Well, I’m a little late to the party, but I finally got a ‘17 2500 LT 6.0. I’ve been dreaming of having one since I saw a black 2500 Z71 in the 2015 Cabelas catalog with a Ranchhand, and last year I finally found one I could afford. Purchased a nice, rust free TX truck with 91k for $28k. It had most of the options I wanted: 4x4, gasser, leather, black interior, heated seats. Unfortunately it doesn’t have cooled seats, and it has the jump seat instead of the center console, but the trucks in my area that had those went for a good bit more so I’m fine with it.
I got a few odds and ends done, but never created an account to log it all until recently.
First, 5100s. They’re way better than the worn out Ranchos, but the rear end still gets choppy and hoppy over bumps in the highway, especially repeating dips. My tires are aired down to 50ish, but the rear end of these things ride awful in my limited experience so far. I might eventually try Foxs and see if the progressive shocks dampen better. If I drop a load in the bed like one of my welders (approx 600lbs) it’s a lot smoother, but it shouldn’t have to ride like a Sherman.
When I did the shocks, I also put on some used (but in decent condition) 285/60R20 from a RAM. They look way better than the skinny 265s stockers that came with it. We have a road trip coming up soon, so I’ll probably slap on some good new tires while knocking out my usual pre-trip PM. I’m eyeballing the Cooper Stronghold AT in 275/65R20.
I tinted the windows with Llumar Pinnacle 15% all around, and the windshield with Llumar Air80. I’m looking forward to seeing how well it performs this summer. I can already feel the difference. Now that I have the tint on, I’d like to paint my trim black, but I have some research to do first. I want it to come out nice.
I trimmed the air dam. I thought about taking it off altogether and putting on the plow insert, but it just looks a tad goofy to me. I trimmed it along the line where the angle changes on each side and left the center as-is, and so far I’m content with it. I’d rather plop on a Ranch Hand, but this will do for now (and it’s free vs $2200).
I swapped in VLEDS headlight bulbs. I’ve used them with pretty good success in the past on a couple different trucks, so I thought I’d give them a try on this platform. I wish more manufacturers offered 5000k bulbs, so that was a big influence in my decision to use them over other brands. I used their lower wattage bulb in the projector low beam, and their higher wattage in the high beam. We live in rural TX, and that high beam is a dream on these dirt roads. Likewise, the lower-wattage bulb in the projector house is more than enough. I need to add some capacitors to stop the flickering, but otherwise it went well. I tried some Sylvania ZEVO bulbs in one of the turn signs; positions while I had everything apart, and they didn’t do as well to fill the reflector so I just kept the incandescent bulbs in for now. In other trucks I’ve used the ZEVOs and been extremely happy either them. VLEDS makes a killer bulb for that position, but they’re just so expensive so I’m trying to find some alternative parts before sinking that much into it.
I did slap some ZEVOs in the tail lights (along with resistors for hyperflash) and they look fantastic. They fill the housing completely when you’re viewing it from behind, and look decent when viewing from the side (no worse than the incandescents), and they’re quite bright with a good contrast from running to braking. For the 3rd brake light I used a LASFIT red, and LASFIT whites (unfortunately 6000k) for the cargo and reverse lights.
—
I have a small but decent mod list to chew through. UCAs and lower ball joints. I haven’t decided between Kryptonite, Cognito, or CST, and from what I’ve read so far they all seem fairly close in quality. I’m currently leaning toward Kryptonite UCAs for that easy-to-change setup though.
I bought the Skar 2 12” sub box. I have some of Stereo Integrity BM MkV subwoofers sitting around, and I wanted something cheap to run them in until I can get the LMI seat lift and make a box to hold 3. It was on sale so I figure it’ll hold me over for a couple months until I can make it over to my buddy’s carpentry shop and whip up something better. I have a Stinger Heigh10 head unit leftover from my old F250 I’ll run in this truck. I already have the dash kit for the easy install.
I spoke with Nick at BTR and they’re working on some VVT torque cams for these trucks. Once they drop, I’m putting one in, and getting a tune. Everything in my powertrain is stock at the moment. I’d like a muffler and the S&B intake, but until the cam is developed that’s all on the back burner.
Lastly, I’m going to get the door keypad. I had that on my Excursion, and it was probably one of my favorite things about it, except for maybe the 37s, TrueTrac and E-locker
Sorry I don’t have more pictures. Usually I take a ton but I’ve been a slacker with this truck. I’ll get some as I progress with my mods. In the meantime, here’s the only one I have. This was before the tint, but after trimming the dam dam.
