Justin: Hey, what's up guys, Justin with AmericanTrucks.com, and welcome to another
installment of our Customer Build Series. A series of videos where we chat with different
customers from all over the country about their trucks and all of their modifications.
We'll talk about what they like, maybe what they don't like, what they plan on adding
in the future. And hey, maybe give you guys some ideas for your trucks at home.
Today, we're talking to a gentleman from the west coast from the Seattle area,
David Sweeney, about his 2019 Velocity blue EcoBoost truck,
very clean, the front end really grabbed my attention on our site, as you guys can see.
And yeah, I'm really excited to talk to him today about his truck. So if you guys want a complete
breakdown of David's modifications, go ahead and check out his Build page back on the site. Or if
you're watching this on YouTube, go ahead and click on that link below. Let's say hi to Dave.
Justin:
All right, good to see you.
David: Yeah, you too.
Justin: So listen, Dave, thanks again for joining me today,
brother. Appreciate it. And let's talk about your 2019 Velocity blue, is that a 2.7 or a 3.5 Eco?
David: That's a 2.7.
Justin: 2.7, that's a peppy motor isn't it?
David: I loved it. And that's really the motor that I was looking for
when I bought the truck. I know you talk a lot about V8s and sound,
I totally hear you on that. But I wanted gas mileage, and it's fast. I think it's plenty fast.
Justin: Listen, I think the EcoBoost engine is a formidable opponent here. It does it all. It's
quick, it tows great. It's solid on gas. I mean for a truck. Yeah, the only thing it lacks in is
sound, which in your truck instead of changing out the entire exhaust, you just did the tip, correct?
David: Yeah, I put the tip on. I just didn't like how it looked stock. I look on American
Trucks for the exhaust upgrades and I listen and I think about, but I haven't done it yet.
Justin: Oh, that's okay. You know, let's talk about the
front of the truck. I always like to start up front because especially in your case,
I feel like it's definitely not a stock F150 and you've done some recent modifications.
Let's start with the front end. Let's start with the grille,
let's start with the bumper, the hood decals because it totally transformed the truck.
David: It really does. It makes it look so much different than a stock truck.
And that's really what I wanted. I was driving around in that stock F150 And I
thought well this is really nice, but I look like every other F150.
Starting off on that front end is really just taken out the headlights and the grille
and you know putting that all together and then I added the bumper later.
Justin: You just went right to the best headlights at least in my opinion. The
Morimoto XPS are some of the nicest ones out there. How do you like those?
David: Oh, those are outstanding. They're expensive, but they're well worth it. I
am really happy with the light because it was so dim on the F150. And we live on a very windy road
and I was noticing that the stock lights just weren't lighting up
the road the way I wanted even with the, you know, stock fog lights on.
So that was one of the best upgrades I think I made and they just look killer.
I love the sequential turn signals as you put them on, the brightness is just awesome. I do
worry about blinding other people because it's a four inch lip. So coming up behind people,
so I'm still dialing that down to make sure I'm not you know, blinding people from behind.
Justin: Yeah, that's good you point that out. Because a lot of times people just
throw in new headlights and just go, but no those are great headlights. And I always
like the little startup feature or whatever that has when you lock or unlock the truck.
David: Oh yeah, it puts on a little light display for you.
Justin: Now with the hood you did both the SEC 10, the hood accent decal there
in the center and also on the side. How was your experience with that?
David: Oh my gosh, I love the look. But if I had to do it over again, get a buddy to help
you because I almost ruined it, especially the big one in the middle. But I think I recovered it and
got it on straight and got it the way I wanted it. So, but next time, definitely get a buddy to help.
Justin: You know we always make it look easy in the videos, but you're right, it's one of those
things, especially if you're doing outside and it's a little windy then God help you.
It looks like you did like the off road style front bumper there with the light. You mentioned
the back road, those lights really I bet light up the night when you do use them, right?
David: Oh, absolutely. You've talked about the
challenge sometimes of putting lights on the front. It's nice to have that opening
in that bumper so you can put in...I want to say that's a 28 inch light bar on the bottom.
Justin: Yeah, I think it's a 20, a 28 up front and then you get the two,
three inch cubes on the side. Correct?
David: Exactly. Yeah, so it's nice that it has all that space for it.
Justin: I mean those with the Morimoto headlights,
I imagine you're probably blinding all the deer out there in Seattle.
David: Yeah, exactly. You know it's definitely not for on road use,
only in the darkest of environments with no one else coming, but it's
great off road. You just really see the roads and trails where you going.
Justin: You know, and it's such a silly thing to point out but I love it.
It's always the first thing I do on my truck is I get rid of the goofy antenna, like the
huge one and I put on the little stubby like you have. It makes such a big difference, doesn't it?
David: Oh, totally just the look. And you know, I can't go in parking garages anymore with the
4-inch lip, but at least when it was standard, that antenna poked up above the hood and it
would rub on stuff and you're thinking, "Oh my gosh, am I gonna run the top of the truck into
some type of, you know, underground thing." But I just like that small antenna that just looks
unobtrusive and it's better than that thing waving around in the wind.
Justin: I agree. Now how's your reception been? Have you lost
a lot of reception with that or not really?
David: No, I have not found any reception issues whatsoever. I have found no problems at all.
I suppose if you lived in a bad reception area you might want to test it out with and without,
to see if it's an upgrade that you like. For me, it worked out just fine and I get great reception.
Justin: I'm glad to hear that, plus it looks a hell of a lot better too.
You mentioned the Rough Country lift. Okay, and that sets the table for those beautiful fuel
contra wheels, 20 inches wrapped in the Falken Wildpeak tires. You said -18, I believe?
David: -18. So that gave me...
I think about a two and a half inch poke, maybe something like that outside the truck.
Justin: And you said you did have to make some modifications, correct?
David: Yeah, I did. There's a bar on the front of the F150,
I could not get that thing off. So I had to take it to an automotive shop that deals in metal. I
just couldn't abide the look with those bars sticking out. It just wasn't going to happen.
Justin: Well, that's a great point too. With your bumper being what it is,
the off road, the HD off road, the way it kind of kicks up those things. The crash bars are
now visible once you know that bumpers on, correct?
David: Oh, yeah, they were sticking out. And I didn't know how it would
look when I put the bumper on so that was something I had to go and get done.
Justin: But hey, it looks great. And then what do
you think about those Wildpeak tires, like how those ride?
David: It's really interesting. I have them bead balanced.
Justin: They feel like little, beads, like little BBs, right?
David: Exactly. So they go to the balance points of the wheels and the tires where they're needed
for the first eight tenths of a mile, and you'll really hear a loud noise from those tires, but I
think it's the bead settling. And then once you're rolling, then all of a sudden it gets really quiet
and I'm really pleased with how quiet those tires are, with still a pretty aggressive look.
They're not the greatest in rain for Seattle, I have found. If you put the pedal down
with that 2.7, it'll spin the tires really easily. So I wish they had a little bit better traction.
But I can modify that, either going four wheel drive or just know if I'm going up the hill or
something like that, you just can't really mash the pedal or you're going to lose traction.
Justin: Yeah, it's what happens. You got no weight in the back. You got a torquey motor like the 2.7,
it's just bound to happen you know, but like you said, if it really gets to that point,
you can just throw it in four, you know, auto four high, whatever.
David: Well there's the transmission setting you can put it in a you know, rain and snow setting.
It really dials down the acceleration though, on purpose, obviously. So I generally avoid that,
I like normal driving or the Sport mode. Sport mode, it just kicks, it's great.
Justin: It's a rocket right? It's crazy how much it shifts everything.
Well talking about those aggressive fitments,
the -18s of the fuel wheels, you cover them up with the Rough Country flares.
I believe that's what you went with. How's your experience been with those?
David: Great, I like them. You know, I get a lot of comments, "Is that a Raptor?" I
don't know how many times I've heard that question. And I think it's probably due to the
Ford logo on the front. But anyone that owns a Raptor knows that they already have the built in
wheel flair. So anyone that knows the truck knows, okay, that's not a Raptor, it's just,
you know, a Rough Country flare that helps protect the truck, and really keeps it a lot cleaner
than when I just had the wheels poking out, the wheels and tires poking out originally.
I drove around probably,
oh, 2000 miles without them. And it really made a difference putting those on.
Justin: That's awesome. Very cool. Well, let's move to the back. Because again,
you got some stuff going on. We talked a little bit about
the MBRP tip already. But you got the back industry is the MX4, the backflip,
which is just probably one of my favorite tri folds on the site. How do you like that thing?
David: I had several choices. As you know, I could go with a soft cover,
go with the backflip and I just liked the look. You know, when I'm driving behind a truck with a
soft cover and I see that thing flapping around, I think I don't want that look. And so I went with a
hardcover, I like that you can throw something up on top of it and not worry about it. And
it's super easy to use, you do lose a little bit of storage if you have to fold it all the way up
to your rear window. But they're pretty good. They include the foam protection,
and you apply that and make sure it's not banging on in your back window.
Yeah, there are times when I'm hauling around a bunch of stuff in back and you trifold that thing
out of the way and it only takes 15 seconds. And then it's out of the way. You lose some rear view
out of your back window. But that's what your side mirrors are for.
Justin: There you go. Well and then you also tie that together with barricades, Tailgate Assist,
it's such a, again, it's kind of like that stubby antenna, it's such a little thing
that maybe most people won't even notice. But using it day to day, it's just a nice thing.
David: It's an STX model. If you just drop it, man, it's you know, kaboom. And putting that
on is just great. You just pull that handle and down it comes. So I know some of the more
expensive models of the F150s. They have like a power tailgate, you can just hit a button and
that thing will lower down. So I don't have that obviously. But if I can just get that back handle
and let that thing lower down. Especially if you have something big that you're going to load on
the back of your truck or something. It's nice not to have to lower it down by hand. I like that.
Justin: I agree. And it's such a simple add two bolt install,
probably takes you, you know, no more than a few minutes. And yeah,
it's one of those little convenience mods that I just think goes a long way.
David: Well, I read a lot of readers comments, and I figured out how to get the ring on there and the
little retaining pin and that's really helpful on American Trucks. When you have people written in
about their install experiences and I learned ahead of time make sure you do this and this
and get this thing situated right, then put the retaining pin in and you won't have a problem with
it. If you tried to do the other way, it's not going to fit or you're going to break the thing.
Justin: Let's move inside the truck because you got a, it looked like the WeatherTech Floor
Liners going on, you had the DU-HA storage box underneath and also the Locker Up safe
in the center console. You got no stone unturned there. I mean, you really utilize
the truck for its purposes and talk about some of the stuff you got going on inside.
David: Oh, it's definitely great to have some level of floor protection, especially when I'm
putting the boat in the water, and you get into the vehicle dripping water out of your shoes.
And those things really soak up a lot of water and keep it where it needs to be
before I can then dump those maps out. They really hold a lot of water. I'm surprised.
As for the center locker, I'm a police officer. So I definitely need place to keep a gun,
and the yeah, under seat storage is great. I was surprised how much room
there is in the backseat, you know, with that SuperCrew. Without that storage,
you could really fit a lot in that back seat. But I decided having an area for my tools,
and you know, my toe straps and everything else that I put under there.
Justin: Well Dave, I think again, we talked about a lot of the stuff going on, you've done a lot of
cool mods, is there any future modifications, you and I kind of loosely talked about the exhaust,
but anything you really have your eye on that you plan on adding to the truck?
David: So yeah, I'm looking to add the carbon fiber,
I have those purchased, and I'm just waiting to apply those
probably when the weather gets nicer. And that'll really dress up the interior more.
You know, I consider whether I really want to upgrade the exhaust or not. I've done
a little bit of work under the hood, I have a five star tune, I have a BDX
tuner box. I put on a custom air filter, and I put the oil catch reservoir under there.
So I didn't show you a picture under the hood, but those are some of the things I've
done under the hood. And I think if I want more performance, obviously adding, you know, either a
sport performance or something that gives better sound. I think it's wife-friendly and neighbor
friendly when I keep just the stock 2.7 and the stock exhaust, but it's something to consider.
If there's one thing that is lacking and I get envious is when I hear
you know a loud truck going by and I go okay,
I could probably match you in speed, buddy, but you're gonna sound a lot better doing it.
Justin: Well, you know what, there's something to be said for kind of flying under the radar. You
know what I mean? But I agree. I mean, listen, there's a ton of great systems out there. And
you and I talked about, you know, one thing here at American Truck to try to install 'em,
try to let you guys hear 'em, so you can make an educated decision.
David: Other than that, I can't think of any more changes I would probably
make to it. It looks unlike any other truck. I get so many compliments on it.
Justin: Dave one question here before we sign off, I ask it to every customer
that we talk to and it's kind of a silly one. So do you have a name for the truck?
David: No, we just call it the truck. Go get in the truck. Hey, I'll drive you up
in the truck. Yeah, I'll pull the boat out with the truck. So it's just the truck.
Justin: It's just the truck. There's nothing wrong with that. Well, it's a beautiful
The Truck. You know, and you really did a good job with it. And listen,
man and keep doing your thing. Stay safe. Thanks for protecting and serving your
community there. That's awesome. And yeah, man. Absolutely. And yeah, keep having fun.
David: All right. Thanks, Justin.
Justin: All right. Thanks, Dave. Well, there you go, guys, that was Dave and The Truck. Now
I'm a big fan of what Dave's done with his 2019. And what you guys don't know,
Dave and I briefly talked off the record, was that he's had
a lot of trucks in his lifetime. This is the first one he's actually modified. And to me,
it's really cool to see just how much he enjoys it and how he's been bitten by the mod bug.
And you guys all know the feeling right? You get into a new project, you can't wait to start doing
different things. And the payoff is seeing people enjoy the truck, giving you the thumbs up at a red
light, or in Dave's case talking about the guys in the parking garage kind of admiring his 2019.
So it kind of makes it all worth it at the end of the day. And it does,
it puts a smile on your face.
So nice job Dave. Again, this is you know why we do it. We have a lot of fun doing these things
and we enjoy bringing them to you. We hope you enjoy these videos, giving you some ideas for
your F150 at home and again if you want to see more of Dave's F150, check out his Build page
again back at AmericanTrucks.com or just click on that link below in the description on YouTube.
That's gonna wrap us up for today guys, thanks for watching,
and remember for all things F150, keep it right here at AmericanTrucks.com.