Rusty Shackleford's 2023 Badlands Build

Howdy all!

Back in December of 2023 I bought a used 23 Badlands with Sasquatch & high package. It came with a 2.5" RC lift/level, which is staying for now but will ultimately be replaced, and KMC wheels/Toyo OC RTs (run these tires on my super duty and love em). The truck had 4k miles on it and I've put another 1500 on it since purchasing.

I am coming off of the Polaris RZR platform predominantly because my best bud, John McClane (named after the protagonist in the best Christmas movie ever; Mac for short) won't ride with me. Not sure why but he is scared straight of golf carts and anything that sounds remotely like a motorcycle. I've had him since he was 8 weeks and he's two now. Fortunately he loves the Bronco!

I've been modding like a maniac and will post each mod thus far as a comment.

This is Mac--at 120lbs and 37" tall he's unusually large for a Labrador Retriever and I often encounter him with his snout and big ol gums atop a counter pilfering for scraps. On all fours he's high torque and perpetual energy




Forgot to post the Bronco itself! Front winch bumper is a @DV8offroad spec series with their cube lights, 20” light bar, fair lead, and a HarborFrieght badlands 12k winch. I have also since relocated the front camera with the dv8 relocation kit; I recommend you do everything BEFORE mounting the bumper to the truck if you go with this option.





DV8 Elite pocket cube lights:

MOLLE system, straps & quick release mounts
----------------

Overhead rack by DV8 OR:




BroAddict Rear Window Panels:

I had some others from amazon that made it a pain to take off the hardtop. These make it much easier.





Generic Tailgate:



RC small pull straps, good for flashlights and similar sized things

RC large straps, good for wide variety of things. Like a campstool.

SST MOLLE Pouches. Water resistant and hold their shape WAY better than standard floppy nylon bags.

Quick release mounts. These have minor play in them that can generate noise. Easy fix with black electrical tape and exacto knife.

As a total n00b I have a question. Do you have a long list of other things you can't wait to buy but you're like, hm, better save this for later as this is a bit much? But you like, really want to buy them eventually?

Melzingah said:

As a total n00b I have a question. Do you have a long list of other things you can't wait to buy but you're like, hm, better save this for later as this is a bit much? But you like, really want to buy them eventually?

Click to expand...

Well, kind of LOL. I got tired last night so I stopped posting, but still have a whole laundry list of additional mods to post here.

I have 75sqft of XPEL Stealth PPF I ordered to make the Shadow black paint a matte color and protect it. My plan is to work at a slow and comfortable pace as time permits since I don’t really care if some panels are done and others aren’t for a while. That should save me about $6,000 in labor.

Things like crazy suspension, etc. are on the back burner for sure until I get a baseline of how capable this thing is as it sits.

thetxpopulist said:

Well, kind of LOL. I got tired last night so I stopped posting, but still have a whole laundry list of additional mods to post here.

I have 75sqft of XPEL Stealth PPF I ordered to make the Shadow black paint a matte color and protect it. My plan is to work at a slow and comfortable pace as time permits since I don’t really care if some panels are done and others aren’t for a while. That should save me about $6,000 in labor.

Things like crazy suspension, etc. are on the back burner for sure until I get a baseline of how capable this thing is as it sits.

Click to expand...

It looks great, I like the t-top rack thing. Do you have any plans on replacing the factory sound system?

Is that an air hose reel? Not seen that before. Nice build. Nice dog!

Melzingah said:

It looks great, I like the t-top rack thing. Do you have any plans on replacing the factory sound system?

Click to expand...

Thank you! Yep I’ve fully upgraded the Sound System. Because I’ve done so much crap already, my idea was to post each mod/project as its own comment in this thread. I’ll post the stereo system overhaul next (tonight). There was some trial and error in my case and I’ll make sure to include all that.

Scoop said:

Is that an air hose reel? Not seen that before. Nice build. Nice dog!

Click to expand...

Thank you! Yep it’s the Apex CRS, I am going to make a comment here for the whole onboard air system that will include the Apex CRS, Conductors Special 544 Nightmare Edition train horns, etc.

thetxpopulist said:

Howdy all!

Back in December of 2023 I bought a used 23 Badlands with Sasquatch & high package. It came with a 2.5" RC lift/level, which is staying for now but will ultimately be replaced, and KMC wheels/Toyo OC RTs (run these tires on my super duty and love em). The truck had 4k miles on it and I've put another 1500 on it since purchasing.

I am coming off of the Polaris RZR platform predominantly because my best bud, John McClane (named after the protagonist in the best Christmas movie ever; Mac for short) won't ride with me. Not sure why but he is scared straight of golf carts and anything that sounds remotely like a motorcycle. I've had him since he was 8 weeks and he's two now. Fortunately he loves the Bronco!

I've been modding like a maniac and will post each mod thus far as a comment.

This is Mac--at 120lbs and 37" tall he's unusually large for a Labrador Retriever and I often encounter him with his snout and big ol gums atop a counter pilfering for scraps. On all fours he's high torque and perpetual energy

Click to expand...

Tell your dog I said "HI"!

thetxpopulist said:

MOLLE system, straps & quick release mounts
----------------

Overhead rack by DV8 OR:

View attachment 629953

BroAddict Rear Window Panels:

I had some others from amazon that made it a pain to take off the hardtop. These make it much easier.

View attachment 629954

View attachment 629955

Generic Tailgate:

View attachment 629956

RC small pull straps, good for flashlights and similar sized things

RC large straps, good for wide variety of things. Like a campstool.

SST MOLLE Pouches. Water resistant and hold their shape WAY better than standard floppy nylon bags.

Quick release mounts. These have minor play in them that can generate noise. Easy fix with black electrical tape and exacto knife.

Click to expand...

Sweet. Would love to see a write up on your entire air system-reel, tank, fittings, horn, compressor. Do you have a link to where you got your molle bag identifiers (letters)

Searchdawg said:

Sweet. Would love to see a write up on your entire air system-reel, tank, fittings, horn, compressor. Do you have a link to where you got your molle bag identifiers (letters)

Click to expand...

Absolutely! Air system will be added here later tonight.

As for the letters, all I could find was expensive custom solutions ($10+ per identifier). I ended up buying these blank Velcro name tags on Amazon, and printed the Letters in a matte orange (to match the Badlands accent color) using a small vinyl printing machine I’ve got, called a cricket.

I think the cricket was roughly $100 a few years back, but has paid for itself by negating the need for these Etsy-ish type things. If you don’t wanna buy one your local public library will typically have one you can use for free, you just pay material cost ($5 for a 12’ roll of vinyl).

Name tags:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C17FCW6L?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Print and transfer with transfer tape:

thetxpopulist said:

MOLLE system, straps & quick release mounts
----------------

Overhead rack by DV8 OR:

BroAddict Rear Window Panels:

I had some others from amazon that made it a pain to take off the hardtop. These make it much easier.

Generic Tailgate:

RC small pull straps, good for flashlights and similar sized things

RC large straps, good for wide variety of things. Like a campstool.

SST MOLLE Pouches. Water resistant and hold their shape WAY better than standard floppy nylon bags.

Quick release mounts. These have minor play in them that can generate noise. Easy fix with black electrical tape and exacto knife.

Click to expand...

Just looked up those molle pouches, those things look great

Natethegreat1979 said:

Just looked up those molle pouches, those things look great

Click to expand...

Thank You! Night and day vs a traditional pouch IMHO. Although it’s on Amazon, I’ve spoken to the owner and it’s a small Veteran owned Business. Highly recommend! Hopefully he starts offering different sizes.

thetxpopulist said:

Thank You! Night and day vs a traditional pouch IMHO. Although it’s on Amazon, I’ve spoken to the owner and it’s a small Veteran owned Business. Highly recommend! Hopefully he starts offering different sizes.

Click to expand...

Even BETTER! I'm a Vet, I love buying from vet owned businesses. I'm definitely gonna grab about 3 of these, I agree I wish they had larger sizes especially for my air compressor hoses.

Natethegreat1979 said:

Even BETTER! I'm a Vet, I love buying from vet owned businesses. I'm definitely gonna grab about 3 of these, I agree I wish they had larger sizes especially for my air compressor hoses.

Click to expand...

Im not a Vet, but I also love buying from Vet owned businesses! Thank you for your service and God Bless!

I’m gonna post a section about my air setup this evening, which includes my solution for hoses.