Truck modification

[shakalaka]

Okay guys I know there are a lot of pick-up truck guys here so I thought this would be the right place to ask this. But basically I’ve been contemplating getting rid of my bike and get something different that I can have fun with. From what I’ve been looking at I might end up with something like an older F150 or something. I plan to modify this a bit and also use in winter and longer highway drives when I go to circuit courts. Having never really gotten involved in the modding game for trucks, I wonder what all is possible.

I did a quick eBay search and see lot of grilles, fender flares add-ons, various headlights and all that. That may be something I consider but I am more curious about the tires and lifts etc. I see some nicely done up trucks with a little lift or 33” or 35” inch tires that I quite like the look of. That’s something I’d like to look into but have no idea where to start.

When you buy these tires what should I be looking for? Would I also need rims or they go on stock rims? What sort of costs can be expected for something like this? Same with lift kits. What to look for? How high? What are all the parts that are needed to be changed? Expenses involved including installation etc? Basically if I do end up getting a truck what sort of mods should I be looking at as a beginner and some places perhaps that can do the work as I am myself not mechanically inclined.

With the truck I am aiming for something with under 200K km’s which is absurd to me as it is considering I drive my cars sometimes for under 20k before getting rid of them but most trucks I see have lot of mileage and if not they are way more $ than what I wanna spend on a side thing. Do the engines blow on these often? I see a lot of them with new engines and what not? Are engines easy to acquire and get replaced? Expenses? Anyway, basically educate me on the topic of truck modification world.

Thanks!

[ExtraSlow]

Man, lifts and big tires look bitchin but wouldn't be my suggestion for a highway truck.

It's true trucks usually have higher mileage than cars. 25-30 k per year is normal.

Reliability is extremely variable. Mostly decent, but you can't expect perfection with anything at 200k.

You have brand preferences? Hauling anything?

[shakalaka]

Don’t care about brands. Just whatever I can find in regards to someone willing to trade for my bike. Example, currently talking to a guy with a 2006 F150 with 180K km’s. It’s worth a little less than my bike so trying to see if he’ll add some $. But basically whatever I can find that meets the variables like 4x4, relatively low km’s etc. The tires I feel will be a must for me for the big look even tho I could pass on the lift. Sure like the looks of the combination tho. It will be highway driven every now and then but not like I am always on the roads so the noise and all that is not a concern.

Not hauling anything either for the most part. We have a boat and an Escalade ext that my family uses to tow it so if I do end up with a truck, towing wouldn’t be a priority.

[ExtraSlow]

If you can get yourself a 2009 or newer F150 you get the six speed transmission which drives much nicer and is very good. The 5.4L V8 is good but has common issues with the variable timing system.
Get one with the 3.73 axle if you are serious about bigger tires, or budget for aftermarket gears, which aren't cheap but are readily available.

If you can find one of the gmc/Chev half tons with the aluminum block 6.2L V8, that one feels a bit faster than the 5.3L. Not a common combo.

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Find my two "short term tow rig" threads. Lots of good advice given to me in those and much of it will be helpful to you.

[shakalaka]

I feel like something like a 2009 plus would be way too much $ unless the mileage is super high. I am willing to add some $ on top of the bike to get a truck for something around $15K max. However, the chances of finding a seller with a truck that meets all, the variables who is also interested in a bike are somewhat rare so I may have to work with what I get I suppose. Had no idea about the axle stuff so will try to look at that I guess. I will look for your threads tomorrrow. Thanks.

[ExtraSlow]

All the truck manufacturers offered the trucks with different axle ratios. The off road crowd often gets aftermarket gears, but if you can avoid that it'll save you.

You need a crew cab? Super cabs are much cheaper, and still have plenty of room for your files.

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Probably easier to just sell the bike for cash and buy the truck as a separate transaction. People hate trades and you are cutting off 90% of your market

Lots of trucks newer than 2009 and under 15k

[ercchry]

Older, and higher kms i’d Probably go gm... aged the best of the big 3, and just overall quality (not just drivetrain) is better.

Get a LTZ or SLT (chev vs gmc) for some nicer features

Z71 package is good too

For lift with a 32-33” tire you could probably just crank up the torsion bars (free!) or at most rekeyed bars (or whatever they call them) for torsion arms and some blocks for the leafs... not sure when they went struts in the front, or have they? But bilstien makes adjustable struts that work better than other options for getting a little lift on trucks. Better wear of the oem parts too

Yes. If you want that wide meaty look you will need rims... oem are usually rather thin width and also not enough backspacing (the truck way of saying offset haha)

[tcon]

Google "level kit + (insert truck name)" to figure out what lift options you have

also check out customwheeloffset.com to see tons of different options. Pay attention to wheel and tire specs.

[Aleks]

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All the truck manufacturers offered the trucks with different axle ratios.

All except Toyota. Tundra only comes with a 4.30 rear end with the 5.7L V8 in Canada, that's why it's so good on gas

[ExtraSlow]

Yeah but who buys a Toyota? Nobody I want to talk to.

[s_havinga]

Cost wise- you are best off to buy a truck that already has a lift / tires plenty of trucks out there with lifts and like most mod's you don't get your money back when selling. If you end up with a Ford or Dodge, you can probably get away with 35"s with just a leveling kit. With a Chevy / GM 33" will be max and even that will likely rub, if you want 35's, you'll probably need a 4" lift kit minimum. As mentioned before, you are probably going to end up way ahead if you just sell the bike and buy a truck cash.

[mzdspd]

Any truck that is well taken care of and not rusted will demand high $. A guy at my work just paid 14K for a 2006 Sierra 1500 but it was in good condition and no rust. To me, that sounds nuts but that is just the market. Similar trucks in worse shape with rust were fetching 10k.

I would just get a 2-2.5" leveling kit (get the longer struts), bigger blocks for the rear and 33" tires and call it a day. Any more of a lift will cause other issues (CV angles, ball joint issues, rough ride etc) or it will cost big $ to get a higher end lift kit..

[Rocket1k78]

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I plan to modify this a bit and also use in winter and longer highway drives when I go to circuit courts. Having never really gotten involved in the modding game for trucks, I wonder what all is possible.

A lifted truck with large tires is fun in fresh deep snow but you wont be wanting to take that on the highways in winter or summer for that matter, unless the lift is a proper lift and everything is in check they ride like shit. Theres a couple tires that get pretty good snow ratings but most are like pucks when it gets cold and on an ice covered highway thats not a fun drive. The truck modding game is insane now so anything is possible and coming from the bmw world everything will be cheap lol The shitty thing with finding a cheaper lifted truck is most are beat to shit so buyer beware.

[ExtraSlow]

Canada has been exporting thousands of trucks to the USA because of the currency differential over the last three years, so our used truck market is extremely tight. Used trucks basically don't depreciate any more once they are about five years old, it's insane.

[shakalaka]

Thanks for all the comments guys. Certainly gives a better perspective on how things go. It'll certainly be better to sell the bike and then get the truck vs sending our trade offers and that is an option as well I guess. Just depends on what happens sooner I suppose. I've seen some nicely done up ones but then they aren't interested in trades or they are relatively new and want too much $. I have been thinking the exact same thing with either a pick-up truck or a Jeep Wrangler. Pick-up will be better usability for me for down the line though. I think the first step is to which truck I actually end up getting and then explore what options are there for that particular model for lifting/bigger tires etc.

So if I want bigger tires, do I HAVE to lift up the truck (whatever it may be) to make it work? What I mean is, do these two mods always go together? I know I can lift and not put bigger tires but what about the other way around?

[ercchry]

You can always go super low offset (high backspacing) on the wheels, and radius the wheel wells if you don’t want a lift... for wranglers you can just buy the flat fenders for the same effect... but wranglers are absolute shit highway vehicles

[ExtraSlow]

+1 on jeeps being awful on the highway.

[SKR]

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So if I want bigger tires, do I HAVE to lift up the truck (whatever it may be) to make it work? What I mean is, do these two mods always go together? I know I can lift and not put bigger tires but what about the other way around?

You can go a littler bigger than stock on most trucks, maybe with some trimming or just accepting some rub while turning. Even going from a 265 all season to an aggressive 285 might be enough of a step for you, and would probably fit most trucks as long as you don't go with some goofy ass offset wheels.

I'd try that first, just to see how you like having a truck. The closer it is to stock, the easier it'll be to get back out of if you find out you're not a truck guy.

[heavyfuel]

As somebody who's been down lifted/modded truck ave, my input is simply, DON'T DO IT!!!

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

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Canada has been exporting thousands of trucks to the USA because of the currency differential over the last three years, so our used truck market is extremely tight. Used trucks basically don't depreciate any more once they are about five years old, it's insane.

Heuheuheu thousands per month at least.