Buying a Ford F-150

[MyronL]

No thanks, GMC, your onboard GPS thing might be a great annuity for you. Not for me. My Garmin GPS has served us well, ah, mostly. We even pack it along on trips without the truck, like once in Maui when we got saved because the (Hawaiian) names of streets there might as well have been in Mandarin.

Yesterday I was looking to find directions to a different Tractors Supply, our neat all purpose hardware, farm utilities, work store right here in town. Garmin claimed the only, I say only such store near to us was in Amarillo, TX.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

OK, you got me, what are wind wings? The only thing that I can think of is those little vent windows of yesteryear.

Ron

Yes that's them Ron . Pat

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by MyronL

Yesterday I was looking to find directions to a different Tractors Supply, our neat all purpose hardware, farm utilities, work store right here in town. Garmin claimed the only, I say only such store near to us was in Amarillo, TX.

garmins need to be updated every 6 months or so. I retired ours, we are quite happy with google maps.

https://goo.gl/Dsvjrh

[Ron in BC]

OK, just finishing my third mod. Adding a hard box cover and removing the consol lid for Gertie's berth were the first two.

So what's a new truck for if not to tear apart new things? I have a locking box cover and I was thinking of carrying our two folding ebikes in the box where they'd be pretty secure but then, since I removed our rear seats in the Ranger and that extra space was handy, thought I may as well do the same in the new truck. More secure and maybe even easier access.

Removal was a bit of a learning curve but the Ford F150 Forum is a great resource and even had some photos. Didn't want to damage anything or burn bridges. I ended up taking out both seats because the lug for the smaller one sits on top of a common stud to both.

Having the small seat for home use might be handy for a third person but on the road it'll be taken out also. Only takes a few minutes.

Just about had heart failure after I drove in and saw how little clearance I had. Forgot my new 4 panel doors have a little less height than my old 5 panel ones.

I'd measured to see if the two bikes would fit side-by-side and it was not totally clear that they would. But they do and they're easy to slide in. I'll make up some foam padding for protection.

Also I discovered the location of the 400 watt inverter. I knew I had one but had no idea of where the guts were. Don't know yet if it's enough for my air compressor but it could be handy.

Maybe I've been influenced by Jim too much. I mean, I've done some mods on the truck and it's going to need a third fillup of gas.......

Ron

[War Eagle]

Ron, So what is all that stuff mounted behind the rear seat on the driver's side? Looks like maybe three different things. I was thinking about modifying the latch to make it easier to lower the seat back on the driver's side (similar to how the passenger side seat back tips forward to access the jack, etc.) to recoup some of that space behind the seat back for storing thin things, but it looks like that space is already pretty much occupied. So what is that stuff? Curious minds want to know.... Dale

[Ron in BC]

I'm curious too.

I don't know if the larger aluminum box is the ECU or the amp for the sound system. I mean, c'mon, I barely know how to put stations in memory. Everytime I start to read the manual my eyes glaze over.

Yes, the seat release is difficult. It's that silver object on the right side above the larger silver box in question. It has a horizontal pin that the seat back latch attaches to. I guess what they didn't want to do is put an obvious loop there that someone might mistake for the loops for the child seat restraints. But holy cow, getting your fingers down and pulling the tiny loop that's there is tough. I got it open and then, since I wasn't going to do the work for several days, closed it. Had to to get my wife with smaller hands to release it.

Yes, there's stuff there but it doesn't protrude much and it's useful space. On the Ford F150 Forum one person even made a horizontal shelf for the whole area.

Ron
Gotta read that darn manual

[War Eagle]

There are several companies that make pull-cord latches for the driver's side rear seat back to make it simple to fold the seat back down (similar to the passenger side; including video instructions). Here is a link to one example that has gotten good reviews. https://www.amazon.com/BuiltRight-In.../dp/B0732VMKHM
Simple device, relatively inexpensive and appears easy to install, once you get the seat back down the first time. I'm tempted....

[escape artist]

Hi: War Eagle... Base speaker and sound system power amp. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Jake930]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Every year I always purchase the Rand McNally us/canadian road atlas "Large print" edition and carry it with us as well as using my Rand McNally road trip GPS for rv's which allows trip planning on your computer and then uploading it to your GPS. You type in your total length of trailer and tow and their directions eliminate issues with gas stations or stops that will not work with your length.For those who travel with pets, their POI include veterinarians.

Jim, do you have a picture or a link to your Rand McNally GPS. My Garmin is old and dying a slow but sure death. So it’s time to start looking. Thank you.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Jake930

Jim, do you have a picture or a link to your Rand McNally GPS. My Garmin is old and dying a slow but sure death. So it’s time to start looking. Thank you.

Here you go https://rand.factoryoutletstore.com/...gitemid=496011
plus get the hard map copy pictured earlier in thread. See post#210

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

I don't know if the larger aluminum box is the ECU or the amp for the sound system.

pretty sure thats a power amp for that woofer. dunno if it also runs other speakers, at least not without seeing the wiring diagrams for that generation F150.

The engine ECM is undoubtedly mounted on the firewall, maybe behind the glovebox, or somewhere near there, or on the drivers side above the pedals.

[Ron in BC]

Well, as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

I've managed to put the 1,000 break in miles on the truck so I was anxious to try towing the trailer.

I like WDF hitches and knew that I could probably skip it with the new truck but would prefer to use it.

So I uncovered the trailer and washed it and the trailer cover. Yes Glenn, some folks actually do wash the cover between uses.

I don't have any flat street near me so I towed it down to the flat lands and did all the measurements with and without the WDH. Tomorrow I'll install the backup assist and see how that goes. I've already done some backing up with it and the electric assist steering etc. seem to make backing up a little easier. Who knows, I may or may not use the backup assist.

I had a short section of wavy road on the way home. I could feel the nice integrated feeling that I get when I'm using the WDH.

Even discovered that there's an electronic checklist for the trailer. Can't wait to get on the open road with it.

Ron

[JStelly]

I just crossed the 1,000 mile threshold in my new F150 before going to Matagorda for New Years. I found the set up for the backup assist to be straightforward and it works every time. It takes some practice to get the feel of it. My advice is to practice several times backing straight or with slight turns. Also don’t over correct by turning the knob too much. Make very small corrections and hold the knob in place (it is spring loaded to return to center). Once you get the hang of it, it’s great!

[Ron in BC]

I'll agree with you on half of that. The setup does seem pretty straightforward but mine doesn't work every time. It looses sight of the sticker.

At first I thought that was because the width of the trailer frame was less than the width of the sticker and some of it rolled over the edge. So I took a piece of aluminum and made a mounting plate so 100% of the sticker was flat. It's erratic, it worked long enough for me to see how handy it could be but then flashed the warning that it was not longer working.

Back to the drawing board.

Ron

[Ron in BC]

After a fair amount of reading it looks like I'm not the only one with problems with the Ford backup assist.

The tongue jack appears to be the most likely culprit. Because of the required position of black and white target the view for the camera is obscured when turning at an acute angle in one direction.

Another theory is that the reflection from the propane cover throws the system off. I'm not putting too much faith in that theory.

Good thing that it's not a critical piece of equipment but it's annoying not to have it working reliably. Not dangerous because it warns you that it's lost the target and you can manually continue.

Ron

[gbaglo]

Designed for boat trailers?

[Ron in BC]

Depends on if it had a similar "A" frame at the front and the tongue jack in a similar position. On the Escape the jack can't be moved aft because of the propane tanks where on a boat trailer that wouldn't be an issue. The window of an acceptable location is between 7" and 22" from the center of the ball center so that does limit the positioning. Mine can't go much further back than the 7" and that's right beside the tongue jack.

I'll play with it a bit. Maybe extend a little platform out to the side for the sticker like others have done or mount a sticker on each side like Ford says not to do. That seems to have worked for some folks.

Ah, and the video made it look so easy. Especially frustrating though when JStrelly reports that his works just fine on a similar trailer.

Ron

[gbaglo]

I still don't understand how it knows there isn't a toddler behind the trailer.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I still don't understand how it knows there isn't a toddler behind the trailer.

It doesn't, but that's okay because it doesn't claim to be a vision aid.

It basically works out the steering required to get the trailer to the angle (relative to the tug) which you want, simplifying that part of the driver's job. You turn the knob to directly control the trailer angle, instead of turning the steering wheel to control the truck's front wheels to control the truck orientation to control the truck-to-trailer angle.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

It doesn't, but that's okay because it doesn't claim to be a vision aid.

It basically works out the steering required to get the trailer to the angle (relative to the tug) which you want, simplifying that part of the driver's job. You turn the knob to directly control the trailer angle, instead of turning the steering wheel to control the truck's front wheels to control the truck orientation to control the truck-to-trailer angle.

I don't know Brian like self driving cars ,not a fan of this new technology. I would rather do it myself . Pat