New Tow Pig for my 212x

[suke]

I've been looking at trucks for the last 8 months or so knowing before this next boating season I'd be picking up a full size truck. I'm more of a jeep fan than anything so when it comes to trucks I'm brand agnostic. So I looked at everything.....even Nissan Titan's. Settled on an F150 fairly quickly, but wasn't really set on the 3.5 ecoboost or the 5.0 V8. Stumbled onto this F150 on carvana and it was literally the cheapest F150 with these options with low mileage within 200 miles of me. I know why now as it spent some time in the rust belt, nothing is badly rusted and only has some surface rust on the axle. So I'll hit it with POR 15 and move on. Especially since it'll save my $3k. I will say the power this thing has is insane. Instant torque at 1400rpms is amazing. It'll undergo a massive restoration process, which anything used I buy does. Likely have about 150 hours worth of paint correction and ceramic coating installation ahead of me. Will be heading to FL here in a few weeks, sans boat, but will be taking this. So gonna hold off until after that.

Specs:
3.5 Ecoboost with max tow
39k miles
XLT

In the meantime I had to do some test spots just to see how it would look. The piano black trim is a PITA for any F150 owner. I did a light 2 step polish just to see what it would take. It'll take more and I'll likely pull them off and put xpel PPF on them.

 

[Liveto99]

Nice looking truck good luck!

 

[white2kstang]

Congrats! Love the red. We have a similar setup but with the 2.7. Been a great truck so far.

 

[2kwik4u]

I'm more of a jeep fan than anything so when it comes to trucks I'm brand agnostic.

Congrants on the new rides. That is a sharp looking truck. I'm hit and miss on the styling for the F150's and it's VERY package dependent (Silver platnum edition trucks are NOT for me). You got a good one there.

What drove the change from the Jeep? Jeep sticking around, or getting sold off?

Being brand agnostic is a rarity these days. I suspect you won't be after owning your Ford for awhile. I think most "newcomers" to this segment are brand agnostic. They buy what they like for the first one, then, after being an owner for a couple years, most likely nothing major has happened, and if they need to replace then they will purchase the same brand as before "Because it was good to me" or something similar. With all the major brands producing really good trucks (You really have to work hard to find a lemon anymore IMO), it's really easy for a manufacturer to build that brand loyalty on new customers.

 

[suke]

Congrants on the new rides. That is a sharp looking truck. I'm hit and miss on the styling for the F150's and it's VERY package dependent (Silver platnum edition trucks are NOT for me). You got a good one there.

What drove the change from the Jeep? Jeep sticking around, or getting sold off?

Being brand agnostic is a rarity these days. I suspect you won't be after owning your Ford for awhile. I think most "newcomers" to this segment are brand agnostic. They buy what they like for the first one, then, after being an owner for a couple years, most likely nothing major has happened, and if they need to replace then they will purchase the same brand as before "Because it was good to me" or something similar. With all the major brands producing really good trucks (You really have to work hard to find a lemon anymore IMO), it's really easy for a manufacturer to build that brand loyalty on new customers.

Jeep will forever stay. It'll just be retired to top off fun. It's paid off, and owes us nothing. When it comes time we'll get another wrangler. This truck will largely just be for towing the boat. I have a civic that I DD and while I love driving the truck it's hard to beat 38+MPG at 80mph all day long since my commute is about 80 miles a day. I've driven the truck to work this week as it has 30 day tags so the toll road I take is free. So far in the 2 days I've driven it I've burned more gas in it than I would have the civic in a week. LOL! I definitely see what you say about brand loyalty.....assuming nothing major ever happens to this I likely will get another Ford.

 

[2kwik4u]

@suke I too have a long commute (~65mi). I've been debating finding a cheap something or the other to drive back and forth. Hard to find something reliable in the $3k and under range though. Picked that number as it's a single year ROI in fuel savings in my area.

 

[Beachbummer]

It's a long drive.. I'd pick something comfortable over cheap within reason. If you are willing to go a little higher, the older chevy volts are dropping in price like a rock, and the first 30-40 miles (depending on car model year) are full electric (almost free, about 1/6 or less of the price of fuel if you charge at home) and the rest of the trip it sips premium gas at 35+MPG. For a long commute they are CHEAP to run.

 

[suke]

@suke I too have a long commute (~65mi). I've been debating finding a cheap something or the other to drive back and forth. Hard to find something reliable in the $3k and under range though. Picked that number as it's a single year ROI in fuel savings in my area.

For us we already had the civic, so it has been a no brainer to keep it. We bought it new in 2013 when my wife and I carpooled. Once we had our boy she quit work and I took over the civic. When it comes time to replace that, it has 140k miles so I've got plenty of time, I'll likely get a cheap-ish accord. A little more space, still good gas mileage, and crazy reliable. I'll likely try and stay within the $15k range. For me I generally keep stuff for a really long time, so my ROI is spread out over a lot longer period of time. This truck will also be paid off in 3 years. I don't like taking on more than one car payment at a time.

 

[Dixie Highway]

Welcome to the F-150 club! I am NOT brand agnostic when it comes to pickups, had too many Chevy's disappoint me and the one Dodge I had was a regret from about day 3. Love the color combo. On the plus side you wont have to worry about rust on the body!

 

[suke]

So uhhh change of plans. The red one just had too many small things to overlook. It eventually just kept adding up that I might as well spend that money on a newer truck. So returned this one before the 7 day trial was up and found this CPO in near mint condition. This was purchased in town here, driven here, and serviced by the local Ford dealer. Also all the new tech, newer motor/trans, and has leather. Also they did a pretty good job on polishing the paint. So hopefully it'll only take me a single stage polish to prep it for coating. Wheels are swirled up, so those will get attended to when I pull them off to coat them. Little man agrees with the upgrade.

 

[suke]

Tonneau cover installed and shorty antenna as well. That big ole dildo that thing had on there kept smacking my garage door when I pulled in.

Can't wait to tow the boat with it. Ended up loving driving this thing so much and after doing all the calculations I sold the civic. This is now my DD. It would have taken nearly 20 years for me to drive the civic to realize the gas savings rather than selling it and taking that money and putting it elsewhere. Need to bring the boat home soon to get working on the mat installation, well more or less the prep. Really don't want to try and tackle it all in a weekend. Would rather remove old mats on the swim platform, remove the snaps for the carpet, and fill the holes in one weekend. Then the other just wipe everything down once again and lay the mats.

 

[2kwik4u]

Tonneau cover installed and shorty antenna as well. That big ole dildo that thing had on there kept smacking my garage door when I pulled in.

Can't wait to tow the boat with it. Ended up loving driving this thing so much and after doing all the calculations I sold the civic. This is now my DD. It would have taken nearly 20 years for me to drive the civic to realize the gas savings rather than selling it and taking that money and putting it elsewhere. Need to bring the boat home soon to get working on the mat installation, well more or less the prep. Really don't want to try and tackle it all in a weekend. Would rather remove old mats on the swim platform, remove the snaps for the carpet, and fill the holes in one weekend. Then the other just wipe everything down once again and lay the mats.

This is really a much better looking truck than the last one. I really like the color/wheel combo on this one.

How's the reception with the shorty antenna? Where did you get it from?

I've done that daily driver math a number of times. Even with depreciation of the truck calculated in, I can't get the ROI on a daily driver below ~10yrs or so. That would also mean I would spend 10yrs driving a vehicle I really didn't enjoy. It's just never been worth it to me to sacrifice the comfort/features/power/capability/convenience of my truck just to break even in 10yrs.

 

[Julian]

Nice...now it needs a Jetboaters.net license plate on the front!

 

[Beachbummer]

I've done that daily driver math a number of times. Even with depreciation of the truck calculated in, I can't get the ROI on a daily driver below ~10yrs or so. That would also mean I would spend 10yrs driving a vehicle I really didn't enjoy. It's just never been worth it to me to sacrifice the comfort/features/power/capability/convenience of my truck just to break even in 10yrs.

That's a great point, depending on your mileage and taste, a separate car for the commute alone is not economical. The best thing to do is figure out the math and make an informed decision you feel comfortable with. It's more than OK to choose comfort over $$.

 

[suke]

This is really a much better looking truck than the last one. I really like the color/wheel combo on this one.

How's the reception with the shorty antenna? Where did you get it from?

I've done that daily driver math a number of times. Even with depreciation of the truck calculated in, I can't get the ROI on a daily driver below ~10yrs or so. That would also mean I would spend 10yrs driving a vehicle I really didn't enjoy. It's just never been worth it to me to sacrifice the comfort/features/power/capability/convenience of my truck just to break even in 10yrs.

I would agree. The 20" wheels look great on a truck this size. I have a buddy that has the same truck and he did a ton of research on what antenna to get. So, I just used his analysis. So far the reception is great! No issues what so ever. I got this oneL https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRER777/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 in the 6 3/4" variant.

I didn't mind driving the civic, BUT this truck is just an amazing driver experience. So smooth, quiet, amazing power/torque at the ready, and the size. I'm a tall guy(6'4" 185ish), so I was pretty cramped in the civic. This thing I have a ton of room in. It's amazing. Handles doing 80mph in traffic with ease too.

 

[suke]

Nice...now it needs a Jetboaters.net license plate on the front!

Unfortunately the front plate blocks my intercooler. Being in NC we don't HAVE to have a front plate, thank goodness.

 

[suke]

That's a great point, depending on your mileage and taste, a separate car for the commute alone is not economical. The best thing to do is figure out the math and make an informed decision you feel comfortable with. It's more than OK to choose comfort over $$.

Absolutely! Purchasing something purely for that use is never going to pay off. However, we already had the car and it has/had been paid off for years. So in that case it made things a little easier. Totally agreed though, going out to purchase another car so you don't drive something is almost always a bad investment. I do drive a lot though. About 20-30k miles a year. Hopefully that'll drop some, talking with a company about a role closer to home by 22 miles round trip.

 

[2kwik4u]

I do drive a lot though. About 20-30k miles a year. Hopefully that'll drop some, talking with a company about a role closer to home by 22 miles round trip.

Seriously.....are you spying on me. We have some very very similar driving habits. I've been averaging about 20k miles a year as well. I'm also looking at some other opportunities to reduce my time in the truck. I'm currently ~26mi from the office. Looking at one place that is 10mi, and a work from home position.

Thanks for the antenna info!

 

[Dixie Highway]

Unfortunately the front plate blocks my intercooler. Being in NC we don't HAVE to have a front plate, thank goodness.

Nah the turbo ones use an offset plate frame. To be honest though I can’t wait to ditch my front plate. Stupid 2 plate states...

 

[suke]

Nah the turbo ones use an offset plate frame. To be honest though I can’t wait to ditch my front plate. Stupid 2 plate states...

Mine was dead nuts in the middle of the bumper. I removed it and tossed it in the trash.