My New Truck

It has been a couple of months since I got my new Ford F-150 SuperCrew Pickup Truck and I thought it was time to post a few comments. If you have been reading this blog then you know that I was having severe problems with the truck engine on my Dodge Dakota and that Chrysler was not going to replace the engine, even though it was still under the factory extended warranty. The result of that problem, with assistance from my local dealer, was that I was able to trade my Dodge Dakota for this nice Ford F-150 SuperCrew that I am now enjoying.

Now, to sum everything up about my new truck, I am very pleased with it. It took me a little while to get use to the larger size, in fact I am still learning. This Ford F-150 is approximately 8” longer, 8” wider and 8” higher that the Dodge Dakota I had. Now I am more careful when I drive into drive-up lanes and other narrow locations. I find that I park more to the outside of the lots away from the stores.

Usually people just slide their vehicle into a parking space and try to keep it centered in the parking space. With a larger vehicle you have to be more aware of the remaining space on both sides. First, you must leave enough room for you to get out of the truck and second, enough room for the driver of the vehicle on your right to get back in. If two cars are crowding the empty space between them I will not try to park between them.

There are many things about this new Ford F-150 that I really like. Mostly the truck is very comfortable to sit and drive and it handles quite well. The gas mileage has been the same as my Dodge Dakota which is really good, since the Ford F-150 has a bigger engine, more towing capacity and overall larger. I am looking forward to towing my trailer with my Ultralight Airplane on it this summer. I expect this Ford F-150 will tow my trailer better that my last vehicle.

The little things are the nicest. On top of the front dash is a small recessed area in the center with a non-slip surface on it. This is a perfect place to put your cell phone, iPod and other small gadgets. Speaking of my iPod, there is a jack in the corner of this recessed area that allows me to plug my iPod in and play the music through the truck’s stereo system. With several hours of music loaded in the iPod, I have enough music for a long trip.

The stereo system also supports MP3 music files. I converted about a dozen music CDs to MP3 files and then burned these files to a single CD-R. Now I have two CDs in the truck with just about my entire music collection (well, just the CDs I listen to on a regular basis).

Each of the four doors has a pocket on the bottom of the door. I nice place to hold maps and other objects I plan to keep in the vehicle. My umbrella fits nicely in the back door pocket right behind the driver.

When I first drove the vehicle it was clear to me that I needed running boards or tube steps for the truck. I selected the Ford 5” tube steps. Definitely makes it easier to get into the truck. Next I wanted a soft, roll up bed cover. I had a low profile roll up cover on my last truck and I wanted one on this truck, so I ordered it. I also wanted a bed liner, preferably a sprayed in liner, but my funds were running low. The dealer suggested, that since I got a soft cover for the bed, that I get a rubber mat for the bed. This mat is heavy enough not to blow out yet it is easy to remove for bed cleaning. Good idea, I got the bed mat.

As I said in the beginning, I really like this truck. I have not had a Ford vehicle for more that 10 years now and I still have the high quality I liked in the past. This is my first Ford F-150 and I know why they say that the F-150 is the best selling truck on the market.

I think I might be a Ford Truck person for quite a while.