F150 King Ranch

[HTXF150]

So, a year and a half ago I traded in my Mustang for a 2016 King Ranch. It's always been a bucket list of mine to travel with a truck and get to know a good portion of my country. Shortly after I got my truck I decided that it would be awesome to build an overland rig out of my F150.

Currently, the only thing I have done to it is I swapped out the stock wheels and put some Raptor beadlock wheels on it. My tires are getting changed Monday so it will now have ridge grapplers. Also, I did have to do a 2.5" level to fit the wheels and tires. I also swapped out my foglights for baja designs yellow cube fogs.

Next mod I want to do is either a roof rack or bed rack and an RTT. Only thing is there is so many choices for racks and RTT and it seems overwhelming. I live in Houston so I plan on jusy getting away on the weekends at first and get used to camping and slowly upgrade my rig and prepare for tougher stuff.

Here is a picture of how it sits now. Personally I love the wheels and I think the height is jsut right so I may not ever go any higher just get better suspension for off road use and extra weight.

 

[Dusther210]

That is a nice looking truck, I think if I had the funds at the time I purchased my truck I would’ve gone the exact same route as you.

Maybe you can try those crossbars that put the RTT just an inch or so over the bed. I think they have them for like $150 on Amazon. I did that until we were able to get a camper shell on the truck. A rack just wasn’t gonna do what we wanted.

I really like the weatherproof area the camper shell provides and it also has more storage/cargo capabilities and options compared to a rack.

 

[Jaytperry89]

There are tons of applications for your truck. If money isn't an issue, id go with the lietner designs rack. Or make one yourself if you have the skill set to do so. The wheels look great btw, I've been on the lookout for some first gen beadlocks. I wish they came with the ring tho. Hope to see more pictures of your ongoing build.

 

[HTXF150]

That is a nice looking truck, I think if I had the funds at the time I purchased my truck I would’ve gone the exact same route as you.

Maybe you can try those crossbars that put the RTT just an inch or so over the bed. I think they have them for like $150 on Amazon. I did that until we were able to get a camper shell on the truck. A rack just wasn’t gonna do what we wanted.

I really like the weatherproof area the camper shell provides and it also has more storage/cargo capabilities and options compared to a rack.

Thanks! You know I truly did toss around the idea of putting a camper on it because of the exact same reasons you mentioned but I have to be honest with myself on how I feel about the looks. I honestly don't like how they look I know that if I got it eventually I'd want to change it out and I really don't want be purchasing lots of stuff lol since this will already be expensive.

 

[HTXF150]

There are tons of applications for your truck. If money isn't an issue, id go with the lietner designs rack. Or make one yourself if you have the skill set to do so. The wheels look great btw, I've been on the lookout for some first gen beadlocks. I wish they came with the ring tho. Hope to see more pictures of your ongoing build.

Thanks! I'll have to check them out. Man I hope you find some wheels. I got a hell of a deal on these on craigs list. Lady had these with tires (she claimed she took them off her raptor when it only had 1500 miles) for $2k obo. I offered her $1600 because its all I had and she took it.

I got some new tires today ill post a picture. I will be updating with pictures for sure.

 

[HTXF150]

Fresh set of ridge grapplers installed. Man they ride so plush.

 

[Jaytperry89]

They look great, hopefully the tires will get you to some new places to explore. What made you go with the ridge grapplers if you don't mind me asking, I haven't heard bad things about them, but lf I was going to buy some nittos, I think I'd be going with the trail grappler. I like the aggressive tread pattern. Lol I actually run nokian rockproofs on my rig.

 

[HTXF150]

They look great, hopefully the tires will get you to some new places to explore. What made you go with the ridge grapplers if you don't mind me asking, I haven't heard bad things about them, but lf I was going to buy some nittos, I think I'd be going with the trail grappler. I like the aggressive tread pattern. Lol I actually run nokian rockproofs on my rig.

Thanks! Well TBH the reason I went with Ridge instead of trail is just the simple fact that I daily my truck everywhere and sometimes I do business with my truck and have customers and other people from my company with me so I wanted to keep the noise down. I had heard that the trail grapplers can be a bit loud. Worst comes to worst ill take a hit and sell them and get something different but these tires are supposed to be a good compromise between noise and performance.

 

[HTXF150]

Here is a video I did today on my truck on how it currently sits. sorry for the runny nose :(

 

[HTXF150]

There are tons of applications for your truck. If money isn't an issue, id go with the lietner designs rack. Or make one yourself if you have the skill set to do so. The wheels look great btw, I've been on the lookout for some first gen beadlocks. I wish they came with the ring tho. Hope to see more pictures of your ongoing build.

So I really Like the Lietner Designs rack. its 1450 for regular one and 1850 for the forged one. It doesn't seem like there is a weight savings to going with the forged the only difference is that it has the capacity to carry a little more weight. The normal one should be plenty strong to carry the RTT and some rotocans and cubbies right? Also, do you know if they have a discount code or if they ever go on sale? even something like free shipping?

 

[Jaytperry89]

I personally don't have a leitner designs rack, but I'm sure that buying the cheaper variant would support a roof top tent and whatever else you may need. Im currently using a lumber rack that I've cut down and refabricated to suit my needs. And I'm only into it about 300 bucks after the rack itself was purchased and the superstrut plus paint and the quick fist mounts.

 

[HTXF150]

Dang thats awesome! However, I have zero fabrication skills and anything I made would
1. Not last
2. Would look like crap.

 

[Jaytperry89]

I had the same skeptical thoughts about my own work, I had not touched a welder since high school when I started. Its no where near a professional built rack, but it does the job well, and I haven't had one problem with my welds failing yet. This is what I did today, I added a super strut cross bar for my traction boards. The way I had it before made the boards flush with the bottom of the bedrails. So you couldn't manage to walk around on the bed rails to open the tent, so I had to stand on the rack to open and close it. I also cut off my home built fuel can holder since it makes it a pain to set the rack on the ground. As for a coupon code for lietner, best thing to do is search Google for a code. Or check Facebook market place maybe you can find a used one cheap.

 

[WKCwith5]

I like how you just jumped into doing a rack and learning along the way. Look great.

 

[HTXF150]

I like how you just jumped into doing a rack and learning along the way. Look great.

Lol that is pretty wild of him. I wouldnt even know where to begin.

 

[Jaytperry89]

Lol sorry op I wasn't trying to hijack your build thread. I was merely just showing you the possibility of what you could do. I prefer to spend the big bucks on go fast parts lol. I can't wait to see where you take your build, not only how you fit it out, but actual places!

 

[HTXF150]

Lol sorry op I wasn't trying to hijack your build thread. I was merely just showing you the possibility of what you could do. I prefer to spend the big bucks on go fast parts lol. I can't wait to see where you take your build, not only how you fit it out, but actual places!

Dude! No worries! I'm not afraid of being hijacked lol. Information is information. Especially when it's well natured and trying to save someone a buck! I have found some used ones locally. Just want to sell my tonneau cover first that will eat 85% of the cost of a used leitner rack.

 

[PonoAdventures]

I got a Leitner on mine and love it. I do miss the security and dust proof of a tonneau sometimes, but so far the rack fits perfectly for what I do. Can’t go wrong with them.

 

[HTXF150]

I got a Leitner on mine and love it. I do miss the security and dust proof of a tonneau sometimes, but so far the rack fits perfectly for what I do. Can’t go wrong with them.

Awesome! What bumpers do you have on there?

 

[PonoAdventures]

Awesome! What bumpers do you have on there?

RPG Offroad prerunner bumper and SVC Mojave rear