12th gen F150s

[trae]

What can you guys tell me about the latest F150s (2009 onwards)? I'm considering looking for a lightly used one for a new family trip vehicle. We barely fit into our Nissan XTerra. A 6 seater (bench in front) plus plush ride (compared to say RAM 1500) is a plus. We mostly do FSRs so I'm not looking for anything crazy. Looking to tow a popup with it though.

Thoughts?

 

[Sock Puppet]

I own a 2012 F-150 4X4 with the 5.0 V8 and wouldn't trade it for any other 1/2 ton on the market. I looked at all of them very closely before buying, and IMO, Ford is by far the best 1/2 ton you can buy. Mine has the Off Road package which makes for a slightly rougher ride, but it's still pretty smooth. My last road trip I averaged 18.5 MPG. I'm at 23K right now and my lifetime average is 17.4. That includeds all mixed driving and well over 1K towing my 6K pound travel trailer. The 5.0 tows like a beast and sounds great doing it. I have the bench seat in the front and have only used it once when my girls both had friends riding with us. The cab is huge and fantastic for families.

I could go and on, but it would take all day. Go look at everything out there and make your decision. The '09 and '10 had the older series of V8's which are solid engines, but the 3.5 EcoBoost and 5.0 V8 offered in the 2011+ trucks are in a different league.

 

[my1stcummins]

I drive these trucks at work and think they are pretty decent trucks even though I am a Mopar guy. The are much better than the 11th gens. I do still think the Mopars have better seats and interiors.

Theses trucks idle a lot up here(oil sands mine) in the winter where it was -25c last week and with that I am now on my second truck due to motor failure. Other common weak points that I know of on these trucks that we see up here is belt tensioners (I've had two fail in the last four months) hvac system noises like squeaky motors and dampers, and the engine ecu's are mounted such that they rattle to the point where the truck will run like garbage or not operate at all. Also the front end bushings go bad after lots of use in these rough haul roads.

The motors do not lack power though and they do sound nice and the transmissions are great. I don't really monitor fuel consumption as it is free on site.

These are extreme conditions by no stretch of the imagination for a half ton trucks and probably exceed the design or durability requirements for 99% of most drivers. It does show what areas can fail in worst case scenarios.

 

[d67u57]

do you happen to have other trucks in the same general field and how do they fare?

 

[Ford Prefect]

I have the 2010 King Ranch Super Crew.

Love it!

My only warning is if you want SIX seats, the middle front seat is not adjustable, IE that person sits fairly far forward.

I am 6'5, and when I set the front seat to my liking, I can climb in the back and have about four to six inches between my knees and the seat back in front of me. Lots of room. With my kids in the back, my wife or myself can get in and stand inside to buckle them in, or just to sit in the middle seat if we have someone else with us.

Great truck. I did a 2200 mile trip (ONE WAY) in January, and I felt uncomfortable for a total of about half an hour, simple seat adjust and I was fine again for the rest of the trip.

One thing is that those trucks will not fit in some garages. You may allow that to influence your overall length choice. Mine has the 5'5" bed, and I make it into my garage with about six inches to spare (three in the front three in the rear).

The Dodge, on the other hand, were no more roomy in the Mega Cabs, and far cry smaller in the bigger quad cabs. Good luck in your choice.

 

[trae]

Thanks for the reviews everyone, I really appreciate it!

What's the real difference between 11th (2005-2009) and 12th (2009+)? There's a decent price difference between 2008 and 2011 that I could use to buy a tent trailer.

 

[duckhunter71]

Here's a Motor Trend article from when the 2009s came out:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/trucks/112_0803_2009_ford_f_150/viewall.html

If you go 2011+ you get even more upgrades (engines, electronics, slick trip computer, etc)

 

[marshal]

this was my '10. 5.4L SCREW FX4. i had 2" of lift on the front and 1 in the back with blilstein 5100s. i was going to put a long travel suspension on the front and rear and set it up for full expo, but i bit the Jeep bug again and got rid of it. i miss that truck, it was awesome.

 

[my1stcummins]

Other contractors up here used 3/4 ton Chevys and their transfer cases and front ends do not last so I am told by the mechanics. I do see a few dodge half tons but mostly 3/4 tons up here due to the rough conditions. Lots of the rental trucks that hertz uses are dodges with the hemis or cummins. I'd say 70% of the light duty trucks are fords. My company has been using fords for decades and i believe we typically keep trucks to about 150,000miles but up here they only last 100,000km before we dump them and that is with super maintenance too. The solid axlel trucks are much more durable up here. I keep joking with them that they just need to buy us raptors and we'd be set, their response is to lower the speed limit.

 

[78Bronco]

One of the changes from 2004-2009 series to the newer models is the six speed auto. We punish the 2010 f150 5.4 ccsb at work daily hauling parts and materials. Never a problem and the interior is way better then cheap dodge garbage. The SYNC works great and we average 15L/100km in the city, 11L/100km hwy for long haul trips. Big gas tank to give 900+ km range on the highway. Has the built in trailer brake controller and factory tow package. Most weight we put in the back was 3,000 lbs of chain pins over to the heat treaters. No problem.

Oil sands is no place for 1/2 ton but the Fords handle the toughest conditions pretty good. Those mines are the worst place imaginable.

 

[fjrohrs]

I've owned a 2012 XLT for several months now and besides the rattles inside (5 different ones) I am very happy with it. Loaded ~500lbs in the bed yesterday and it wasn't an issue for the rig and with ample space inside for 5 adults + 1 kid we like the interior. Test drove the Tundra and like the seating position in the back but the seats don't fold up out of the way so it was out. Be sure to get the max tow package if you want a payload closer to 2000 lbs.

 

[Rovertrader]

Picked up a new one today- XLT 5.0 4x4 CC w/ 6.5' bed & e-locker. Great deal, decent allowance on trade, smooth and quiet...
Can't wait to get her dirty ;-)

 

[Regcabguy]

I own a 2012 F-150 4X4 with the 5.0 V8 and wouldn't trade it for any other 1/2 ton on the market. I looked at all of them very closely before buying, and IMO, Ford is by far the best 1/2 ton you can buy. Mine has the Off Road package which makes for a slightly rougher ride, but it's still pretty smooth. My last road trip I averaged 18.5 MPG. I'm at 23K right now and my lifetime average is 17.4. That includeds all mixed driving and well over 1K towing my 6K pound travel trailer. The 5.0 tows like a beast and sounds great doing it. I have the bench seat in the front and have only used it once when my girls both had friends riding with us. The cab is huge and fantastic for families.

I could go and on, but it would take all day. Go look at everything out there and make your decision. The '09 and '10 had the older series of V8's which are solid engines, but the 3.5 EcoBoost and 5.0 V8 offered in the 2011+ trucks are in a different league.

That's great mileage. My neighbor's got a 2WD Ecoboost and is dissappointed with the fuel economy averaging only 15.5 mpg city/highway combined. Stock tires,unladen. Nice truck though. Great fit and finish.

 

[trae]

One of the changes from 2004-2009 series to the newer models is the six speed auto. We punish the 2010 f150 5.4 ccsb at work daily hauling parts and materials. Never a problem and the interior is way better then cheap dodge garbage. The SYNC works great and we average 15L/100km in the city, 11L/100km hwy for long haul trips. Big gas tank to give 900+ km range on the highway. Has the built in trailer brake controller and factory tow package. Most weight we put in the back was 3,000 lbs of chain pins over to the heat treaters. No problem.

Thanks, that's the kinda stuff I'm really interested in. I'm trying to determine whether it's worth the money to get the very latest or a couple of years old. It seem I can get 2009 for around 25k canadian before tax. 2011 go for around 30k+ and so on.

Oil sands is no place for 1/2 ton but the Fords handle the toughest conditions pretty good. Those mines are the worst place imaginable.

Can you elaborate on this? Im really curious what these places are like.

Thanks again for your response.

 

[78Bronco]

Imagine extreme cold, motors always idling during the winter, then they load six roughnecks in the cab with tools in the back. I don't know about you but most people in industry don't baby a company truck. Then combine a mining environment where the bitumen is oily sand that gets into everything and is abrasive.

Our work truck has 90k kms with no issues to date. Not even a measly rattle after beating western North America for three years.