New Trucks / SUV's

With rear wheel drive, if you put your parking brake on it can help getting out of a slippery slip by acting as a limited slip differential.  So I hear, I've done it and never had problems.

Our company has probably 200+ ford products. They have for years. Around 75 years to be exact. Me personally over the last 13 years with the company have driven all kinds. In the past few years I've had my own given to me. I've had 250 diesels, 250 gassers,150 tritons, 150 with 4.6 and now I have the ecoboost like I said earlier. It's the reason my personal truck is a ford. We have some trucks runnin around with 300,000 miles on them. I am biased but they are good trucks. I just don't like the ecoboost. It does have some pep to it that's for sure. For example if your going 15 mph and punch it hold on. The turbo kicks in and look out. However that turbo doesn't do anything off the line. I have 2 friends that are tundra guys and they love their trucks but good grief they are terrible on gas. Off the line that truck is sick. First time I rode in it I was like holy **** what did you do to this thing. His reply. Nothing. My neighbor has a new 1500 dodge. Great gas mileage (22mpg) and pulls 2 ton of stone plus trailer like a champ. I just don't like the inside of the truck. Everything else is legit. On a side note I wouldn't take a gm product if u

Dobie said:

 @Legume‌ whch ecoboost motor do you have? How many miles on it now and any maintenance issues?

it's a 3.5L twin turbo, but I think that's the only one they've put in the f150.  I know there are many engines badged as ecoboost so I would never judge that label as a group, I don't think they were developed together, Ford just branded them all ecoboost but they have their own lineage.  You have to look at the performance/reliability of the one in the car/truck you're looking at.  For instance, I know they also put a 3.5 eco in the Flex, but it's setup differently - performance specs are different.  I don't know a lot about engines, many more experts here than I.  From what I've read, mine has twin turbochargers setup so that you're always getting some boost.  One kicks in right away - very low rpm and the other kicks in higher, but I have no idea where.  I've had no problems with the engine at all, but I know from months of research on forums, etc., some people have had problems with hesitation, poor mileage, loss of power.  Not many people that are happy/no problems are posting that on forums (except here), so I have no idea what the rate of real problems to happy customers is.  The only problem I have had is with the transmission electronics - twice while in for service I've had them reset it to factory so it goes through it's learning cycle again.  After a while it tends to shift hard when going slow/slowing down and then hitting the gas (eg light is red and turns green as you're approaching).  I could probably solve this with a 3rd party tune, but I'm under extended warranty and don't really want to go to the trouble.

On a road trip I can get 20 mpg if I stay under 65, drive conservatively and am not hauling anything.  Reality is I get 17-18 on a road trip and 17 around town.  I did better when I first got it because I was obsessing with the mpg but now I'm back to my normal and I tend toward a heavier foot.

I have ~ 65k on it.  Hope this helps.

been sitting in the same dodge dakota convertible since 1989
if i bought a new truck again it would be dodge but the prices are scary high. if i bought an suv it would be a toyota fj cruiser from a woman that parks it in a garage the day before they hear its gonna snow. my only problem with toyota is that the frames rot out in about 10 years up here from all the salt they put on the roads in winter, the good thing is that toyota replaces the frames free. dodges new 6 cylinder high hp gas engine gets 25 mph supposedly

fishlessman said:

been sitting in the same dodge dakota convertible since 1989
if i bought a new truck again it would be dodge but the prices are scary high. if i bought an suv it would be a toyota fj cruiser from a woman that parks it in a garage the day before they hear its gonna snow. my only problem with toyota is that the frames rot out in about 10 years up here from all the salt they put on the roads in winter, the good thing is that toyota replaces the frames free. dodges new 6 cylinder high hp gas engine gets 25 mph supposedly

There was a recall on mine and they inspected it. My SIL is a service manager at a dealership. If I had had any problems at all they would have installed a new frame (believe it or not). They have a lifetime coating they put on the frames now. Mine is an '08 and not a speck of rust on it. Pretty sure we're on about the same salt content.

I tow my boat all over the country.  Have an F250 (4x4), a 4-Runner (4x4), and an FJ Cruiser (4x2)...

@Jeremiah I've heard that about the 3.5 as well, never experienced but there are some horror stories out there on f150 forum - but no idea about the sample size.  Seems like you get a problem one or not - same with mileage, some people say they can only get 12-13.  I haven't looked in a while - but when I start to get close to end of my warranty, I'm going to look more to decide if I need to get out or not.  I will say that ford's standard warranty is crap and too much going on in new engines to not cover yourself beyond 3 years.  I had a 2003 Expedition with the 5.4 for 165k miles and absolutely loved that engine, never a problem with it at all.

ksmyrl said:

For me...if buying a gasser there isn't a ton of difference in the three American trucks. Comes down to opinion. All are really good and all have been making them for many decades longer than the Japanese trucks. If diesel is your preference then dodge...hands down. It's the only true diesel in consumer vehicles these days...Not a converted gasser. Remember these are my opinions based on facts. No offense is intended. My Chevy Silverado 2WD has pulled my 19 ft boat for over 100k miles and is still going strong.

I don't even think Toyota sells pickups in Japan. They are made in and for North America.

fusionhq said:

@Jeremiah I wish the payment wasn't what it is, but I spend as much, if not more time in my truck than I do at home, so it's important to me that I'm at least comfortable.

Hey no judgement here. As soon as I can swing it, I'm stepping up to the 6.7.

Little Steven said:

ksmyrl said:

For me...if buying a gasser there isn't a ton of difference in the three American trucks. Comes down to opinion. All are really good and all have been making them for many decades longer than the Japanese trucks. If diesel is your preference then dodge...hands down. It's the only true diesel in consumer vehicles these days...Not a converted gasser. Remember these are my opinions based on facts. No offense is intended. My Chevy Silverado 2WD has pulled my 19 ft boat for over 100k miles and is still going strong.

I don't even think Toyota sells pickups in Japan. They are made in and for North America.

Exactly right......built down in San Antonio as a matter of fact and at least when I bought my Tundra, had more American made parts than any other truck on the market. somewhere north of 85%.  The last two "American" trucks I owned were built in Canada and Mexico respectively.   

13 mpg with an ecoboost!? I run a 5.0 liter f150 and average 15. I can get 16-18 easy but I let it warm up a lot on these cold mornings. You must be a little throttle happy or cruise around the city too much to be owning a truck!