Penguin VII

I really wish they kept the 14-15 style denali grille as it's personally my fave design. Love the gloss black though.

Neat kit. Wish that the switched were numbered rather than just plastered with repeated branding.

Extended range or just for looks? Don't quite know why you'd want to make the font larger but hey.

Just a heads up for anyone putting vinyl on paint. In my experience with GM in the past any vinyl or magnet left on will cause noticeable marks from washing around the outline and also tend to fade different if left for a long time. Assuming it's a "permanent" mod then whatever but if you plan on trading in frequently it's best to keep to glass. Edit: meant to add that I'm looking to add these to my paint as well. Thanks for sharing the link!

Can't wait. I'm sure it's going to look great.

I'm sure it's gonna look great. I really wish they made them for the 16s. How hard was the install? Fit pretty decent?

Post pics when you get it done! I went back and forth on a black mesh grille for far too long. Cost kept me from doing it and going my current route.

Haven't hooked up the lights yet. Will post photos when I do. I am waiting to get the surround painted gloss black so that it looks a bit more OEM. It is the matte black version. Not sure if the fit isn't amazing in general or just mine but as I posted there is a bit of extra space on one side of the grille next to the headlights.

I wish, then maybe it could drive me to work.

Just to add some info to the topic of stubby antenna. Length/height is going to be the primary indication of quality of reception. In most urban areas you can install a stubby with no real issue. You might notice a slight degradation in performance but nothing drastic. It's the rural areas you have to worry about. There is no replacement for height since it has to do with the size of the radio wave and speed at which is travels at. The smaller you go the more degradation in signal quality. Personally I swapped for a real short one because I kept hitting it on the roof of my works parking garage (I sneak in but not by much) so I got a short one. I almost never listen to FM but the reception is trash by me (more rural) but when I drive into work (urban) it's fine.

Quality is better than I expected but less than I hoped. As I said it's prob 80% of what OEM is. To elaborate, the left and right sides don't seem to have the same spacing between the headlights and the grille, the led lights seem pretty crappy. That said it bolted on without any problem and seems pretty sturdy. Only time will tell but it's nowhere near the quality plastic that the OEM grille is, or at least seems to be. At the moment I like the look so I'll keep it but with time I may change it to something else. I'll be keeping the OEM grille regardless.

Installed a new grille. I went back and forth for a long time but felt like this was a good look at a great price. Paid $112 shipped. Haven't hooked up the lights yet, need to figure out how to wire them so they come on with the amber running lights in the mirrors. Also unsure about the color. I like the black but it sort of reminds me of people who slap on fender flares without painting them, just looks unfinished. We will see. Before After Little more info on the grille. It is a two piece, so you can have each part painted separately if interested. Install was easy enough once you got the old grille off, but holy crap is that a pain. Fit and finish is nice but not quite OEM quality. If GM is the standard this is maybe 80-90% there, just a little more gap in areas than I'd like but worth the compromise for cost and all things considered for me. Led running lights look super cheapo, we will see how they work but I'm not expecting much, held on by the most tiny screws and the center one wasn't even bolted in right, I had to adjust. They do come with some of those waterproof connectors which is nice and seems to have enough wiring to route it nicely.

Thanks man. And I feel you. I'm sure living in BC you're prepared. I always carry some high calorie bars in the truck as they are rather stable for temp swings and have 3600 calories per bar. Not the greatest tasting thing but if I got stuck I've got food. Same with blankets, light, knife, extra batteries, etc. The only thing I don't currently have is a shovel or water that I leave in the truck. Still not sure how I can carry drinkable water during the winter without hiking it in and out of the truck every night (which I do with a single bottle, but just standard thin nalgene size).

Well this is some good info. From the sound of things I don't need it unless I plan on running a lot of things while the battery is off, which to be honest is very obvious. From the sound of things it hasn't been an issue for most people, and honestly can't imagine it will be an issue for me. May still look into the second battery for a better safe than sorry thing but I'll have to look into cost for that a bit more.

I recently received a promotion at work and wanted to splurge a little on the truck with a few upgrades I've been eyeing. I'm looking at adding a bunch of lighting to the truck and wanted to know if I need to add a second battery or perhaps knowing how much overkill it is. Here is what I'm wanting to add (possibly at the same time, possibly later): Interior lighting kit (just for ambiance) Front lighting (probably 4 light pods, 2 for distance, 2 for flood) Rear lighting (flush light pods on the bumper for helping back up when I'm in the woods and for working behind the truck at night) Bed lighting (factory LEDs are nice but I'd like to add red LED strips for early morning/late night hunts to save my night sight) Probably rock lights and/or under step lights (again just because I think it looks cool, a little unsure about this one) Most of this lighting will be used in isolation, however the interior lighting will likely always be on and the rock/under-side lighting may be on in addition to the front or rear lights. I know that LEDs generally pull a lot less power than their incandescent counterparts but living in new england I'm a bit terrified that one snowy day I'll make a trip out to the range, have the lights on during a evening shoot then have the truck die. I am buying a portable jump start but I'd like to rely on that as a last ditch savior. I'm just trying to figure out if the dual battery is really helpful to have or if it's serious overkill. The cost of a dual battery setup is really the reason I'm not just having it done or DIYing it. I figure even if I do it myself I'm still looking at $500+ as I'd like to get a setup that's as maintenance free as possible. Would love everyones thoughts or experience here. Only other things I could think of running would be CB or VHF radio and possibly some other electronics.

Damn, yeah steep but awesome none the less. I've poked around a bit and have received a quote for $175. Want one but pricy. I've been looking into a new grille but I can't get over how expensive the mesh grilles are.

@bc-chris You mind me asking how much you paid for that?

@SuperAllTerrain Thanks man. They really look great. I was afraid from the photos I saw online that they would have a strange pink glow or that you would be able to easily see the red through the black/smoked plastic. Looks like they are pretty dark though and look great at night. Looks like I've gotta just wait out the sale now.

Tails look great. Have any night shots of them? Also, did you have the headlights done custom?

Yeah, it's funny you say that. I've been watching that. Very interested to see the final outcome. Makes me wonder if they will release a cover for the 1500.

I haven't seen any larger replacement tanks for the 1500 for gas engines. The reason you see it for the midsize trucks is that they offer a diesel with the ZR2 (and maybe others?). Has something to do with flash point of diesel being higher and fumes being lower if I understand correctly. I tell you though, if there was a way to add a second tank to make my third gen more than the 20-something gal now I'd do it. I wanted a diesel 2500 to begin with and every time I see that you can upgrade to a 60 gal tank with the extended range of the diesel I get jealous.

Ah, ok then. Mine is a daily in new england that sees sand, salt, rocks, everything. Makes me feel a bit better.

My truck is a year newer than yours and it looks 5 years older from the undercarriage.

I found out you can change the background on the super duty, I was really hoping you could here but sadly it doesn't seem to be easy, although anything is possible with enough money time and skill I guess.

Thanks man! And yeah 100% with you, new sticker was ordered same day I put it on, it will drive me nuts otherwise.