I agree with all the points made here. This is not quite a nitche vehicle but it's also not for everybody.
I bought a base 22 for that very reason, to make it my own rig without feeling guilty about ripping off pricey factory parts. Ford made a mistake by killing off lower end models.
I have a base model that was just in the shop for a minor fender bender and it's vin came back as a badlands. At first I thought it was odd but I didn't dwell on it...
For what it's worth, I picked up a set of Milestar Patagonia's 285 70 17. No lift or offset and the don't rub full stop. I haven't taken them on the trail yet but I had read about them in a motortrend article about overlanding. So far so good though, not much road noise but the handling is a...