F150 Questions

[dirtydeed]

Last week, my wife had a new truck (2018 F150 lariat 5.0 supercrew) delivered to me for my b-day. It came as quite a surprise as I had nothing to do with it. I've never owned a Ford (ever) as I've always been a mopar fan. The new truck seems like a really nice ride (have to get used to the length) and I'm very appreciative and fortunate that my wife has such a kind heart.

Since I really don't know anything about this beast, I'm looking for some pointers from you guys that have late model versions. I really don't want to join a truck forum as I think there would be way too much to read!

Any suggestions/things to look out for? I think I can recall something about U-joints/drive shaft issues with supercrew's with 6.5 ft beds? I did notice that there are no rear wheel well liners. Is that something that I should get?

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

 

[skeets]

Wait she bought you a NEW TRUCK??? Dude Im not saying any thing but you might want to check and see about life INS. If my wife did that I would be all over itg looking for wires that dont look right,,,lol

I think that's a wonderful thing that woman must really love you.
I dont about the 18 but lil bro has a 17 and you almost have to use a 2x4 to pry him out of the seat. It has a ton of room is very quiet lots of power shifts real nice and rides super nice. I have always have GM trucks but his ford,,hmmm,, might make me want to rethink things

 

[dirtydeed]

Wait she bought you a NEW TRUCK??? Dude Im not saying any thing but you might want to check and see about life INS. If my wife did that I would be all over itg looking for wires that dont look right,,,lol

I think that's a wonderful thing that woman must really love you.
I dont about the 18 but lil bro has a 17 and you almost have to use a 2x4 to pry him out of the seat. It has a ton of room is very quiet lots of power shifts real nice and rides super nice. I have always have GM trucks but his ford,,hmmm,, might make me want to rethink things

I have the life insurance thing covered...besides, technically it's HER truck since she didn't want me to know anything about it.



The trans is smooth (10 speed) but I find that it gets a bit confused when under light accel/decel conditions. Hopefully it's still just learning. I did load up the tractor and take it for a pull with the new truck...no drama at all. Tow/haul mode keeps the trans from getting into any overdrive gears above 7th. I did find the pro-trailer assist thing a bit of a gimmick. That would definitely take some getting used to.

 

[Stmar]

Nice truck, I have an '05 STX SCAB 4WD and I really like it. I only have the 4.6L which is a bit under powered. I put an Edge EVO tuner in and that helped, it just plugs into the OBD port. I don't know if they make them any more, think for newer trucks they have a different model. I know you said you don't want to join an F150 forum but I have gained a lot of knowledge about my truck form them just like learning about my Kubota on this one. Below are a couple that I use for my F150 and F250.

https://www.f150forum.com/

https://www.f150online.com/forums/2015-2018-f-150-136/

 

[bearskinner]

I’ve had Fords forever, and my F150 SC is just about like yours, but a few years old now, with the 6 speed trans. I like the 5.0 better than the turbo 6, it has more grunt down low, and is much simpler than the twin turbo, that only has 10HP more?-ish but that’s at a much higher RPM.
One thing you may wish to add, is air assist bags to the rear suspension for towing heavy loads. There easy to install, only a couple hundred bucks, and make a phenomenal difference when towing a heavy load. If you got the integrated brake controller and camera system, your set! They do make aftermarket inner fender well liners for front and rear. If you have 4WD, you will notice that the oil filter is located safely above the front axle. Problem is, there is no way to unscrew the filter without dribbling on the housing. That’s probably the only issue I can say about it. I have a sacrificial towel that I draped over the axle when changing filters. Most new vehicles come with passenger rated tires, so when you wear them out in a few years, go a little heavier duty. I prefer the little firmer ride with load E tires.
Congrats on your new toy, it’s been the most popular vehicle for a reason, they ride and tow wonderfully, Enjoy!

 

[dirtydeed]

Thanks guys. I suppose I'll need to sign up on one of those forums.

I believe that Ford upped the power for the 5.0 for 2018 to 395hp/400 lb-ft by adding direct injection to the current port injection with a few other tweaks. So, the 5 liter still has more hp than the 3.5, but much less torque. Anyway, I don't tow all that much (6K max) so I was never really interested in the ecoboost anyway. I understand that they are quite powerful.

Bearskinner- I looked underneath and found the oil filter location as you described, but this truck has the FX4 package, so I would need to remove a skid plate anyway when changing oil. No big deal as I only put on approx 4K miles/year.

Regarding air bags- I noticed when I hooked up my trailer and loaded the tractor for a test pull, that the rear only dipped a half inch (measured) after loading the tractor on to the trailer. I had a similar experience when I did the same with my old dodge dakota. My suspicion is that I don't have enough tongue weight. It seems the trailer is a bit too short (16ft tandem axle, 7K) for the B2650 with the hoe so I can't get the machine forward far enough to load the tongue. I was able to squat the dakota with helper springs on with my old BX23 if I pulled up the trailer further.

Both trucks felt fine pulling the B2650, but I only took it for a quick test ride locally and didn't get above 50 mph on the local roads. I didn't experience any trailer wag what so ever. Not sure what will happen at highway speeds. Other then getting another trailer, I suppose my only option would be to back the tractor onto the trailer to provide more tongue weight.

Thanks again for the tips.

 

[bearskinner]

Your tractor is not that heavy, no where near a full load. I towed my off road bronco all over the country, with the trailer fully loaded with gear. Just bumping the air ride up 20 or 30 pounds makes an awesome difference. The motor home and F250 is bagged too.
Every year they add a few more goodies, an extra bell and whistle etc. that keeps them selling new trucks. You will love it. I know when this one is 10 years old, or 100K Miles, I’ll trade it in on another KR, just a newer version of this one!

 

[Botamon]

Dirtydeed, my F150 is now two years old with just over 20,000 miles on it. Just a supercab, with the 6.5' bed and the 3.5 Ecoboost engine. I can report I've had no, I mean zilch, problems of any sort with the truck since I bought it new. Never been back to the dealer. As with all my vehicles, all fuel fillups get entered into an Excel spreadsheet and that tells me that overall since I bought the truck I've been getting 20.9 mpg. Quiet, strong, dependable - and fuel efficient, for a pickup. Love this truck!

 

[78Vette]

Congrats on your wife and the new truck.
I've had several F150s with good luck. My 2018 has the 5.0L, which i ordered and no hole in the roof(sun roof). I do think it's damn petty of Ford to not install rear wheel well liners. I do however always buy them since i want to protect as much as possible from the stones on the gravel road i live on.

 

[dirtydeed]

Thanks for the reply's guys. Like I said, I never owned a ford before so I really don't know what to expect. Honestly, I can't get over the room inside this thing. I think it will make a great road trip machine.

Yes, I was wondering if I should get some rear wheel well liners. Sounds like that would be a good idea. I've already had the bed liner sprayed in locally, they did an outstanding job on it.

So far, very happy.

 

[vic gerbasi]

nearly all ford truck owners in my area have installed air bag suspension even on just off the lot units Im in horse and farm area best if luck

 

[windzer]

They don't put fender liners in them anymore because in the past they would hold mud and water underneath them and rot the fender out just look at all of the 92-96 body style f150s put there u will see what i mean.but the paint will get worn off and all u will see is the gray underneath the paint I believe it's galvanized some way at least that's what it looks like on mine it doesn't rust at all

 

[Stmar]

What MPG do you get with the 5.0? I was looking at the Eco Boost but the added $ is quite a bit higher. As far as wheel well liners why not have the wells sprayed also? I really like my STX but like to have my options open in case I want to update. Mine is a Super Cab with 6.5' bed and fits in the garage, I am afraid the Crew would be too long. I notice on the lots the majority of F150s are 4 door Crews.

 

[bearskinner]

Mileage will definitely depend on where and also what gas you use. I’ve gotten 23+ on the highway ( only) and down to 12 shopping, loading lumber and Supplys, running around in town. I pushed my long range odometer reading, it shows over the last 3,000 Miles I averaged 16.8 mpg.
I did notice using “corn gas” my mileage bites, big time.
As to seeing a whole lot of full size 4 door trucks, I love the large back seat area on the Super Crews. You can actually get full sized people in the back comfortably now. Believe me, manufacturers make what sells, apparently lots of folks like more room too.

 

[skeets]

A friend has a new ford and an old guy crashed the bed in a parking lot,,just backed right out never looked,,, Anyway, he said they fixed it by grinding off the rivets on the bed side skin and replaced the whole thing. The body man told him with the AL bodied thats the only way to do it and make things work, they did a nice job of it

 

[Botamon]

They don't put fender liners in them anymore because in the past they would hold mud and water underneath them and rot the fender out just look at all of the 92-96 body style f150s put there u will see what i mean.but the paint will get worn off and all u will see is the gray underneath the paint I believe it's galvanized some way at least that's what it looks like on mine it doesn't rust at all

One of the first things I added to my 2016 F150 was rear fender liners. I got the Husky ones as opposed to OEM because the Husky liners are larger - cover more - than the OEM Ford. Installed in just a few minutes, no drilling required. The way they fit in there, I don't see how mud could ever get up under them. But then I use them mainly to keep gravel from sandblasting the wheel wells - I drive a lot of dirt roads, at pretty good speeds, and without the liners you can hear the rocks ricocheting and pinging on the metal.

As far as rotting out, we'll all just have to see how the aluminum holds up to the mud, road chemicals, etc..

 

[Flienlow]

My 2015 leaked between the roof seams on the left rear. ( by rear seat belt) keep on eye on that.

 

[dirtydeed]

My 2015 leaked between the roof seams on the left rear. ( by rear seat belt) keep on eye on that.

I've heard of that happening. Somewhere I saw that the black piece of trim on the roof had lifted at the rear of the cab. Looked like a rivet or screw pulled thru the seam. Evidently they use a "flexible" seam filler there? Would that be because of the aluminum body?

 

[prof.fate]

ALuminum body I assume?
DOn't go doing fender benders..not cheap/easy to fix (from a bodyman friend o fmine).

I know from a truck forum folks where happy with a GVWR of 7200 (vs silverado's 7000) but in PA that means DOULBE the price for a license plate (7k is the cutoff).

Towing..read up on the packages CAREFULLLY. Diff trans, wheel/tire combos, 4x4, etc make a BIG difference in tow rating.

I had an expedition and it could tow 9600 lbs (*****properly equipped said the asterisk). Well, 4x4 dropped that 500lb, the 17" wheels took another 500 off...

and tow rating is based on gCwr - so say it's 14,400 like it was on my 13 silverado..the vehicle weight needs to be figured into that, so as you add options (tonneau cover, brush guards, etc) the weight available out of the gcwr keep dropping. My silverado weighed, no people or cargo, at 5700 lbs. 7k GVWR so only 1300 lbs paylod..800 lb toungue weight and you can't legally put 4 adults in the 4 door truck...

14,400 less 5700 is 8700 lbs..less 700lb of people and now what can REALLY tow is 8k lbs...and that is WITH the tow package. the 'z71' (similar to fx4) pacakge is NOT a towing package and lost even more capacity.

I just said screw it and picked up an 05 F350 basic truck..10,500 GVWR tow rating is something like 12k or maybe more (diesel is rated at 16,000 I believe).

Doesn't ride too nice, but it's a truck, not a car pretending to be a truck. My last mini van (a windstar) had a higher payload rating the Silverado!

 

[sdk1968]

im driving the ecoboost version in a super crew.... its is a pulling machine for sure...

but you will get better highway mileage out of the 5.0.

since you know the motors? let talk about the truck itself.

these new gen fords are actually a huge departure from the old fords.

they ride good, brake good, steer good & are actually pretty well laid out & thought thru.

ive always been a chevy guy & for 1/2 ton jsut riding around trucks it was always chevy..

Ford was always for heavy hauling & no ride comfort.... times have changed.

the ONLY thing that still isnt great on the 6.5' super crew is the turning radius. its still pretty big.

like with any truck: things to look for..

warping rotors & cheap pads (the factory pads were cheap & didnt last 35K)

bad speakers in the stereo (the cab is so air tight that people slamming doors busted the speakers)

injector noise! doesnt usually show up until 20K+ but they do get a little injector rattle at an idle.

got 65K on mine now & the ONLY things to go wrong are what i just listed.
absolutely awesome truck overall & very pleased with it.