Ford F150 Purchase Questions (for Escape 5.0)

[7Gentex]

I was in a similar situation. I bought a 2023 F150 Lariat Hybrid with 3.5L Powerboost 7.2KW ONBOARD GEN and 6.5 bed. I am very pleased with the truck. I bought it to pull my four month old 5.0 and decided to get the E23 a week after receipt of my trailer. Nothing wrong with the 5.0 but wife likes the design of the E23. You can’t go wrong with your decision.

Good luck to you and maybe I will see you out and about.

Curious - what does your Yellow Tire Loading sticker (driver's door post) show for payload? SuperCrew or SuperCab?

 

[Centex]

.... SuperCrew or SuperCab?

Just FYI, the Hybrid / Powerboost F150 has always only been available with the SuperCrew.

As currently designed, there's not enough room under a SuperCab (or regular cab, regardless of box length) for the requisite components.

(one of the reasons I'm not currently driving one ).

 

[brroberts]

I know you drive a Ranger and I'm not sure what's available in that line for 2024, but in the case of the F150 line, Ford completely dropped 2WD as an option for Lariat and higher trims.

Yet again, market demand and cost cutting in play, much to the chagrin of niche buyers.

Choices were good, a bit less-so now it seems.

I don’t usually buy that far up the food chain. I buy a truck to be a truck. My ‘98/2500 is a Cheyenne. Bottom line except for some body moldings outside and tilt and cruise inside. I did add AC after we moved to Kansas. The Ranger is an XLT base with the tow package and 110V outlet. I’ve added stuff to it that the factory didn’t offer, or was expensive.

I’ve always figured if it’s not on the vehicle it can’t break. I only kept the Subaru 14 years and 140,000 miles as it was a piece of junk. Everything else I have kept much longer. I drive them into the ground before I replace them. Vehicles are insanely expensive, so I try to get my money’s worth. I’m not poor, but I have money simply because I’m careful and live simply. My next truck will likely be a 3/4 or 1 ton from the late 60’s or very early 70’s. I prefer simple.

 

[rvnovice]

Update: The truck we ordered (and how we picked it)...

When first trying to pick an F150 for towing an Escape 5.0, the matrix of choices was overwhelming. It quickly became apparent that any truck would be a compromise of some factors. This forum was very helpful in understanding some of the trade-offs, and also in knowing which features had been valuable to others. Here is what we ordered, along with some of the key decisions that shaped our choice.

I ordered a 2024 Ford F150 4x4 SuperCrew Lariat with a 5.5’ bed (145” W. I only added the options of the 3.5L Ecoboost, the tow/haul package, powered extending tow mirrors, and the trailer TPMS/camera package.

My first choice was trim. We wanted adaptive cruise control and the improved 4WD that comes with Lariat and above. I decided to get the Lariat trim (4x4) since anything higher would give up additional payload. Alan (CENTEX) provided some very helpful information for making this choice.

Since Lariat only comes in SuperCrew, that choice was made for us. I picked the 5.5’ bed since that allowed a shorter WB with a smaller turning radius (vs. the 6.5’ bed and the longer W. Also, there are many Escape 5.0 owners with a 5.5’ bed, and the Escape web site says the 5.0 is designed for trailers with at least a 5.5’ bed.

To maximize payload, I only added the options that we felt were needed for us to tow the Escape 5.0. I spent a lot of time trying to understand the expected payload, and there was contradictory information from different sources. However, I found an almost identical Lariat at a dealer in Washington state that was only missing the tow mirrors and TPMS package. It had a payload of 1823 lbs, so I expect that we should be somewhere near 1800 lbs and that will work for us.

I didn’t want the extra weight of the PowerBoost, so we ruled that out. I want a margin of safely on our payload, so I don’t want to push up near the rated limit of the truck. Since the truck we ordered will tow 11,200 lbs, it is massive overkill for the Escape 5.0, but it does provide the payload margin we were looking for.

I didn’t want to order one without the bed view camera, and after much back and forth with the Ford sales person and after they consulted with their factory rep several times, I was assured that the bed view camera, which Ford calls the "Center High-Mounted Stop Lamp" (CHMSL) camera, is part of the TPMS/camera package. I certainly hope so, since it doesn’t seem to be part of their 360 camera system.

Anyway, that is how we arrived at the truck we ordered. Perhaps these thoughts will be of use to someone. I do appreciate all the advice and guidance. I know we didn’t follow all of it, but we were constrained by the trade-offs required. Now we have a long wait, estimated at 4 months… Sigh…

 

[GinoandLinda]

No place I’ve lived keeps 4x2’s on the lot. Growing up everything was 2wd. Now everyone but me wants 4wd. I always have to order to get 2WD.

Pure speculation on my part, but I think manufacturing improvements and increased demand on 4X4s make getting a 2WD less desirable mainly because the addition of 4Wd only adds $3K-$4K to a vehicle that already costs $30K-$60K+.

 

[brroberts]

You say “only adds 3-4K”. For me, that is a lot of money I could spend on something I’d actually use like a small audio mixer or telescope. Or new serger for my wife. Etc. The most expensive vehicle by far I ever bought was my Ranger at $27,214. The 2002 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport was next at 21K. To me, a vehicle is just a tool. They are crazy expensive. Some people really like cars, for me they just are a necessary tool. Nothing more.

Detroit is happy some people really enjoy nice cars. I’m sure I’m not its target audience.

 

[WillyB]

You say “only adds 3-4K”. For me, that is a lot of money I could spend on something I’d actually use like a small audio mixer or telescope. Or new serger for my wife. Etc. The most expensive vehicle by far I ever bought was my Ranger at $27,214. The 2002 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport was next at 21K. To me, a vehicle is just a tool. They are crazy expensive. Some people really like cars, for me they just are a necessary tool. Nothing more.

Detroit is happy some people really enjoy nice cars. I’m sure I’m not its target audience.

Soooooooo, you're sayin' this isn't on your shopping list.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for...250|Platinum&zip=63005&clickType=supplemental

 

[GinoandLinda]

You say “only adds 3-4K”. For me, that is a lot of money I could spend on something I’d actually use like a small audio mixer or telescope. Or new serger for my wife. Etc. The most expensive vehicle by far I ever bought was my Ranger at $27,214. The 2002 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport was next at 21K. To me, a vehicle is just a tool. They are crazy expensive. Some people really like cars, for me they just are a necessary tool. Nothing more.

Detroit is happy some people really enjoy nice cars. I’m sure I’m not its target audience.

Take it easy Of course that is a lot of money, however when you put it in perspective based on relative cost of the 4WD system to the over-all cost of the vehicle, the option of 4WD is way cheaper now than it was in the late 90's and early 2000's. Also, for those who do intend to sell their vehicle, 4WD is a valuable option as there is a greater market for 4WD than 2WD. I know this from my own experience selling our Nissan Frontier which was 2WD. The number of folks that passed it up because it was not 4WD was significant.

Vehicles are different things to different people. I've spent my time in under-powered rust buckets and rattle traps. Linda and I are at the age where we wanted to splurge on power and comfort. We are grateful and fortunate to be in the position to do that. I make no apologies.

Travel safe this Memorial Day holiday and remeber those who served.

 

[Chamberman]

You say “only adds 3-4K”. For me, that is a lot of money I could spend on something I’d actually use like a small audio mixer or telescope. Or new serger for my wife. Etc. The most expensive vehicle by far I ever bought was my Ranger at $27,214. The 2002 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport was next at 21K. To me, a vehicle is just a tool. They are crazy expensive. Some people really like cars, for me they just are a necessary tool. Nothing more.

Detroit is happy some people really enjoy nice cars. I’m sure I’m not its target audience.

Actually that Subaru you bought in 2002 was more expensive than your Ranger if you account for inflation. Using the CPI inflation calculator @ bls.gov shows that $21k from 2002 = $31k in 2021. I was thinking much the same thing about our new 2022 RAV4 hybrid when we bought it. Up until that point the 2006 Saturn Vue V6 we bought new and that my daughter is still driving was the most expensive vehicle we had bought. Then I put the amount we paid for it into the CPI calculator and realized the new RAV4 was within about $1k of what we paid for the new 2006 Saturn Vue.

 

[Centex]

any update?

.... I didn’t want to order one without the bed view camera, and after much back and forth with the Ford sales person and after they consulted with their factory rep several times, I was assured that the bed view camera, which Ford calls the "Center High-Mounted Stop Lamp" (CHMSL) camera, is part of the TPMS/camera package. I certainly hope so, since it doesn’t seem to be part of their 360 camera system. ....

Revisiting this thread to ask if you've received the truck you ordered, and does it indeed have the 'bed cam' you desired?

 

[rvnovice]

My truck was built 8/27 and shipped 8/28. I was told by Ford chat that the estimated delivery to the dealer was 9/24-9/30, and that it shipped via Jack Cooper Transport convoy #1364643560. However, per my local dealer, it is still in Kansas City and the estimated delivery to Washington State is not until 10/7-10/15. I'm not expecting it to have the bed camera, but I will post the actual result when I get the truck.

 

[rvnovice]

The truck was delivered to the dealership on 10/5. I haven't picked it up yet, but per the dealer, the bed camera and a 12' harness shipped with the truck and is now a dealer installed option. They are installing it today, and I'll pick it up tomorrow. Per the salesperson and her factory rep, the bed camera was part of the Trailer TPMS package which I had included in the order.

 

[Centex]

This is certainly Very Promising news, with 99% optimism in my heart and fingers crossed for you I'm holding-off on the enthusiastic "congratulations" pending your eyes-on confirmation after pickup.