Matt, I love my 01 XLT. We got almost 10 inches of snow last week and I done some offroading with and couldn't be happier. With that said, If I had my time to do it over again (which I will soon), I'd have bought a Titan.
I'm sticking with the Chevy's, but that said that is a good deal on that truck and I have heard nothing bad about them, I just dont really like the way they look. Have you looked at other brands though?
Yep just a 2.5" leveling kit. Bought for $70 shipped and installed it myself. I originally wanted a suspension lift, but costs prevented that...so i went to a body lift, but in all honesty i've never heard someone happy with a body lift AND it doesn't add much for several hundred bucks. So I went with the cheap way out, and on that model Ford you can actually squeeze 35" tires under just the leveling kit without any rubbing at all. Thanks for the complements, I like it too!
I'm old school running a 2000 F150 with 223K I'll run her till she croaks, if she croaks! Love my F150.
That's exactly what I'm going to do Trevor, thanks. What size are your tires? What size are the wheels? I'm going to throw some black wheels on it too. I think that will look awesome with the dark blue.
I also wouldn't rule out the mid-size line too Matt... I mean Why do you need a full size? What are you pulling that A mid-size v8 can't do. OR GM's 5 cylinder pushing 250hp would do just about any light towing. I ALMOST bought a 2006 Dodge Dakota 4x4, 4.7 V8 for $8,000.... And when I am ready to buy for sure... I'll be looking at them again. Just food for thought.
The exact measurements escape me, but they are basically 35x12s on 18" factory chrome wheels....this is the only way to get 35s under it, after market rims have too much wheel spacing and 35s will rub...aftermarket wheels=33" tires with these leveling kits. I didnt have enough money left for wheels anyway, so I went ahead and got 35s. Black wheels are pretty awesome though on the right truck!
I drive 98' F-150 XLT 4x4 and it's in geat shape now. About past 210,000k on it. My father takes care of our 4-5 trucks now. All of them are Fords. He's not a mechanic, but taking care of them is just one of his hobbies. I may get a new F-150 or F-250 in less than a year.
I really like my 05 F-150. The gas mileage could be better (14-15 mpg avg), but what surprised me when I bought it was the towing power. It's rated for over 9000 lbs if you have the correct gear ratio. I pull a 5th wheel 4-horse trailer with mine with absolutely no problems.
Buckmaster....how many miles are on that Dakota? That seems like a REALLY low price on that new of a truck. I have a Dodge and hate it, but if the price were right........ :D
Do you have the 3.73 rear end? I think many of the more "sluggish" F-150s are the one's with the 3.55s, which coupled with a bit of an undersized motor, a 4spd transmission, and one of the heaviest full size trucks out there, it's no wonder some say it's slow. Anyways, to add to what I said earlier, I went through this decision when I bought my 05 Tacoma two years ago. Gas prices were high and climbing further. I wanted a fullsize truck in the worst way. Problem was, I wasn't keen on the size of the 1st gen Tundra's which up to 05, also had a 4spd tranny, and gas mileage was atrocious for the truck's specs. The new Tundra's were just released, and although it really appealed to me, I didn't want that big of a truck payment. Nissan makes a SOLID truck all around, but the gas mileage is by far the worst of all fullsize trucks, and they weren't on the market long enough to show long term reliability. I like the seating comfort and gas mileage of the GM/Chevy 1-tons, but they have very low ground clearance, and they're now 30% owned by the government, so I'll pass Dodge wasn't ever even in the running since I need my truck to last past 60K miles. That's what led me to my Tacoma. I have a little bigger than stock sized tires on (265/75/16 Terra Grapplers), and I manage 19-20mpg mixed driving in the summer and 17-18mpg mixed in the winter (sometimes in the 15-16 range when in 4wd a lot). I have the tow package, so I can tow up to 6500lbs, a rear locker, solid ground clearance, etc. I have an access cab, and hate that I can't take passengers on long trips with it (I guess on the bright side it keeps the miles of mine:D). The bed is not 4' between the wheel wells, so hauling sheeting gets tricky. Resale is hard to beat with Toyota, and I'm at 86K with NO problems. To me, I always hear people claiming trouble free ownership with many domestic/foreign vehicles when they only have 40k, 50k, even 80K miles, but to me, that's not the true testiment to quality. If your vehicle has given you 125K, 150K, 200K+ relatively trouble free miles, THEN it's impressive. That was my biggest hesitation with Ford (I wouldn't consider any other domestic full size right now). A lot of people who were giving reviews that I was reading, were only at 60K miles, or 30K miles, and then trading in at 80K or 100K. I wasn't seeing a lot of owners either reporting or reporting to have kept their vehicle for 125k, 150K+ miles. My 96 Tacoma I sold when I bought my new one had 198K miles on it. 80K of those miles were HARD. The truck was lifted 6", had 90+lbs of weight with each wheel/tire combo, had full steel body armor, was offroaded HARD (took it to Paragon offroad park several times), and all I did was change the oil and grease every 3K miles. I replaced the Cat, and that was it. When I sold it, I had my mechanic look over it, and he couldn't believe it had that many miles on it. The oil was clean, diff oil had no shards of metal in it, brakes were in good condition (replaced at 90K), pads were still good, rotors were good, little underbody rust, etc. I'm rambling, but to the point here, even after this experience with Toyota, I think they're heading down the wrong road. I'm not sure if I'm even keeping this truck, or not, but it's been good to me. I'm also considering a fullsize, but because I could really use a fullsize (I haul a lot of building material, firewood, etc now that I'm a homeowner). I don't really WANT to since I know I will take a huge hit in gas mileage, but ask yourself if you really NEED a fullsize truck. Nissan and Toyota's midsize (sorry, the Range doesn't make the cut to me) put out close to mid 200's HP, and decent torque, having good tow ratings, etc, while ususally getting about 2-4mpg better on avg than a fullsize. Just a thought from someone who was in your shoes not too long ago.:D
Little bit of an update. I went today to look at the truck, but it had been sold BUT! They had one that looked identical, except it was an 06', black leather interior with the center console and center shift, 55k miles, and 20" wheels. They want a little more for it, but I'm going back Saturday to drive it and so forth. Trevor, With 20" wheels instead of 18", I wouldn't be able to get the 35's on there would I?
I've got an '05 and friggin love it! I'm gonna tell ya right now though, get the bigger motor. 5.4 I believe. The 4.6, which is the one I have, is underpowered for the truck, which equates to horrible fuel mileage. Front brakes are expensive, that's for sure. But, I guess that's the price we pay for a full sized truck. It's an awesome ride though.
Please don't run 20s on a truck:D The rim size isn't as a deciding factor on tire fitment (assuming backspacing/offset is correct), unless you're downsizing from stock and might have issues clearing the calipers. The 20s are going to be heavier than a comparable 18", thus gas mileage is going to take a hit (may or may not be significant), they tend to ride a little rougher, your tire prices are going to be through the roof compared to the already high 18" wheels (the F-150s can run a 17" wheel so that would be the most logical choice), and one of the biggest downsides (if you're taking this truck anywhere other than the mall) is you're going to have less sidewall with the 20s than the 18s with a same sized tire. More tire,the better when offroad, especially if you ever have to air down a little.
Matt, we're on the same page. The 20's look good though. I'm already looking at downsizing to 18's with aftermarkets. I'm going to have a little money to play with for accessories and that's what I'm looking at. The reason I asked, is because Trevor said something about the wheels having something to do with being able to fit 35's on it.
The trucks I'm looking at (FX-4's) all have the 5.4. If I do end up going with Ford, it will definately have the 5.4 in it. I've read about some spark plug issues on the 5.4, not sure how common it is though.
Fairly common from what I've heard, I can't remember exactly what it was, but I think it was an issue with the plugs breaking off in the head (I think it was also just one or two the plugs that did this). I would just have your dealership change the plugs for you as part of the deal to be safe. As for the wheels, Trevor is right, but it's the backspacing he's eluding to. Unless it came with factory 20s (they didn't), or the 20's have the same backspacing and offset that stock 18s have, then you will definitely have rubbing issues either on the frame, upper control arm, or your pinch weld. You can sometimes have alignment shops at some caster to the alignment specs to pull the wheel away from the rear fender if that's rubbing, but it might not be enough while keeping the alignment in spec.
