Nice work all around Matt!

And just FYI.....the grey Carhartt seat covers were one of the best things I did to the truck. They're washable and dryable, and they don't shrink.
If you decide to buy them, don't do it from the manufacturer's website. There's an EBay seller called "blackslatebrands" out of Austin, Texas, that not only discounts, but when I bought mine I didn't want the console/jump seat cover, so he custom ordered just the two front bucket covers, and reduced the price accordingly.

 

Nice work all around Matt!

And just FYI.....the grey Carhartt seat covers were one of the best things I did to the truck. They're washable and dryable, and they don't shrink.
If you decide to buy them, don't do it from the manufacturer's website. There's an EBay seller called "blackslatebrands" out of Austin, Texas, that not only discounts, but when I bought mine I didn't want the console/jump seat cover, so he custom ordered just the two front bucket covers, and reduced the price accordingly.

That's good to know, especially since my dad does construction and painting and will probably ruin those covers within the 1st year. But at least I can offset purchasing the carhart covers until then.

 

Man, I thought you had the ford for a work truck. Nice rig!

 

Man, I thought you had the ford for a work truck. Nice rig!

Gavin, I have the F250 as well. This truck was to replace a van we had in the fleet.

 

Matt, I wish I had a son like you! That's nice.

 

Matt, I wish I had a son like you! That's nice.

Thank you. We're very close, and I figured that I would also modify the truck (in his best interest) but the way I would like to have it if it were mine. The truck already stands out because of how rare it is to find in this configuration, so I might as well make it stand out a bit more.

 

So I had a few minutes this evening so I decided to install the vent visors I picked up off of amazon. Originally they were $48.xx but there was a set on amazon warehouse under "acceptable" condition for $15 and it said it came repackaged. I figured I'd take the gamble, and I could always reapply the 3M tape if needed. So they came in and there was nothing wrong with them, just a piece of tape on one of them and a smudge on another. So after a quick wipe down they were ready to install.

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Gotta love those warehouse deals. Most of the time it has worked out well for me too.

 

Gotta love those warehouse deals. Most of the time it has worked out well for me too.

Neal, you gotta love them. I've picked up a few things here and there, and have always been happy with my purchase.

 

So another package came in today, so I had to spend a few minutes on the truck. Today's projects were to upgrade the dome lights and the reverse lights.

The stock dome lights are incredibly dim so I purchased some 42mm Canbus Festoon style LED bulbs and replaced the original bulbs. This way they wont have that slight glow when the are not in use, and they are not polarity sensitive. What a difference over the original bulbs.

Next was the backup bulbs. Since I have the Boost Auto Parts mirrors on the truck, I wanted to make the reverse bulbs match, so I purchased a set of Luyed 1700 Lumen LED bulbs for the reverse housings. As you can see the bulb is slightly larger but there is plenty of room for it in the housing

Super bright white light

Stock bulb on the drivers side, and LED on the passenger. The color difference and intensity is clear (even in the daylight)

Both bulbs installed

Next: Thinking LED License plate bulbs then going to go for the headlights/high beams.

 

Another day, another project. Since the sierra is a "Work Truck" trim it didn't have a backup camera, and for such a large vehicle it certainly is a help. So that was today's project. I purchased an OEM style camera that is in the tailgate trim bezel and a rear view mirror with integrated LCD monitor.

1st I had to remove the tailgate and drill a hole into the bottom to allow the wiring from the camera to pass through.

So to keep the bare metal from rusting in the long run I sprayed some rubberized undercoating in and around the hole to cover everything up.

To help get the wiring from the camera through the hole, I used an old antenna that I have modified to use as a "pokey" device. Just pushed it though the hole up to the handle, taped the wiring to the end, and fished it back through the bottom.

Finished result of the bottom of the tailgate:

Since the truck also does not come with a lock on the tailgate I used a carriage bolt to plug the lock cylinder hole for the time being, so at quick glance nothing looks out of place. I have a Bolt Brand Tailgate lock on order and I will install that when it gets delivered to finish everything for good.

Image of the rear view mirror when the truck is in reverse. So far it looks pretty good. My only complaint right now is that the image is pretty dim, but that may be a direct result of the lack of tinted windows in the truck as well. After it gets tinted I will see how things look, and may replace the mirror with another. [also something visible in the rear view mirror that Neal will appreciate - lol ]

 

Question did you buy an OEM tailgate bezel with camera or an aftermarket? Every aftermarket one I look at has terrible reviews (Amazon el'cheapos) Trying to find an OEM kit for my 2012 LT -- There is a supposedlyOEM kit one over here on CHEVROLET SILVERADO OEM Integrated Tailgate Handle Rear-View Camera | Buy | Cameras | Car Integrations for $234.00... What I really want to know is if the OEM is the best choice over an Aftermarket one when it all boils down to visual clarity and longevity of the camera!

 

I see that Akorn! haha

Just curious...are you discussing each of these mods with your dad and is he all on board with them or are you just adding stuff and telling him "look dad...added something else for you!"?

Maybe you could get ahold of an OEM rear view mirror if it can be wired to connect to the aftermarket camera. Mine is a bit smaller picture I think, but the picture is very bright. More so than the larger screen on my Eonon radio head unit so I use the mirror more in the daytime in some situations and the radio screen at night is plenty bright.

 

Neal, I gave him a basic rundown of the things that I wanted to do with the truck to get his opinion on them. The seat upgrade, mirrors, camera, all cool. I've been tossing the idea of a 6 inch lift with some 37's and he starts to go crazy about the thought, saying it's a work truck and he doesn't need it! Lol.

I'll look into the oem mirror and see if it can be wired to accept an aftermarket camera, because that would help tremendously.

Btw, I was cooking a few racks of ribs on the akorn while doing the Installation.

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Had to do some work at a friend's house so I snapped a quick pic... I think tint is necessary and next on the list.

 

Brought the truck to the dealership yesterday because of an intermittent squeal upon startup that sounded like the serpentine belt or pulley. But it only happened a few times when it was really cool out overnight (around 50's), and it hasn't done it in the past few days because its been very warm during the day and overnight. So when I told the service advisor about everything I figured that they would say that they cannot duplicate the issue and send me on my way. Well, to my surprise I got a call saying that they replaced the belt, as they were able to replicate the noise upon startup.

I was surprised to say the least... Figured i will have them do anything and everything that can be done to the truck while I can get them to pay for it, since its easier on my wallet and hands.

 

Wow...that is pretty surprising they would swap a belt out at no charge on an older used truck after the sale. I guess they are thinking you will be adding to the fleet for some other family member or yourself and want to be in your good graces! Nice either way.

 

40 bucks for the steps??? Around here you need to add another zero to the end to get some. :roll:

Nice loooooong truck, BTW.

 

Wow...that is pretty surprising they would swap a belt out at no charge on an older used truck after the sale. I guess they are thinking you will be adding to the fleet for some other family member or yourself and want to be in your good graces! Nice either way.

I don't know the exact reason, but I am not complaining at all. I did mention to them that I used to be a service advisor way back in the day (which is true) and they know that I am familiar with vehicles and working on them, or that I have deep pockets??? Especially since they already saw me there with my Blue 1500 and I had my Infiniti there at the time of drop off. Either way - I don't care as long as they fix what needs to be done, on a truck that I have on our possession for a bit over 2 weeks.

40 bucks for the steps??? Around here you need to add another zero to the end to get some. :roll:

Nice loooooong truck, BTW.

Yeah, it was a nice score. They seller was thrilled to get rid of them and I was up for the gamble at the time (since I didn't have the truck yet). I was actually looking at another listing on FB marketplace for (2) different sets of OEM steps off of crew cabs, all for $50. The seller was very arrogant in the listing, but I figured for that price, I don't care. Use the one set that I like better and sell the other set for the same $50 and score free steps for the truck? Why not? So I messaged him, and waited a few days... No response, so that's when I messaged the seller from the steps that I currently have. Within an hour of messaging the person, I had them back at home. Over week later I got a message back from the seller of the 2 sets of steps. I told him that I am no longer interested because I purchased another set. Then he gave me some attitude and said that they are available if I change my mind...

At the time I type this, they are still available for sale - for $50.

 

Man. Seems like longer than two weeks. I guess Covid time passes slow. haha.

I looked back at your initial pictures and recalled thinking the belt looked pretty off colored in the pic.

 

Truck is looking good..

Yeah the tint will be good ..

Theres a Denali Grill for sale that would look good on ur truck....
It's on the for sale section..

I have one on my truck they look good

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Man. Seems like longer than two weeks. I guess Covid time passes slow. haha.

I looked back at your initial pictures and recalled thinking the belt looked pretty off colored in the pic.

Yeah, it looked a little bit discolored but it really looked worse in the pictures than in person. At least it was a quick and cheap fix on my end because if I was to do the repair I would have gone all out and replaced the pulleys as well. Figure that I am already in there, just do it once and be done.

Truck is looking good..

Yeah the tint will be good ..

Theres a Denali Grill for sale that would look good on ur truck....
It's on the for sale section..

I have one on my truck they look good

Sent from my SM-A102U1 using Tapatalk

I saw that listing and thought about it, but I didn't know if it was something I want to do, especially since I want to do a black set of wheels for the summer and the aluminum wheels for the winter. Figured I might leave the massive amount of chrome for my blue truck.

 

So I got a set of Sealight X2 H11 Led bulbs for the truck in the mail today and I was going to install them tonight until I realized how much of a pain it was going to be, since it wasn't going to be as straight forward as anticipated.

I knew I was going to have to remove the air box to get to the passenger side bulb. So far no big deal. What threw me off (because I forgot) was the 2nd battery on the drivers side. I am going to have to remove that as well to gain access to the back of the drivers side head lamp housing.

None of this is that big of a deal to do, but now I am thinking that I should just get the high beam bulbs and replace everything while I am removing parts to gain access to the housings.

 

None of this is that big of a deal to do, but now I am thinking that I should just get the high beam bulbs and replace everything while I am removing parts to gain access to the housings.

Might as well. That's what I did with my NNBS. Saves the trouble of doing the removal twice. I actually changed the whole headlights on it while I was in there. :lol:

 

None of this is that big of a deal to do, but now I am thinking that I should just get the high beam bulbs and replace everything while I am removing parts to gain access to the housings.

Might as well. That's what I did with my NNBS. Saves the trouble of doing the removal twice. I actually changed the whole headlights on it while I was in there. :lol:

Also add the variables of me being on the shorter side and the truck is very large to make things more interesting.

 

Called the tint shop that I deal with and made an appointment to get the truck some tint work. Nothing fancy but I am thinking 20% on the back doors and back window, plus a tint strip. This way when we have tools/equipment in the back of the truck it will be harder to see and it wont be like driving around in a fishbowl. Now we just have to wait another week so we can drop it off.