I spent some time last week tinkering with the Crawler Hauler some more...
I installed new factory Ford headlight assemblies, because the old ones were so yellowed from the sun. I tried to polish up the old ones several times, and they'd polish clear, but turn back to yellow in a few weeks time. I got sick of polishing, and ponied up the cashola to put some new units in. Man- what a difference at night! I also installed a harness to take the "load" off of the headlight switch. (for some reason, Ford doesn't use headlamp relays- they just run all the current thru the switch) The harness has 2 relays and takes power directly from the batteries. Between the new lenses, the new bulbs, and some proper current, the lights are brighter than ever! I can actually see roadsigns at night, and the pavement is lit up with a more "white" light than the old yeller's!
I also installed a nice auto-dimming rearview mirror with an itegrated compass and outside temperature display. Pretty cool unit, has a temp probe you mount in the grille area and displays outside temperature in the mirror itself. I didn't think I'd need the auto-dim feature in such a big truck, but after driving with it for the past few days, it's pretty nice! Totally unnecessary, I'll admit, but fun nonetheless!
Finally, I installed a set of Firestone Ride-Rite airbags in the rear to help level the truck when the trailer is hooked to it. Since installing the front add-a-leaves, the truck sat a little nose high- I guess the old rears had sagged a little too... I setup the airbags with a tee fitting, so they both inflate off of one schrader valve mounted in the rear fuel filler door. With only 15psi in the bags, the rear end comes up enough to sit properly unloaded, and the ride isn't affected at all, that I can notice. With the trailer on it, and the bags at 30psi, the rear doesn't sag at all, and the ride is only a little stiffer than without the bags. They say you can set them up to 100 psi...but they'd probably be like air-bricks at that point.
Pics to come- maybe tomorrow!
Ryan