So, you just picked up that brand-new Ford Lightning and you've got the itch to do your first
round of modifications. Well, friend, you have come to the right place because in today's video,
we're gonna show you five mods that you can do right now without having to wait for any
Lightning-specific parts. Now, a big reason this is all possible is that besides powertrain,
the Lightning does actually share a lot in common physically with its gas-powered
brother. So, that does allow for a little crossover when we're talking about parts.
Now, with that being said, if you don't have a Lightning and you just have a regular gas-powered
'21 and newer F-150, well, then all of the parts that we're talking about here today will
also apply to you as well. So, enough of the pleasantries, let's check out our first part.
First up, guys, we have a small, but I would argue very functional modification for the
inside of your Lightning and that is a set of floor liners. Now, not just any floor liners,
but in this case the Roush by WeatherTech DigitalFit front and rear liners for the mid $200
price point here on the site. Now, some of the modern trucks do come with a rubber liner from the
factory or from Ford. That wasn't our case here, guys. Ours came with just traditional carpet mats,
and, well, you know the deal with those, right? They look filthy after about 100 miles and they
offer zero coverage. Now, what a liner such as the Roush is going to do is extend that coverage. As
you can see, we got coverage from the door sill to what used to be the trans tunnel,
all the way underneath the pedals and even back underneath the seat a little bit.
What makes that even better is that you got some nice, deep channels, some kind of,
you know, reservoir if you will, here on the mat. So, if you are working on a
snowy or muddy day or you drop your coffee, the mess is gonna stay on the mat itself,
it's not gonna get on your carpet. And when it comes time to clean things off,
just simply yank 'em out, hose 'em off, throw 'em back in, and you're good to go.
Let's look a little bit closer because I'm a big fan here of this material. I
know it's hard to get it crossed on video guys, but a lot of times with these aftermarket mats,
they use kind of a smooth plastic. It gets very slick when things get
wet. That's not the case here at the Roush by WeatherTech. They use a proprietary material,
got a good grippiness to it, and when it gets wet, it retains its grippiness. So,
you're not gonna be doing any awkward splits getting in or out of your truck.
As you can see, guys, you're also getting your factory retention style system. You're getting
the rear mat as well. A lot of coverage back there for the kiddos throwing the
Cheerios and God knows what everywhere else. And again, just really, really great fit out
of the WeatherTech stuff. The Roush plaques, I don't know, I'm a Mustang guy, I'm a Ford guy.
I just really like that Roush name. It's legendary. They look really sharp in here.
And let's be honest, guys, these trucks, they're not cheap. You wanna keep 'em
looking good for many years to come, and investing into a quality liner
such as the Roush by WeatherTech is an easy way to make sure that stays clean.
Don't have to go too far for our next modification, guys. If you look down below,
you'll find the N-Fab Nerf Step in place now of our factory running boards. Full disclosure,
factory running boards, not terrible, right? They actually had a cool little
light built in the back, but what is that lighting up? The rear tire,
whatever. We just don't do stock here. So, that's why we're talking about the N-Fabs.
I really like the Nerf step from N-Fab. Checks two boxes for me, function and form. Let's talk
function first. This is a hybrid of a Nerf bar and a drop step. So, Nerf bar, as you can see here,
is kind of covering up some of the ugly bits underneath the truck, especially for
the Lightning with the battery pack. But more importantly, you're getting the drop step. So,
a lower step, which makes getting into and out of your truck a lot easier, especially
if you've done any suspension work or added bigger tires. Spoiler alert. On top of that, again, it's
just easier for the family, right? Wife, kids, they'll really appreciate something like that.
Now, from a form aspect, they just look awesome, right? The podium name kind of
gives off more of that Baja or trophy truck vibes, and they really do change
the entire attitude of the Lightning here once they were installed. Construction-wise,
you're getting a fully welded steel construction or build. Textured black powder coat, I really
like that a lot. You got these textured steps down here, increasing your traction,
of course. Lifetime warranty on the general workmanship, five-year warranty on that coating.
Now, this is one, guys, you might be able to pass through the wives pretty easily. You know,
you're saying, "Yeah, this is for you, honey. I'm making your life easier getting into and
out of your truck." And if they don't go for it, well, hell, they're only 500 bucks, so,
hopefully, she won't kill you at the end of the day. But honestly, guys, the N-Fab steps,
really big fan. Balance function and form, and definitely change up the look of your Lightning.
Now before the Lightning came along with its fancy, lockable frunk, all truck owners
basically had the bed to store stuff in, and if you wanted to keep that stuff safe, well,
then you had to add some sort of hardcover. The same is still true here with the Lightning. Sure
you have the space up front in your frunk, but if you wanna take trips with the family,
you wanna bring stuff and keep stuff safe in the back, well,
then adding a hard cover such as Barricade's Low Profile Tri-Fold Cover is gonna be a great way to
make sure your stuff stays in the bed. A lot to like about this affordable quality cover,
heavy-duty aluminum panels, guys, aluminum rails as well, aircraft-grade, very, very sturdy.
On top of that, it does feature that popular tri-fold design. I love it. I've only had
tri-folds on all my trucks. I like the ability to access the bed quickly just
simply by folding things up and out of the way. And with the Barricade, you can actually fold it
up against the rear window. They include some legs to make sure it stays put. And that way
if you have to get maybe a load of mulch dumped into the bed or haul a big couch,
it's easy to access in a moment's notice. You don't have to remove the entire cover,
which you do have to do with some other tri-fold options out there.
Now, you're looking at right around 800 bucks just north of for the Barricade option. And
when you start getting into quality tri-fold covers, you'll notice that
this is pretty appealing in the land of some of those nicer tri-folds. Some of your other
options out there are easily eclipsing the $1000 mark, but this one I think easily compares with
some of those bigger name options and does pack some pretty solid bells and whistles.
Now, besides that aircraft-grade aluminum, I'm really a big fan of the abundance
of weatherstripping here with the Barricade option. You're getting stuff at the bulkhead,
stuff at the tailgate. No bed cover. It's really 100% watertight. This is pretty darn close. Now,
outside of that, they do include some drains for the rails along with kicking
in some extra bed lighting for you. I know most of the Lightnings come with it,
but it is nice that they tossed that in. So, again, if you wanna take trips,
you wanna haul stuff in the back here, fishing gear, golf clubs, luggage, whatever,
and you wanna keep it safe, then adding a secure hard cover like this is really the only way to go.
All right, two more mods to go, guys. And I would argue these two mods definitely
make the biggest visual change to our Lightning, so let's talk about 'em.
First up, we got the Mammoth 2.5-inch Leveling Kit installed here on our Lightning. Fit fine,
fit perfectly much like it would any 2004 and newer F-150. They really haven't changed the
strut design too much, and as a result, that leveling kit works just fine. Now,
what that does, it's basically a CNC'ed aluminum spacer that goes on top of your strut assembly,
giving you that additional leveling for the front end. And as a result,
it perfectly leveled out our Lightning. In fact, we broke out the tape measure,
40.75 inches from the ground to the front fender, 40.75 inches from the ground to
the rear fender. So, a perfectly leveled look here for owners who are trying to achieve that.
Now, with that being said, if you haul or tow a lot, you still wanna level the truck. Well, maybe
I'll steer you more towards a 1.5-inch or 2-inch leveling kit. That way you can still maintain a
little bit of rake. Once you haul stuff, it levels the truck out a little bit better.
Now, outside of making for a more leveled appearance, it's also gonna make room for bigger
wheels and tires, right? Now, 33s, all day, no problem here with the 2.5-inch kit. We tried 35s,
they fit, but it rubbed a little bit on the rear felt and it was a little close to some
of the front plastic. You could probably make it work if you're comfortable doing some trimming,
but for the most part, I would just stick with a 33 and call it a day.
Speaking of 33s, let's break down our next mod or mods in this case, and that, of course,
is a wheel and tire package. Now, what you guys are looking at here, it's the Pro Comp Rockwell.
It's a 20 by 9, 0, or neutral offset, so that's gonna give us that aggressive fitment with about,
I would say 1-inch of poke. And wrapped around that wheel is Atturo Trail Blade
XT. It's a 33 by 12.50 R20, and it's that cross-terrain or multi-terrain tire that's
been very popular as of late. It's gonna give you these nice big shoulder lugs here,
getting you through some tough mud, loose sediment, whatever, off-road, but then the
interlinked center blocks here, that's gonna make for a nice, quiet ride on the highway.
And again, it's that reason alone why these particular tires have become so
popular. We're talking Nitto Ridge Grapplers, the DuraTrac from Goodyear the Trail Blade
XT. They all kind of follow that same formula and it works because these things are really popular.
Also helping their popularity, at least in this case with the Atturo, they're very affordable.
Just I would say high $200 per tire for a 33. That's super affordable in the land of
off-road tires. And these things do have some pretty good reviews. But wheels and tires,
guys, is I would say one of those areas where Lightning owners can take liberties. Choose
from 1 of 1000 different designs that we have here on the site. Certainly is subjective,
styling is different for everybody, but I think we can all agree upon the fact that the stock
Lightning wheels are absolutely hideous. They do no favors for the truck as it sits
from the factory, and so changing them out for anything aftermarket is certainly a huge upgrade.
Well, guys, that's gonna wrap up our "First Five" video here for you Lightning owners
looking to customize your rigs a little bit more, add some functionality, and just make
your Lightning stand out further while on the road. Now, guys, drop us a comment wherever you're
watching this video. Let us know your favorite mod that we did in today's video. Of course,
be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content like this. And in the meantime,
don't forget, for all things truck, keep it right here at americantrucks.com.