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Biggiehorn's Build Thread

Does the tailgate open screen disappear as soon as you shift into reverse or drive?
So confirmed on my way home from work today. The tailgate open screen only comes up when the tailgate is down and you shift out of park. The ok button on the wheel will clear the message, but the little red tailgate icon will stay illuminated on the dash by the speedometer. The message will show back up on the screen if you put the vehicle in park and then switch back to drive. Seems it is linked directly to the dial shifter when taking the vehicle out of park.
 
I'm not going to blow this group up with Spam messages, but I thought I would share for anyone that may be interested in VLAND LED headlights for their 5th gen. I am in no way trying to push a sale on anyone, but if interested, you can take advantage of 10% off of your order with my promo code below.
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I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year! Here is my last Bighorn photo of 2021!
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I see you got the reflective led‘s. The website says it’s $550, is that for the set or apieve? I am assuming it’s for the set since it doesn’t ask to pick which side. Is that correct? And also, it says they are chrome. Do you have pics of your without the dry on? I have a night edition and not a fan of chrome so curious how it looks.

Your truck looks great by the way!
 
I see you got the reflective led‘s. The website says it’s $550, is that for the set or apieve? I am assuming it’s for the set since it doesn’t ask to pick which side. Is that correct? And also, it says they are chrome. Do you have pics of your without the dry on? I have a night edition and not a fan of chrome so curious how it looks.

Your truck looks great by the way!
Thanks! Yeah they are the reflective version, and $549 is the price for the set before any discounts, so yes that is for both the left and right side headlights. The discount code will work for the reflector or projector versions depending on what you want. On mine, the Inside housing does have a chrome look. The LEDs reflect off of the chrome housings and bounce the light out towards the road. The outer edge is black. Even though they have chrome, the lights have a darker appearance than the factory look. I’ll drop a couple pics, both completely unedited. As you can see they have chrome in the housing to reflect the LEDs, but it is not as pronounced as the factory non-night edition lights.
 

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Yeah they are the reflective version, and $549 is the price for the set before any discounts, so yes that is for both the left and right side headlights. Inside the housing does have a chrome look. The LEDs reflect off of the chrome housings and bounce the light out towards the road. Even though they are chrome, the lights have a darker appearance than the factory look. I’ll drop a couple pics, both completely unedited. As you can see they have chrome in the housing, but it is not as pronounced as the factory non-night edition lights.
Those look so much better than the big bug eyed oem halogen reflectors. I noticed you said if you did it over again you would go OEM. Are you still happy with the Vland or have you had any issues?
 
How easy was it to set the tailgate ajar? I’d like to change some settings on my truck but I have no idea where to find info on how to change the things I want to change.
 
Those look so much better than the big bug eyed oem halogen reflectors. I noticed you said if you did it over again you would go OEM. Are you still happy with the Vland or have you had any issues?
No complaints with the VLAND. I really like the look of them. They are holding up well and work great. I think they are the best looking aftermarket option and their price is hard to beat. I said I’d go OEM because, well… it’s OEM. The OEM look great and obviously it is a little more comforting knowing that the vehicle manufacturer has their name and reputation backing the lights. I’d imagine the light output is also probably better on OEM. Ive never used them, but I’ve heard they are incredible. But, the VLANDs also have good output and are significantly brighter than the halogens too. The only con I have found with the VLANDs is that the installation instructions could use some improvement, but there are plenty of YouTube videos out there that can help in that regard.
 
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How easy was it to set the tailgate ajar? I’d like to change some settings on my truck but I have no idea where to find info on how to change the things I want to change.
Go to YouTube and search Ram 1500 AlfaOBD. There are a bunch of videos showing most of the popular settings.
 
How easy was it to set the tailgate ajar? I’d like to change some settings on my truck but I have no idea where to find info on how to change the things I want to change.
Very simple. Took about 5 minutes for me and that was my first time ever using Alfa. You only have to enable two things for it to work.

once in AlfaOBD, go to body computer, configuration change, and enable the following two settings. Mine already had the first one on, but I had to enable the second one.

ECUConfig 4: tailgate ajar indication - yes

CBC Config I/O: Connector F Pin 26: Truck Liftgate Ajar Signal Input Present - Yes
 
No complaints with the VLAND. I really like the look of them. They are holding up well and work great. I think they are the best looking aftermarket option and their price is hard to beat. I said I’d go OEM because, well… it’s OEM. The OEM look great and obviously it is a little more comforting knowing that the manufacturer has their name backing the lights. I’d imagine the light output is also probably better on OEM. Ive never used them, but I’ve heard they are incredible. But, the VLANDs also have good output and are significantly brighter than the halogens too. The only con I have found with the VLANDs is that the installation instructions could use some improvement, but there are plenty of YouTube videos out there that can help in that regard.
I think I am going to go the Vland route. Are they straight plug and play or will I need to purchase an OBD?
 
I think I am going to go the Vland route. Are they straight plug and play or will I need to purchase an OBD?
Completely plug and play. If going from halogen to the VLAND LEDs, you won’t need the adapter harness that the lights come with. The adapter harness is for OEM LED to the VLAND swap. You will need to run a wire from the headlights to your fuse block for the DRLs to function properly, but VLAND supplies the wire for that as well. If you do go that route, feel free to shoot me a message if you have questions or need any help when installing.
 
Completely plug and play. If going from halogen to the VLAND LEDs, you won’t need the adapter harness that the lights come with. The adapter harness is for OEM LED to the VLAND swap. You will need to run a wire from the headlights to your fuse block for the DRLs to function properly, but VLAND supplies the wire for that as well. If you do go that route, feel free to shoot me a message if you have questions or need any help when installing.
Thanks!
 
Thanks! Yeah they are the reflective version, and $549 is the price for the set before any discounts, so yes that is for both the left and right side headlights. The discount code will work for the reflector or projector versions depending on what you want. On mine, the Inside housing does have a chrome look. The LEDs reflect off of the chrome housings and bounce the light out towards the road. The outer edge is black. Even though they have chrome, the lights have a darker appearance than the factory look. I’ll drop a couple pics, both completely unedited. As you can see they have chrome in the housing to reflect the LEDs, but it is not as pronounced as the factory non-night edition lights.
your truck is absolutely gorgeous! you have great taste!
 
12/28/2021
Bulletpoint Phone Mount

I asked for this purely based on the hundreds of positive reviews I came across online. I didn’t realize how much I actually liked the product until I had it. I had become accustomed to using the phone holders in the center console so I didn’t think this would really add any value for me but I’ll tell you that I’ve quickly changed my mind. I have to carry two cell phones regularly, one of which being my work phone that I do not have connected to my Ram. This holder works perfect for allowing me to keep a line of sight on calls as they come in and keep both hands on the wheel. Not to mention I think the holder looks bada** and it is built extremely well. Love the versatility of this in that you can add additional accessories to the ball mount however you please.

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1/8/2022
Recon LED 3rd Brake Light
Factory OEM Night Edition LED Tails

At the time of this post, the Recon 3rd Brake Light is still a very new product. I really liked the look of the light, and with minimal reviews or information on it, I decided to jump in and take the gamble with it. I’ve only had it installed for two days, but I’m pretty impressed with it so far. It adds a clean appearance to the back of the truck and has the look that I was going for. I have a separate thread created for this light in the modifications section of the forum if you care to read about it in greater detail or would like to see additional photos.

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Okay so for the taillights… I have drooled over the night edition LED taillights probably since before I had this truck. I’ve wanted them since day 1 of ownership, and unfortunately it only seems like they keep going up in price. I’ve seen prices as high as $1500 asking for a set, and as bad as I wanted them, I just couldn’t pay that. I found these listed on eBay as a new/open box item and the price was adjusted to reflect that. They were guaranteed so I decided to take a deep breath and pull the trigger lol. These have the blind spot modules in them and I do plan on adding BSM to the truck in the coming months so I used that as leverage to help convince my buying decision 😂. I also have a buyer lined up for my halogen tails at a couple hundred bucks so that will help recoup some of the money for this upgrade. I absolutely love the look of these and the taillights were definitely brand new. There wasn’t a mark on them whatsoever or any indication that they had ever been installed. I can’t get over how much of a difference the taillights and 3rd brake light makes to the back end of the truck. Expensive upgrade, but I can breathe a sigh of relief (for now).

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With the LED taillights was it straight plug and play?
 
12/28/2021
Bulletpoint Phone Mount - $74.99 (Christmas gift)

I asked for this purely based on the hundreds of positive reviews I came across online. I didn’t realize how much I actually liked the product until I had it. I had become accustomed to using the phone holders in the center console so I didn’t think this would really add any value for me but I’ll tell you that I’ve quickly changed my mind. I have to carry two cell phones regularly, one of which being my work phone that I do not have connected to my Ram. This holder works perfect for allowing me to keep a line of sight on calls as they come in and keep both hands on the wheel. Not to mention I think the holder looks bada** and it is built extremely well. Love the versatility of this in that you can add additional accessories to the ball mount however you please.

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1/8/2022
Recon LED 3rd Brake Light - $190
Factory OEM Night Edition LED Tails - $895 😓

At the time of this post, the Recon 3rd Brake Light is still a very new product. I really liked the look of the light, and with minimal reviews or information on it, I decided to jump in and take the gamble with it. I’ve only had it installed for two days, but I’m pretty impressed with it so far. It adds a clean appearance to the back of the truck and has the look that I was going for. I have a separate thread created for this light in the modifications section of the forum if you care to read about it in greater detail or would like to see additional photos.

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Okay so for the taillights… I have drooled over the night edition LED taillights probably since before I had this truck. I’ve wanted them since day 1 of ownership, and unfortunately it only seems like they keep going up in price. I’ve seen prices as high as $1500 asking for a set, and as bad as I wanted them, I just couldn’t pay that. I found these listed on eBay as a new/open box item and the price was adjusted to reflect that. They were guaranteed so I decided to take a deep breath and pull the trigger lol. These have the blind spot modules in them and I do plan on adding BSM to the truck in the coming months so I used that as leverage to help convince my buying decision 😂. I also have a buyer lined up for my halogen tails at a couple hundred bucks so that will help recoup some of the money for this upgrade. I absolutely love the look of these and the taillights were definitely brand new. There wasn’t a mark on them whatsoever or any indication that they had ever been installed. I can’t get over how much of a difference the taillights and 3rd brake light makes to the back end of the truck. Expensive upgrade, but I can breathe a sigh of relief (for now).

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Those look a lot better and better yet with Luxe tint.

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With the LED taillights was it straight plug and play?
Yes direct swap. If you plan on adding BSM you’ll need a different taillight jumper harness, but I haven’t installed that yet. I figured I’d grab that once I’m ready to complete the rest of the addition. If you just want to add the LED tails, nothing additional is needed.
 

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