2018 Leadfoot "Decade Long Build"

[LF LandShark 2818]

I'd like to formally introduce myself as a member of the community, and finally a Raptor owner after 10 long years of dreaming, saving, and planning. Consider this my "new member check-in" again but now i actually own the right truck in order to be here haha

I recently purchased a CPO 2018 Leadfoot Grey Screw, fully loaded w/ 10k miles and I have been dreaming of this day for so long. Im posting all of this in the Build-Up forum because i know myself well enough to know that i cant just leave perfection (or stock in this case) as is. So I'll be using this as the start to my build thread documenting any and all modifications as time goes on. Ive had the privilege of window shopping/living vicariously through most of you and your trucks over the past 10 years. I'd like to genuinely thank you all for how much knowledge you've imparted on myself and this community. While the "feel" of this forum has certainly changed over the past 8 years, i think at its core this is still the best Raptor online community to build and share ideas for these awesome machines. So without further delay, here is the only reason anyone comes into a build thread anyway.... pictures!

Here's the current vehicle I've been building for about 8 years... 2011 EB FX4 that thought if it tried hard enough it could be a Raptor someday. You can tell by my username that when i joined in 2013 i really thought that was a good idea haha

 

[LF LandShark 2818]

When it came to buying my truck i had a really solid game-plan in mind but what transpired worked out better then i could have imagined. Instead of buying a new 2020 Leadfoot Screw i decided to go for a CPO 2018 Leadfoot Screw thats fully loaded, came with a hard tonneau cover, a few other bells and whistles, and a 84month/100k warranty which left me with enough left over to immediately start building the truck up from stock. The only downside is I'm currently away for work so i wont get to see the truck in person for about another 2 months.

The first mod i wanted was the fenders painted to match the body. The dealership painted them for me as soon as the sale of the vehicle was finalized.

 

[LF LandShark 2818]

Here is a few more photos of the truck after it’s first paint job.

 

[LF LandShark 2818]

Congrats on the new ride. Love the LFG color.

PS - it's actually pretty easy to build a regular F-150 up past stock Raptor capabilities. A lot of us who have more highly built trucks kind of wish we would have started with regular F-150s. When all is said and done, you will have discarded a lot less expensive parts

Thank you! It's been an absolute blast building that truck up from stock the past few years. I've been fortunate enough to go out on plenty of local Raptor runs and the truck performs phenomenally with everything that I've done to it. Its just never quite been exactly what i wanted. Ive always looked up to the Raptor and once i found this one in Leadfoot, i couldn't find one good reason not to grab my dream truck!

 

[LF LandShark 2818]

Next on the mod list was a very simple one, but something i knew i wanted right off the bat. I purchased the AutoStop Eliminator kit for my truck from autostopeliminator.com. Ive seen the multiple threads on alternate ways you can achieve the same thing but after a bunch of research, this was the best option IMHO.

I purchased the AE002 which according to the website was the correct one for my 2018. Using the discount code: F150FORUM will save you $13.49 (credit to @RDFTS for posting this in another thread) for those who are interested.

 

[LF LandShark 2818]

After that i decided to look at mods that were a little more "fun" then just turning on and off a factory feature.

Originally i wanted to go with the ADD Pro Bolt On and incorporate a 20" Rigid Adapt light bar. Insert Chris from @FordRaptorLights.com ... After he reached out to me on a thread asking about the feasibility of this setup we began looking into it. Chris was extremely professional and responsive to all the questions i had for him and I'm pretty sure his pricing is impossible to beat. He went out of his way to contact the manufacturers and found out that, according to them, that particular light wouldn't work. This saved me a ton of time and money as i would of purchased it only to find out the hard way it didnt work. In the end here is what i decided on for the front set up.

ADD Pro Bolt On Front Bumper
BajaMod ACC Bracket
Rigid SR-L 20” w/ Amber Backlight - 63003

This is essentially the look im going for but in Leadfoot of course.



Shipping from them was extremely fast and the bumper, lights, and bracket all showed up in under a week! I really underestimated just how large the shipping container for the bumper would be.

 

[Traffic22]

Really nice looking ride. The more I see the paint matched fender flares the more I like them.

 

[TXRaptor]

I agree the painted flairs on the LeadFoot look really good. How closely were they able to match the color of a 2 year old truck? The pictures look like a perfect match, but sometimes in person is the only way to tell. I ask because there is another long thread where the painted fenders did not match on a new 2020 leadfoot.

 

[LF LandShark 2818]

Really nice looking ride. The more I see the paint matched fender flares the more I like them.

Thank you very much. I debated it for a long time and reviewed thread after thread on here. Really glad so far that i decided to do it, we will see how it really looks in person though.

 

[LF LandShark 2818]

I agree the painted flairs on the LeadFoot look really good. How closely were they able to match the color of a 2 year old truck? The pictures look like a perfect match, but sometimes in person is the only way to tell. I ask because there is another long thread where the painted fenders did not match on a new 2020 leadfoot.

To be honest i dont know first hand how well they were able to match it. Here is a picture of the first time they tried to match it.




The color difference was very obvious to me right off the bat and they offered to repaint it. The pictures in the beginning of the build thread are after they fixed the paint job. Sadly, it will be a while until i get to see the truck in person. I posted these pictures on another thread and it was explained to me just how difficult it can be to match plastic fenders to a 2 year old metal body. With my OCD I’m sure ill be able to notice the difference in certain lighting conditions but overall I’m happy with the updated paint job. Once I’m able to see it in person ill follow up with more pictures.