I've always had 4x4s, but before my 2021 Longhorn, I had a 2012 2WD LoneStar crew cab and loved it. Last year there was a Black Widow at a local stealership that caught my eye, and I decided I wanted it... right up until they pulled their usual crap (bait-n-switch) and I learned that the $59,500 sticker was nowhere close to their $85K+ asking price. No way in Hell am I paying that much for a truck.
So, I went on the hunt for a '21 Laramie Limited that I could 'kind of' transform into my own Black Widow-like vehicle, with a mild lift, the cool wheels, a Magnaflow, and without all of the extra SCAP Black Widow stuff that costs a ton of money and didn't really appeal all that much to me, anyway. My wife found my Longhorn with the 22s (that look almost the same as the Black Widow's 22s) for the same list price as the Black Widow and I decided to get it instead. I have a MaxTrac 3" Front/1.5" Rear lift/level kit ready to go, and will swap on some 35x12.50/R22s (most likely Recon Grapplers) when I finally wear out the crappy stock Goodyears. After that, swap the factory muffler for a Magnaflow Direct-Fit unit. Total cost for getting 'almost' the same truck (without all the proprietary BS) will be less than $3K - which beats the Hell out of an extra $25K from the stealership. The only things mine won't have is 3" more lift, a panoramic sunroof (who wants that in West Texas, anyway), a tuner, aftermarket exhaust, and goofy-looking spider logos everywhere. I know there's more to it than that, but all of the other performance goodies on the Badlanders and Black Widows aren't really all that necessary, for my needs anyway.
Depending on how much you want to actually do to your truck, doing it yourself isn't all THAT bad. Even having an off-road shop do the hard bits is still coming out ahead of the game money-wise, if that's a consideration. But, there is also merit to having it all installed by the stealership, especially when it comes time for warranty issues - and, still comes in way cheaper than the $82K truck with the Halogens.
