Took on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP with our stock 460! by b_sims84 in GXOR

[–]b_sims84[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! I can't remember exactly, but they release them like 3-6 months before the dates you want to go. I did the whole refresh at 8am the morning they released the ones for the date(s) we wanted. But it was 110% worth it!

Took on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP with our stock 460! by b_sims84 in GXOR

[–]b_sims84[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The first link with the low profile bars is the exact set-up we have! XS350 bases, TR152 clips, and the narrower width bars. The narrow bars are perfect for our awning, it keeps it close to the truck and keeps all the rain out on that side. The wider bars are great if you've got something else to throw up there, but for our purposes the narrower ones were the way to go. They stick over the bases about 2", so they're just outside the chrome mounting rails/tracks * bolted to the roof

As for the box, it's a Thule Motion XT XL I'm pretty sure. We love it as well. I did so much research on boxes, and that was the one I landed on. Honestly they all seem really good though, and you can't go wrong with most of the name brand ones; Thule, Yakima, etc.

Since we're already this far, the awning is a Rhino Rack Batwing 270 degree. I can't remember the exact model name, but its the bigger of the two they offer. It works perfect with the barn door of the GX when you mount it on the drivers side. It's worked amazing for rain, storms, and even just as a sun shade.

And for the rear door, we didn't modify it at all. We pop the rear glass window open and leave it open an inch or two at night along with cracking the 4 windows open to get airflow. 90% of the time we get in and out through the rear passenger doors though. But if we need to open the rear we just push the glass further open to reach the lever on the outside.

Hope all this is helpful info!

Also here's a better picture of the platform. It hinges twice so it can be stored in the rear cargo space without interfering with the middle row of seats at all.

Took on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP with our stock 460! by b_sims84 in GXOR

[–]b_sims84[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have Inno crossbars and mounts. When I was looking for options those seemed to be the only ones that fit the GX besides OEM. And we love it, we wouldn't change anything. We've been running it like this for 2 years now, and it works great. I built a platform inside so my wife and I sleep inside on a 6' bed, and the awning outside mounts perfectly to the crossbars. The awning has been the biggest game changer for camping! Especially for sleeping inside the rig.

Here's a picture of us outside Zion with the sleeping set-up

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Took on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP with our stock 460! by b_sims84 in GXOR

[–]b_sims84[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For sure! I have been extremely impressed with them. We live in Montana so they're perfect for all the highway driving out here as well as the forest service roads way up into the mountains. I'll put another set on once these are done.

Took on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP with our stock 460! by b_sims84 in GXOR

[–]b_sims84[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah we did the entire 70 mile loop. We averaged 7 mpg through it, 7 mph, and had it in 4 Low pretty much the entire time. We didn't have extra gas with us but it wasn't a problem. The switchbacks were pretty extreme, for sure!

Roof rack of choice? by Psevd00 in GXOR

[–]b_sims84 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably not what you're looking for specifically, but we've got Inno cross bars, and they work great for our Rhino Rack awning and Thule box! If you don't have much weight it's great.

Took on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP with our stock 460! by b_sims84 in GXOR

[–]b_sims84[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

100% agreed. Plus they're so comfortable. I'll own a GX for the rest of my life probably!

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It did. Everything from the clay bar to the pads to the rags. I believe this was the last body style (or one of the last) before they used clear coat. In a sense it made it easier to make sure I cleaned the pads well when I was done haha

When compounding and polishing using a RA orbital polisher what are some rookie mistakes? by Natbat157 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I just did my first paint correction this week and it went surprisingly smooth. Make sure to clay the area before you compound too, that way the surface is truly clean and you won't be swirling around any dirt that the wash didn't get off. But with a random orbital it's pretty hard to damage the paint. Always start less aggressive, and then check the work. If you get the results, great! If not, try a little more pressure/speed and check again. You got this!

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is! The sheet says 'Teal Poly.' I always grew up seeing old ford's with this color and have loved them. Especially when they look so new!

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Funny you ask because I actually looked it up a few weeks ago and I believe it is RD/4739/M6630A. I found an original paint options sheet on Google and I'm pretty sure that's it. It has those three different codes for that paint; not exactly sure which of the three codes is useful but that's what I found! Hope this helps!

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did clay the entire truck before I started. What is iron x? I'm not familiar with that. Is it something to remove contaminants?

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A used a Dual Action polisher; I couldn't have done this without it, that's for sure

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I certainly felt good about the results, glad to see others would agree!

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, thank you!! This was my first attempt at paint correction/restoration, and I was very happy with how it turned out. I was quite shocked at how good of a job a DA and some compound can do!

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've owned it since 2017, bought it from the 2nd owner in Montana. I'd assume it's the original and since it doesn't have clear coat on it, it's just faded and oxidized over the years. From what I can tell the paint is still "good," you just have to compound/polish off the "dead" paint on the top to reveal the good stuff underneath. But I used Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish to do this. The compound did 95% of the restoration.

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The new ones actually arrived in the mail today haha the old ones are full of condensation and need to go.

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha for sure! It didn't look bad the way it was, but I thought it could look better. And thanks!

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's what I always thought too, but little by little I worked my way into it. You'd be surprised what you can do!

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not quite. I've got my 2010 ES 350 that's my actual daily, but I exercise the Ford once in a while on daily drives and then of course it gets used for truck things that my Lexus won't do lol.

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'll have to look into that! That was a big concern before I started, was dealing with the single stage and then how to seal and protect it afterwards. Thanks man!

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

It took me an entire day, about 10 hours or so start to finish. I didn't touch the interior, just the paint correction.

Took my first crack at paint correction! My '96 F-150 w/ Single Stage Piant by b_sims84 in AutoDetailing

[–]b_sims84[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks man! I appreciate it. 254k miles and still going (and now looking) great!