Well here in the next few weeks I will be getting my first truck.
1994 Ford F150 5.0 with 3.55 4wd(not the F250 I was wanting but it was the right price). And appearently its been sitting a couple years (3) I'm figuring on changing all the fluids and checking it over (over a 6 month period) and getting as much fixed or changed so I don't have any problems. So I got some questions, over the past week or so I have been looking up parts and figuring on what I want or might need to change. And there are some accessories I want to add and such I have questions on.

HITCH.
Looking at the motor vs Gear ratio it is good for 3800lbs(3.55LS). I would like to swap for some 3.73LS at some point. The hitch on it is bad and rusted through. Do I go with a Class 3 hitch or do I get a class 4 and be done with it? No I am not planning on hauling 10,000 lbs but maybe in the future I might.

ELECTRICAL
I am a young green horn who is very naive. I am of the 21st century and have a cellphone/smartphone. I was wanting to put one of these in the truck.
12V Dual USB Under Dash Mount, 18003W: Automotive : Walmart.com
Has anyone had one and know if its any good or do I just run a 12v outlet an buy an adapter?
I was wondering about swaping stereos. I found this video and it got me thinking.( )
I am not a very picky person I want a cheap set with a CD+ AUX+USB. I don't need no fancy satilite radio or bluetooth(at this point in time).
Now I don't know if I want the 4 speaker bundle and zip tie it to the back of the seat or something like that or just get the stereo with the 2 door speakers?
This (Auto Car Stereo with (2) Speakers + Optional Accessories Bundle from Boss, Kenwood, Pioneer: Auto Electronics : Walmart.com)
Vs
This(Pioneer Car Stereo and (4) Speaker Package + Optional Choice of Accessories: Auto Electronics : Walmart.com)
There is a $60 dollar difference.
What are your oppinion.
I also want to eventually run a CB radio +PA+ Brake Controler. I also want to get a Headache rack with Lights and maybe some under bumper lights for backing up if I get a plow.
So if I have the stereo + CB+Pa+12v outlet am I going to up the Alternator and by how much? Do i need a bigger Battery?

HEADLIGHT/TALELIGHTS
LED head lights or not to run? Do i just change the bulbs or change the hole assembly.

 

With the 5.0 you will be limited in towing. The 5.0 is a great little engine but it isn't a puller period. If you want to pull go buy a 460 or a 6.8 V10.
You won't find a great of difference between 3:54s & 3:73s.
As for the rest I have no idea I'm an old man. Most likely as old as your grandpa.

 

i use my reg. cab pickup to ferry me and my 2 grandkids around ... also use it for work and carry a lot of misc. tools and equipment behind the seat. if i had 2 speakers back there they would a) be muffled by all the junk and b) take up valuable space. but you are a young buck and may value the sound over all that. a pair of good door speakers would be just fine though.

as for bluetooth ... if your area doesnt already have laws prohibiting use of cell phones while driving, it soon will have. get it. i got 2 tickets totalling around $300 before i wised up and got a ($60) hands-free device. don't be me.

 

My First truck was a 1931 Chevvy half ton. I paid $10 for it.
Mechanical brakes. Floor boards that would jump up at you if you went over a Mud Puddle.
It was a great little truck.

 

As for the sound system, buy a name brand head unit (Kenwood, Alpine, Pioneer), some good quality speakers (Kenwood, Rockford Fosgate, Polk Audio ect.) and for the love of all that is holy, don't zip tie them to the back of the seat.

Here is an example of what would work nicely and would go right in with no issues.

Head Unit:
JVC KD-X250BT MP3/USB/AUX Digital Media Receiver w/ A2DP Bluetooth

Front Door speakers (I have these in the rear location in my truck on custom plates)
Rockford Fosgate P165 6.5" 2-Way P1 Punch Coaxial Car Speakers

Rear Speakers:
Same as front. They come with universal mounting rings that allow them to be bolted into the rear location. Great, cheap speakers.

I recommend the site I posted the links to. They have great service, great prices and give you all the parts needed to install the head unit into the truck for free.

 

Congratulations on your first truck. I've owned my first truck ('94 Ranger XLT) since 1999.
As far as the sound system goes, I watched sales at Crutchfield.com. I found some great deals and they always send good accessories for hooking things up - wiring harnesses and other installation pieces are usually free w/ purchase.

For my '96 F150, I got a nice Kenwood Excelon CD Head Unit with good power output and (3) sets of RCA preamp outputs, one pair of Polk Audio 6.5" 2-way coax. door speakers, one pair of Polk 5"x7" 2-way coax. rear speakers for a grand total around $300.

I installed everything myself and it went really quickly, replacing an old Alpine cassette deck and the original 1996 Ford "speakers". The sound quality is fantastic. The only thing I should have done is line the inside door steel with Dynamat to reduce the tin-can sound reverb. in the doors. I have plans for an amp and a small subwoofer one day.

If you don't have stock rear speakers you can definitely buy 6"x9" prefabricated boxes and put nice 6"x9" speakers if them if you want. If you're handy, you can build a box or two for whatever fits.

The best bang for your buck if you don't have a lot of money: A decent head unit and new door speakers. The door speakers are closer to your ears - improving them will probably be the most dramatic way.

 

Go with the class 4 hitch. I went with a good hidden hitch junkyard special for $50. (Can you really argue with a $50 class 4 hitch?) I've been looking at that 12 volt USB charger for my van just haven't got around to buying it. Not alot to go wrong with it and they only need 12volt hot and a ground to work. As for the radio, get you a kenwood (round $99 at Walmart or any audio store) the opening is a single din already so no bracket needed just make sure you get the harness. As for speakers, kicker audio is gonna be the loudest but Rockford is going to sound the best. I'd chose Rockford Prime series 6.5inch 2 ways. Round $59 or so at car audio stores. Your rear speakers are gonna be 5x7/6x8 like most fords. Just get you a cheap set because your not gonna really hear them they just fill in the low range. With a sawzall you can put 6x9s in and they will be bassyer (it's a word trust me). Or the pioneer set from Walmart you listed. Can't go wrong with pioneer, the 6.5s will fit the doors and you can trim for the 6x9s. The stock battery will be fine with your interior upgrades as will the alt. Hell I was running 4 15 inch subs and 3 amps off the factory 120 amp alt on my v10. I did have 2 extra battery's though. But the 12 volt outlet won't draw more than 2 amps, the radio fuse is only rated for 15-20 amps, CBs bout the same as the radio and can be used for the PA just get a cobra. As for the headlights, your on your own lol. Get some 8k bulbs they are bright and pretty cheap. Hope some of this helps.

 

I'll second that. If you have to replace gears because yours are shot, then put in whatever you want. But figure about $1000 per axle to have someone regear it. If you put 3.73s in it you'll hardly notice what your 2 grand paid for. My advice is live with your 3.55s. If that's not enough for the towing you need you might get more bang for the buck with an engine swap. A 351 would be a lot more torque and power and would be the simplest.

 

Congrats on the new truck, As far as the stereo goes, I would highly recommend Crutchfield: Car Stereo, Speakers, Home Theater, LED LCD TV, Cameras. They have great customer service, and if your not sure what you need they will be able to send you everything to make it an easy install.

I use the BACKRACK headache rack, I plan to add some lights on it eventually.

 

I can't really give any advice on your lights or PA or CB as that was never really my thing, but I can help with the stereo. Choose what ever stereo you want, but as others have said, it is probably best to go with a name brand unit. You can get a Pioneer at Wal-Mart for $80-100 nowadays. As for speakers, you can fit 6 1/2 inch speakers in doors, and in the sides of the cab walls on either side of the back seat. There should already be holes on each side so you shouldn't have to cut anything or zip tie anything. the 6 1/2 inch speakers should work here as well. I have used Crutchfield to buy supplies as well and they are great to deal with. What I like is that they offer connectors to wire up speakers that plug into the factory wire harness so that you do not have to hack up wiring. I also suggest getting one of the adapters to wire up the CD Player. No one wants to buy a truck with hacked up wiring whenever you decide to sell.

 

Buy the wiring harness it saves a lot of headache for YOU if you want to change the radio out or if it gets stolen. I have a Kenwood with the aux port and love it. The PO upgraded the speakers already, he didn't like doing any other maintenance though.

 

My idea was to go to the auto wrecking yard find a truck with the axle code I want and buy them used and either run them as is or rebuild them myself. The axles are not bad I just don't like the gearing, I am guessing that buy swapping gears from 3.55 to 3.73 it would increase the towing capacity a little and make it more durable if I do something stupid. I would love to get a set of 4.10 for it but then your going to loose fuel economy. I figure 3.73 might get me closer to 5000lb towing capacity over 3800. I would love to find and install a 5.8 at some point in time and maybe if I do I will swap for some 3/4 ton axles.

My towing plans is at worse either 1 ton of coal (on pallet) in the bed of my truck and one on a trailer or 2 One ton pallets on a trailer. maybe a cord of wood. I will be sing mostly for small stuff like hauling the lawn mower, snow blower, occasional animal or two. My grandfather wants to get his van fixed so I might rent one of those car dolly's to haul it to the shop. I just like the extra security knowing I have the heavier gear set to do work like that.

http://nashvillewestauctioneers.com/...cks/a69194.jpg

I forgot to mention it is a regular cab 8ft bed xlt. So that's why I posted the video. So running speakers in the back probably not the best idea I have had, oh well. I just running some ideas past you guys before I get it.
I will diffident look into these speak links you guys have been posting. Now the power draw is what I am concerned about is because it only has according from what I got off the vin ( haven't look on the truck cause i don't have it yet). is a 75 amp alternator. so if I run a whole lot of stuff am I going to over tax it. what would I jump it up to and how do I figure it out. WHAT HAPPENS IF I GET ONE TOO BIG?

As for headache rack I was thinking something like this
http://www.pickupspecialties.com/Hig...che_rack-1.jpg

A Rack like this
http://www.pickupspecialties.com/Hea...ack_small1.jpg

just seems to leave to much room for something to get at the window.

Fastback460(love your truck by the way) I kinda like yours but I think I like this one better because of the warranty and they used to have a picture of a truck that was rolled over and it was still intact. But there isn't much available for information videos on reviews of different racks. but what ever suites your purpose works right.

Right now I am basically throwing darts at the wall and seeing what sticks and what doesn't. I kinda know what I want to do with it both mechanically and but so much as what I am going to be using it for. It will be a work truck but we will see.

Should I put 3/4 ton leafs and Shocks on it?

I may be a dreamer on something like this but I would like to have a truck sometime with a set up like this.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...and_Bumper.gif

 

I considered the first rack you posted before I bought mine, but I got a deal from mine locally, so that's what I got . I use mine mostly for hauling lumber/ladders, so I was really just looking for something that could take a beating.

And I agree with you on the second rack that you linked, I've never liked them either. They are only good if you plan to mount safety lights or something like that on top.

 

onlinecarstereo.com is who I've used for several years. better prices than crutchfield from whatever I bought - plus they run specials, and have stuff on clearance from time to time.

definitely spend the few $$ on the adapter to plug into your factory harness. save yourself (and any future owners) the hassle of cutting into the harness.

 

Whenever I've bought a new stereo I've use Crutchfield. They've always thrown in the adapter cables and the dash adapter plate(s) for free. So if you shop elsewhere make sure you price out the entire cost, including shipping, to make sure you are comparing apples to apples.

Having said that, when it comes time for a new stereo for my truck I definitely will check out onlinecarstereo.com. Thanks for the tip.