Go Truck Myself!
Go Truck Myself! Part 2
When I bought my truck I knew I was going to have to upgrade it. The first thing I did was add a trailer hitch. That wasn't hard since Dad had an extra one he bought at a yard sale. I just needed to buy the hitch pin.
The second thing I did was buy and install new tires. Even though the existing tires only had 33,000 miles on them, they looked like they would only run for another 5,000 miles tops. So new tires were bought and installed.
The third thing I did was purchase a toolbox. Since my truck is a single cab I didn't have a backseat to hold things. So I really needed a toolbox. I managed to find a great Husky brand toolbox on Craigslist.
Now comes my final addition, a brush guard. I had been searching Craigslist for a while for the perfect brush guard. Ford F-150 trucks from 2009 to 2014 could use the same model of brush guard. While I had seen a fair amount of brush guards for sale, I hadn't seen one that would exactly fit my truck.
I had checked Craigslist, again with no luck. I kept scrolling down to the (nearby items) section. I couldn't believe what I saw. In Arcadia, Fl., roughly 100 miles from me, a seller had the perfect brush guard. It was Chrome, and made by "Go Industries." When I looked them up, I found out that the guard normally cost $650 plus tax. The seller was selling it for $250.
Long story short, I gave him a call and told him I'd meet him the next day. I drove to Arcadia, and made it to his house fifteen minutes early. He had a small cow farm on lots of land. His wife was the Ford truck driver. She had sold her truck, and aimed to install the brush guard on her new truck. However, since her new truck was a 2017 the guard wouldn't fit.
Since I didn't try to argue or dick him over on price he offered to install the brush guard on my truck. He said he had power (air) tools, and I told him, "I was no glutton for punishment. I would gladly accept the help." I'm glad I did. It took him, his wife, and me to install that thing. I'll tell you this though, I'm really happy with the air powered drill.
When you tighten metal bolts, you have to do it bit by bit. You tighten one, then the next, and do it all over again. So we went around a few times tightening all the bolts with the air gun. Once everything was repeatedly tightened down it was completely locked down.
So onto the photos!
You can see just how thick the metal bars of the brush guard are. They are heavy duty.
Honestly, it looks like my truck is wearing glasses.
Down at the bottom it has tow hooks for towing someone, or someone towing me out the mud or sugar sand.
I feel better having the brush guard on my truck. Not for country driving, but for city driving. They drive like crazy here in Tampa. So if they want to hit me from behind they have to go through my trailer hitch. If they want to go through the front of my truck, they have to go through my brush guard.
I never felt safe on the roads when driving my Saturn or Ford Focus. I've noticed folks tend to take you a little more serious when you are driving a truck. Seriously, it's like urban warfare out there on the roads. But now I feel pretty good. I've managed to upgrade my truck how I wanted, and keep the price very reasonable. Now, the good part. I get to drive it the next twelve years.
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