09 + Ford F-150

[robertm]

Ford? Is there anything else? Died in the wool here, and looks like after this week it'll stay that way, too. I think Fords leather is pretty good now compared to old days. Nothing beats the King Ranch Castano, though. The new Chapparal is supposedly better to take care of than trhe Castano. I treated mine every few eeks and it wore like iron. That stuff is THICK saddle leather.

was set on trading to a new 2009 - I had a 2008 King Ranch Supercrew - but after I found out I was 525# overweight towing my travel trailer, I opted to go back to a Superduty. I strictly drove F-250 Diesels since 1999, but tried another F-150 last spring. I have no regrets. If Ford ever gets an F-150 into real towing capability, I will go back. Unfortunately, nobody builds a 1/2 ton crew cab capable of hauling a 7,000 trailer (900# tongue weight) and a family of four. Yes, the tow rating may show it, but when you add up the cargo, people, and tongue weight, 1300# of payload is nothing when properly outfitting for a weekend. My current F-350 at 11,400 GVWR and 3,000 pound plus payload make it easier to make trailer moves now.

 

[KeithInSpace]

How is Fords leather

I have 65,000 miles on my 2005 Expedition (closed in F150) and it has worn very well. I recently had a spot go bad on the leather steering wheel where my hand is ALWAYS sweating, but my $12 leather steering wheel cover from Target matches the interior perfectly. With some simple cleaning, the driver's side would look really nice and the passenger's side (as well as the back seats) could pass as brand new.

I have the 300 HP 5.4 engine and love it. I'll get 20 MPG at 70 MPH on the interstate and have plenty of grunt off the line. I have the optional gears as well as the optional towing package for a 9,000# capacity. It will pull the heck out of my 20' ~5,000# travel trailer (11 MPG) as well as my 20' dovetail with BX and attachments (13 MPG). It has been a spectacular truck.

I've considered a 3/4 ton Suburban as my next vehicle as it is the ONLY truck out there that is LONGER than my Expedition AND has a higher towing capacity. The Expedition has a "long" version, which is fine, but the increased weight doesn't come with an increased GCVWR, meaning the towing capacity is diminished by a similar amount.

Liked the Excursion, but they're less comfortable for the family than the Expedition or Suburban.

My perfect truck? Expedition XL with small-displacement turbo-diesel and 11,000# towing capacity. Second best? Suburban 2500 with small-displacment turbo-diesel and 11,000# towing capacity. The best match out there is Suburban 2500 with big gas engine, but it still doesn't crack 10k# towing. And the mileage sucks.

But that's my world. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

 

[Builder]

One of the things I don't like about the new Fords is how high the side of the bed is. I feel like a little kid standing next to them. We have one at where I work, its 2 wheel drive, and I can hardly reach into the bed standing beside it and i'm 6 feet tall. The 4 wheel drives are worse. I think they just make the beds a little deeper.

That's another little game phord plays to claim the biggest cargo capacity.

Maybe they can make another retractable ladder for the sides to match the one in the tailgate.

 

[Builder]

Hey guys long time GM fan thinking of jumping ship.
currently I have an 08 GMC serria 1500 Ext cab. and I have to say the biggest purchasing mistake i've made in a long time was purchasing a truck with an ext cab vs 4 door. Anyways. I sat in a 2010 Ford F-150 4 door and couldn't believe the leg room in the back seat it blew the Goverment Motors truck away that i sat in the week before.
My question is what do you guys think of the new body style F-150? any known problems? hows the ride quality? How does it pull weight? My wife wants me to trade my Serria in on an Avalanche but i'm having a hard time buying mutant truck when I do so much truck related work from tractors to ATV's. I also like the higher towing cap on the F-150.
Any thoughts would be great.
Thanks

What does your extensive "truck related work from tractors to ATV's" consist of?
What are the weights of the trailers or equipment that you are towing? That would be a great way to help you spec out the proper vehicle.

 

[BlackRaptor]

Box height doesn't bother me nether does the over all stance of the truck.
I'm the kind of person who likes to lift trucks. I'm also 6' 4"
Thats one thing i've always not liked about the chevy was even the Z71 is a belly burner next to the ford and dodge.
Thanks for all the info guys I'm going to test drive F-150's this afternoon. I'll let you know what I thought.

 

[BlackRaptor]

What does your extensive "truck related work from tractors to ATV's" consist of?
What are the weights of the trailers or equipment that you are towing? That would be a great way to help you spec out the proper vehicle.

I haul my tractor between farms every week at least once or twice.
2520 with a loader and belly mower on it. trailer is a 20 foot landscaping trailer with side rails best I can figure I think the trailer is about 1700lb/2000 and the tractor is 4000ish plus I normally toss my Polaris Ranger on the trailer with it so thats about 1500lb

 

[Diamondpilot]

I haul my tractor between farms every week at least once or twice.
2520 with a loader and belly mower on it. trailer is a 20 foot landscaping trailer with side rails best I can figure I think the trailer is about 1700lb/2000 and the tractor is 4000ish plus I normally toss my Polaris Ranger on the trailer with it so thats about 1500lb

I pulled 7,000# with my 2007 F-150 I just traded in every weekend from April till late October 150+ miles round trip for 2 years, probably 60 trips total. I also took it on a few 500 mile trips each year. The truck was a 2007 SuperCrew FX4 with the 5.4 and 3.73 gears. It did 16.4 mpg with no load and pulling this 7,000# it did right at 10 mpg.

The truck you are looking at will do just fine as long as its specked out with the right gears and you should see similar results.

Chris

 

[BlackRaptor]

Does the FX4 package help much with towing and over all handling?
I've had both Z71 and 4X4 GMC's and I never really noticed a huge differance between the two.

 

[ME83]

Your tractor only weighs around 3000 lbs, so all total you are only pulling around 6000 lbs. Honestly, any 1/2-ton truck with a V8 will pull that with no problems. The thing I hate most about the Ford and Dodges is the fact that they build them to stand taller when there is no need; oh wait the need is so they can sell them to guys with a inferiority complex . If you actually use the truck as a truck and put anything in the bed, that extra height is a lot more work.

 

[Builder]

I haul my tractor between farms every week at least once or twice.
2520 with a loader and belly mower on it. trailer is a 20 foot landscaping trailer with side rails best I can figure I think the trailer is about 1700lb/2000 and the tractor is 4000ish plus I normally toss my Polaris Ranger on the trailer with it so thats about 1500lb

I can do that load with my chevy tahoe. I wouldn't think you need that much truck at all.

I actually pull a 7K trailer with my chevy 1500 4x2 with a small v-8 right now, but it sounds like GM doesn't build the truck you like anyway.

The thing I hate most about the Ford and Dodges is the fact that they build them to stand taller when there is no need; oh wait the need is so they can sell them to guys with a inferiority complex .

I agree that high trucks are made a lot for "compensating" for other "shortcomings", but I guess if you're 6-4, I can see why a sky-high truck with a lift kit would be better for you.