It was an exciting three months for my F-150. Not only was there the normal Thanksgiving road trip, but a couple of towing experiences and some good driving in snow. The new 2015 F-150 may be on dealership lots, but my 2011 truck is still looking and driving like new! Read on for more details.
Stats:
Time Period: 10/19/2014 – 1/18/2015
Miles Driven: 1,972 / 30,353 (this update / total) (1,669 in last update)
Average MPG: 16.3 mpg (reported by on-board computer)
Avg MPG for Year: 16.3 (hand-calculated)
Costs:
Maintenance Costs: $137.54
Repairs: $0
Total Cost (non-fuel): $372.47
Services Performed:
- 11/25/2014 – Purchased and installed new engine air filter (K&N).
- 11/25/2014 – Purchased and installed new windshield wiper blades.
- 1/9/2015 – Oil change and Tire rotation.
Summary:
My usual Thanksgiving road trip went well, and even included a surprise – I got to tow a trailer! My father-in-law had his eye on a 1972 MG, and while his truck is more than capable of towing his trailer with the car on it, my larger and heavier F-150 was begging to actually use some of its towing capacity. Previously, I had only towed an enclosed trailer with my wife’s motorcycle in it, for a relatively short distance. This would be a longer trip, totaling 160 miles. The trip included half with the empty trailer, and the return trip with the car on the trailer.
Towing an empty car hauler with the hinged ramps was fun, albeit a bit nerve-wracking, especially on the Pennsylvania turnpike, with walls on both sides and narrow lanes. Thankfully, there were no incidents during our trip, and with the EcoBoost’s 420 pound-feet of torque, the truck had no problem getting up to highway speed. Thankfully, the F-150’s brakes were more than capable of hauling all that weight down from speed. The large mirrors, bigger than a car’s but far smaller than that of a Max Tow Package-equipped F-150, kept everything in view for safe lane changes and maneuvering.
My F-150 handled the entire tow quite well, impressing myself and my father-in-law, who regularly tows with his 2004 Nissan Frontier mid-sized pickup. Now I’ve got him contemplating a new truck!
I would be remiss if I didn’t at least speak to the fuel economy of the F-150, so here it is: 14. During the entire trip, which was on the western half of the Pennsylvania turnpike, as well as some good hills when off the highway, the EcoBoost’s power was more than enough, and I was surprised to get such good gas mileage. The trailer itself weighs around 1,300 lbs, and the MG weighed in at somewhere north of 1,700 lbs (including spare parts).
A goof on my part caused a crease in the rear bumper’s plastic step pad when backing the trailer into a spot (there was an auxiliary winch mounted on the tongue of the trailer, which cut down my corner angles quite a bit, a fact I learned the hard way), but no real damage was done.
All in all, it was a fun experience, and one I’d do again in a heartbeat.
The truck also needed a new engine air filter and windshield wipers, as both were factory-installed originals. The engine air filter was easy to replace with a quick YouTube search, but just remember to take your time and try not to force delicate electronics, to avoid any mishaps. The windshield wipers were a snap to install (literally), and if you don’t feel comfortable doing this yourself, most auto parts stores will do the job for free or little cost.
For the air filter, I opted to get a washable and reusable K&N air filter, and the truck feels like it’s got a little extra pep in its step, but not a great performance difference.
The Trico Onyx windshield wiper blades are performing admirably, after a slight adjustment to the internal springs. The adjustment involved lifting each blade, stretching it back, and letting it snap back onto the windshield. This evens the pressure each spring puts onto the blade compared to the rest, and improved the contact the wiper blades had with the windshield. They are billed as being all-weather, including ice and snow, and so far, they haven’t stuck to the windshield in any conditions, something I can’t say the factory blades did.
Shortly before the end of the quarter, my father-in-law said he’d bought a lathe in New Jersey and wanted to know if I had any interest in towing his trailer to go get it … it took about 15 milliseconds for me to respond with a, “Yes!” He towed one of his trailers down to my house, and from there, we towed it with my F-150 to Jersey, picked up the lathe (which involved a forklift, since it weighs over 1,600 lbs), and hauled it back. Not once did the F-150 complain, even sipping fuel at a slow rate – we averaged 17.1 mpg with the lathe and trailer hanging off the back of the truck. Impressed is putting it mildly, as my father-in-law started asking what used F-150s of my year are going for!
Since so many people in my personal life know I don’t keep vehicles long, I’ll speak to the new F-150, as I’ve spent some time pricing them out on Ford’s Build & Price web site, and perusing dealership lots looking at actual trucks.
The new truck is prettier in person than any of Ford’s stock photos, that’s for sure. The upgrades they’ve made to the interior rival even some luxury cars (on higher trim level F-150s). The fuel economy was a bit of a let-down, but according to some rumors, there is a 10-speed transmission in the works, which should go a long way towards getting Ford back into the MPG game. Comparably-equipped 2015 F-150s are gaining 2 MPGs, for city, highway, and combined, compared to my 2011 model. Two miles per gallon just isn’t enough to tempt me to trade my truck in, and the payload is increased by about 200 pounds, which also isn’t enough. I’ll have to wait and see some “heavy duty payload” package trucks before I write the new truck off, but with price increases of roughly $3,000 for Lariat, Platinum and King Ranch-trimmed trucks, it’ll be an expensive proposition. The last F-150 I saw in a dealership was a Platinum, with the FX4 package and several options, and it listed for over $61,000. That’s a lot of coin for a vehicle, much less a pickup truck.
Dated Notes:
- none
General Observations:
- none
by John Suit