2015 Black Beauty Build Thread

[57buick]

I love my truck and I have a long list of stuff to get done on it. I will start listing some of the mods I do here. Some trolls have told me some of the things I do is overkill and I've been told some mods were plain stupid but I don't care. I do it because I want too.

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[57buick]

So I bought my 2nd Cummins truck used. Its a 2015 laramie with all the bells and whistles inlcuding air conditioned seats, auto wipers and brights, and heated wheel. And it had 98k miles on it but had every record of every oil change and was taken great care of it.

So this is what it looked like when I bought it. Already had a cheap Fabtech 6" spacer lift and worn out 35" Nitto Trail Grapplers

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[57buick]

First thing was new tires. Put same tires but bigger went with 37" Nitto this time to replace the 35's

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[57buick]

I found the perfect spot to mount the head for my Yaesu HAM radio. I mounted the base unit under passenger seat and just put velcro on the bracket and it stuck to the carpet pretty well then routed wiring. Decided to mount the headunit above on the headliner in front of sunroof. Simple single hole and screw into back of head unit. I'll probably cut another small hole and run the little wire thru it later so you won't see that.

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[57buick]

Next was to find a suitable antenna. I researched a while really not wanting to have to drill a hole in the roof to get good signal. Then I came across a 3rd brake light from G&J Motorsports that is made out of aluminum and had a NMO antenna mount built into it.

It seemed really expensive at first then realised the 3rd brake light was more than just a brake light. it uses Baja S2 lights in it and a full wire harness that makes the lights do all sorts of things. I chose to have red lenses on left and right and white lens in center. The lights splice into truck harness and function as turn signals, stop light, and cargo light, and reverse light. And of course I can flip on the cargo light at any time I needed it manually too. So they do 5 times more than a regular 3rd brake light. Plus it fixes the dreaded water leakage issue that plagues the stock light. it is machined out of a solid piece of billet aluminum and comes with a super thick gasket to seal up nicely to the cab.

It comes with the antenna coax already installed. I installed it and the wiring and have been super happy with the whole setup and the light functionality. And the signal I am getting on the radio is awesome. I'm talking to guys 50 miles away easily.

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[57buick]

Next on the interior things was we needed more USB ports for charging devices etc.

I flushed mounted in the recess of the rear doors lighted ports for the kids in the back seat. They are tucked out of the way, lit up to easily find in the dark and almost look factory.

I also installed one in the glove box for my extra iphone that just has all my music on it playing random over bluetooth. And one in the center console for my phone.

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[flanagan]

I love my truck and I have a long list of stuff to get done on it. I will start listing some of the mods I do here.

Disclaimer: No need for negative comments if you don't agree with my mods, I know some are overkill. I do it because I enjoy it and want to. Not whether its necessary LOL

Hey it's your truck you do what you want they all look good. I think that is what is so cool because everybody has a different taste and they're all nice. I had 35s on mine to start and thin ran 37s and then put 35 is back on because of the gooseneck horse trailer and high e.g. T's

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

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[57buick]

As you can see in the pics each USB port has the ability to pull 4 amps each so that power adds up quick. Plus I need a fused port for my Ham radio. SO I decided to buy a 6 fuse fuseblock on amazon and found a perfect spot under the drivers side dash, screwd it directly to the metal brace that was under the dash. I ran some 8awg power and ground wire from under the hood and thru a relay mounted on firewall to provide the power. So each USB and my radio have their own fuse.

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[57buick]

Yea I just posted that because on some other forums some cranky people started bashing me telling me how ridiculous some stuff was or not needed or how I am ruining what Dodge engineers decided what was best LOL Its all in good fun. And everybody has different tastes for sure.

Hey it's your truck you do what you want they all look good. I think that is what is so cool because everybody has a different taste and they're all nice. I had 35s on mine to start and thin ran 37s and then put 35 is back on because of the gooseneck horse trailer and high e.g. T's

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

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[57buick]

I always hate having to plug in my phone and unplug it in the truck. I wanted wireless charging like I use at home. But everything I find online was suction cup mounts and such. I know there is some kit out there that replaces the tray in console for wireless charging but I want to be able to look down and see what pops up on my phone.

So searching around I found this phone cradle that is made for these trucks that have the full center console. It mounts into the business cad holder in the console. I then went and bought a random wireless charging pad for home use and took it apart to get the electronics and charging coil out of it.

I had to cut a slot in the bottom of the cradle to be able to position the coil in the proper place, and used some GOOP to epoxy the electronics into the back of the cradle. I let it sit to cure overnight then went and dropped it into place in the console.

Awesome dropped phone on it and charges perfectly. and you cant see the back of the cradle even from the side while getting in the truck so it just looks factory.

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