the upper C pillar trim and part of the lower C pillar trim. There is a Philip's screw behind a small cover that pops out right above the seatbelt mount.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Then I went to the bed and back of the cab. Wiped down the area to remove any dust/dirt/spider web. I was able to push the cable in above the headliner and towards the passenger door. Went back in the cab and slid my had above the headliner and found the cable and pulled it on thru.
Back in the bed, I mounted the mount using the factory screws according to the instructions.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Next there is a metal tab and 2 screws that clamp the mount to the cab right under the antenna mount. I assume this is to add rigidity to it.
Once clamped, then it's just a matter of reinstalling the lens with the supplied screws and reassembling everything inside.
I also purchased a cap for the mount for when I'm not using the radio and take the antenna off. Only thing I dont like is they gave me a plastic one. My last one was nice powder coated alunimum.