Ford 2.7 vs 3.5 vs. 5.0

[YotaAtieToo]

I have an 8' bed on my 97 and the 5.5' on the wife F150, we probably get more use out of the grocery bed with the shell on it than the 8' bed. Not that I don't like having the true long bed for some things, but the F150 with my 16' landscape trailer can do a lot of what I need. I didn't see 1' more of bed space as a huge deal. The only bummer, is that I can't sleep in it very easily. Which has only been a problem once.

 

[BUCKLAND]

My new time supercrew is as much family car that can tow as a truck. If I need to do serious truck stuff I have the shop truck, a super duty with a real bed and a 3V V10.

I’m not saying that they don’t have their place.

 

[arse_sidewards]

My new time supercrew is as much family car that can tow as a truck. If I need to do serious truck stuff I have the shop truck, a super duty with a real bed and a 3V V10.

Buy a minivan and embrace the BDL.

6.0 Astro van on wontons would make a pretty awesome tow rig now that I thin about it.

I have an 8' bed on my 97 and the 5.5' on the wife F150, we probably get more use out of the grocery bed with the shell on it than the 8' bed.

Any random truck based 4dr SUV does the same job just as well with the added benefit of being able to haul 6ft stuff with the seats down.

I get the point of crew cab shortbed trucks. I also get the point of the Subaru Baha. That point is to make stupid money off of people who consider themselves too good to haul a bag of concrete in the trunk of the full bodied equivalent of the same vehicle.

You can make an argument for the pickup bed being better for crane/forklift loading or bulk materials but that goes out the window when you put a cap on it.

I’m not saying that they don’t have their place.

That place is being a wider Explorer Sport Trac because the occupants have gotten wider over the last 20yr

 

[DMG]

Buy a minivan and embrace the BDL.

6.0 Astro van on wontons would make a pretty awesome tow rig now that I thin about it.


Any random truck based 4dr SUV does the same job just as well with the added benefit of being able to haul 6ft stuff with the seats down.

I get the point of crew cab shortbed trucks. I also get the point of the Subaru Baha. That point is to make stupid money off of people who consider themselves too good to haul a bag of concrete in the trunk of the full bodied equivalent of the same vehicle.

You can make an argument for the pickup bed being better for crane/forklift loading or bulk materials but that goes out the window when you put a cap on it.


That place is being a wider Explorer Sport Trac because the occupants have gotten wider over the last 20yr

we have a suburban and a land cruiser. I won’t haul a load of greasy scrap from the shop or pick up a motor or trransmission in one of them. Or haul a motorcycle or atv. I will put all that shit in a shortbed truck.

 

[gunracer1]

Those short boxes kill me. I get if you don’t need more truck, what is the sense in paying to run it up and down the road.

because that's all they need, hell some folks like 300 pound wimmen.

 

[arse_sidewards]

I won’t haul a load of greasy scrap from the shop or pick up a motor or trransmission in one of them. Or haul a motorcycle or atv. I will put all that shit in a shortbed truck.

Isn't that what the Superduty is for?

I completely value prop of these various "people hauler but with a small truck bed instead of a D-pillar" for people who have one vehicle per driver in the household and need each vehicle to be able to cover everything.

But why the fuck would you buy a rolling compromise like that when you have a bunch of specialist vehicles that do all those specialist things but better?

I could scrap my whole fleet and replace them with a shortbed truck with minimal reduction in utility but it would be assinine of me to do so unless I actually planned on getting rid of everything else.

 

[DMG]

Isn't that what the Superduty is for?

I completely value prop of these various "people hauler but with a small truck bed instead of a D-pillar" for people who have one vehicle per driver in the household and need each vehicle to be able to cover everything.

But why the fuck would you buy a rolling compromise like that when you have a bunch of specialist vehicles that do all those specialist things but better?

I could scrap my whole fleet and replace them with a shortbed truck with minimal reduction in utility but it would be assinine of me to do so unless I actually planned on getting rid of everything else.

In my case yes. For most of the rest of the normal people that don’t accumulate vehicles, there is a compromise to be made. If you haul dirty stuff and people, a crew short truck works great. If you haul 8-9 people get a suv or van. But you won’t want to put dead deer, a leaking cooler full of fish or that motor or trans that wasn’t drained properly,

it took a year to get the smell of gear oil out of my Prius after I hauled a transmission and transfer case.


I am in the process of downsizing my fleet so I will accept the compromise of the truck.

 

[Toreadorranger]

I priced out a XL crew cab 5.0l 6.5ft bed f150 on fords site yesterday. Was over 50k and still had steel wheels, thats crazy

 

[DMG]

I priced out a XL crew cab 5.0l 6.5ft bed f150 on fords site yesterday. Was over 50k and still had steel wheels, thats crazy

My XLT has the window sticker in the glove box. It was a hair over $46k in 2018.

 

[arse_sidewards]

In my case yes. For most of the rest of the normal people that don’t accumulate vehicles, there is a compromise to be made. If you haul dirty stuff and people, a crew short truck works great. If you haul 8-9 people get a suv or van. But you won’t want to put dead deer, a leaking cooler full of fish or that motor or trans that wasn’t drained properly,

it took a year to get the smell of gear oil out of my Prius after I hauled a transmission and transfer case.


I am in the process of downsizing my fleet so I will accept the compromise of the truck.

Sure, but unless you actually plan on getting rid of the Superduty AND the SUVs then what's the point of a compromise vehicle?

If you just need to replace the prius as your personal daily and want to upgrade your hauling ability in the process then midsize or compact truck. If you also wanna replace the Superduty as a heavier tow/haul rig then you start talking about half tons. Only when you start needing the vehicle to do soccer mom duty does the crew cab come into play.

I get that crew cab trucks are a great compromise as a single vehicle, but unless you are actually gonna go all the way down to single vehicle they don't seem to make sense.

 

[TiTRD]

My XLT has the window sticker in the glove box. It was a hair over $46k in 2018.

$52k on my 2018 XLT.

This my 3rd shorty short bed truck. I'm used to it by now, you adapt.

 

[DMG]

$52k on my 2018 XLT.

This my 3rd shorty short bed truck. I'm used to it by now, you adapt.

I hope I can

 

[aczlan]

Sure, but unless you actually plan on getting rid of the Superduty AND the SUVs then what's the point of a compromise vehicle?

If you just need to replace the prius as your personal daily and want to upgrade your hauling ability in the process then midsize or compact truck. If you also wanna replace the Superduty as a heavier tow/haul rig then you start talking about half tons. Only when you start needing the vehicle to do soccer mom duty does the crew cab come into play.

I get that crew cab trucks are a great compromise as a single vehicle, but unless you are actually gonna go all the way down to single vehicle they don't seem to make sense.

Going on mileage, a F150 is rated at 18-23MPG (depending on engine, etc), a Ranger is rated at 22MPG and a Colorado is rated at 19MPG.
What am I saving in going to a smaller truck vs a F150?

Aaron Z

 

[arse_sidewards]

What am I saving in going to a smaller truck vs a F150?

monthly payment

 

[DMG]

monthly payment

Aside from the fact that I bought mine totalled and paid cash, the Ranger/Colorado etc arent much cheaper.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Aside from the fact that I bought mine totalled and paid cash, the Ranger/Colorado etc arent much cheaper.

I pretty much agree with you, but the only F150 thats close to the ranger fuel economy is the hybrid, which is going to be quite a bit more than a regular ranger.

I also like compact trucks, easier to park, or take down narrow roads. Typically cheaper to maintain. If they put the bronco 7 speed in the ranger, I might take a look at them.....

 

[aczlan]

I pretty much agree with you, but the only F150 thats close to the ranger fuel economy is the hybrid, which is going to be quite a bit more than a regular ranger.

Looks to me like the Ranger is within 1-2 MPG depending on the packages on the truck and the Nissan Frontier or Chevy Colorado are not any better than the F150.

Aaron Z

Aaron Z

 

[DMG]

Looks to me like the Ranger is within 1-2 MPG depending on the packages on the truck and the Nissan Frontier or Chevy Colorado are not any better than the F150.

Aaron Z

Aaron Z

That’s what I was thinking. I have had an older ranger with the 4.0 and a friend had one that both got worse mileage than my first Gen tundra. I realize these are different generations but I haven’t seen a big mileage jump between a 4wd compact truck and a full-size 1/2 ton unless the compact had the smallest motor and a manual trans.

 

[Gots_a_sol]

Shit, my 15 F150 v8 crew/4wd gets better mileage than my 05 Frontier v6 extended cab/4wd by a good 3-4 mpg. (15-ish vs 18-19 mixed driving)

 

[arse_sidewards]

That’s what I was thinking. I have had an older ranger with the 4.0 and a friend had one that both got worse mileage than my first Gen tundra. I realize these are different generations but I haven’t seen a big mileage jump between a 4wd compact truck and a full-size 1/2 ton unless the compact had the smallest motor and a manual trans.

The EPA test doesn't really do "modern" highway speeds.

I can't get less than 20mpg in the Ranger or Aerostar with their out of date shit aero no matter how I drive. Maybe I could get 19 if I kept the speedo pegged for an entire tank. I don't see most half-tons replicating that just because of the size of the hole you need to put in the air to go down the road.

You have the same thing with midsize sedans vs the little city hatch subcompact stuff. Theoretically the small stuff gets way better MPG than the sedan but you get on the highway and go 70+ and the aerodynamics of the subcompact hurt it and the aerodynamics of the sedan help it and they get close to the same MPG.

 

[aczlan]

The EPA test doesn't really do "modern" highway speeds.

I can't get less than 20mpg in the Ranger or Aerostar with their out of date shit aero no matter how I drive. Maybe I could get 19 if I kept the speedo pegged for an entire tank. I don't see most half-tons replicating that just because of the size of the hole you need to put in the air to go down the road.

You have the same thing with midsize sedans vs the little city hatch subcompact stuff. Theoretically the small stuff gets way better MPG than the sedan but you get on the highway and go 70+ and the aerodynamics of the subcompact hurt it and the aerodynamics of the sedan help it and they get close to the same MPG.

I have a co-worker who has a 2019 half ton Chevy pickup, crew cab, I think 6-ft bed and he gets 20-21 miles to the gallon driving into work and back, most of that is on two to four lane roads, a few stop signs and a couple stop lights.


Aaron Z

 

[Aggie06]

I have a co-worker who has a 2019 half ton Chevy pickup, crew cab, I think 6-ft bed and he gets 20-21 miles to the gallon driving into work and back, most of that is on two to four lane roads, a few stop signs and a couple stop lights.


Aaron Z

I have a 2019 same setup. My lifetime over ~46k is 14. Changing off of light duty street tires didn’t help the average.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

I have a co-worker who has a 2019 half ton Chevy pickup, crew cab, I think 6-ft bed and he gets 20-21 miles to the gallon driving into work and back, most of that is on two to four lane roads, a few stop signs and a couple stop lights.


Aaron Z

He's probably full of shit, even if he's not, those newer ls or lt engines seem to not be very good for reliability.

 

[JR4X]

we have a suburban and a land cruiser. I won’t haul a load of greasy scrap from the shop or pick up a motor or trransmission in one of them. Or haul a motorcycle or atv. I will put all that shit in a shortbed truck.

I have a 1 ton SUV and hauled a load of scrap to the yard on a trailer. Have to tarp the load, state law. Got gear oil on the tarp and didn’t know it. Folded the tarp and put it in the back of the SUV and got nasty gear oil on the carpet. It’s been years and it still stinks all the way to the front like stankin ass gear oil, shampooer got the stain out but not the smell.

Don’t waste your time arguing worth arse, you’re not going to convince him that what you have fits your needs.

 

[JR4X]

I’m back to sort of shopping for another crew shorty 1/2 ton. Months ago when I was looking seriously I wanted a 5.0 and all I could find was ecoboosts. Now I’ve talked myself into trying the ecoboost and I’m finding the 5.0’s packaged the way I want.

Found this 15 5.0 lariat exactly what I want, 8 hours away. Low miles for 28K. And I can’t get that far away for a month.

 

[Aggie06]

He's probably full of shit, even if he's not, those newer ls or lt engines seem to not be very good for reliability.

It depends. If he has a stock 2wd and keeps it at a reasonable speed on the highway he might average that.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

It depends. If he has a stock 2wd and keeps it at a reasonable speed on the highway he might average that.

He said it was curvy and had stop signs.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

I’m back to sort of shopping for another crew shorty 1/2 ton. Months ago when I was looking seriously I wanted a 5.0 and all I could find was ecoboosts. Now I’ve talked myself into trying the ecoboost and I’m finding the 5.0’s packaged the way I want.

Found this 15 5.0 lariat exactly what I want, 8 hours away. Low miles for 28K. And I can’t get that far away for a month.

That’s pretty cheap. Is it 2wd?

 

[aczlan]

He's probably full of shit, even if he's not, those newer ls or lt engines seem to not be very good for reliability.

That's what the gauge on the dash says, whether or not it is accurate or not I'm not sure but it's likely not off by much.

He said it was curvy and had stop signs.

It's probably 25 minutes of driving, 7-10 minutes on back roads with hills and a few stop signs, the rest on a relatively open 2-4 lane road with 4-5 stop lights, posted limit is 55, he generally keeps it under 63.
About the best conditions you could want for getting good mileage around here.
4wd, stock tire size, fairly aggressive tires in the winter, less aggressive tires in the summer. Runs it in 2wd in the summer and Auto 4wd in the winter.

Aaron Z

 

[JR4X]

That’s pretty cheap. Is it 2wd?

No, it’s 4x4. It’s debadged and he’s adjusted the price because it has an accident on its history.

It was just recently repaired on the rear passenger side where a Jiffy Lube employee, pulling out of the service bay, side swiped my truck on a wall going about 3-5mph. All work was done by SVE Auto body in Broomfield and they have done a phenomenal job.