The truck laughed at me!
No seriously, the Ford F-150 considered my attempts at working it hard simply laughable. I tried nearly everything and it shrugged it off, demanding I take it seriously. Man, this is one beefy machine. It looks serious too – no one and I mean NO one will mistake this big Ford for anything else. It’s blunt, big, wide, thick and square.
I think it looks wicked… in a good way.
11,300 lbs of maximum towing is nothing to sneeze at. This is the best towing in its class. This is an astonishing amount of towing capability. 3,030 lbs of payload capacity is best in class too. The Ford F-150 is built head to toe as a strong working machine.
Even the tailgate contributes to easy loading. Imbedded inside the upper lip of the tailgate is a step that pulls down for easy bed access. How strong is it? Well, I weigh 250 lbs and I bounced on it for an hour loading and unloading (deliberately bouncing mind you) there was no doubt it was hardy. What’s better is the integrated leverage/gripping rod that extends from the inner wall of the tailgate. It’s tall enough, and set far enough back to easily grip from the ground-up or from the bed-down. Combined, these two items allowed me easy ingress and egress from the back of the Ford F-150, even with lumber on my shoulder.
Internally, you will find a high-tech cabin that is one of the largest in the industry. The rear seating is limo like and the rear seat’s bottom cushions fold upward revealing a completely flat floor. It’s uncanny, and I was able to lie down on the flat rear floor with the doors closed easily. A sleeping bag, coffee in a thermos and a baggie of beef-jerky and I would have an ideal sleeping arrangement for early morning fishing.
Ford built an excellent interior for the long haul. Indeed, the front seat is huge and even Roman Mica (the Denver Car Gear 
Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2812-Denver-Car-Gear-Examiner) who’s about 8 feet tall could easily find a comfortable seating position.
I highly recommend the 700 watt Sony stereo system as it is infinitely customizable. Actually, that’s the best way to describe the Ford F-150 as a whole. You see, Ford has so many combinations and configurations available for the F-150 that you can mix and match till your heart’s content. Check out the website if you don’t believe me. Ford has more choices available for their F-150 than any other automaker.
This is a serious work truck.
The 310 horsepower (or 320 on E85) 5.4 liter V8 produces 365lbs feet of torque on regular gas and 390 lbs feet of torque on E85. Those are rather impressive numbers given the 14 mpg city and 18 mpg highway the F-150 is rated at. Couple that to one of the smoothest 6-speed automatic transmissions I’ve sampled and you have an excellent power-train. I averaged about 13 mpg, but as many of you know, I drive like the infamous “Octuplet Mom” on her way to a fertility clinic (or a talk show).
Remember the recent high winds we had in and around the Denver Metro area? The Ford F-150 could care less about those winds. It was resolutely solid on highway C-470 and I was under the impression that other drivers were inebriated as they swung wildly about all around me. It wasn’t until I saw a tree bending over violently before I realized how fast the wind was blowing.
Cruising is easy and city performance is easy enough. The massive side mirrors retuned a surprisingly small amount of wind noise. Steering is weighted nicely and acceleration is competitive (I kept averaging a whisker over 8 seconds 0 to 60). What’s more impressive is the sweet shifting 6-speed automatic that never missed a beat.
With starting prices at about $21,000 for the basic work truck and peaking at less than $50,000 for a fully loaded Platinum F-150, the big Ford is a great value. There are so many choices available that anyone interested should have no problem building a Ford F-150 to their exact tastes.
So there you have it, a fantastic working truck this is. There are very few compromises for the truck connoisseur and a myriad of options to behold. All this and a great deal more from the best selling truck in the nation – for good reason.
I just wish I didn’t load that 600 lbs of lumber in the bed – it was laughable for the Ford. 
Below is a GREAT video – with no sound
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftLC0Um5mew
Comments
Somehow I always pictured myself more behind the wheel of the poor-man's James Bond car Nathan.
But I bet you are correct and I would fit well in the Ford ;-)
That was you at the amphitheater parking lot running over that stuffed pink bunny, again and again. You write good reviews but you need professional help!
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!