Simple 2025 XL AWD Hybrid 4K mods

[Bradley]

Addons to the truck bed.
Bed liner locally through the dealer. Nice job. Mabett tailgate strut.

Mabett hitch cover. Maxzina receiver cover.

Tailgate lock installed.

More to follow as $$$ becomes available.

From a fellow XL owner, looks good!



Something is now missing there! Adding the strut shouldn't mean losing a tie-down point. I made a replacement tie-down for mine.

Works well and clears the new strut and no issues with the cable. Enjoyed making it enough that I keep making more. I have a thread here in the For Sale forum if anyone would like one. Don't lose a tie-down point!

I really like this. You did a great job. I need one for this side since I had to remove the factory one as you did for the soft close strut.

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[Bradley]

Addons to the truck bed.
Bed liner locally through the dealer. Nice job. Mabett tailgate strut.

Mabett hitch cover. Maxzina receiver cover.

Tailgate lock installed.

More to follow as $$$ becomes available.

Question: Noticed you reinstalled of the dealer re-installed the metal bracket with the tailgate lock. I installed my tailgate lock per instructions, had to remove the black bracket on this side, and I don't remember the instructions saying to re-install the bracket. Do you have any clearance issues on this lock side? If not I will try to re-install my bracket and hope it works well.

 

[PacmanROMAD]

I bought the tailgate lock through the dealer and they installed it. So I'm not sure how they did the actual work to get both the lock and the OEM bracket on. I was worried about clearance before I took it back in for the install. Apparently it all fits, just not sure if they actually took the bracket off to install the lock????? To me there looks to be at least 1/16" clearance and have felt no binding or scraping noises. Sorry can't be more specific.

 

[PacmanROMAD]

since I had to remove the factory one as you did for the soft close strut.

The fixed tiedown is probably way better than my solution. Especially since he uses steel and both of the bolts. I believe he sells them for a reasonable price. The tiedowns I used are rated at 1K lbs and since I don't need them very often nor for very heavy cargo. Plus I like that it lays flat when not in use. I also liked having all the other tiedowns that came in the package to give more points on the bed side.

 

[Bradley]

I bought the tailgate lock through the dealer and they installed it. So I'm not sure how they did the actual work to get both the lock and the OEM bracket on. I was worried about clearance before I took it back in for the install. Apparently it all fits, just not sure if they actually took the bracket off to install the lock????? To me there looks to be at least 1/16" clearance and have felt no binding or scraping noises. Sorry can't be more specific.

Very good, thank you. I will try today to re-install the bracket. The instructions didn't say to re-install it or maybe I missed that part. Either way, I never tried but will now. Thanks again for posting.

 

[PacmanROMAD]

Today's project was to add a screen protector to the main screen. Install was pretty straight forward and instructions were good. Just took extra care when cleaning. Used windex first then all the products that came with the kit. Only complaint was the alignment tape was a little weak so it pulled off the dash on the first try. Second try was 1,2,3 and it was done. All the bubbles worked out very easy and it seems pretty clear and no degradation in touch. Was worried about the bottom section for the AC fan etc. Seems good to go. So far pretty happy.

Update: Out in the sun with polarized sunglasses on, there is some polarization shadowing at the far side of the screen. Not debilitating just a result of my sunglass interaction with the screen. No impact with regular or no glasses on. To be fair, these glasses have always conflicted with polarized glass, even the factory side windows on certain vehicles. Just wanted to be transparent.

Just did my new iPhone screen and now this pretty happy as I'm 2 for 2 on dust free screen protectors.

Amazon product I found referenced on a YouTube video or maybe here. AMZ Mav Screen Protector
Package

Complete with screen on

Alignment tape removed. Two bubbles on left side that pressed right out. NP

 

[Escapologist]

I think I have used and bought almost every mod out there for my 25 Lariat. Latest things came in today. Hub wheel center covers... Just slapped over the Ford label.

Where did those come from? I might end up with some pretty random rims for winters, Volvo, Land Rover or something, so those might go over their centers rather than having to buy Ford caps.

 

[Hoodlove]

Where did those come from? I might end up with some pretty random rims for winters, Volvo, Land Rover or something, so those might go over their centers rather than having to buy Ford caps.

I had them made on Etsy. They had the right measurements for this and many others.. I just showed them a Google image and told them the colors I wanted and it was like 20 bucks.

 

[Escapologist]

I had them made on Etsy. They had the right measurements for this and many others.. I just showed them a Google image and told them the colors I wanted and it was like 20 bucks.

Cool, thanks, I might get the oldschool Maverick roundel then or something if I need them.

 

[Bradley]

I bought the tailgate lock through the dealer and they installed it. So I'm not sure how they did the actual work to get both the lock and the OEM bracket on. I was worried about clearance before I took it back in for the install. Apparently it all fits, just not sure if they actually took the bracket off to install the lock????? To me there looks to be at least 1/16" clearance and have felt no binding or scraping noises. Sorry can't be more specific.

Thank you.

 

[PacmanROMAD]

Adds for this week.
- Re-positioned D-rings on side wall of the bed.

What should have been a 10 minute job took 6 hours due to a junk tap. I was chasing threads due to the spray in bed liner. Finally got it out but banged up some of the threads. Luckily I was able to thread in a bolt and tighten it down. Since I had lots of M8 1.25x25 bolts I went ahead and filled the remaining points to protect the threads etc.
- Tools of the week.

Taps on left . You can see the one that failed.
Torx plus . So nice that the fastener doesn't get wallowed out. Apparently I can't take a set of photos with out including one or more of my feet. Sorry.

- Added LED for cargo and upper stop lights.

Top are flash stop Amz Flashing Stop
Bottom are cargo Amz Cargo Bulb
old

New

Old stop

New stop

 

[PacmanROMAD]

Installed the Mabett under body shield. Overall fit and finish were good. Some concerns during install, since the rear most part ends up pressing against the black steel piece at the bumper. The spacing seemed to be minimized by the time I get it all tightened up. Just difficult getting the bolts started into the supplied brackets. Very pleased with it though.
On a side note, this is the first vehicle I have ever owned that I could crawl underneath with out putting on a jack. While I'm too rotund to get under the middle, getting to the back corner was no problem for this mod.

 

[PacmanROMAD]

Todays update:

Decided it was time to use the 12 volt pigtail that came with the truck so I added an Amazon bed cubby with USB and accessory power on the driver side. The storage bin is cheaper alternative and only uses the original 4 bolts. Seems decent only time will tell, but I chose it because it was cheaper in case I didn't get the rest of the project correct. AMZ Storage Bin This one had a lock built in, not that it matters too much since it all made of plastic. Install was no big deal, though it is sensitive to alignment/spacing and needs to be installed with the door in place to ensure that it door doesn't bind on the edges.

I had seen a couple of folks that added accessory and USB ports that had deep cylinder profiles with a large diameter lock nut. I also read that it was kind of a pain to secure them to the storage box because of the depth. I used a flatter USB port with a normal accessory port. This way I only had to use a screwdriver to tighten the one port instead of both. The surrounds are bolted to the sides with 3mm machine screws, washers, and nuts. Side note these should have probably been 4mm instead. (Either way I have stoopidly bought a box of assorted 3mm and have a gazillion extra itty bitty pieces). AMZ USB Port The USB port has 2 type C and 1 type A with port lights as well as a switch to power off. Granted the circuit is already fused I just wanted the power capability. It also has a door to cover the ports. AMZ Accessory Port Accessory port was simple generic item.

Installed and all powered up. Getting the accessory port in was the difficult part of this project. I also wrapped the wires and connectors with cloth tape and head shrink on the ends to help protect it all. AMZ Wire Tape Since I have the body shield splash back should be minimal. Running the GPS off the accessory port, iPhone and AirPods on the USB ports.

 

[PacmanROMAD]

Well this time it's all about the plastic stuff. But first, I hit the first 1K miles after 4 months of ownership. Yes I know, I don't drive very much anymore. But I'm really happy with the 38 mpg I've gotten so far.

Bought the Maxina Drain Grills AMZ Grills . These fit fine for me, didn't realize there was already a rubber flap on both sides. So just adds some support and another layer of filtering.

Mabett trash can AMZ Trash Can . Fits fine, just a nice little add on.

Mabett under seat storage AMZ Underseat . Fits just fine, not sure how useful the manual seat version of this really is since it's not very large. Won't even hold a mini umbrella. More to follow as I figure out what to put in here.

Picked up some tri-fold aluminum ramps from Harbor Freight. Heavier than I thought they'd be but they work fine. Used them to do my first truck thing (woo hoo) when I had to take the snow blower in.

Well that's all for now. Slowly plodding along.

 

[PacmanROMAD]

Been a while since I sent an update. Bought a no name console divider AMZ Console Divider. For a off-brand item it works just fine. I was kind of unaware just how deep the console was! The divider creates 3 separate storage areas.

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