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Things you do to your new truck?

13K views 83 replies 52 participants last post by  chucktuna 
#1 ·
I will be taking delivery of my new '17 in a few weeks (I hope) and it got me thinking about what I did right after I bought my 2011.

So, after you have signed the papers and completed your own delivery checklist, what are some of the things ya'll do as soon as you get your truck home or in the first few days/weeks of ownership? This can be simple things like adjusting the air in your tires, or something drastic like getting out the reciprocating saw and going to town with your delete.

For example, one of the first things I always do is install my BlendMount radar detector mount on my rearview mirror and get a wire ran down to the fuse block with an add-a-fuse to power it. After that, it is a top-down detail, clay bar, and paint sealant for me.

Just curious as to what others do.

Thanks!

-Rob
 
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#4 ·
Full rustproofing and undercoating with Rhinoliner bedliner sprayed on the first 2" of sheet metal of the rockers and bed. Everything rusts badly in Maine with the crap they use on the roads. I paid too much for my truck to see it rot away. I can't afford one of these every 4 years.
 
#6 ·
When you say rustproofing and undercoating, do you mean something like Krown where they spray the undersides and drill strategic holes and spray inside the panels?
 
#7 ·
I added Juan Ton lights. That was scary, drilling holes in roof.

Towing stuff (Hitch, Ball...)

copy of key.

I bought a fuel cap, cause RAM does not include one.

Floor mats, the real nice ones.

Tent, dark as night. (NM law is very lax in this)

Sun Visor for windshield. (the fold out kind)

My truck already had AMP Steps, very nice.

Ice and a 6 pack of beer, to test out the rear in floor storage bins.

Aftermarket Sub, replace the factory 8".

LED conversion, convert old incandescent lights with LED equivalents. (apparently my truck has factory LED, skip this steep)

Care kit - window cleaner, leather cleaner, carpet cleaner, soft rags, spay wax touch up....

Goose neck kit, put a a ball in the bed

Fuse pack, small box if fuses. Cause apparently RAM decided to use puny small @ss fuses that are hard to find.. buy em before you need em. at least ~15 and 30amps..

Flash light, no new tuck should ride with no flash light..

Future, intake, exhaust, delete, delete, tune.
 
#8 ·
In the first two weeks, this is what I did:
Weather tech floor mats
Linex bed liner
Removed OEM gooseneck, replaced with B&W turnover ball so I could use my old B&W Companion hitch
Installed Transfer Flow 50 gallon auxiliary tank
Bakflip F1 cover with LED string light run on underside of rails
AMP steps
Suntek XPel paint protection film. Did about half the truck. Seriously.
Tint. Did fronts 30%, rears 5%.
CloudRider stone guard for protecting my trailers when towing.
DeeZee tailgate assist, and tailgate seal kit.
Thorough interior detail.

Since then, basically just put fuel in it, and regular maintenance.
 
#9 ·
Hitched a 40 ft 10k empty gooseneck trailer at 220 mi. and let'er eat blacktop to TX

 
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#12 ·
Surely I ain't the only one anal enough to refuse to take the truck off the lot without mud flaps lol. If they won't add them in the deal and have ten install on he spot I won't sign a single paper
 
#13 ·
Weather techs, tint, running boards (truck's to high for the wife and kids) and you got to give it a name!!!!
 
#17 ·
I usually assemble a tool kit with the basics. Enough to change a flat, change fluids & filters, repair an intercooler boot, etc...

Mount trailer brake controller

Install a sub & amp

Fab a headache rack

Add auxiliary LEDs for backup lights/cargo lights

Add rain guards to windows
 
#19 ·
I installed floor liners before I even drove off the lot!

Shortly after that came tint, vent visors, running boards, bed liner, headache rack, toolbox aux fuel tank and mud flaps.

For the dually owners, if I can recommend one thing, talk to a tint shop (or you can DIY) some clear bra material for your rear fenders. After seeing how easy it is to drag/drop/smack stuff onto the top of them, this would have been one of my very first mods.
 
#20 ·
I'll be buying a new truck when I get back to the states and right now, my list is: mud flaps, Husky liners for the floors, tint, replace the stock fuel tank with a Titan 55 gal, remove those stupid black vinyl stickers from the doors, stainless steel nerf bars (saves lots of door dings) and maybe replace the tires with something I trust.
 
#21 ·
Husky liners went in on my way home from the dealer.

The paint on these new Rams is in my experience quite thin and chips easily so a fairly complete front end Suntek film was done within a week of taking delivery of it.

Had the fronts tinted very light, 50%. We have a zero front tint law here. This is just enough to look nice but not enough to draw attention.

The dealer installed mud flaps and it had factory steps so that was a little helpful for the gravel roads.

I also sprayed the lower 4" of the rockers with Clear plasti dip. It has helped but as with my last truck I can see LineX rockers in its future, maybe sooner then later.

Had the bed sprayed with Reflex. It held up for 5 years on my last truck and I prefer its no slip texture.

Its going in this week for the tailgate and rear bumper to get Suntek as well. Even hauling the TT with rock tamers I am now slightly regretting the Sport Appearance package. Painted bumpers will not last if you travel any gravel. I have gone to a home made set of rock tamers now which mount under the bumper. Hopefully it helps.

Since it has the SAP with black accents it got a simple 5" black tip. Nothing crazy but it didn't look right with that big shiny exhaust.

Did a HID swap on the lows and fogs. These OEM projectors work well with HID's. I looked at doing LED's but the output didn't seem as bright when researching. HID's were plug and play which is nice.

Need to get around to throwing on my Fuel Couplers to see if there is any rubbing with the larger backspacing and 9" wide for my new winter tires. Going to run KO2's this winter. Hopefully they are just as good or better than my Duratracs. Sledding season is nearing so not much time to mess with the truck now.

Need to get around to ordering a rear set of seat covers. Sometimes I throw the dogs in the back without folding the seats and they are well mannered but its good protection even for those times you have that special buddy back there, you know the one, he has screw drivers in his pockets and grease all over his pants, you have to sweep his truck seat off before you get in his truck and he wonders why you watch him when he gets in yours.

Best thing I did was a BD throttle sensitivity booster.
 
#26 ·
I immediately got mud flaps, my gooseneck hitch, and linex (not a big fan of the linex). Then floor mats. Next up hood deflector for rocks and window vents.
 
#48 ·
Why don't you like Line-X? Was going to get my truck's bed sprayed in a few weeks.
 
#29 ·
Thanks for all the replies so far!

I don't even have the truck yet and I am waiting for a call from the fraud dept. with my credit card asking me if I made all these charges... ;) I have a feeling the CFO/Missus is going to be in the fetal position in the shower before too long! :)

I plan to:

- Tint the windows (5%), and I am considering doing the Windshield in 80% this time around - I am told it really cuts down on heat inside and glare
- Husky no-drill mudflaps, Weathertech floor mats
- CTS2 monitor from Edge came yesterday, I am going to use it with a power adapter to control some lights, etc. because I can't add the OEM aux switches to my limited
- Drone Mobile Alarm w/ Remote Start, T-11 remotes, and the RPS touch sensor to allow for keypad entry
- The kit to add Android to the 8.4 U-Connect arrived yesterday, I think I am most excited about this. ( Uconnect 8.4 Android System | Sweden Car Performance )
- Transfer Flow 50 gal REPLACEMENT tank
- Have the bodyshop remove the R A M from the tailgate and repaint. I think I am going to de-badge it also
- Bakflip MX4 cover for the bed (Had an F1 before, I liked it, but I think I like the look of this new MX4 better)
- Replace the factory speakers and add some extra audio equipment
- Replace the engine fuel filter with the billet cap
- Add the cap to the diesel fill neck
- Wheel locks for the wheels
- Add the 5th wheel prep kit (megacab and rambox from the factory, so I have to do this myself)
- Bayou Goat center stack phone mount (that came today)
- Screen protector for the 8.4 screen
- Blendmount for my radar detector under the rearview mirror


I am going to replace the Firestone tires, just not 100% sure with what yet. Maybe keep the stock size in some Michelins. I hardly ever go off-road, so I can't really justify something really aggressive.

I am also considering replacing the front RAM grille with either a custom or an OEM "crosshair" grill because I want to add a front camera
 
#31 ·
Look into Drone Mobile. That is the system I am doing. They have a subscription option with a smartphone app so you can remote start, etc. In fact, I think Compustar (the parent of Drone) is a Canadian company.
 
#32 ·
I have seen the Drone before. It's something ridiculous like $550 US which is over $700 Cdn plus a monthly plan and that's not including someone installing it if I can't do it.

But yeah it's an option I suppose


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#33 ·
I have seen the Drone before. It's something ridiculous like $550 US which is over $700 Cdn plus a monthly plan and that's not including someone installing it if I can't do it.

But yeah it's an option I suppose


Just for poops and giggles I called a local shop, $1200 installed because you need the aftermarket starter then the Drone module. Viper is $150 cheaper to for their similar set up. I will suck it up and walk the extra to my truck for now lol.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk





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#38 ·
Here it is the law that vehicles have a mudflap or body part that extends at the rear to at least the center line of the axle and cover the width of the tire.

How many vehicles do you think are compliant? Haha not many.

Honestly it's not worth it to me to be beating the sheet metal up to not have mud flaps and nothing bugs me more than some dbag with mud tires chucking rocks 60 feet behind him from his jeep. Jeep guys always seem to be the worse.




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#39 ·
Here dually a I believe are required to have flaps in the read but single rear wheel is ok without... If the cop had a hard on for someone they can hold a coin on the side of your truck and drop it. If it hits tread I believe you are illagal.
 
#40 ·
Well, let me see...I started to respond with "not much" but then when I started laying it out, it's actually quite a bit--but a lot of the gear just transfers from the old truck. It doesn't help that I tend to keep trucks for 10+ years, so there's lots of accumulation.

Actual mods to the truck (First couple of weeks--"gotta haves"):
Spray-in bed-liner
Wheel-to-wheel steps (first truck I've done this on, won't be the last)
Cattlemen front-end replacement (I run in deer country a lot)
Window tint
Edge Insight monitor (nice to have, but just a neat toy on a stock truck)
Cab lights
Under-tailgate lights (to complete the full "Juan-ton kit")
underhood lamp
footwell lamps
mounted the fire extinguisher
billy club, er, um, "tire thumper"
weighed the truck to determine proper tire pressures
scotch-guard the seats

Gear I carry:
Hitches (Gooseneck kit for factory setup, and the 3-4 stingers I keep around for various trailers and farm equipment)
Tow chains (2x20')
ropes, bungees, ratchet straps
cheap plastic tarps
flashlights
WD-40 for things that don't move but should
Duct tape for things that shouldn't move but do
bailing wire for when duct tape ain't enough
ATF / PS / Brake fluid
Oil / Fuel filters (Actually, still need to get a set of emergency filters for this truck)
trailer wiring adapter / 7-pin to 5/4 pin
Gloves, one pair working gloves, and one pair for handling nasty- fuel pumps
tire gauge
hand cleaner / shop towels
small lock box/safe
plastic funnels
utility knife
Gallon of drinking/wash water
spare jacket (a holdback from when I spent some time in mountain country)
100' extension cord
jumper cables
spare fuses and bulbs
roadside triangles
alcohol pads and hand sanitizer
first-aid kit ("boo-boo" kit)
matches

Later, I added a CB radio and I will add a 2-meter ham radio once I decide which one I want.

Once I finally convince myself to spend the $$$ I will add a weather-guard porkchop box to replace the cheap plastic Wally-world box that holds the "outside the cab" gear.

When I list it like that, it sounds like a lot more than it really is...you can probably tell from what I carry that I've had a few "well, sh*t" moments in some pretty remote places over the years.
 
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