2017 Laramie Crew Cab

mdifilippo · Jun 2, 2017

Also added a Pedal Commander about 2 weeks ago and LOVE IT. The truck has so much power that is just not taken advantage of with the stock acceleration curves.

Finally, added a bestop bed step and it is great, a little small since I have the dual exhuast setup but very sturdy and tucks up really nicely against the bumper. I almost wish it was a little tighter to it but don't have to worry about it hitting.

mdifilippo · Jun 9, 2017

Had some questions on the grill so I wanted to post more detailed photos of what I did to mount the light bar. I used some aluminum flat bar and bent one piece into a simple 90 degree angle bracket which I then riveted directly to the grill surround. I then used a short straight bar to attach to the new made bracket and the lightbar. This too got riveted. This allows me to slightly adjust the light bar angle but the trim really helps hold it in place (as far as the angle).

(ignore how crappy the paint looks, it's just the light)

mdifilippo · Jun 9, 2017

It was gorgeous out this morning so decided to black out the mirrors. Makes a huge difference in my opinion. less than 1 can of plasti dip took care of both mirrors and I did a total of 6 coats. I taped off and protected PART of the doors but lesson learned, protect as much of the vehicle as you can from overspray. Took a little while to clean up had to use some clay bar and good old elbow grease to get some of the overspray off.

I did 6 coats, 3 "dust" coats, and 3 "cover" coats. First coat was a dust coat, second coat was a cover and alternated so on. This kept the dip from puddling or getting too thick while making sure to get a good even finish.

Before

After

Taped off

First dust coat

Second coat and so on.

mdifilippo · Jun 13, 2017

the blackout work continues... Did both bumpers this morning. I decided to pull the rear one off the truck and then popped off the black plastic so I could spray it best. Was actually really easy to do, hardest part was figuring out how to remove the license plate light housings. There is a metal "key" they use to lock them in place, simply pull it out and out comes the housings.

I took more care in protecting the truck from over spray this time although I think when I touch up in th future I won't need to protect very much. I cut some card stock and used it to protect the fog lights, and used a plastic tarp to protect the painted bumper skin and the hood.

I was thinking of pulling the front bumper off as well BUT looking around online it looks like that is a big ordeal involving having to remove the headlights and so forth.

In total did about 6 coats, and used up about 3 1/2 cans of dip. Next up are wheels and side steps. I MAY leave the exhaust tips or pick up some high heat black once they bother me enough.

DRkNESS · Jun 13, 2017

Looking good over there..

F.O.F

AFMoulton · Jun 13, 2017

So this may be a dumb question, but could you take some pictures of how your fog lights mount behind the bumper?

I have a tradesman bumper and instead of buying a whole new one, I just want to cut my own hole and mount LED's if possible.

Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mdifilippo · Jun 19, 2017

AFMoulton said:
So this may be a dumb question, but could you take some pictures of how your fog lights mount behind the bumper?

I have a tradesman bumper and instead of buying a whole new one, I just want to cut my own hole and mount LED's if possible.

Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I just took a look and I can't clearly see much. I think I'd have to pull down the front valance to see how the fogs are mounted. If you are going to be cutting up your bumper chances are you'll also have the skill to fab up some brackets to mount to SOMETHING back there.

Wanted to just post a quick update, I wanted to control my lightbar via one of the Homelink buttons in the cab, keeps everything looking really clean with no out of place switches. The first reciever I bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JGDV8UM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
seemed great, until I tried to link it to the homelink, no luck.

Found this 4 pack though which I just wired up and works perfectly! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A6VOH9W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now I can turn them on using the remote OR using one homelink button. One press turns on, second press turns off. I now also have 3 more of these to use down the road, may wire up two spots thats came with the LED bar as reverse floods. If I do I'll throw one of these receivers on to trigger them with another button.

Just wanted to document that clearly for anyone looking to use the homelink buttons to trigger any of their lights.

mdifilippo · Jun 20, 2017

Got around to the nerf bars today. Pulled them off and gave each one 4 coats. After looking around more on PlastiDip I decided to ditch my "dust" coat and go for a wetcoat right off the bat, according to a lot of info out there this should produce a smoother finish and hell it did! Only thing left are the wheels but I'll need to order up some more, in total looks like I'll have used about 12 cans by the time this is all done (found a 4 pack on Amazon that I've been ordering).

mdifilippo · Jul 1, 2017

Wheels are going to wait probably until mid to end of July to black out. I'm going to pickup a floor jack, some jack stands and order up some more dip so going to wait and save up a bit for it all.

Today I did my first oil change on her (at just about 2200, after getting some info on here realized I should have done it closer to 1500) 7 quarts of Mobil1 Full Synthetic with a Mobil1 Synthetic oil filter. It was fun to do it my self, a bit of a pain in the @$$ because of the filter location but still beat waiting around at the dealer to get it done and spending a fortune. In total I bought 10 quarts, the filter, oil pan, funnel, filter wrench, and nitrile gloves all for $116, my next oil change will cost all of $36 for another 5 quarts of oil. So I'm happy.

After doing that I decided to wash and do a quick detail on the truck as well. Foamed her up with chemical guys citrus soap, cleaned her all up, and then finished it off butting out some butter wax with my Torq 10FX DA.

brianw0048 · Jul 4, 2017

Looks good!

for what it's worth...the mirrors on my big horn were chrome caps. I peeled off the chrome and had a nice black mirror underneath.

kiloRAM · Jul 4, 2017

Man, that is looking really good! :favorites13:

At some point, I plan on adding amber lights to my grill, and a light bar in the bumper. Never thought about controlling them with the Homelink buttons. That is really a good idea.

Only problem, wife thinks I'm trying to muck up my truck every time I'm looking at lights, vinyl, wheels, or etc. I ordered my truck, so according to her, it should be exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, the tires aren't quite big enough and amber lights and light bars were not available as options.

Think I am finally sold on the Pedal Commander.

Keep up the good work. You're truck is pretty sweet!

Steve

mdifilippo · Jul 4, 2017

brianw0048 said:
Looks good!

for what it's worth...the mirrors on my big horn were chrome caps. I peeled off the chrome and had a nice black mirror underneath.

I was thinking about trying to pop them off, spray them, and pop them back on but I didn't want to risk it, interesting though that you were able to just take them off and have ready to go surface underneath. I figured it wouldn't be solid under there.

kiloRAM said:
Man, that is looking really good!

At some point, I plan on adding amber lights to my grill, and a light bar in the bumper. Never thought about controlling them with the Homelink buttons. That is really a good idea.

Only problem, wife thinks I'm trying to muck up my truck every time I'm looking at lights, vinyl, wheels, or etc. I ordered my truck, so according to her, it should be exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, the tires aren't quite big enough and amber lights and light bars were not available as options.

Think I am finally sold on the Pedal Commander.

Keep up the good work. You're truck is pretty sweet!

Steve

Thanks Steve! I get the most compliments on the grill for sure. I'm trying to get all my truck work done while I'm single so I don't have to answer to anyone haha. The pedal commander is amazing, a little pricey but honestly once you install it you almost forget it's there, just watch out if you get into someone else's truck to drive, you'll wonder what's wrong with it.

I just got in a 6 pack of black plastidip from Amazon as well as a can of smoke dip, I plan to try smoking out the amber lights on the grill so they don't stick out SO MUCH with all the black. I'm going to pick up a harbor freight floor jack and set of jack stands so I can pull the wheels to spray them. Probably get the wheels done by end of July.

DRkNESS · Jul 4, 2017

^^^. I sent you a message as far as where you are located. I have a set of jack stands and a jack that I am not using that's like New that you are more then welcome to have. My days of jacking vehicles up are over lol.

mdifilippo · Jul 4, 2017

Hey Darkness, yeah I saw that I'm in 07755 right on the central coast. Looks like just shy of about 2 hours. Appreciate the offer though! Would love to drive down that way though seems like there would be some nice spots to drive out there. May have to plan a little day trip in the end of the summer.

DRkNESS · Jul 4, 2017

You are always welcome to my home to shoot the breeze with. Plus we have a Motorsports track here that's extremely popular with all of the high end car owners. They may be farmers out here, but they are farmers with tons of cash lol.

brianw0048 · Jul 4, 2017

mdifilippo said:
I was thinking about trying to pop them off, spray them, and pop them back on but I didn't want to risk it, interesting though that you were able to just take them off and have ready to go surface underneath. I figured it wouldn't be solid under there.

Mine were caps and you could tell pretty easy. Held on with 3 strips of tape.

The chrome tailgate handle was the same.

derhicks · Jul 5, 2017

Looks real good!

zflat · Jul 6, 2017

Your truck looks great man! I've been looking at options for reverse lighting and that Opt7 looks light enough like and super clean. Anyway you can post a close up of how it works with the spare tire lowering hole? Watching your video looks like you went right over it, but I saw you said you can still lower it.

mdifilippo · Jul 7, 2017

zflat said:
Your truck looks great man! I've been looking at options for reverse lighting and that Opt7 looks light enough like and super clean. Anyway you can post a close up of how it works with the spare tire lowering hole? Watching your video looks like you went right over it, but I saw you said you can still lower it.

I've got a busy weekend starting tomorrow (i'm an event photographer with gigs Friday and Saturday) so I'll get a picture when I can for sure. The bar has a little bit of play in it so I started it where I wanted it on the driver side and then slightly "bent" it upward closer to the passenger side so its slightly above the spare tire hole. I'm sure if I had to force my way through it a few times (thinking more than 2 or 3) it would start to pull off the truck but I tried after I did it and was able to angle it in correctly.

I have also heard of people pulling off the plastic ring around it to get themselves a little bit more clearance, this would also allow the light bar to sit flat BUT will likely chip the paint away on the exposed edge when you drop the tire. When you go to place it try using some tape (painters tape should work well enough) to temporarily put it up and then grab the bar and see how you can position it for the best results.

As far as the light, it's awesome. Really bright, looks great from the back and when you throw it in reverse it throws a TON of light behind you. I was going to add some reverse floods but its unnecessary. I can light up a totally dark driveway enough to EASILY get a clear image on my rear view camera at night.

zflat · Jul 9, 2017

mdifilippo said:
I've got a busy weekend starting tomorrow (i'm an event photographer with gigs Friday and Saturday) so I'll get a picture when I can for sure. The bar has a little bit of play in it so I started it where I wanted it on the driver side and then slightly "bent" it upward closer to the passenger side so its slightly above the spare tire hole. I'm sure if I had to force my way through it a few times (thinking more than 2 or 3) it would start to pull off the truck but I tried after I did it and was able to angle it in correctly.

I have also heard of people pulling off the plastic ring around it to get themselves a little bit more clearance, this would also allow the light bar to sit flat BUT will likely chip the paint away on the exposed edge when you drop the tire. When you go to place it try using some tape (painters tape should work well enough) to temporarily put it up and then grab the bar and see how you can position it for the best results.

As far as the light, it's awesome. Really bright, looks great from the back and when you throw it in reverse it throws a TON of light behind you. I was going to add some reverse floods but its unnecessary. I can light up a totally dark driveway enough to EASILY get a clear image on my rear view camera at night.

Awesome, thanks for the info! My line-x goes down where the bar will apply, and they bedlined over the ring, so I doubt I could get it off if I wanted to. I'm also thinking I might want to add additional adhesive being that I'm applying the light to a rougher surface.

2017 Laramie Crew Cab

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Junior Member

Member

Senior Member

Member

Similar threads

Forum statistics

Share this page