School me on F150's...
 

Well I'm looking into upgrading to a full size truck with 4 full doors and 4x4. I was liking the looks of the 04-08 style F150's but will be looking into 1500's as well. And don't say GM sucks because I don't care for that, each truck has its ups and downs over each other.

So school me on 04-08 F150's, whats good? Whats not? What to avoid? What are some common problems? Really anything you know, let me know.

I don't want to make a mistake like I did with my Ranger and the 3.0.

avoid 04s its a new year model so some have issues
avoid the 4.6 it is a little under powered for a 4 door 4x4
watch what gears are in it, either 3.55 or 3.73s, 3.73s will show more power and provide better towing
if it was me i would avoid cloth seats, i dislike mine
dont get wrapped up in wanting an fx4, it is nearly the same as all the other models just over priced

id get 18" wheels, looks better than 17s and isnt over priced like 20s.

im sure i could come up with more.

just a couple off the top of my head
-get the 5.4
-if you are wanting the F-150 for the cab space, dont eff around with the extended cab and get the supercrew.
-leather, leather, leather!
-get the towing package even if you dont plan to tow much with it because it comes with the larger trans cooler among other things.

Yup number one thing I'd change about my truck is the cloth seats. Leather all the way.

Whats so bad about the cloth seats?

Leather, 5.4L, 3.73 gears, tow package and crew cab are the things to get. The supercab isn't that bad but I really like the super crew. I wanted an FX4 partially for painted bumpers, but primarily the interior. Otherwise you don't gain much with the FX4, a few skid plates, normally 3.73 limited slip.

I would also generally go for 2006 or newer.

Oh and just for fun, GM sucks. ;)

The cloth seats get dirty easy and are harder to clean.

i dont have an f150 but i have the new style seats in my focus and the cloth seats suck they get so dirt and a pain to clean

I don't know if its the type of cloth used or what but these seats show every little thing that touches them and its tough to clean them. The seats in my Ranger are the same color as the seats in the F150 but they aren't like that at all......

I on the other hand am very happy with my cloth seats and they don't get dirty anymore than the Ranger ones did. But maybe I got some special brand lol.

the 3.73 with the limited slip axle code is B6

Go with the 5.4 supercrew

Enjoy it!

I don't know about the gears, if I go with the f150 I'll get what ever I can get. Since I am not going to be doing much heavy towing with this truck plus I most likely would get it leveled with 35's so I'd want to upgrade the gears anyways.

35s with the 3.73s isn't too bad if your doing flat driving. I don't mind it until I get in the mountains.

My cloth seats already have a tear in it from getting in and out

Listen to what everyone else is saying they know from experience!

I'd look for an 06-08. If your heart is set on a supercrew 06+ is when they came out with the 6.5ft bed option, otherwise the 5.5' bed is standard. The supercabs have the same backseat as the supercrews, but about 6-8" more inches of legroom in the rear.

I don't mind the seats that much, and they are holding up fine so far. I just like the leather in them a lot more that's all.
I have 35s and 3.73s and it is tolerable but not ideal. It hasn't been any issue in the past 16 months but if I were towing or driving in the mountains I would be going crazy. I should be re-gearing in the coming weeks here, but the point is with 3.73s you can deal with it until you spend the money to re-gear.

Yeah if I towed at all I probably would have already regeared. I did take a pretty good hit mileage wise though, I've only averaged about 13 this winter. Should go back up since its warmed up now, I just don't drive my truck much anymore.

my fuel mileage is around 13 as well.

Hey Zach did your highway mileage go up or down with 4.56 gears?
Wrong place to ask, oops. lol

That's gonna be another kick in the ass to me, the othe day it cost me $73 to fill up!! I don't even know what its gonna be like with a full size!!!

Mine costs around that in US dollars lol

Get one with round fog lights.

Square fogs = 04-05
Round fogs = 06-08 or whatever the last year was

yeah its def gonna cost more to fill up but you wont be filling up as often. at least for me, my F-150 gets nearly the same mileage that my ranger gets so it works out. instead of filling up weekly like i do with my ranger, i fill up every week and a half or two weeks.

I get about 13-14 mpg regularly, my credit card loves me since I have the 35 gallon tank

yes, with a lift i got 10 driving 70-75 mph, now with 4.56s i get 14ish going 70-75

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't 4.56's with 35's equal to stock?

Pretty much